THE PROVISION THAT WAS PROMISED

I Kings 17:15-16, “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.”

We have followed the prophet Elijah from the Brook Cherith where he was fed by God using very unusual means, the ravens. Once God had taken some of the wind out of his sails, we saw him taken to the Gentile hot bed of Zarephath. This is hostile country. This was the place of Jezebel. And to make matter worse, Elijah is now forced to depend upon a widow who is in destitution herself. But we saw in last week’s “Challenging Concepts” that even though she doubted at the beginning of this test, she decided to obey the Word of the Lord and give Elijah her last meal.

In this test, God does not only have Elijah in mind, He also wants to do something in the life of this widow and her son.

This Gentile widow obeyed because the Word of the Lord commanded her, and also gave her a fantastic promise. Notice again the command and promise given in verses 13-14 “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. 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.”

Notice the two words “fear not.” Someone has said, “Fear actually is related to love, as are all passions. Love is an attraction for an object; fear is flight from it.”

God is saying through His prophet for the widow not to flee from this trial in her life. He has a special blessing in store for her and her son.

I wonder how many believers have fallen prey to “fear” and have not experienced all that God has for them. Fear can cause many problems in the life of the believer. I know first hand how hard it is to step out on a new venture.

Jesus knows each of us and our fears. He did with His newly called disciples. Notice what Jesus said to James, John and Simon Peter when He called these rugged fishermen to a ministry of reaching men and women: Luke 5:10 “And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.”

After Jesus had been crucified and was risen from the dead, the disciples were told to go into the city and He would show Himself to them. And here they were and they were afraid of the Jews. But notice what Jesus says to this fearful group: John 20:19 “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”

It is natural for the widow to be afraid to give the last bit of meal to this total stranger. She does take that step of faith and claiming that promise, she did what God had said. She took a step of faith and was rewarded for it.

What happened? What was the result? The supply did not run out. Isn’t that great? Think about this, if you will. This widow traded the certain for the uncertain and received the impossible in return. What a fantastic provision she received.

Let’s notice some insights into what God did for this widow:

1. NOTICE THE GRACE

Because this widow was willing to obey from the heart, God blessed her, her son and Elijah. While all around them people were starving, they enjoyed plenty. That’s Grace. This widow had learned to live by faith and God supplied her need. God always honors faith. Why? Faith honors God.

We should never be afraid to trust God. God will keep His promises.

2. NOTICE THE GREATNESS

Until it rained, every meal time was a miracle. She would go to the barrel, there it was. She would go to the jar, it still had enough. He took what she gave and made it last until it was no longer needed. We serve a Great God. Our God specializes in doing the impossible. Our circumstance may look hopeless at times, but we must never count God out. He takes the little that is dedicated to Him by faith and multiplies it to enormous proportions.

Do you emember the story of the 5 loaves and 2 fish that fed a multitude? I’m sure that little boy had no idea what was in store for him when he left home that morning. But because he was willing to give all, even though it was little, Jesus performed a miracle which not only touched many lives that day, but has continued to this day as people read what God did.

I love the song: “Little Is Much When God Is In It.” There’s a line in that song that says “There’s a prize and you can win it, if you’ll go in Jesus name.” That can apply to a widow in a Gentile town who obeys by faith and is rewarded for that faith. God is GREAT.

3. NOTICE THE GLORY

The glory of this story lies in the fact that the barrel and cruse were never full. It doesn’t say they had plenty because God filled the barrel to the brim. Elijah and the widow were taught to live day by day. The precious lady had to go to the barrel and scrape the bottom for every meal. She had to pour out the last drop of oil at every meal. Every meal brought another opportunity for that widow to give it all again, and again and again. They were taught to trust God day after day after day.

Can you imagine what this did for strengthening the faith of both her and Elijah? They saw the Lord provide day after day.

Elijah has seen God provide through the ravens and now through this specially prepared widow. He is being strengthen for greater ministry. On the other hand, this is the first test, as far as we know, on the part of this widow and she has passed with flying colors and is having a short lived faith strengthen day in and day out. This is the glory of this story.

Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t just drop a million dollars in your lap when a financial need arises? If that happened I have no doubt you and I would give all the glory to God. But that would not do as much for our faith as His provisions day by day. When I look back at our married life, there have been many financial needs that Grace and I have faced. God hasn’t seen fit to give us financial security as the world sees it, but we have seen Him supply day after day and has never let us down. Our faith may not be as strong as it should be, but it’s a lot stronger than it was years ago. And we give God all the glory.

What a lesson we learn from Elijah and this dear widow! Let me mention two last thoughts:

(1) God has always demanded our ALL.

(2) We must be willing to OBEY.

That’s my view; how about you?