Pastor Andy Davis preaches a verse by verse expository sermon on 1 Kings 17:7-16. The main subject of the sermon is Elijah’s interaction with the widow of Zarephath.
Pastor Andy Davis preaches a verse by verse expository sermon on 1 Kings 17:7-16. The main subject of the sermon is Elijah’s interaction with the widow of Zarephath.
– SERMON TRANSCRIPT –
Now, we’ve already seen in 1 Kings 17, last time we looked at verses 1-6. We talked about the historical background. It’s a terrible time in the life of Israel. Elijah was a prophet to Israel, the northern kingdom. One king after another, had been wicked and idolatrous, and so it was a terrible, terrible time. And suddenly, out of nowhere, this mysterious, powerful figure Elijah appears, and he says, “As the Lord my God lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither rain nor dew, except at my word.” And then he leaves. And he goes at the command of God. And God tells him to leave and go eastward, and hide in the Kerith Ravine east of the Jordan, and there he will drink from the brook, and he’s ordered ravens to feed him. And so, this unclean bird… He wasn’t allowed to eat the ravens. Now, I think that was wise of God, okay, because you can get hungry out in the desert. The ravens are off limits, but the ravens are going to bring food. And this is what happens. He obeyed the word of the Lord, in verse 6. “The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.” Now, this is a fascinating thing. He gets little bits of food. How much food could a raven carry? Think about it. I mean, you had to be patient if you were Elijah. Just little bits of food dropped out of the raven’s mouth. And you’re looking up to heaven. When is the next bird shipment coming in? It’s getting to be… My stomach’s growling. And so, it just caused him to grow in his faith and in dependence on God. And so, he is looking, and the ravens did care for him.
Now, beginning at verse 7 and following, “Sometime later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, ‘Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I’ve commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.’ So he went to Zarephath, and when he came to the town gate, a widow was there, and she was gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, ‘Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?’ As she was going to get it, he called, ‘And bring me, please, a piece of bread.’ ‘As surely as the Lord your God lives,’ she replied, ‘I don’t have any bread, only a handful of flour in a jar, and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat it and die.’ Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first, make a small cake of bread for me from what you have, and bring it to me. Then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of flour will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.’’” Verse 15, “She went away and did as Elijah had told her, so there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family, for the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.” Now, this again is part of God’s wonderful and strange way of dealing with people. I would not have done it this way. If we had put this whole thing together, we wouldn’t have thought of doing it this way. But God, I believe, is working in the life of Elijah as much as he’s working through Elijah to his people. What do I mean by that? Well, I think it has to do with two basic things over which we feel we should or do have control, namely, where we will go today and stay, and what we will eat today. And in these two ways, God is humbling Elijah and causing him not to move or to eat except at the word of God.
Now, both of these ideas have their roots in God’s dealing with the nation of Israel. Let’s look at the first one, and that is in Deuteronomy chapter 8. Turn back with me in Deuteronomy 8. Deuteronomy 8, in verse 1. Now, the context of Deuteronomy was that this was the second giving of the law, after 40 years of wandering in the desert Moses was about to lead the people across the Jordan into the Promised Land. Moses himself would not come with him. He had disobeyed God, and God would not permit him to enter the promised land. He would die on the other side. But right before he went up to the mountain where he died, he gave this, the second giving of the law. And it’s rich and it’s powerful and it’s relational. There’s a lot in here about loving God, and the law is woven together in a love relationship with God. But so also, now, is a history. Whereas the first giving of the law, none of this had happened yet, now we’ve had 40 years of the people of God out in the desert. 40 years of wandering in the desert. And this is what God says in Deuteronomy 8:1 through Moses. “Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised, on oath to your forefathers. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these 40 years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these 40 years. Know, then, in your heart, that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.”
Now, you know the story about the manna. The people were very concerned, and murmured and argued against God, and said in effect, “God, you’re a poor quartermaster. You brought this huge army of people out in the desert, and you haven’t provided food for us.” They spoke faithlessly, didn’t they. They didn’t understand that the God who created heaven and Earth had made plans for them to eat, and they should have trusted him. And so it was, the next morning there was manna on the ground. The word manna is just the transliteration of the Hebrew word for “what is it?” They went out and they picked it up, and “What is it?” And it had a sweet kind of coriander flavor, and they picked it up, and God gave them strict instructions about how it was to be collected. They were to collect only enough for a day. Only enough for a day. No, not just enough for one person for a day, you could collect as much as you want, but it was to be eaten that day. And so, some would be strong and vigorous and go out and collect a lot, and some were not as strong and they didn’t collect enough. But as they shared one with another, he who collected much didn’t have too much, and he collected little didn’t have too little, and there was enough for everybody. That was the plan, anyway. All right? Of course, the first time they didn’t do it right, they never obey, and they collected way too much and stored it up for a midnight snack, or something in the morning. You know how you get hungry. And what happened was the next morning there was maggots all over. It was just disgusting. And God was displeased with the people because they had not obeyed his command. What was he teaching them? He was humbling them and testing them. “You will collect only enough for today. I will give you enough food for today, and that’s all. Enough for today.” Of course, there was an exception in the seven-day cycle, wasn’t there, because they were not to collect on the Sabbath day. And so, the day before the Sabbath they were to collect twice as much as usual, and they were to store it over. Did they obey? No. They didn’t collect enough. And so, the next day they went out with baskets to collect. “How long must I put up with these people?” said Moses. “They don’t listen to anything you say.” Sooner or later, though, after 40 years, they got it, didn’t they? They collected enough, day by day, except that one day they collected twice as much and they had enough to eat the next day, so they did not labor on the Sabbath.
