God through Elijah would be doing a series of miracles to prove His power over Baal. Here in 1 Kings 17:8-16, we will see the first of the series of miracles that God would do through the hand of Elijah. He instructed the prophet to arise, leave the brook of Cherith and go to Zarephath, located in Sidon. This Phoenician town was the very center of Baal worship. Due to the drought, the brook that once sustained Elijah had dried up. The drought was obviously followed by a famine, for without water, the crop was badly affected. All this only goes to prove that Baal had no answer to the power of God. He could do nothing to bring rain although he was touted to have control over nature. It showed that when God stopped the rain, Baal had no answer and could do absolutely nothing.
When Elijah came to Zarephath, he met a widow at the gate
gathering sticks. Calling out to her, he requested that she gave him a cup of
water from her jar to drink. As she was going to pour the water, Elijah
requested a piece of bread at the same time. That request elicited a
pathetic response from the widow. She was in a plight due to the drought. Her
response to the prophet was she did not have any bread but only a bowl of flour
and a dab of oil in a jar. Explaining further she told the prophet that she was
out picking sticks so that she could go home, and bake her last loaf of bread
from the little flour that she had. Then she and her son would eat their last
meal and wait to starve to death. What she said stirred a heartening response
from the prophet.
In
verse 13, Elijah assured her that his God has the answer to her problem.
Telling her not to fear but to go home as she had intended. She was first to
bake a bread cake, bring it to him, then afterward bake one more for herself and
her son. He then prophesied to her saying, “For thus says the Lord God of
Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of
oil be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.’” The widow
went and did as she was told and all that Elijah told her came
true. The bowl of flour and the dab of oil did not run out as the
Lord had told her.
What lesson can we
learn from this incident with the widow of Zarephath? Firstly, we learn that no
one is exempted from the plight of life. But as God’s children, He can see our
plight and has a plan to help us deal with it. The way he will meet our needs
in life can come in unpredictable ways. All we need is to trust and act
obediently to His instruction. Secondly, we learn that in times of uncertainty,
having faith and trusting in God is certainly more d fruitful than being
overwhelmed by fear. Thirdly, we know that like how God met the needs of the
widow of Zarephath, He will also meet our needs through the service we offer to
His servants. Learn to trust and depend on Him, for He shall supply all our
needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!
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