By Roy E. Ciampa, Ph.D., S. Louis and Ann W. Armstrong
Professor of Religion, Samford University
Serve with trust
1 Kings 17:7–16
Trust is most clearly revealed when it is most costly to demonstrate.
Follow God’s direction, even when it doesn’t make sense. (7–12)
Elijah had been staying beside a wadi that only had water during the rainy season. When it dried up, God sent Elijah to an unlikely place to find refuge.
The author points out that Zarephath was in the region of Sidon so that we won’t miss the fact that this is Phoenician territory, the heart of Baal worship. And in the middle of a drought, a widow would be an unlikely source of food since widows were particularly vulnerable during such times.
Indeed, this widow, a believer in the Lord, is preparing to die of starvation with her son.
It might seem audacious for a prophet to ask a widow for help who is suffering from the drought he has brought about.
However, in commanding the woman to provide for Elijah, God telegraphs that He will also provide her with sufficient resources to meet Elijah’s as well as her own.
The fact that that widow “happened” to be gathering wood at the city gate when Elijah arrived there reflects God’s providential arrangement of a “divine appointment” so Elijah did not have to search and find her.
Elijah’s requests the widow give him a cup of water and a piece of bread may seem self-serving on the surface, but they opened the door for her to receive what Jesus would later refer to as “a prophet’s reward” (Matt. 10:41–42).
She would be a beneficiary of what God was about to do. Her attitude is remarkable.
She doesn’t suggest this stranger is out of line asking for food rather than offering food to a poor widow. She seems to suggest she would get him some bread if only she had any to offer.
She isn’t cursing God for her situation. She simply doesn’t have any bread to offer this stranger in need.
Encourage others to join you in trusting God. (13–14)
Elijah knows God’s intention is not for the widow and son to die in the act of providing for his needs. Rather, her positive response will be the key to her own survival and that of her son.
He promises the widow and her son will be saved from starvation by stepping out in faith and giving him some of the little food they have left rather than keeping it all for themselves. That act of faith is the key to their own salvation.
And the promise is not one that Elijah makes in his own name, but rather, “this is what the Lord God of Israel says.”
Elijah trusted the Lord and encouraged the widow to trust Him as well, knowing that she could do no better than to stake her life (and that of her son) on God’s promises.
We also can do no better than to stake our lives on His promises and to encourage those around us to do the same.
We see God work when we trust His guidance. (15–16)
God provided miraculously in response to the widow’s obedience. What would have been one or two portions of bread turned into a supply that met the needs of the three of them “for many days.” God kept His promise, as He always does!
We never go wrong when we take God at His word, follow His guidance and encourage and help others to do the same. God won’t always save us from our challenges (miraculously or otherwise). Often, He will show His strength through our weakness.
Sometimes He intervenes miraculously or providentially. Either way, His work and glory are revealed when we trust and obey Him in even the most difficult circumstances of life, as the widow and Elijah did.
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