ELIJAH AND THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH: DIVINE PROVISION IN HARD TIMES

ELIJAH AND THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH: DIVINE PROVISION IN HARD TIMES

The core of the message is Elijah and the widow of Zarephath: fear meets a clear command, “Do not fear,” and a promise that the flour and oil will last until rain returns. God sustains Elijah and the widow during a drought, turning a dire situation into a miracle of provision.

Chapter Markers
- 0:00 - Opening Reading From 1 Kings 17
- 2:37 - The Drought And Elijah’s Authority
- 5:15 - Ravens, Brooks, And Supernatural Supply
- 7:55 - The Widow’s Fear Meets Prophetic Hope
- 13:40 - Obedience, Abundance, And Final Takeaways

Transcript

Passage Reading And Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

We're gonna look at today first Kings chapter 17 from verses 18 to 24 Elijah and the widow. We're gonna read the entire verse and then we're gonna dive into the context and what you and I we can learn from this passage of the scripture in first Kings chapter 17. The Bible states I'll start reading from verse 8. Then the word of the Lord came to him saying, Arise, go to Zarephat, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you. So he arose and went to Zarephat. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering stakes. And he called to her and said, Please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink. And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. Verse 12 So she said, As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar, and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die. And Elijah said to her, Do not fear, go and do as you have said, for make me a small cake from it first and bring it to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son. Verse 14 For thou says the Lord God of Israel, the bean of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the day of the Lord sends rain on the earth. So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by Elijah. First

Drought Context And Ahab

SPEAKER_00 2:38

of all, let's look at the context of this um passage of the scripture we have read. The prophet Elijah, the Tishbite, proclaims a drought. A drought is a prolonged period of abnormality and low or no rainfall at all, and as a result leads to shortage of water, and this can affect the economy of the land. If we look at this same chapter from verse 1, how it all started, and Elijah the Tishbite of inhabitants of Gilead said to Hab, Ahab was the king at that time. As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years except at my word. What a powerful prophet Elijah was. He speaks and it stands. Elijah proclaimed that there's not gonna be any rain for we don't know how many years. And rain will come back at the word of the prophet Elijah.

What “As The Lord Lives” Means

SPEAKER_00 3:57

This phrase as the Lord God of Israel lives or as God lives is a phrase that is so common in the Bible and in the ancient Hebrew, it's a way to make a solemn vow. And we use this phrase as the Lord God of Israel lives or as God lives, it invokes God's life and existence. It functions to serve true assurance or reassurance or guarantee of what someone is trying to say or what someone is trying to do on the basis of God's existence and God being alive to be able to ensure and perform what the prophet or the servant of God have said. This phrase here is pretty much in our own contemporary way, is saying, God is my witness. Few things that we need to learn about drought. Drought is classified as a natural disaster. It can be prolonged and it can also be severe, it can occur in certain areas or seasonal. Um, it is pretty much insufficient water availability

Drought Reality And Raven Provision

SPEAKER_00 5:02

because of drought, famine can also occur. Um, vegetation, agriculture, the animals, and also the inhabitants of the land. The word of the prophet regarding there's not gonna be any rain, which is drought, affected the land and himself was affected. Because of this drought, we see the first supernatural provision during a season of drought in the life of Prophet Elijah. That is, God commanded the ravens to feed the prophet. You can read that in this same chapter from verses 2 to 7. What we can learn from this is that in the midst of difficulties, in the midst of natural disasters, God can make supernatural things happen, God can perform miracles, God can use anything to feed his people, and we see a clear example of that with the life of Prophet Elijah: that God uses an animal to provide for Elijah, God uses a natural stream of water, which is a brook in this case, so that Elijah can drink from it. Now, the second supernatural provision here is not really for Elijah, it is for the widow woman. What we can see is God multiplying what is little, or God taking what is little and multiplying it into abundance, into much, and we see a clear example of the power of God when it comes to God's divine providence. We see that with Jesus Christ feeding the multitude in two instances, he fed four thousand, I believe, and he also fed five thousand. So we see that God has the power to take what is little and multiply it into abundance. The brook was also affected by the drought. For a while, the brook dried up because there has not been any rain in the land, so that also affected um the water flow of the brook. The first commandment was God commanded the ravens to feed Elijah and for Elijah to drink from the brook. Now the second commandment is we can see that from verse um eight and nine. Look what it states. Then the word of the Lord came to him saying, Arise, go to Zarephat, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I've commanded a widow there to provide for you. So the first commandment was God commanded the ravens to provide for Elijah. Now the second commandment here is that God commanded a widow to provide for Elijah, and that is where we're going to look at the interaction between the widow and prophet Elijah. Very interesting. I believe there's some insights, inspirations, and instructions that we can obtain from the interaction between Prophet Elijah and the widow, and also God's involvement in it. Elijah was affected by the drought. The widow was also affected by the drought.

