'The word of the Lord came to Elijah: Arise, go to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow there to feed you. He arose and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called out to her, “Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink.” She left to get it, and he called out after her, “Please bring along a crust of bread.” She said, “As the Lord, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a few sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die.” Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid. Go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Afterwards you can prepare something for yourself and your son. For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” She left and did as Elijah had said. She had enough to eat for a long time—he and she and her household. The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord spoken through Elijah (1 Kings 17:2,9-16).'
This is one of the stories about the prophetic ministry of Elijah the Tishbite. Zarepath was to the south of Sidon (Lebanon) the area where Jezebel came from. The inhabitants of that area worshipped Baal, the pagan god of rain, storms and fertility. God sent Elijah to the widow who was to feed him, but she only had a little bit of flour and oil. However, she obeyed Elijah’s request and baked him a little cake with the flour and oil. Elijah trusted God and God fulfilled his promise to Elijah by not allowing the flour or oil to run out. There is some similarity to the Israelites being fed in the desert with miraculous manna by God (Num. 11:8). God gives His gifts to whomever he pleases not to those who think they deserve them or are entitled to them.
Almighty God, out of your storehouse of love you give us abundant gifts without demanding anything in return. You offer us the gift of eternal life earned through the suffering, death and resurrection of your Son who also showed us how to attain the gift. Grant us the grace to accept the eternal gift and to live our lives in a manner pleasing to you. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty, Navarre Theological. The Navarre Bible: Joshua to Kings (The Navarre Bible: Old Testament). Revised, Scepter Pubs, 2003.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Comments