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. 65:13). 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. 11:11-12). 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. 2:4). 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. 24:42-48). 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. 16:1-12).
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 17:12). 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. 2:9-11). 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 10:34-35). 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 4:19. 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. 10:13). 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.