Bread. Who doesn’t like bread? In just about every culture
it is a common table food. The categories of bread are endless, from a loaf, flatbread,
tortilla, pita, naan, challah, and so on. If it has at least flour and water
involved—it’s bread!
This begins our journey into the life of our anonymous
woman, the widow of Zarephath. Her testimony is found in 1 Kings 17. It is a
testimony because the two people in the story are tested in their faith and
obedience. The outcome of their test is one that produces a miracle that
teaches them about God’s faithfulness and life. More importantly, that God can
be revealed to anyone, including one who is not Hebrew, but a gentile.
This is the same chapter that we are introduced to the
prophet Elijah. Elijah is a man from Tishbe, in Gilead. Geographically, today
it would on the side of the Jordan river that is in the country of Jordan. Somewhere between the sea of Galilee (Lake
Kinneret) and the Dead sea. Elijah encounters Israel’s king at the time, Ahab. This
was during the time that Israel was divided into two kingdoms, Judah and
Israel. The kingdom of Israel was the northern region. Elijah tells King Ahab
that a drought is coming and it will last for a few years (1 Kings 17:1). God
then instructs Elijah to go to the Kerith Brook near the Jordan river and drink
from the brook and where He will command the ravens to feed him. Side note,
that right there is a test. Who would eat food brought by a scavenger bird?
This was Elijah’s first test of obedience. We don’t know what kind of food the
ravens brought, but it was probably not steak and potatoes.
Eventually the brook dried up and it was then God instructed
Elijah to make his way to Zarephath. Zarephath was located on the coast in
Phoenicia (currently Lebanon), 8 miles south of Sidon and 14 miles north of
Tyre. The city today is called Sarafand. If
one was to drive it now, it’s about a 6-hour drive, but in Elijah’s time this would
have been about a 3-day journey. Why in the world would God have Elijah travel
that far, especially in a time when water was scarce. But the fact remains, He
did and this was another test of obedience. God was teaching Elijah to trust.
Elijah arrives at the village gates of Zarephath and sees a
woman collecting sticks. She was probably a young woman as her son is a child.
We don’t know how her husband died, but she was preparing for her and her son
to join him in death. God had already engaged
this woman. We don’t know how, especially since she was a Phoenician woman, a
Canaanite, and worshiped other gods. God had gone before Elijah and instructed
her (some translations say commanded, just like He commanded the ravens) to
feed him. The first question he asks of
her is for a cup of water and then asks for a bite of bread. She responds to
him “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a
bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it
for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” (1 Kings 17:12) We see here, she doesn’t know God personally as she
refers to Him as “your God” at least she is willing. The problem is, she doesn’t have
enough for the three of them, not to mention, most bread recipes call for more
than two ingredients and she doesn’t mention that.
Elijah tells her not to be afraid, but if she feeds him
first, then she will have enough for her and her son. (This is the principle in
tithing as well. If we give God a tenth off the top, then we will have enough.)
He goes on to say, “For thus says the
Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of
flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the
Lord sends rain on the earth.’” (1 Kings 17:14).
It was her
obedience to this stranger’s God that her needs are met, continuously. She was
able to feed her entire household for many days as well as Elijah. She even
invited Elijah to stay in her home. This bread that she had made was life-giving
bread. Only two ingredients flour and
oil produced a miracle. But those weren’t the only ingredients used that
allowed them all to continue living in the blessing. The most important
ingredients used were “faith and obedience.” That’s right these two ingredients
will produce more in one’s life than anything else.
Jesus calls
himself bread. John 6:36 he says, “‘I am
the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes
in Me shall never thirst.’” When we put our faith to the test, and are
obedient to Jesus, he will lead us through the droughts and famines that life
can bring. Sometimes, like Elijah, we will have to go to places that don’t seem
logical. Why would God send Elijah to a widow, especially because most widows had
nothing and it’s really the man’s responsibility to provide for the widow or
woman for that matter. Could it be that because she was living in a pagan
village that a man staying at a woman’s house would not be unusual? This is similar
to when Joshua sent the two spies to scout out Jericho and they end up hiding
in Rahab’s house, the home of a prostitute (Joshua 2:1).
