Elijah and the Widow

In the previous blog, I began a short series on the life and times of Elijah - the prophet whose story we find in 1 and 2 Kings. The role of a prophet like Elijah was to speak on behalf of God in order to draw the hearts of the people back towards Him. They said what nobody wanted to hear, often directly to the leaders or kings of their day. It was a lonely and dangerous call to follow.

King Ahab of Israel was described as one of the most evil kings of Israel. One of the issues was that he brought the worship of the pagan god Baal to a people who were supposed to have no other god’s above Yahweh. Baal was believed to be the god of fertility - the one in control of life, and by extension, the rain. But God wanted to prove to the people of Israel that there’s only one Lord in the land, and so God sent Elijah to King Ahab to tell him that God would stop the rain until further notice.

After telling Ahab that God was going to withhold the waters from the earth because of Israel’s sin, Elijah found himself near a brook, living off food sent to him by ravens. In the middle of a drought, he experienced God’s provision in a special way. But the drought was a hard lesson for all of the people in Israel, as one leader’s refusal to listen to God led to dire consequences for the most vulnerable. 

It may have seemed easy as Elijah sat in the Kerith ravine, eating the food brought to him by ravens and drinking from the brook. But when the drought hit, even that brook dried up. In 1 Kings 17, God told Elijah to go to Zeraphath. The drought affected the people there too. When he arrived, Elijah encountered a widow who was gathering sticks to make her and her son a final meal before they died. 

We don’t exactly know how Elijah felt when he heard of this mother’s plans; but what happened next was an infusion of hope as Elijah shared God’s grace and provision with a poor widow who was bearing the brunt of King Ahab’s idolatry. 

Elijah asked her for some water and bread, but she told him that she had nothing except for a little flour and oil. The widow didn't reject Elijah, but it seemed she’d lost hope in ever getting enough food to eat again after this last meal. Elijah told her not to be afraid. He simply instructed her to make some bread and then told her that the flour and oil wouldn’t run out until the rain came back again. 

That's a crazy promise. Elijah asked her to trust that God would provide for them even in the midst of the drought. The widow’s faithfulness stands in contrast to Ahab’s disobedience. Ahab led the people away from God and into injustice. God stopped the rain so that they would learn who the true provider is. But stopping rain is one thing. God’s showed His power to the widow so that we would learn that God can create and provide in ways we would never expect.

And what happened? 1 Kings 17:18 tells us that “there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.”

But the trouble for the family didn’t end there. Some time later, the son of the woman got sick and stopped breathing. His mom, understandably upset, asked why this would happen to her. Elijah, after taking the boy into another room, cried out to God, wondering why this tragedy had happened at all. Elijah prayed and pleaded with God for the boy to live again, and amazingly, he did. The boy then returned to his mother, his lungs full of breath.

When I read stories like this, I often have questions about the plausibility of it all. Was the boy really dead? How did Elijah have the praying power to raise him? Should we pray for resurrection when our loved ones die? Why doesn’t God just give some people more breath like He did for the boy?

“Not only is God in control of the rain in order to give life, but God is in control of all life, full stop.”

As difficult as it may be for us to discern stories of life and death, we must remember that the text itself isn’t concerned with these kinds of questions. In fact, there are at least a couple things going on here. First of all, God’s power over life is on full display. Not only is God in control of the rain in order to give life, but God is in control of all life, full stop. The creation stories in Genesis emphasize that when God formed humanity from the dust of the earth, He breathed life into us. We belong to God’s created order, and so, our breath is in God’s hands. 

The people of Israel were living in conflicted times with many outside influences that were pulling them away from following God alone. The questions this story raises remain with us today: Which God can actually give life? Which God should we follow? 

By now, in Elijah’s story, we are starting to build our answer. We can either choose Baal, from whom we have heard nothing so far. Or we can choose the Lord God, who displayed His power over His creation by stopping the rain. He showed His provision to Elijah through the beaks of ravens. He sustained a widow and her family by keeping their stores of flour and oil flowing in the middle of a drought. And He showed His power over death by giving life to the widow's son.

As much as we don’t like to think so in our Western society, there are many other gods that are trying to convince us that they can bring us life. We are told that we will find life and meaning through money, fame, successful careers, technology, entertainment, and materialism. But just like Israel in the time of Elijah, we are constantly reminded through Scripture and the Church that life comes through God alone. Our allegiance and trust belongs to our Creator.

The story of Elijah and the widow foreshadows new life to come. If God could bring new life to a boy, then why not to a nation that turned away from Him? Why not to a King who’s led the people astray? If God can give new life, then that new life is available to us all. God’s invitation to journey on the path to life is always open, and we are invited to put our faith and trust in Him. As dim as the situation may seem, there’s always hope for new life because God is in control of it all. God, the giver of life, gives us breath. Even when we lose it or choose to walk away from it, new life is always at the ready. 

In the next blog, we return to the drama between Elijah and Ahab and prepare for an epic showdown!