Chapter 4 – AT ZAREPHATH (part 1)
Chapter 4 – AT ZAREPHATH
“He who believes shall not make haste” (Isaiah 28:16). This is a rule which it is both our wisdom and welfare to heed in all the varied details of our lives-never more needed by God’s people than in this mad age of speed and hurry. Most profitably may we apply it to our reading and study of God’s Word. It is not so much the amount of time we spend upon the Scriptures as it is the measure in which we prayerfully meditate upon that which is immediately before us. That largely determines the degree of benefit the soul receives therefrom. By passing too quickly from one verse to another, by failing to vividly picture before our minds the details before us, and by not taking pains to discover the practical lessons which may be drawn from historical events, we are greatly the losers. It is by putting ourselves in the position of the one we are reading about and thinking what we would most likely have done in such circumstances, that we receive the most help.
An illustration of what we have in view in the above paragraph is supplied by the stage we have now reached in the life of Elijah. We discussed at length the Prophet’s arriving at the point where, “It came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up”: let us not be in too big a hurry to turn unto what follows-rather should we endeavor to visualize the Prophet’s situation and ponder the trial which confronted him. Picture the Tishbite there in his lowly retreat. Day by day the water in the brook steadily diminished: did his hopes do likewise? Did his songs of worship become feebler and less frequent as the streamlet rolled less noisily over its rocky bed? Was his harp hung upon the willows as he gave himself up to anxious thought and restlessly paced to and fro? There is nothing in Scripture to intimate any such thing. God keeps in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed upon Himself. Yes-but in order thereto, the heart must steadfastly confide in Him.
Ah, that is the very point: do we trust the Lord in trying circumstances or are we merely “fair-weather Christians.” It is much to be feared that had we been there by the drying brook, our minds had been distracted, and instead of waiting patiently for the Lord, had fretted and schemed, wondering what we had better do next. And then one morning Elijah awoke to find the brook altogether dried up and his supply of sustenance completely cut off! What then should he do? Must he remain there and perish? for he could not expect to live long without something to drink. Must he not now take matters into his own hands and do the best he could for himself? Would it not be better to retrace his steps and risk the vengeance of Ahab than remain where he was and die of thirst? Can we doubt that Satan plied him with such temptations in his hour of testing?
The Lord had ordered him, “hide yourself by the brook Cherith,” adding, “I have commanded the ravens to feed you there”; and it is striking and blessed to see that he remained there even after his supply of water had ceased. The Prophet did not move his quarters until he received definite instruction from the Lord to do so. It was thus with Israel of old in the wilderness, as they journeyed to the promised land: “At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents. And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not. And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the LORD they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the LORD they journeyed. And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night . . . two days or a month, or a year . . . the children of Israel abode in their tents and journeyed not” (Numbers 9:18-22). And that is expressly recorded for our instruction and comfort, and it is both our wisdom and welfare to heed the same.
“And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get you to Zarephath” (1 Kings 17:8, 9). Did not this show plainly how worthless and needless was any carnal scheming on the part of the Prophet, had he indulged in such. God had not “forgotten to be gracious,” nor would He leave His servant without the needed direction or guidance when His time had arrived to grant the same. How loudly ought this to speak unto our hearts! we who are far too full of our own plans and devising. Instead of heeding that injunction, “my soul, wait you only upon God,” we contrive some way of getting out of our difficulties and then ask the Lord to prosper the same. If a Samuel does not arrive just when we expect, then we try to force things (1 Samuel 13:12).
But let it be duly noted that before God’s word came afresh to Elijah both his faith and his patience had been put to the proof. In going to Cherith, the Prophet had acted under Divine orders, and therefore was he under God’s special care. Could he, then, come to any real harm under such guardianship? He must therefore remain where he is until God directs him to leave the place, no matter how unpleasant conditions may become. So with us. When it is clear that God has placed us where we are, there we must “abide” (1 Corinthians 7:20), even though our continuance in it be attended with hardships and apparent hazard. If, on the other hand, Elijah had left Cherith of his own accord, how could he count upon the Lord being with him and either provide for his wants or deliver him from his enemies? The same applies to us with equal force today.
