And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son”. 1 Kings 17:13
Sounds selfish and demanding. Right? Let us annotate this statement.
Elijah speaks these words after his bold pronouncement to King Ahab of the coming drought in Israel. Elijah himself is not spared its ravaging effect; he has to look to ravens to feed him while he hides by the brook Cherith. Soon enough the brook runs out of water and our man is left high and dry!
That is when the word of the Lord comes to him: “Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.”
Mysterious indeed are the Lord’s ways.
10 So he (Elijah) arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
There is drought in the land, brooks are drying up and this haggard looking stranger is asking for water – the most precious resource!
High hopes!
Yet the woman does not demur.
Talk about hospitality – to people you do not know from Adam; people who exhibit the utmost insensitivity; ask for the very thing you hold dear. She knew nothing about Heb.13:2: Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
The woman goes, apparently without a murmur, ungrudgingly, not muttering under her breath, as you and I are wont to do under the circumstances. She does not curse her fate!
A widow, poor, one child, no money, just a little dough and a dollop of oil – she was resigned to her fate but had great equanimity; she had committed herself to whatever outcome the Lord has in store.
How would we act in such a desperate situation? Troubles never come singly. Do they? பட்ட காலே படும். Look at the audacity of the stranger (1 Kings 17 again):
11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
Kaput. ஆட்டம் close. End of the tether.
This was a little too much, but she did not rave and rant. Cumber cool, she answers matter-of-factly:
12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an 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.
Now comes the coup de grâce.
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus saith 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 sendeth rain upon the earth.
Now can you believe this one-miracle man? Remember this was Elijah’s early days, before he became renowned for his mighty acts.
But the good Lord in His sovereignty was orchestrating matters. The widow submitted herself quietly to the will of God, though its vagaries were beyond her simple understanding. Surely the devil was whispering in her ears:
” நீ சுள்ளி பொறுக்கினது போதும். You and your son have already had your ‘last supper’. Farewell, so long”. But what does she do?
15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.
How will You act? Which one will you heed – the encouraging voice of God or the skeptical whisper of the devil?
Would you trust and obey?