I Kings 17:8-16
“And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.” (I Kings 17:8-9)
For several months after his prophecy that there would be no rain for three years, as a result of Ahab’s sin, Elijah had remained in hiding in the wilderness by the brook Cherith. Ahab made a concerted effort to find and kill Elijah, but he hadn’t found him. Convinced that Elijah had fled Israel, Ahab began to seek him in other countries. I Kings 18:10 describes his search. “As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.”
After several months, or perhaps even a couple of years, the spring feeding the brook went dry, and Elijah needed to find another source of water. God directed him to go to Zarephath, a small suburb of Zidon, in present day Lebanon. Ahab’s manhunt had exhausted most of the leads, and other matters were claiming his attention.
“So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.” (I Kings 17:10-11)
Right at the gate of the city, Elijah met the widow woman gathering firewood. Desperately thirsty, he asked her for a drink. When she went to get him one, he asked if he could have something to eat as well.
“And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” (I Kings 17:12)
While it was customary to feed people who needed it, Like most widows, she was struggling to get by. As a result of the drought, she was even worse off than usual and was down to the last serving of her food. That she only needed a couple of sticks reveals how little was left. It wouldn’t even be enough for a satisfactory meal for her and her son, and after it was gone they had no hope of getting anything else.
“And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.” (I Kings 17:13-14)
Elijah told her to just trust God, He had promised that they wouldn’t run out of flour or oil until the rains came again. She was to go ahead and act as if she had an ample supply, fixing some for Elijah as her guest, just as she would any other time.
“And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.” (I Kings 17:15-16)
When she went ahead, fixing the meal for Elijah and trusting God, he fulfilled his promise, providing food for the rest of the three years. There was always enough for that day. There were undoubtedly times when they would have liked something different, but they survived, because she obeyed God.
Most people, myself included, find it hard to just trust God to supply when they find themselves short. It is often easy to hold back our tithe because we don’t trust God to provide enough, but when we obey him, he makes everything work. It gives us an opportunity to demonstrate our faith by using what God has provided. Often, we don’t see God ‘s blessings because we don’t trust him enough to use what he has already provided, until we have enough to do everything. It took me a long time to understand this.
Door to door salesmen often offer you gift to get you to listen to their spiel, knowing that you will then feel obligated to buy. Unfortunately, many people do the same thing with their giving, trying to obligate God by giving him something. Their actions are no longer an act of faith or love but an attempt to manipulate him. Attempts to manipulate him destroys our relationship with God just as it does a relationship with our mate.
“And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.” (I Kings 17:8-9)
For several months after his prophecy that there would be no rain for three years, as a result of Ahab’s sin, Elijah had remained in hiding in the wilderness by the brook Cherith. Ahab made a concerted effort to find and kill Elijah, but he hadn’t found him. Convinced that Elijah had fled Israel, Ahab began to seek him in other countries. I Kings 18:10 describes his search. “As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.”
After several months, or perhaps even a couple of years, the spring feeding the brook went dry, and Elijah needed to find another source of water. God directed him to go to Zarephath, a small suburb of Zidon, in present day Lebanon. Ahab’s manhunt had exhausted most of the leads, and other matters were claiming his attention.
“So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.” (I Kings 17:10-11)
Right at the gate of the city, Elijah met the widow woman gathering firewood. Desperately thirsty, he asked her for a drink. When she went to get him one, he asked if he could have something to eat as well.
“And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” (I Kings 17:12)
While it was customary to feed people who needed it, Like most widows, she was struggling to get by. As a result of the drought, she was even worse off than usual and was down to the last serving of her food. That she only needed a couple of sticks reveals how little was left. It wouldn’t even be enough for a satisfactory meal for her and her son, and after it was gone they had no hope of getting anything else.
“And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.” (I Kings 17:13-14)
Elijah told her to just trust God, He had promised that they wouldn’t run out of flour or oil until the rains came again. She was to go ahead and act as if she had an ample supply, fixing some for Elijah as her guest, just as she would any other time.
“And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.” (I Kings 17:15-16)
When she went ahead, fixing the meal for Elijah and trusting God, he fulfilled his promise, providing food for the rest of the three years. There was always enough for that day. There were undoubtedly times when they would have liked something different, but they survived, because she obeyed God.
Most people, myself included, find it hard to just trust God to supply when they find themselves short. It is often easy to hold back our tithe because we don’t trust God to provide enough, but when we obey him, he makes everything work. It gives us an opportunity to demonstrate our faith by using what God has provided. Often, we don’t see God ‘s blessings because we don’t trust him enough to use what he has already provided, until we have enough to do everything. It took me a long time to understand this.
Door to door salesmen often offer you gift to get you to listen to their spiel, knowing that you will then feel obligated to buy. Unfortunately, many people do the same thing with their giving, trying to obligate God by giving him something. Their actions are no longer an act of faith or love but an attempt to manipulate him. Attempts to manipulate him destroys our relationship with God just as it does a relationship with our mate.
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