We are now to consider the further provision which the Lord graciously made for His servant in his retirement. “And the word of the LORD came unto him.” How often has His word come to us: sometimes directly, sometimes through one of His servants, and we have wickedly refused to obey it. If not in actual words, our ways have been like that of the rebellious Jews, who in response to the affectionate remonstrance of Jeremiah replied, “As for the words that you have spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto you” (44:16). On other occasions we have been like those spoken of in, “They sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their covetousness. And lo, you are unto them as a very lovely song, of one that has a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear your words, but they do them not” (Ezekiel 33:31, 32). And why? Because the Word of God crosses our perverse wills and requires what is contrary to our natural inclinations.
“And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get you to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon, and dwell there” (1 Kings 17:8, 9). This meant that Elijah must be disciplined by still further trials and humblings. First of all, the name of the place to which God ordered His servant to go is deeply suggestive, for “Zarephath” means “refining,” coming from a root that signifies a crucible-the place where metals are melted. There lay before Elijah not only a further testing of his faith, but also the refining of it, for a “crucible” is for the purpose of separating dross from the fine gold. The experience which now confronted our Prophet was a very trying and distasteful one to flesh and blood, for to go from Cherith to Zarephath involved a journey of a hundred miles across the desert. Ah, the place of refining is not easily reached and involves that from which all of us naturally shrink.
It is also to be carefully noted that Zarephath was “in Zidon”: that is to say, it was in the territory of the Gentiles, outside the land of Palestine. Our Lord threw emphasis on this detail (in His first public address) as being one of the earliest intimations of the favors which God purposed to extend unto the Gentiles, saying, “there were many widows in Israel” at that time (Luke 4:25, 26), who might (or might not) have gladly sheltered and succored the Prophet; but unto none of them was he sent-what a severe reflection on the chosen Nation to pass them by! But what is yet more remarkable is the fact that “Zidon” was the very place from which Jezebel, the wicked corrupter of Israel, had come (1 Kings 16:31)! How passing strange are the ways of God! yet ever ordered by infinite wisdom. As good old Matthew Henry says, “To show Jezebel the impotency of her malice, God will find a hiding place for His servant even in her country.”
Equally striking is it to observe the particular person whom God selected to entertain Elijah. It was not a rich merchant or one of the chief men of Zidon, but a poor widow-desolate and dependent-who was made both willing and able to minister unto him. It is usually God’s way, and to His glory, to make use of and place honor upon “the weak and foolish things of this world.” In commenting upon the “ravens” which brought bread and flesh to the Prophet while he sojourned by the brook, we called attention to the sovereignty of God and the strangeness of the instruments He is pleased to employ. The same truth is vividly illustrated here: a poor widow! a Gentile dwelling in Zidon, the original home of Jezebel! Think it not strange then, my reader, if God’s dealings with you have been the very opposite of what you had expected. The Lord is a law to Himself, and implicit trust and unreserved submission is what He requires from us.
“Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you” (1 Kings 17:9). Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity: when Cherith is dried up then shall Zarephath be opened. How this should teach us to refrain from being concerned about the future. Remember, dear reader, that tomorrow will bring with it tomorrow’s God. “Fear you not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness” (Isaiah 41:10): make these sure and certain promises-for they are the Word of Him that cannot lie-the stay of your soul; make them your reply to every question of unbelief and every foul aspersion of the Devil. Observe that once more God sent Elijah not to a river but a “brook”-not to some wealthy person with great resources, but to a poor widow with scanty means. Ah, the Lord would have His servant remain a pensioner upon Himself and as much dependent on His power and goodness as before.
