The widow of Zarephath

The Bible gives clear instructions that widows and orphans should be treated with love. From the Old Testament to the New Testament,  there are different verses that give indication of showing love and compassion for widows and orphans. If in the 21st century, widows and orphans are still vulnerable in different parts of the world, imagine their vulnerability before the common era. Moreover, in seasons of drought, famine becomes inevitable and the people who suffer most are the poor, the widows and orphans.  In 1 Kings 17:1, Elijah the prophet declared this to king Ahab: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” True to the words of the prophet, therefore there was no rain and the result was famine. God sent ravens to feed the prophet until the brook ran dry. 

“Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” (1 Kings 17:9)

Later, when the brook dried, God told Elijah this: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food” (1 Kings 17:9). It is amazing that God did not send rain but rather sent the prophet to a poor widow. It confirms this: “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). The widow of Zarephath was a poor woman and the most unlikely person to save a hungry prophet but “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are” (1 Corinthians 1:27‭-‬28). The prophet was aware of the woman’s poverty but he still obeyed God. When Elijah encountered the widow, she was gathering sticks. Elijah asked: “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” (1 Kings 17:10) and as the woman was going to get it, he added, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread” (1 Kings 17:11). Which man asks for bread from a widow in times of famine? But Elijah was sent by God to a widow. 

The woman expressed her vulnerability to the prophet: “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die” (1 Kings 17:12). She and her son have enough to sustain them for some time and nothing more. Thus, sharing with the prophet meant an earlier death for them. Elijah told her: “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land’ ” (1 Kings 17:13‭-‬14). The woman accepted the message in faith and did as she was directed by the prophet. She placed her trust in the words of the prophet. She was willing to serve her last meal to the prophet with the knowledge that God will provide. She put her faith to work and this was the result: “there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah” (1 Kings 17:15‭-‬16). Sometime later, the woman’s son died and she cried to the prophet and through the power of God, the boy was brought back to life. The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth” (1 Kings 17:24).

The widow of Zarephath opened her home to the prophet of God, she shared her meal and water with the prophet and she trusted God to supply all her needs. Surely, as long as the famine remained, she and her family did not lack. They had more than enough food to eat. They received divine sustenance. Her dead son was brought back to life and her whole family survived the famine. She obeyed God and did what sounded impossible but her reward was this, God the impossibility specialist gave her more than she ever wanted. She had enough food and she had life. When it seems like there is no way to go through, give your worries to God, cast all your anxieties on Him, do not let your heart be troubled. If ravens (stingy birds) were sent to feed a hungry prophet in seasons of famine, God will definitely send your helper. If a poor and vulnerable widow shared her meal with a prophet in the season of famine, God can make the least expected person to be your source of miracle. But, like the widow of Zarephath,  you should be ready to trust Him to make all things work together for your good.