And so, this was a cycle of training, wasn’t it? Because eating is basic to life, isn’t it? It’s just a basic thing. You should be able to go to the fridge and get what you want out of it, right? Well, I think it’s a interesting thing that we Americans have. We’ve got enough and to spare. How long do you think you could go without going to the supermarket and not starve? Think about that. I’m not saying eat in comfort and eat the things you want. I’m not asking how long will your ice cream last. I’m not asking any of that. I’m asking how long do you think you could go and not starve? Probably a long time, longer than you think. You don’t need as much food as you think you do, as much as I think I do. All right? But it’s there. We store up for the future. And as you store up, you learn to not trust God anymore. But the people of Israel did not have that luxury. They couldn’t store anything up. And so they had to humble themselves. And so, the lesson was clear: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” What does that mean? Well, we know it’s been reiterated in Jesus’ life. Remember, Jesus went out, and for 40 days he ate nothing. The 40 days, I think, corresponds in some way to the 40 years of wandering in the desert. And so, for 40 days, he ate nothing. And at the end of the 40 days he was hungry. You remember that. And the tempter came to him and said, “If you’re the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” And he said, he answered, “It is written, ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Now, the first time I understood that and read it in Matthew 4:4, I said, “You know what that means? I need to have a quiet time.” Have you ever thought that way? “Oh, I need to read the Bible. I need to stay in the Word because man does not live in bread alone.” I really don’t think that’s what it’s saying. I think indirectly it’s saying that we need to feed on the word of God, but that’s not what he’s saying. What he’s saying is, “I don’t eat until God says so.” And that what Jesus is saying, in effect. Doesn’t that correspond better with the experience in Deuteronomy 8? He’s saying, “I’m not going to turn the stones into bread because I’m not going to eat until God says so. Now, if God tells me to turn the stones into bread, I’ll do it. And as much as he says that I will turn into bread, I can do it, but he hasn’t said so. And so, basically I’m waiting on God.” This is Jesus’ attitude now, “I’m waiting on God, and when he says so, I’ll eat again, and not until. And he hasn’t said so in 40 days.” Perfect obedience by Jesus Christ. And so, there’s a humbling going on here, “I’m not going to eat until God says so. I’m not. I’m not going to eat.” So it also was with movement. They wouldn’t even move except at the command of God.
Look at Numbers chapter 9. Numbers chapter 9:15 and following, “On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it.” Now, you know that cloud, the pillar of cloud, it says, “From evening until morning, the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire,” that was the pillar of fire, “and that’s how it continued to be. The cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out. Wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord’s command, the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in the camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days. At the Lord’s command, they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening until morning. And when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out. But when it lifted, they would set out. At the Lord’s command, they encamped and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order in accordance with his command through Moses.” Is this not the same lesson as the manna? Just as the lesson of the manna is, “You don’t eat until I say so.” Also the lesson of the pillar of cloud and fire is, “You don’t move unless I say so.” “At the Lord’s command, I eat and don’t eat. At the Lord’s command, I move and don’t move.” Now, the question I ask you is: do you live that way? Do I live that way? Do we eat only at the Lord’s command? Do we move only at the Lord’s command? It’s not natural to us, is it? We want sovereignty over these matters, don’t we? We want enough food, and we want freedom to go here and there where we choose.
“Now, the question I ask you is: do you live that way? Do I live that way? Do we eat only at the Lord’s command? Do we move only at the Lord’s command?”