This was indeed a severe testing of Elijah, not only to take a long journey through the desert but to enter into an experience which was entirely opposed to his natural feelings, his religious training, and spiritual inclinations-to be made dependent upon a Gentile in a heathen city. He was required to leave the land of his fathers and sojourn at the headquarters of Baal-worship. Let us duly weigh this truth that God’s plan for Elijah demanded from him unquestioning obedience. They who would walk with God must not only trust Him implicitly but be prepared to be entirely regulated by His Word. Not only must our faith be trained by a great variety of providences, but our obedience by the Divine commandments. Vain is it to suppose that we can enjoy the smile of Jehovah unless we be in subjection to His precepts. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). As quickly as we become disobedient our communion with God is broken and chastisement becomes our portion.
Elijah must go and dwell at Zarephath. But how could he exist there when he knew no one in that place? Why, the same One who had given him this order had also made arrangements for his reception and maintenance. “Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you.” This does not necessarily mean that the Lord had acquainted her with His mind-the sequel plainly shows otherwise. Rather do we understand those words to signify that God had appointed it in His counsels and would effect it by His providences-compare His, “I have commanded the ravens to feed you” (1 Kings 17:4). When God calls any of His people to go to a place, they may rest assured that He has fully provided for them in His fore-determined purpose. God secretly disposed this widow to receive and sustain His servant. All hearts are in the Lord’s hand and He turns them wherever He pleases. He can incline them to show us favor and do us acts of kindness even though we be strangers to them. Many times, in widely different parts of the world, has this been the experience of this writer.
Not only was the faith and obedience of Elijah tested by God’s call for him to go to Zarephath, but his humility was also put to the proof. He was called to receive charity at the hands of a desolate widow. How humbling to pride to be made dependent upon one of the poorest of the poor. How withering to all self-confidence and self-sufficiency to accept relief from one who did not appear to have sufficient for her own urgent needs. Ah, it takes pressure of circumstances to make us bow to what is repugnant to our natural inclinations. More than once in the past did we feel it acutely to receive gifts and support from those who had very little of this world’s goods, but we were comforted by that word, “And certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities . . . and many others which ministered unto Him of their substance” (Luke 8:2, 3). The “widow” speaks of weakness and desolation: Israel was widowed at this time and therefore Elijah was made to feel it in his own soul.
“So he arose and went to Zarephath” (1 Kings 17:10). In this Elijah gave proof that he was indeed the servant of God, for the path of a servant is the path of obedience: let him forsake that path and he ceases to be a servant. The servant and obedience are as inseparably linked together as the workman and work. Many today talk about their service for Christ as though He needed their assistance, as though His cause would not prosper unless they patronized and furthered it-as though the holy ark must inevitably fall to the ground unless their unholy hands uphold it. This is all wrong, seriously wrong-the product of Satan-fed pride. What is so much needed (by us!) is service to Christ-submission to His yoke, surrender to His will, subjection to His commandments. Any “Christian service” other than walking in His precepts is a human invention, fleshly energy, “strange fire.”
“So he arose and went to Zarephath.” How can I minister the holy things of God unless I be myself treading the path of obedience? The Jew of Paul’s day was very self-important, yet he brought no glory unto God. “And are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish” (Romans 2:19, 20). And then the Apostle puts him to the test: “You therefore which teach another, teach you not yourself? you that preach a man should not steal, do you steal?” (v. 21). The principle there enunciated is a searching one and one of wide application. By it each of us who preach the Gospel should diligently measure himself. You that preach that God requires Truth in the inwards parts, are you a man of your word? You that teach we should provide things honest in the sight of all men, have you any unpaid debts? You that exhort believers to be importunate in prayer, spend you much time in the secret place? If not, be not surprised if your sermons meet with little response.