Widow’s Despair And Shared Need

SPEAKER_00 8:00

Let's let's examine the condition of the widow. We know that her husband is gone, we know that she has a dependent son, we know that she has little oil and a handful of flour for her and her son. We can also um derive something about her condition in a sense that she has lost her hope because she keeps talking about death. Her and her son, they're gonna eat and die. Eventually, her son died. Um, she has already lost her husband. What I've learned about instruction of the prophet is that um when we are a blessing, we are in return being blessed. So when we open our hands to give, we are also expecting to receive. So when we are a blessing in return, we will also be blessed. So we see that both Elijah and the widow are impacted by the drought, which is the fact. Now, what God is trying God is doing is that God is using the widow to be a blessing to Elijah, and God is also using Elijah to be a blessing to the widow. So we see two blessings here. So the principle from when it comes to God blessing you, it could be anything, is that when God blesses you, that blessing is not just meant for you. God blesses you so that you can be a blessing. God asking you to be a blessing to others is for you also to be blessed in return.

Honor, Giving, And Being Blessed

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Another thing that we can also learn from this is the principle of honor. A prophet is a servant of God, a prophet speaks the counsel of God, a prophet speaks the word of God, the real time of the word of God. When a prophet speaks the word of God, our response to the prophet is honor and obedience, especially the prophet is speaking the word of God, and Elijah here is requesting from the widow in verse um 10, asking the widow to please bring a little water for him to drink, and not and not only that, for the widow to also bring some of the bread, just maybe a handful. Elijah is not trying to take everything of the little bread the woman possesses. Elijah is just asking for a handful of bread after you have prepared it and water. So, but the woman again uses the same phrase as Elijah did when Elijah was speaking to King Ahab, and now the woman is using the same phrase speaking to the prophet, saying that in verse 12, so she said, As the Lord your God lives, again, saying that God is my witness, I swear to God, um, I don't have bread. So she doesn't have the bread itself because the bread has not been produced, but she has the substance, the ingredients to produce the bread, but they are little, right? So she's saying that I don't have bread, and I only have few flour and oil that are so little, and you see me looking for sticks so that I can come and prepare it for myself and my son, and then guess what? We're gonna eat this and then we're gonna die because this is our

Fear To Faith Through God’s Word

SPEAKER_00 11:11

last. In the midst of this woman being hopeless or being pretty much negative about her future, Elijah, as a man of God, provided a sense of hope and faith, and we see that in verse 13 with the response of Prophet Elijah, and Elijah said, Do not fear. So, what I've learned in this is that as a man of God or a minister, when we are interacting with people and we come across people who are hopeless, we come across people who don't have faith in God, we come across people who are fearful, we come across people who are discouraged. Our goal is to speak life to them, our goal is to boost their confidence, our goal is to encourage them, our goal is to lift them up, make them believe there's hope. Because we are representing God and God is alive, and God is a God of hope, God is a God of restoration. So Elijah encouraged the widow that do not be afraid, just do as I have commanded you, just be obedient to my word, just honor me as a prophet, and guess what's gonna happen? You can learn two points from this. Number one, prophet Elijah tries to instill faith in this woman because the opposite of faith is fear, trying to instill faith in this woman for heart not to be afraid. Not just now, but what God plans to do for her, but also during the drought season. Wow, this is interesting. So God saw the um the fearfulness of this woman, God saw the challenges of this woman in advance, God saw um the concerns of this woman. She's a widow, she has lost her husband, and now she has little, but you know, God was able to divinely connect Prophet Elijah with the widow so that God can be a blessing to both Prophet Elijah and the widow. That is so powerful. How God is able to connect two people with different needs, and how God is able to connect them to meet each other's needs. That's the God that we serve, so wise, all powerful, He knows how to connect people. Elijah now tries to encourage the widow with the word of God by saying that this is what God is saying to you in verse 14. The bean of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jaw of oil run dry until the day the law sends rain on the earth. So God is gonna sustain you until God sends rain on the earth. So in the midst of this drought that you are facing, woman, you and your household are gonna be sustained because God has spoken saying that the ingredients that you need to prepare your bread, you're not gonna run out of them, you're not gonna run out of the flour, you're not gonna run out of the oil, you are gonna have them until God sends rain on the earth. Two points. One of them is a promise. The first point is that woman, do not be afraid, just believe, exercise faith in God. The second point is in a form of promise that God said there will be divine provision during the drought season.

Obedience, Abundance, And Takeaways

SPEAKER_00 14:58

What we can also learn at the end of this interaction between Prophet Elijah and the widow is obedience produces abundance. In verse 15, so she went away and did according to the word of Elijah. So the widow obeyed the word of Elijah. When you obey the word of a servant of God, you are indirectly obeying God Himself. Because it is not the servant of God who is speaking, it is God Himself using the servant of God to deliver his message to his people. So when you obey a man of God, you are indirectly obeying God. So the we do obey the word of Elijah, we see obedience, and as a result of that, we see the promise of the word of God. And finally, we see the fulfillment of God's word in verse 16. It says, The bean of flour was not used up, nor did the joy of oil run dry according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Elijah. So the takeaway from this interaction of Elijah and the widow, number one, be a blessing so that you can be blessed. Honor, faith over fear, importance of the word of God, obedience can lead to abundance, and we also see when God makes a promise, He fulfills His promise.