But Elijah Had Faith!

 

 

 

 

"And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail,
according to the Word of the Lord, which He spoke by Elijah."
(1 Kings 17:16)

 

Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath
Siegfried Detler Bendixen
(1786-1864)
German artist
Image courtesy/Pixels
 

 

An obscure widow woman, living in Zarephath ( now in Lebanon) was 
suffering because of the effects of the drought which had now been in effect 
two and a half  years. All she had between her and her son was a handful of 
meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse.  Along came the prophet, Elijah 
 and requested from this widow woman what seemed an impossible request.

She told Elijah she had no bread, only a handful of flour, and a little oil...
and that she was gathering a few sticks..."that I may go in and prepare 
 for me and my son, that we may eat and die" (1 Kings 17:12). 

Can you grasp the desperate situation here?

But Elijah had faith!  Imagine the poor widow giving her last morsel of bread
to someone else! Because of her faithfulness to the prophet, the bowl of flour
was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty!

If we could only learn this truth.  We must empty ourselves so God can fill us!

-Salem Kirban Reference Bible Commentary