From the pastoral peace of Gilead to the exacting ordeal of confronting the king: from the presence of Ahab to the solitude of Cherith: from the dried-up brook to Zarephath-the disturbances and displacements of Providence are a necessity if our spiritual lives are to prosper. “Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel” (Jeremiah 48:11). The figure used here is very suggestive. Because Moab had long been at peace she had become lethargic and flabby. Or, like grape juice unrefined, she had been spoilt. God was emptying Elijah “from vessel to vessel” so that the scum might rise to the surface and be removed. This stirring of our nest, this constant changing of our circumstances, is not a pleasant experience, but it is essential if we are to be preserved from “settling on our lees.” But alas, so far from appreciating the gracious designs of the Refiner, how often we are petulant and murmur when He empties us from vessel to vessel.
“So he arose and went to Zarephath.” He made no demur, but did as he was told. He made no delay, but set off on his long and unpleasant journey at once. He was as ready to go on foot as though God had provided a chariot. He was as ready to cross a desert as if God had bidden him luxuriate in a shady garden. He was as ready to apply for support from a Gentile widow as if God had told him to return to his friends in Gilead. It might appear to carnal reason that he was putting his head into the lion’s mouth-courting certain disaster by making for the land of Zidon, where the agents of Jezebel would be numerous. But since God had bidden him to go, it was right for him to comply (and wrong not to do so), and therefore he could count upon the Divine protection.
Let it be duly noted that the Lord gave Elijah no more information as to his future residence and maintenance than that it was to be at Zarephath and by a widow. In a time of famine we should be profoundly thankful that the Lord provides for us at all, and be quite content to leave the mode of doing so with Him. If the Lord undertakes to guide us in our life’s journey, we must be satisfied with His doing it step by step. It is rarely His way to reveal to us much beforehand. In most cases we know little or nothing in advance. How can it be otherwise if we are to walk by faith! We must trust Him implicitly for the full development of His plan concerning us. But if we are really walking with God, taking heed to our ways according to His Word, He will gradually make things plain. His providences will clear up our difficulties, and what we know not now we shall know hereafter. Thus it was with Elijah.
“And the word of the LORD came unto him, saving, Arise, get you to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you” (1 Kings 17:8, 9). Notice carefully the connection between these two verses. The spiritual significance of this may be the more apparent to the reader if we state it thus: our actions must be regulated by the Word of God if our souls are to be nourished and strengthened. That was one of the outstanding lessons taught Israel in the wilderness: their food and refreshment could only be obtained so long as they traveled in the path of obedience (Numbers 9:18-23-observe well the sevenfold “at the commandment of the LORD” in that passage). God’s people of old were not allowed to have any plans of their own: the Lord arranged everything for them — when they should journey and when they should encamp. Had they refused to follow the Cloud, there had been no manna for them.
Thus it was with Elijah, for God has given the same rule unto His ministers as they unto whom they minister: they must practice what they preach, or woe be unto them. The Prophet was not allowed to have any will of his own, and to say how long he should remain at Cherith or where he should go from there. The Word of Jehovah settled everything for him, and by obeying the same he obtained sustenance. What searching and important truth is there here for every Christian: the path of obedience is the only one of blessing and enrichment. Ah, may we not discover at this very point the cause of our leanness and the explanation of our unfruitfulness? Is it not because we have been so self-willed that our soul is starved and our faith weak? Is it not because there has been so little denying of self, taking up the cross and following Christ, that we are so sickly and joyless?
Nothing so ministers to the health and joy of our souls as being in subjection to the will of Him with whom we have to do. And the preacher must heed this principle, as well as the ordinary Christian. The preacher must himself tread the path of obedience if he would be used by the Holy One. How could Elijah have afterwards said with so much assurance on mount Carmel, “If the Lord be God, follow Him,” if he had previously followed a course of self-pleasing and insubordination? As we have pointed out, the correlative of “service” is obedience. The two things are permanently joined together: as soon as I cease to obey my Master, I am no longer His “servant.” In this connection let us not forget that one of the noblest titles of our King was “The Servant of Jehovah.” None of us can seek to realize a grander aim than that which was the inspiration of His heart: “I come to do Your will, O My God.”
