![]() The widow of Zarephath had felt utterly alone, not knowing God had his eye on her. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." She would have been astonished to learn that this same God had instructed Elijah to "go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. She had no idea that the stranger was Elijah, a prophet who had the gall to inform King Ahab that God was withholding rain to punish Israel's idolatry. The woman from Zarephath wasn't a Jew, but a Phoenician. Instead of cursing the stranger for his callousness, as we might expect, the woman did exactly as he had requested, feeding him the food she had reserved for herself and her 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 gives rain on the land.' " But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me and then make something for yourself and your son. 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."īut the man had persisted. She turned on her heel and replied, "As surely as the Lord your God lives, I don't have any bread-only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. ![]() He might as well ask me to snap my fingers and produce a cow to feast on. Graciously, she had gone to fetch it, only to have him call after her, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread." She began to prepare for a final supper for herself and her child.īut then a stranger had called to her: "Woman, would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" Today she had scraped the last bit of flour from the barrel and poured the last drop of oil from the jug. These days she stood with shoulders hunched as though to hide her breasts. She had failed in the most basic ways a mother could, unable to protect, nurture, and provide. Though she starved herself to feed her child, his distended belly accused her. Every night she hoped for rain, but every morning she woke to a brilliant sky. But he had died before the drought, leaving her with a small son, a house, and little else. If only her husband were alive to squeeze a harvest from the fields. How hard it was to suffer her fears alone, to wake in the night with no one to warm her, no one to whisper sweet lies about tomorrow. Tears escaped her eyes, try as she might to blink them back. She had always loved the sea, but now its watery abundance seemed only to mock her, reminding her of all she lacked. She had lived her life a stone's throw from the Mediterranean, at Zarephath, seven miles south of Sidon, in a territory ruled by Jezebel's father. Her body shook as she stood over the fire, greedily sipping and sucking the steam from the pan, as though the smell of frying bread could fill her belly and soothe her fears. Her arms were spindly and rough, like the dry twigs she had gathered for kindling. Key Scriptures: 1 Kings 17:8-24 Luke 4:25-26 Her Story Her joy: To experience repeated miracles of God's provision. Her sorrow: To suffer extreme poverty, famine, and the loss of husband and son. Her character: A Phoenician woman, she showed extraordinary hospitality to one of God's prophets, providing a safe harbor for him during a period of famine.
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