1 Kings 17:8-248And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 9Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 10So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11And 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. 12And 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. 13And 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. 14For 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. 15And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 16And 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. 17And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 18And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 19And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 21And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. 22And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. 24And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth. (1 Kings 17:8‑24)
WHERE did God tell Elijah to go when the brook was dried up? He told him to go a great way off to a place where a poor widow lived, who would give him food. You know that a widow is a woman, who has lost her husband. Widows are generally poor, because they have no husbands to work for them: but this widow was very poor indeed, because, since there had been no rain, people could get very little food to eat, and so little corn grew in the fields.
But Elijah went where God told him. He went all across the land of Canaan, till he came to a town, just outside Canaan. Now the people who lived in this town were heathen people, and worshipped idols.
When Elijah was come to the gate of the town, he saw a poor woman gathering sticks, and Elijah knew that she was the widow who was to give him food: and Elijah called to her, and said, 'Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a cup, that I may drink.'
I do not wonder that Elijah was thirsty, for he had walked a long way, and there was now very little water in the land of Canaan.
Now this widow was so kind that she was going to fetch the water for Elijah. Then Elijah called to her again, and said, 'Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.'
Then the poor widow said, 'I have not got any bread; I have only a handful of flour in a barrel, and a little oil in a jar; and I was just gathering some sticks, that I might make a fire, and make the flour and oil into a little cake, that I and my son may eat it; and as we have no more food, when we have eaten it we must die.'
Would Elijah take all the poor widow's food? God had told Elijah what to say.
Elijah said to the widow, 'Go and make a little cake for me first, and afterward make one for you and your son: for God has said that there shall always be some flour in your barrel, and some oil in your jar, till He sends rain again upon the earth.'
What a wonderful promise this was! Did the widow believe it? Yes, she did. She went and made a fire, and mixed the flour and oil together, and made some bread for Elijah, and then she made some for herself and her son; and still there was flour in the barrel, and oil in the jar; and every day she found enough flour and oil to make bread for them all.
Elijah came and lived with this poor widow: he lived in a room upstairs in her house. I think it was a very small house. This widow found it was a good thing to have such a man as Elijah in the house. Why was it such a good thing? Because God made the flour and oil last. Besides this, Elijah could teach this poor woman about God; for you know that she had been brought up to worship idols.
Elijah loved God, and wished all people to love Him.
Now, you shall hear of a very sad thing that happened to this poor woman. One day her son, who was a little boy, fell sick, and he was so very sick that he died, and there was no breath left in him. The poor widow was very unhappy. She knew that God had let him die, and she thought that God was angry with her; and she wished that Elijah had not come to her house; and she went to Elijah, and spoke angrily to him. It was very ungrateful of her to behave in this manner. Then Elijah said, 'Give me thy son.'
Now, the widow was holding the dead child in her arms, and Elijah took the child in his own arms, and carried him to his own room, and laid him on his bed. Then Elijah began to pray to God. 'O Lord my God,' he said, 'hast Thou made this sad thing happen to the widow I live with? Hast thou killed her son?
Then Elijah stretched himself upon the child as it lay dead: he did so three times, and he prayed to God, saying, 'O Lord my God, I pray Thee let this child's soul come into him again.'
And the Lord heard Elijah's prayer; and He let the child's soul come into him again, and then the child was alive again. Then it was warm, and it breathed. O how glad Elijah must have been! How kind it was of God to hear Elijah's prayer! In this way God let the poor widow know that Elijah's God was the true God, and could make people live. Elijah took the child in his arms, and brought him downstairs, and gave him to his mother again, and said to her, `See, thy son is alive.'
Was she now angry with Elijah? O no. `Now,' said she, 'I see that you are a man of God, and that all you tell me about God is true.'
Now I hope the widow believed all that Elijah said, and I hope she loved the God Who had been so very kind to her and given her food, and made her child alive again.
God still hears people when they pray: but he does not always make children alive again; but He will make you alive again, dear child, when the last trumpet sounds, if you love Him. Some day perhaps your body will be laid in the ground, and then I hope your soul will be with God; and when Christ comes in the clouds, and the trumpet sounds, then your body will rise from the grave: and your soul and body will be joined together again. O what a happy day that will be!
Questions on Lesson 25
Was the widow, who fed Elijah, a heathen or an Israelite?
What food had she in her house?
What promise did Elijah make to her if she would feed him?
Did the woman believe this promise?
Why was the widow angry with Elijah?
How did Elijah show the widow that his God was the true God?
When will dead people be made to live again?