So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household. Sermons
I. HOW ITS CONDITION BECAME KNOWN. 1. Elijah came to Zarephath in quest of the widow. (1) Such were his instructions (vers. 8, 9). But was there only one widow in this city of "smelting furnaces" (comp. 1 Kings 7:14), this hive of industry, this centre of population? How, then, is he to discover the right one? (2) God knows her, and that is enough for the prophet. The Word of the Lord who came to him at Samaria and at Cherith will now guide him. (See Isaiah 42:16.) (3) Let us follow the light we have and God will give us more. So was Abraham's faithful servant guided to Rebecca (Genesis 24.) 2. He found her at the gate of the city. (1) She was there on an errand of her own, viz., to gather a few dry sticks to kindle a fire to cook her last meal in this world. (2) She was there also, though unknown to herself, on an errand from God. She was commanded to sustain the prophet of Israel (3) Yet these two errands harmonize. God uses man's purposes to work out His own. Man proposeth; God disposeth. 3. He readily identified her. (1) He asked her for water, which, with admirable promptitude, she went to fetch. This was the sign by which Abraham's servant identified Rebecca (Genesis 24:14). The cup of cold water has its promise of reward (Matthew 10:42). (2) Then he asked for bread, which further request opened the way for the whole truth, "As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but," etc. (ver. 12). From these words it is evident that she recognized Elijah, at least as an Israelite, and probably as the prophet of Israel; for he was a person of pronounced individuality. His profusion of hair, probably, placed Elisha in such contrast to him that Elisha was mocked as a "bald head." (Comp. 2 Kings 1:8, and 2 Kings 2:23.) II. How ITS RESOURCES WERE MAINTAINED. 1. By the miracle-working power of God. (1) "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." This supplied not only the guest but the widow and her son for two years and a half. As Bp. Hall remarks, "Never did corn or olive so increase in the growing as these did in the using." (2) This miracle was similar to that of the manna. The off was used as butter for the meal, and the taste of the manna was like fresh oil (Numbers 11:8). Also to Christ's miracles of the loaves. (3) The lessons are the same. The miracles all teach that "man lives not by bread alone, but by the word of God." That this spiritual food is the gift of God. That it differs essentially from the bread that perishes. Not only is it imperishable, but it multiplies in the using, grows as it is dispensed. How delightful were the spiritual feasts of that two years and a half in the widow's dwelling [(See Revelation 3:20.) 2. Through the faith of the widow. (1) She was predisposed to believe. God saw this, else He had not honoured her with His command to sustain his prophet. (See Luke 4:24-26.) Let us ever live in that moral fitness to be employed by God. (2) This disposition was encouraged. She waited for something to justify her faith in God, and she got it: "And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said," de. (vers. 13, 14). She knew that the word of the Lord was with Elijah And this instruction to make first a little cake for the prophet was according to God's order. (See Numbers 15:20, 21.) (3) She proved the genuineness of her faith by her works. "She did according to the saying of Elijah." By works faith is perfected, And God justified the faith that justified him. - J.A.M.
She went and did according to the saying of Elijah. I. THE TREATMENT HE RECEIVED WAS VERILY THE MANIFESTATION OF THE WOMAN'S MIND TOWARDS GOD HIMSELF. Were it otherwise, it would be hard to point out anything in which we could be pronounced as doing it for, or contrary to the will of Almighty God. He has Himself, however, placed this matter beyond all dispute, for He has said, "He that giveth to the poor leadeth to the Lord"; and Christ represents the judgment scene in telling you that He will welcome His people with the assurance, "Inasmuch as ye did a deed of charity unto one of these My brethren, ye did it unto Me."II. THIS GIFT IS TO BE NO ACT OF NECESSITY, BUT ONE OF PURE OBLATION To grudge while you give, or to give because the necessity of fashion, or custom, or demand is laid upon you, is to spoil the gift altogether. That is but half a gift which is not brought freely home. It is one thing to give of our substance in obedience to a reiterated request; it is another thing to bring it unto God freely and with delight. III. OBSERVE WHAT IT IS WHICH GOD DEMANDS? Satan, the world, or vanities, let these obtain your service, and you are speedily enhanced in their thraldom, and all is sure to be at length drawn into and swallowed in their insatiable vortex. You cannot, even if you would try deliberately to make the compromise, arrange for the bestowment of a certain portion of your means, or time or thought, upon unhallowed pursuits. All absorbing is the power of sin. The energies of body and mind insensibly flow into its channel, and the votary becomes the slave, and ultimately the ruined victim. But what is His demand of you, whose service is perfect freedom? Not so much as He has a right to demand; far less than many, moved by His grace, are willing to bestow. Sin, which absorbs all if it can, is but a robber at the best, for it can lay claim to no sort of right whatever, while God, who has a right to all, demands but little. What I do here claim, however, is, that though the requirements of God be comparatively small, they are, nevertheless, universal. IV. NO ACT FOR GOD IS PERFORMED WITHOUT HIS FAVOUR, and the "blessing of the Lord it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it." (G. Venables.) People Ahab, Elijah, ZidonPlaces Cherith, Gilead, Jordan River, Sidon, Tishbe, ZarephathTopics Ate, Eat, Eateth, Elijah, Eli'jah, Family, Household, SayingOutline 1. Elijah, having prophesied against Ahab, 3. is sent to Cherith where the ravens feed him. 8. He is sent to the widow of Zarephath 17. He raises the widow's son 24. The woman believes him Dictionary of Bible Themes 1 Kings 17:15Library Elijah Standing Before the LordAnd Elijah the Tishbite ... said ... As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand.--1 KINGS xvii. 1. This solemn and remarkable adjuration seems to have been habitual upon Elijah's lips in the great crises of his life. We never find it used by any but himself, and his scholar and successor, Elisha. Both of them employ it under similar circumstances, as if unveiling the very secret of their lives, the reason for their strength, and for their undaunted bearing and bold fronting of all antagonism. … Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Inexhaustible Barrel Answered Prayer. Answer to the Jewish Rabby's Letter. Whether it is Praiseworthy to Enter Religion Without Taking Counsel of Many, and Previously Deliberating for a Long Time? Whether Divination by Drawing Lots is Unlawful? Sovereignty of God in Administration Importance in Luke's History of the Story of the Birth of Christ A Cloud of Witnesses. Kings Links 1 Kings 17:15 NIV1 Kings 17:15 NLT 1 Kings 17:15 ESV 1 Kings 17:15 NASB 1 Kings 17:15 KJV 1 Kings 17:15 Bible Apps 1 Kings 17:15 Parallel 1 Kings 17:15 Biblia Paralela 1 Kings 17:15 Chinese Bible 1 Kings 17:15 French Bible 1 Kings 17:15 German Bible 1 Kings 17:15 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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