"What's the Scoop on........the Widow of Zarephath?"

Today in Bible Study Jan taught on the Widow of Zarephath. The widow’s story can be found in 1 Kings 17. We meet her as she encounters Elijah, the prophet of God. As I was thinking about this post I was reminded that Jesus also mentioned the Widow of Zarephath in Luke 4. I was curious why her encounter with Elijah  would have been compelling enough for Jesus to use as He taught in the synagogue.  Let’s see what is so significant about her story.

Before looking at what Jesus had to say, we will take a look at 1 Kings 17.

Elijah was a prophet of God sent to the evil King Ahab.  Elijah prophesized that there would be a drought over Israel for three years.  As water became scarce,  God sent Elijah to Zarephath.  "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food” (1 Kings 17:9).  Sidon was a city in the land of Phoenicia, north of Israel.  It was the homeland of Ahab’s wicked wife Jezebel; a land of Baal worship.

The Miracle of Provision

As Elijah entered the town he saw a widow gathering sticks. He asked her for a drink of water and a piece of bread. She replied, "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread--only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug” (1 Kings 17:12a).  Elijah told her “For this is 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” (1 Kings 17:14).  Her circumstances were dire. She only had enough for a small meal for herself and her son yet she obeyed Elijah’s request.  God was faithful to His promise. “For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah” (1 Kings 17:16).

The Miracle of Resurrection

After a period of time the widow’s son became sick and died.  In response to the widow’s anguish Elijah interceded on her behalf to the Lord. “The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived” (1 Kings 17:22).  Upon receiving her son back the widow proclaimed,  “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth” (1 Kings 17:24).

The Miracle of Grace

Now let’s jump ahead to Luke 4.  Jesus had returned to His hometown of Nazareth. He was speaking on the Sabbath in the synagogue. “I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy  in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed--only Naaman the Syrian."  (Luke 4:24-27).

Have you ever considered how gracious our God is? He knew that the Jews would have hard hearts toward the message of the Lord.  He sent Elijah to a poor Gentile women who lived in a pagan land. Because of God’s grace not only did she witness two supernatural miracles but they brought her amazing blessings.  The Israelites were His chosen people whom He loved yet God’s plan of redemption was so much bigger than they could conceive.  Jesus offers redemption not only to the Jewish people but to us as well.  I praise God that because of His grace we can be included in His plan!!

"It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).