Sometime later,
this widow’s son becomes ill (1 Kings 17:17).
Elijah is still living in her home. This is the second time she needs a
life-giving miracle. She has probably been learning about who God is because of
having Elijah in her home. She cries out to Elijah and asks if it’s because of
him, her son is dying. She recognizes her own sin and wonders if that’s why she
is facing the death of her son. Elijah takes the child from her arms and
carries him upstairs to his room. He lays the boy on his bed then stretches
himself over the boy 3 times and cries out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” (1
Kings 17:21). This was another exercise
of faith building for Elijah. Could it be that God sent Elijah to this woman to
prepare him for the great acts of faith that were going to be required of him
in the future? Did you know that Zarephath in Hebrew means “to smelt or to melt.?”
It was a place of refining.
God heard Elijah’s prayer and revived the child. When he brought the boy to his
mother, she responded by saying, “‘Now by
this I know that you are a man
of God, and that the word of
the Lord in your mouth is the truth.’” (1 Kings 17:24)
She now believed in the living God!
This is not only
a testimony of God raising up a man of God, but reaching out to the gentile.
Just like the two ingredients used to make bread, flour and oil, God used two
people from different cultures in this story to reveal His glory. There are
only two kinds of people on the earth, believers and unbelievers. It is God’s
desire for all of mankind to be a part of His family. One day when Jesus is
teaching in the synagogue. Teaching the people while his own people in Nazareth rejected him
(unbelievers), he talks about a prophet not having honor in his hometown. He reminds the people of this widow. Her
testimony of a living God who gives life to the Jew and the gentile. He tells
them there were many widows in Israel at that time, but only the widow in
Zarephath was willing to care for Elijah during the three year and 6 month
famine (Luke 4:25-26). God sent Jesus as the main ingredient to eternal life.
The bread that we have been given that was brought through the the Jewish
people that even the gentile would be saved. Just like the widow fed her whole household,
which likely included extended family, God’s desire is that His son, the Bread
of Life, would feed the whole world.
As mentioned
earlier in this story, it takes more than two ingredients to make any kind of
bread. Even bread without yeast, salt and water are necessary. Jesus is the
“living water” (John 4:13) and we are the salt (John 5:13). We see there’s a
partnership here. There is so much to be said about this woman’s testimony. Her
importance to God’s big story continues to build faith for those who find
themselves in challenging times. Any one of us could insert our name in her
story. God uses the most common of ingredients, people to work out His plan
along with the main ingredient, Jesus. Even if there’s just a little faith, it
can lead to the greatest miracle that one can experience, eternal life. You too
can share a bite of the Bread of Life with those around you. It’s the greatest
life changing miracle that one will experience.
Ingredients for a
long life!
Joshua 1:9, NLT: This is
my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the
LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Deuteronomy 7:9, NLT: Understand,
therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who
keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love
on those who love him and obey his commands.
Psalm 33:4, NKJV: For the
word of the LORD is right, And
all His work is done in truth.
Psalm 37:25, NLT: Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I
have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.
Jeremiah 29:11-13, NKJV: For I
know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and
not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will
call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all
your heart.
Jeremiah 30:17, NKJV: “For I
will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,’ says the LORD,
‘Because they called you an outcast saying:
“This is Zion; No one seeks
her.”’
Lamentations 3:22-23, NLT: The
faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his
faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
Luke 6:38, NKJV: Give,
and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and
running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you
use, it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 21:1-4, NLT: While
Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the
collection box. 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped
in two small coins. 3 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said,
“this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have
given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given
everything she has.”
Philippians 4:19, NKJV: And my
God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ
Jesus.
Hebrews 13:2, NLT: Don’t
forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have
entertained angels without realizing it!
2 Timothy 2:13, NKJV: If we
are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
*This information was complied by the R.E.A.L. Women Bible study out of Hills Church in Laguna Hills, CA.
