I Kings 17
From the Prophet Elijah's Journal
No rain has fallen on the land since I delivered the message from the Lord to king Ahab. All he had to do was say he was sorry and destroy the false idols, but he wouldn't.
The edge of the brook waters narrowed with each day until one day I woke and found it dry. I found no reason to be concerned. If the Almighty God took care of me by hiding me, giving me water, and food from a raven, then he would continue to do so, maybe in a new way.
I worshiped the Lord that same morning as I always did, singing praises to Him and reciting words from Moses. During this time, the Lord spoke to me. "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food."
I picked up my satchel and walked west to Zarephath, which is on the shore of the Great Sea.
After walking such a distance, I almost felt faint with hunger and thirst. I saw a woman at the town gate gathering sticks. She had to be the person God wanted me to find. I called to her, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?"
She nodded and turned to get the water. As she walked I remembered to ask her for food, too. "Excuse me, Please bring me a piece of bread, too."
She stopped and turned with sadness on her face. "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. 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."
The poor woman.
Still, the Lord commanded me to come here and said she would give me food. Somehow God will supply the food for her to give me.
I held my hand out to her. "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. 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."
Her slumped shoulders showed how hopeless she felt. The poor woman must be very hungry, too. She needed words of encouragement. "This is the 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."
She didn't say anything but stood straighter as if armed with courage. She led me to her home and walked to her kitchen. I talked with her son while she made the bread. Her eyes widened with surprise when she looked at her flour jar after pouring enough to make our bread. "Look! The jar isn't empty." She laughed with delight when the same thing happened to the jar of oil. "Thank you. Not only can I give you bread, but my son and I will have food, too."
Just as God had said, we had something to eat every day for the three of us. The jar of flour never emptied during this time. Neither had the jar of oil.
God takes care of His people.
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photo courtesy of visualbiblealive.com
1. After the brook dried, the Lord told Elijah to go to Zarephath. Why?
2. The widow said she didn't have bread to share. How would she get flour and oil?
3. Did the widow do as Elijah said?
4. What happened to the jar of oil and the jar of flour?
5. How did this happen?
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