Bible Men: Elijah: A Man of like Passions as We Are
And the word of the LORD came
unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon,
and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
1Ki 17:8-9
From
Lost Hope to Newfound Joy
From a brook and ravens into a Gentile city. The
changing scenarios of God’s providences. The world had been beautiful once. But
now the earth was as hard as iron. A drought had decimated the land, leaving it
bare, and shattering the hopes of many. Dust lifted on the footpaths and left
trails hanging in the air.
So Elijah arose to go to Zarephath, “which belongeth
to Zidon.” It is here he finds the widow woman gathering sticks for making her
last meal for her and her son, before she sits down and waits for death.
She didn’t mean to blurt out all her despair at once
to a stranger, but for the prophet leading her on towards her faith, as if step
by step.
And she went and did according to the
saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many
days. 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. 1Ki 17:15-16
And it is here that I note something remarkable.
That a miracle of God had indeed happened is quite obvious. But it is not until
the widow’s son dies and is resurrected, after much knotting of the soul, that,
finally, she acknowledges the obvious: “And 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”
(1Ki 17:24) .
Sometimes we acknowledge easily that God is God, but
other times it is only through a tremendous choking of the heart that we come
to a full acknowledgement that God is God.
In
Whose Name?
Another remarkable trait of this story is that this
widow woman had no proper name. We know her only by her town name of Zarephath.
And she’s not the only bible character without a
name. I remember the woman at the well in Samaria, the one who was living with
her sixth husband but Jesus did not call her a prostitute (to condemn is easy,
it is persuasion which is harder). And then we have The Good Samaritan.
I think there are instances when the name is
important and other times it’s not. We have all known the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob. But who was the woman who had an issue of blood for 12 years, or the
man with an unclean spirit, or the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus?
I think there are instances when it’s not the name
which is of import but the grace.
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins. Eph 2:1
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph
2:8-9
Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the
flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision
in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ,
being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants
of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in
Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of
Christ. Eph 2:11-13
Christ’s
Compassionate Heart
She’s a widow woman. And the Lord has great
compassion for widows and the fatherless children. Another people which are a
Bible favourite are prostitutes. “Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the
kingdom of God before you” (Mat 21:31b).
The above scene is also mentioned in the New
Testament concerning Elijah’s war with Ahab over the latter’s dabbling in false
prophets, in cahoots with his idolatrous wife Jezebel.
And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own
country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days
of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great
famine was throughout all the land; But unto none of them was Elias sent,
save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
Luk 4:24-26
The widow woman might’ve been very angry. She
might’ve thrown tantrums at the prophet. But God’s grace had rained on her. “I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain
thee.” How had God commanded her? I think through the
Spirit.
Quench not the Spirit. 1Th 5:19
Despise not prophesyings. 1Th 5:20
Today we have a feast. But tonight let’s also pray
for his grace, that tomorrow we might hear the birds singing again.
Do things look that bad? Remember the widow woman of
Zarephath.
Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 1Pe 4:9
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup
of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he
shall in no wise lose his reward. Mat 10:42
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory
by Christ Jesus. Php 4:19
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have
entertained angels unawares. Heb 13:2