But let it be frankly pointed out that the path of obedience to God is far from being an easy one: it calls for the daily denying of self and therefore it can only be traversed as the eye is fixed steadily on the Lord and the conscience is in subjection to His Word. It is true that in keeping His commandments there is “great reward” (Psalm 19:11), for the Lord will be no man’s debtor; nevertheless it calls for the setting aside of carnal reason, and that is no easy matter to flesh and blood. Witness the path of Elijah: called to take his place by Cherith and there be fed by ravens-how could a proud intellect understand that? And now bidden to journey to a far distant and heathen city, there to be sustained by a desolate widow, that was herself on the point of starvation. Ah, my reader, the path of faith is utterly opposed to what we call “common sense,” and if you suffer from the same spiritual disease as does this writer, then you often find it harder to crucify reason than you do to repudiate the filthy rags of self-righteousness.
“So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks” (1 Kings 17:10). So poor that she was without any fuel, or any servant to go and obtain a few sticks for her. What encouragement could Elijah derive from appearances? None whatever: instead there was everything which was calculated to fill him with doubts and fears if he were occupied with outward circumstances. “And he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray you, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray you, a morsel of bread in your hand. And she said, As the LORD your God lives, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die” (vv. 10-12): that was what confronted the Prophet when he arrived at his Divinely appointed destination! Put yourself in his place, dear reader, and would you not have felt that such a prospect was a gloomy and disquieting one?
But Elijah “conferred not with flesh and blood,” and therefore he was not discouraged by what looked so unpromising a situation. Instead, his heart was sustained by the immutable Word of Him that cannot lie. Elijah’s confidence rested not in favorable circumstances or “a goodly outlook,” but in the faithfulness of the living God; and therefore his faith needed no assistance from the things around him. Appearances might be dark and dismal, but the eye of faith could pierce the black clouds and see above them the smiling countenance of his Provider. Elijah’s God was the Almighty, with whom all things are possible. “I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you”: that was what his heart was resting on. What is yours resting on? Are you being kept in peace in this ever-changing scene? Have you made one of His sure promises your own? “Trust in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land, and truly you shall be fed” (Psalm 37:3). “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed” (Psalm 46:1, 2).
But let us return to the outward circumstances which confronted Elijah upon his approach to Zarephath. “When he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks.” God had told His servant to go there and had promised a widow should sustain him, but what her name was, where she lived, and how he was to distinguish her from others, he was not informed. He trusted God to give him further light when he arrived there-nor was he disappointed. He was speedily relieved of any suspense as to the identity of the person who was to befriend him. Apparently this meeting was quite casual, for there was no appointment between them. “Behold”-ponder and admire-“the widow woman was there”: see how the Lord in His providence overrules all events, so that this particular woman should be at the gate at the very time the Prophet arrived!
Behold! here she comes forth as if on purpose to meet him: yet he did not know her, nor she know him. It has all the appearance of being accidental, and yet it was decreed and arranged by God so as to make good His word to the Prophet. Ah, my reader, there is no event in this world, however great or however small, which happens by chance. “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walks to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). How blessed to be assured that “the steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD” (Psalm 37:23). It is sheer unbelief which disconnects the ordinary things of life from God. All our circumstances and experiences are directed by the Lord, for, “of Him and through Him, and to Him are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36). Cultivate the holy habit of seeing the hand of God in everything that happens to us.
“When he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there.” How this illustrates once more a principle to which we have frequently called the attention of the reader, namely, that when God works He always works at both ends of the line. If Jacob sends his sons down into Egypt seeking food in time of famine, Joseph is moved to give it unto them. If Israel’s spies enter Jericho, there is a Rahab raised up to shelter them. If Mordecai is begging the Lord to come to the deliverance of His threatened people, king Ahasuerus is rendered sleepless, made to search the State records and befriend Mordecai and his fellows. If the Ethiopian eunuch is desirous of an understanding of God’s Word, Philip is sent to expound it to him. If Cornelius is praying for an opening up of the Gospel, Peter is charged to preach it to him. Elijah had received no intimation as to where this widow resided, but Divine providence timed her steps so that she encountered him at the entrance to the city. What encouragements to faith are these!
