The Meal and the Oil

From: Elijah the Tishbite By: William Woldridge Fereday

• 5 min. read • grade level: 8

Wherever the brook Cherith may have been (and the locality has not been satisfactorily identified), Elijah must have traversed many miles of country roads before he reached Zarephath. He would thus see for himself some of the havoc wrought by the drought. He could not have said with the Psalmist: “the pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing” (Psa. 65:13¹³The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing. (Psalm 65:13)). Instead, he would see barren fields, leafless trees and dry watercourses. The prophet might have said with Joel: “how do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate” (Chapter 1:18). As one who loved the people, Elijah could do no other than lament to see such conditions in the land of Jehovah’s choice, of which He said a little before the conquest: “it is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: a land which Jehovah thy God careth for: the eyes of Jehovah thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year” (Deut. 11:11-12¹¹But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: ¹²A land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. (Deuteronomy 11:11‑12)). But sin always yields bitter consequences. Let us beware lest we fall in some way under the disciplinary hand of God.

As Elijah drew near to Zarephath he would naturally wonder with whom he was to lodge. He had been given no address, and there were probably many widows in the place! How should he find the right one? Presently, he, saw a woman gathering sticks. Did he speak to God in silent prayer as Nehemiah did? (Neh. 2:4⁴Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. (Nehemiah 2:4)). This is a holy habit that we should all cultivate at every stage of our wilderness journey. (A beautiful example of pious exercise will be found in Gen. 24:42-48⁴²And I came this day unto the well, and said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: ⁴³Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; ⁴⁴And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for my master's son. ⁴⁵And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. ⁴⁶And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. ⁴⁷And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. ⁴⁸And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son. (Genesis 24:42‑48)). Did Jehovah indicate His will to Elijah as He did to Samuel in the house of Jesse? Samuel was sent there to anoint a king over Israel. All Jesse’s five sons passed before him, but the prophet had to say, “Jehovah hath not chosen these”; then, when the unthought-of David was fetched in from the fields, Jehovah said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he” (1 Sam. 16:1-12¹And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. ²And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. ³And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. ⁴And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? ⁵And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. ⁶And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him. ⁷But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. ⁸Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. ⁹Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. ¹⁰Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. ¹¹And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. ¹²And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. (1 Samuel 16:1‑12)).

When Elijah found himself face to face with the widow of whom Jehovah had told him, he asked her for a drink of water, much in the same way as the Lord Jesus asked a drink from the woman of Samaria. As the widow turned to fetch it, he said, “Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.” This request brought out the woman’s destitute condition. She said, “As Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a 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” (1 Kings 17:12¹²And 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. (1 Kings 17:12)). Truly, a pitiful story! It will be observed that she brought in the name of Jehovah. This is wonderful! While the foolish people of Israel were turning their backs upon the one true God, preferring the false gods of the Zidonians, we have a woman who, in spite of the unholy influences around her, believed that Israel’s Jehovah was the true God. In this she reminds us of Rahab (Josh. 2:9-11⁹And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. ¹⁰For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. ¹¹And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. (Joshua 2:9‑11)). It is important to remind ourselves that, although God has never at any time entered into covenant relationship with any nation but Israel, He has always had true saints (individual) elsewhere. Peter was constrained to acknowledge this as he entered into the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:34-35³⁴Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: ³⁵But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. (Acts 10:34‑35)). But the widow’s faith at the time of Elijah’s arrival was very low. She did not say “my God,” as Paul in Philippians 4:19¹⁹But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19). Her heart was indeed towards Jehovah (no other god had any place with her); but possibly she felt that He had quite forgotten her! Her language was that of despair; she was about to make her last cake; then she and her son would lie down and die!

When God’s governmental hand lies upon any nation, His own saints have to share, at least in measure, the circumstances of the ungodly, whose evil has brought down the stroke; but God’s saints may always have the sweet assurance that He cares for them, that His eye is upon every one, and He will not suffer any of His children to be tried beyond what they are able (1 Cor. 10:13¹³There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)). Thus, while others perhaps writhe and even curse under the hand of God, His own exercised children learn valuable lessons, and get much blessing out of adversity.

How true is the saying, “Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity!” Great blessings were now to be enjoyed in the widow’s home. She will remember throughout Eternity Jehovah’s This is blessing true for a faithful Israelite, but no follower of Christ in His rejection need expect to become a great landowner if he cultivates meekness, for it simply won’t happen!

We may picture to ourselves a happy contented household in Zarephath. The meal and the oil failed not, and the woman and her son had the benefit of Elijah’s profitable conversations and of his prayers. There was no home on earth more divinely favored at that time. The food is suggestive of that which nourishes the souls of the saints today; the meal speaks of Christ, and the oil of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s ministry of Christ through the written word keeps God’s saints well-nourished and happy in the midst of a discontented and unhappy world.

Dear Christian readers, do not neglect your food your spiritual food. Let your very countenances show, as in the case of Daniel and his three friends, that the will of God is good, and that its results are satisfying. Let it be clear and unmistakable that those who walk with God have an infinitely better portion than those who love the present world.

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