Sunday June 6th, thoughts going in

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 "Get up, go to Zarephath that belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there." 10 So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow woman gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink." 11 As she went to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand." 12 But she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I don't have anything baked-only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die." 13 Then Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid; go and do as you have said. Only make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterwards, you may make some for yourself and your son, 14 for this is what the Lord God of Israel says: 'The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the surface of the land.' " 15 So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. She and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the Lord He had spoken through Elijah. [later the widow’s son becomes sick and dies, but Elijah raises him from the dead. The passage ends:] 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know you are a man of God and the Lord's word in your mouth is the truth."

This Sunday begins a 3-part sermon series on the prophet Elijah, entitled “Elijah: Prophet of trust.” Elijah is one of my all-time favorite biblical characters. He had his faults and weaknesses like any other person, but when he was trusting in God and following God’s leading, he not only proves a wonderful model of faith/trust in action, but most of his life’s story plays out like a wide-screen adventure.

A couple of things have to be said in order to set the stage for this story in 1Kings 17. First, THE PROBLEM Elijah is experiencing (no food/water for daily sustenance) is a direct result of HIS OWN DOING, or more precisely his own prior faithfulness to God. Toward the end of 1Kings 16 we learn that Ahab becomes king of the Northern territory of Israel, and marries Jezebel—daugher of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians (a coastal people). As it happened, Ethbaal was a high priest of the Baal cult, and his daughter was a high priestess. Her marriage with Ahab instituted state-sponsored Baal worship throughout the north. Because of this, the opening verse of 1Kings 17 says: “Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘as the LORD (Yahweh) the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” Extended drought in ancient agrarian societies spelled one thing: DEATH; especially for the very old, the very young and the very poor. The natural disaster of this draught was meant as a judgment against the nation Israel for tolerating the false worship instituted by their rulers, but the very judgment announced by Elijah would also impact his personal life.

A second interesting thing right off the bat is to note that after Elijah is miraculously sustained by ravens in the Kerith Ravine (vss 2-6) he is directed to leave Israel and head for the land of the Sidoneans—the home turf of Jezebel, Ethbaal, and the cult of Baal worship. This, then, forms the lead-in for this Sunday’s reading.

As far as the widow knew, she was gathering wood for one last meal for her and her son. They had nothing else and she believed they would die. Elijah asked her to take a great step of faith. He asked her to make him a loaf of bread first and then trust that God would not let their supplies run out. The woman took that step, and God was faithful.

Cheers,

TM