Here, then, was the widow: but how was Elijah to know she was the one whom God had ordained should befriend him? Well he must try her, as the servant of Abraham did Rebekah when he was sent to fetch a wife for Isaac. Eliezer prayed that the damsel to whom he should say, “let down your pitcher” would answer, “drink, and I will give your camels drink also” (Genesis 24:14). Rebekah came forth and fulfilled these conditions. So here: Elijah tests this woman to see if she is kind and benevolent: “Fetch me, I pray you, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” Just as Eliezer considered only one possessed of kindness would be a fit companion for his master’s son, so Elijah was convinced that only a liberal-minded person would be likely to sustain him in a time of famine and drought.
“He called to her and said, Fetch me, I pray you, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” Observe the gracious and respectful demeanor of Elijah. The fact that he was a Prophet of Jehovah did not warrant him to treat this poor widow in a haughty and overbearing manner. Instead of commanding, he said, “I pray you.” What a rebuke does that contain for those who are proud and officious. Civility is due to everyone: “be courteous” (1 Peter 3:8) is one of the Divine precepts given to believers. And what a severe test it was to which Elijah submitted this poor woman: to fetch him a drink of water! Yet she made no demur nor did she demand a high price for what had become a costly luxury; no, not even though Elijah was a complete stranger to her, belonging to another race. Admire here the moving power of God, who can draw out the human heart to acts of kindness unto His servants.
“And as she was going to fetch it.” Yes, she left off gathering sticks for herself, and at the first request of this stranger started for the drink of water. Let us learn to imitate her in this respect, and be always ready to perform an act of kindness toward our fellow creatures. If we do not have the wherewithal to give to the distressed, we should be the more ready to work for them (Ephesians 4:28). A cup of cold water, though it cost us nothing more than the trouble of fetching it, shall in no-wise lose its reward. “And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray you, a morsel of bread in your hand” (1 Kings 17:11). This the Prophet requested in order to test her still further-and what a test: to share her very last meal with him-and also to pave the way for a further discourse with her.
“Bring me, I pray you, a morsel of bread in your hand.” What a selfish request this seemed! How likely would human nature resent such a demand to draw upon her slender resources. Yet in reality it was God that was meeting with her in the hour of her deepest need. “Therefore will the LORD wait that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted that He may have mercy upon you, for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him” (Isaiah 30:18). But this widow must first be proved, as later another Gentile woman was proved by the Lord incarnate (Matthew 15:22-28). God would indeed supply all her need, but would she trust Him? So often He allows things to get worse before there is any improvement. He “waits to be gracious.” Why? To bring us to the end of ourselves and of our resources, until all seems lost and we are in despair: that we may more clearly discern His delivering hand.
“And she said, as the LORD your God lives, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal, in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die” (1 Kings 17:12). The effects of the terrible famine and drought in Palestine were also felt in the adjacent countries. In connection with “oil” being found in this widow’s possession at Zarephath in Zidon, J. J. Blunt, in his admirable work, “Undesigned Coincidences in the Old and New Testament,” has a helpful chapter. He points out that on the division of Canaan the district of Zidon fell to the lot of Asher (Joshua 19:28). Then he turns the reader back to Deuteronomy 33 reminding him that when Moses blessed the 12 tribes he said, “Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil” (v. 24)-indicating the fertility of that district and the character of its principal product. Thus, after a long spell of famine, oil was most likely to be found there. Hence by comparing Scripture with Scripture we see their perfect harmony.
