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Answer
First Kings 17 introduces the prophet Elijah and recounts his interactions with a widow from Zarephath. The chapter reveals that the Lord had stopped the rain in Israel (verse 1). This drought was a consequence of the nation’s widespread idolatry, which was promoted by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. In verse 8, the Lord instructed Elijah to go to Zarephath, a town outside Israel, where a widow would supply him with food. Elijah complied and encountered a woman gathering sticks. He asked her, “Please bring me a little water in a vessel so I can drink,” and, “Bring me a piece of bread in your hand” (verses 11–12).
However, the widow was also in desperate need. She replied, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Now I am gathering a couple of sticks to prepare a final meal for myself and my son, so we can eat it and die” (verse 13). She anticipated that the meal she was about to prepare would be their last, with no hope beyond starvation.
Elijah’s response was a test of her faith. He instructed her to make food for him using her remaining ingredients. He also gave her a promise: “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'” «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. », (1 Kings 17:14). The widow’s faith was demonstrated through her obedience. True to His word, God provided: “She, Elijah, and her household ate for many days. 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” (verse 16).
by Elijah” (verses 15–16). The widow’s food supply was supernaturally extended, as promised.
Elijah stayed there for some time, living in an upper room of the widow’s house. The woman’s son later died of an illness, and in her anger and grief, she blamed Elijah for his death—she assumed God was judging her for her sin (1 Kings 17:17-18). But Elijah cried out to God: “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” (verse 21), and the child was restored to life. When the woman saw this, she said, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth” (verse 24).
This account is also mentioned in the New Testament. Early in His ministry, Jesus was speaking in the synagogue of His hometown, Nazareth. He said, “In truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow” (Luke 4:25-26). Jesus’ point was that no prophet is accepted in his hometown. Just as Elijah found more faith outside of Israel than within it, Jesus found little faith in His boyhood home. As if to prove His point, the people of Nazareth grew enraged and attempted to throw Jesus off a cliff «And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. », (Luke 4:29).
The account of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath offers many insights. First, God often uses unlikely people and sources to accomplish His purposes. Second, God’s mercy extends to all people, both Jews and Gentiles, and the Sidonian widow was blessed for her.faith (see Acts 10:34-35). Third, God requires faith «But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. », (Hebrews 11:6). The widow’s miracle only came after she prepared a meal for Elijah—an act of sincere faith on her part.