“Behold I am gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.” Poor soul: reduced to the last extremity, with nothing but a most painful death staring her in the face! Hers was the language of carnal reason and not of faith, of unbelief and not of confidence in the living God; yes, and quite natural under the circumstances. As yet she knew nothing of that word to Elijah, “Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you” (1 Kings 17:9). No, she thought the end had come. Ah, my reader, how much better is God than our fears. The unbelieving Hebrews imagined they would starve in the wilderness, but they did not. David once said in his heart, “I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul” (1 Samuel 27:1), but he did not. The Apostles thought they would drown in the stormy sea, but they did not.
“Were half the breath in sorrow spent
To Heaven in supplication sent,
Our cheerful song would oftener be
Hear what the Lord has done for me.”
“And she said, As the LORD your God lives, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die” (1 Kings 17:12). To natural sight, to human reason, it seemed impossible that she could sustain anyone. In abject poverty, the end of her provisions was now in sight. And her eyes were not on God (any more than ours are until the Spirit works within us!) but upon the barrel, and it was now failing her; consequently there was nothing before her mind except death. Unbelief and death are inseparably joined together. This widow’s confidence lay in the barrel and the cruse, and beyond them she saw no hope. As yet her soul knew nothing of the blessedness of communion with Him to whom alone belong the issues from death (Psalm 68:20). She was not yet able to “against hope believe in hope” (Romans 4:18). Alas, what a poor tottering thing is that hope which rests on nothing better than a barrel of meal.
How prone we all are to lean on something just as paltry as a barrel of meal, and just so long as we do our expectations can only be scanty and evanescent. Yet, on the other hand, let us remember that the smallest measure of meal in the hand of God is to faith as sufficient and effectual as “the cattle upon a thousand hills.” But alas, how rarely is faith in healthy exercise. Only too often we are like the disciples when, in the presence of the hungry multitude they exclaimed, “There is a lad here, which has five barley loaves and two small fishes; but what are they among so many?” (John 6:9)-that is the language of unbelief, of carnal reason. Faith is not occupied with difficulties, but with Him with whom all things are possible. Faith is not occupied with circumstances, but with the God of circumstances. Thus it was with Elijah, as we shall see.
And what a test of Elijah’s faith was now supplied by those doleful words of the poor widow. Consider the situation which now confronted his eyes. A widow and her son starving: a few sticks, a handful of meal, and a little oil between them and death. Nevertheless God had said to him, “I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you.” How many would exclaim, How deeply mysterious, what a trying experience for the Prophet!-why, he needed to help her rather than become a burden upon her. Ah, but like Abram before him, “he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith.” He knew that the Possessor of Heaven and earth had decreed she should sustain him, and even though there had been no meal or oil at all, that had in nowise dampened his spirits or deterred him. O my reader, if you know anything experimentally of the goodness, the power and faithfulness of God, let your confidence in Him remain unshaken, no matter what appearances may be.
“He who has helped you hitherto,
Will help you all your journey through;
And give you daily cause to raise
New Ebenezers to His praise.”
“Behold, I am gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Let it be duly noted that this woman did not fail to discharge her responsibility. Up to the very end she was industrious, making use of the means to hand. Instead of giving way to utter despair, sitting down and wringing her hands, she was busily occupied, gathering sticks for what she fully believed would be her last meal. This is not an unimportant detail, but one which we need to take to heart. Idleness is never justified, least of all in an emergency: nay, the more desperate the situation the greater the need for us to bestir ourselves. To give way to dejection never accomplishes any good. Discharge your responsibility to the very end, even though it be in preparing for your final meal. Richly was the widow repaid for her industry. It was while she was in the path of duty (household duty!), that God, through His servant, met with and blessed her!
In that which is now to be before us we are to behold how the Prophet conducted himself in quite different surroundings and circumstances from those which have previously engaged our attention. Hitherto we have seen something of how he acquitted himself in public: his courage and spiritual dignity before Ahab; and also how he acted in private-his life in secret before God by the brook: obedient unto the word of the Lord, patiently waiting His next marching orders. But here the Spirit grants us a view of how Elijah conducted himself in the home of the widow at Zarephath, revealing as it does most blessedly the sufficiency of Divine grace for God’s servants and people in every situation in which they may find themselves. Alas, how often the servant of God who is uncompromising in public and faithful in his secret devotions, fails lamentably in the domestic sphere, the family circle. This should not be; nor was it so with Elijah, by God’s grace.
That to which we have just alluded calls perhaps for a few remarks, which we offer not by way of extenuation but of explanation. Why is it that the servant of God is often seen to far less advantage in the home than he is in the pulpit or the closet? In the first place, as he goes forth to discharge his public duties he is keyed up to do battle against the Enemy; but he returns home with his nervous energy spent, to relax and recuperate. Then it is that he is more easily upset and irritated by comparative trifles. In the second place, in his public ministry he is conscious that he is opposing the powers of evil, but in the family circle he is surrounded by those who love him, and is more off his guard, failing to realize that Satan may use his friends to gain an advantage over him. Third, conscious faithfulness in public may have stimulated his pride, and a thorn in the flesh-the painful realization of sad failure in the home-may be necessary to humble him. Yet there is no more justification for God-dishonoring conduct in the domestic circle than in the pulpit.
We have seen where Elijah-in response to Jehovah’s orders-had left his retirement at Cherith, had crossed the desert and had duly arrived at the gates of Zarephath, where the Lord had (secretly) commanded a widow woman to sustain him. He encountered her at the entrance of the town, though under circumstances which presented a most unpromising appearance to carnal sight. Instead of this woman joyfully welcoming the Prophet, she dolefully spoke of the impending death of herself and son. Instead of being amply furnished to minister unto Elijah, she tells him that “a handful of meal and a little oil in a cruse” was all she had left. What a testing of faith! How unreasonable it seemed that the man of God should expect sustenance under her roof. No more unreasonable than that Noah should be required to build an ark before there was any rain, still less any signs of a flood: no more unreasonable than that Israel should be required to simply walk round and round the walls of Jericho. The path of obedience can only be trodden as faith is in exercise.
“And Elijah said, Fear not: go and do as you have said” (1 Kings 17:13). What a gracious word was this to quiet the poor widow’s heart! Be not afraid of the consequences, either to yourself or to your son, in making use of the means to hand, scant though they be. “But make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for you and for your son” (v. 13). What a severe testing was this! Was ever a poor widow so sorely tried, before or since? To make him a cake “first” was surely, in her extreme circumstances, one of the hardest commands ever given. Did it not appear to issue from the very essence of selfishness? Did either the laws of God or of man require a sacrifice like this? God has never bidden us do more than love our neighbor as ourselves, nowhere has He bidden us to love him better. But here “make me a cake first”!
“For thus says the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth” (v. 14). Ah, that made all the difference: that removed the sting from the request, showing there was no selfishness inspiring the same. She was asked for a portion of that little which she had remaining, but Elijah tells her she need not hesitate to bestow it, for although the case seemed desperate, God would take care of her and of her son. Observe with what implicit confidence the Prophet spoke: there was no uncertainty, but positive and unwavering assurance that their supply should not diminish. Ah, Elijah had learned a valuable lesson at Cherith-learned it experimentally: he had proved the faithfulness of Jehovah by the brook, and therefore was he now qualified to quiet the fears and comfort the heart of this poor widow-compare 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4 which reveals the secret of all effective ministry.
Observe the particular title here accorded Deity. The woman had said, “As the LORD your God lives” (1 Kings 7:12), but this was not sufficient. Elijah declared, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel”: this Gentile must be made to realize the humbling truth that “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). “The LORD God of Israel”: of whose wondrous works you must have heard so much. The One who made a footstool of the haughty Pharaoh, who brought His people through the Red Sea dry-shod, who miraculously sustained them for 40 years in the wilderness, and who subdued the Canaanites for them. Such an One may surely be trusted for our daily bread. The “LORD God of Israel” is He whose promise never fails, for “the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for He is not a man that He should repent” or change His mind (1 Samuel 15:29). Such an One may be safely relied upon.