Well, even Elijah’s like that, I think. So, look back at 1 Kings 17. God commands Elijah to go to a certain brook, Kerif, and he goes. He doesn’t move from there until God says so. He stays at the brook, Kerif. Do you wonder how he spent his time? Nothing to do there except pray and wait on the Lord, and he prayed and he waited on the Lord. And I’m sure he did some waiting on the ravens, too. Waiting on the Lord and waiting on the ravens. Meanwhile, sometime later, the brook started to dry up. Now, don’t you think Elijah knew the significance of the drying brook? He knew. He knew his days there at Kerif were numbered. Soon, the brook would be dried up entirely. You can’t live long without water. And so, he’s waiting on the Lord. And suddenly the Lord’s command comes to him in verse 9, “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there.” Now, why in the world would you go there? Now, this is significant. Jesus refers to this in Luke chapter 4. We’re not going to turn there, but in his first preaching in Luke, he’s preaching to his own people in Nazareth, and he unrolls the scroll, and he preaches from Isaiah, and he says, “Today, the scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” The people are astonished, and they’re amazed, and they speak graciously about him, and then he lays a bomb on them. And this is what Jesus does all the time. He says exactly the wrong thing, but it’s the right thing because he says it. He offends them deeply. And he says, “I want you to know that a prophet’s not held in honor in his own town, so let’s just go ahead and get into it today, because you’re going to reject me sooner or later. Let’s do the rejecting right now. There were many widows in Israel during the time of Elijah, but he wasn’t sent to any of them, but to a widow and Zarephath in Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Naaman the Syrian, but not one of them was cleansed, only the foreigner.” But what is Jesus saying? He’s saying, “My plans go beyond the parochial borders that you have. I’ve got my eyes on the whole world. I’ve got my eyes on the Gentiles, too. And you will reject me. They will listen, and so I’m going to them, ultimately.” The message is going far and wide, and they were bitterly offended at Jesus, and they wanted to kill him that day. But Jesus uses this experience of Elijah here to talk about God’s worldwide saving purpose, and also the fact that his ways are not our ways, and his thoughts are not our thoughts.
Now, if you were to trace out Elijah’s journey, you would realize he had to travel across a desert, so I think he probably took the last gulp from the brook, if there was a gulp left. I mean, when a brook dries up, there’s not much left but mud. And so, can you imagine that trip across the desert to the region of Sidon? It must have been horrendously difficult for Elijah, a real tough trial. And he gets there, and it says, “I’ve commanded a widow to feed you.” The interesting thing is, the widow doesn’t know it yet, okay? She’s not aware of the command. See, God had already commanded in himself, and it was a done deal, and he commanded Elijah to act accordingly, but the widow didn’t know anything about it yet. You see, God’s command goes ahead of the actual events. He knows the widow will obey, and it’ll work out just fine. But it’s a little bit touchy at the beginning. Now, one bit of irony happens right here at the start. Where is he commanded to go? He’s commanded to go to Sidon. Now, what’s significant about Sidon? Well, look back if you would to previous chapter, chapter 16:31, this is talking about evil King Ahab. Now, Ahab had unusual tastes in women, especially in a queen. He married Jezebel. Look at verse 31, “He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, King of the Sidonians.” Where do you think Sidonians live? Well, they live in Sidon. And so, Elijah gets sent to Jezebel’s hometown, basically. Now, don’t you think they’re looking for Elijah right now? It’s been a long time, now, and this guy shows up out of nowhere, proclaims a drought, and then disappears for a long time. And they’re looking everywhere. They would never think to look in Sidon, of all places. And so God sends Elijah right to the lioness’ lair, hometown of Jezebel. And he’s commanded a widow of Zarephath in Sidon to feed him. “I’ve commanded the widow to supply you with food.” In verse 10, “So he went to Zarephath,” the obedience of Elijah. He goes at the Lord’s command. Where the Lord says to go, he goes, and, “when he came to that town gate, a widow was there carrying sticks.” Now, how did he know that was the widow? Well, it doesn’t say. He just sees a woman there, and perhaps something inside his spirit says that’s the one, but it doesn’t say that. It could be that he’s just going to go on trial and error. So, she’s out there picking up sticks, and, “He calls to her and he asks, ‘Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?’” Now think of the physical side. He’s just traveled across the desert. It may even have been several days since he’s had something to drink. And so, he’s actually begging for water that he might survive. What’s interesting, though, is the drought has gone that far beyond the boundaries of Israel. The drought is including Sidon and other areas. And so, it’s not just God’s people that are judged here, but also the Gentiles as well.
Now, God is not unjust. The Gentiles were worshiping idols, too, and so God’s judgment can come down anytime. He sends rain on the evil and the just, and sun on the righteous and the unrighteous. But he can withdraw those blessings anytime he chooses, and he’s chosen to withdraw it from the Gentile regions as well. And so they’re under drought, and they’re under famine. And so, he asks for life itself. He asks for a cup of water, and she goes to get it. Now that’s a real sign, isn’t it, to Elijah? She’s willing to go get the water. She’s willing to listen. But then he pushes it a little bit too far at that point. He says, “Oh, and while you’re there, would you mind baking me a cake, something to eat?” Well, this is a little too much for the widow. Look what she says. “‘And surely as the Lord your God lives,’ she replied, ‘I don’t have any bread, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil and a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat it and die.’” So, it’s not looking good. They have enough for one more meal, and all the neighbors are out. She’s probably considering herself blessed that she still has that. That’s all there is left. And she’s going to make it for her and her son, and then she’s going to die. She doesn’t even have enough fuel for a fire. She’s got to go out and find some sticks. She’s poverty stricken, and Elijah says to her, “Don’t be afraid.” Now, isn’t that something? Don’t give in to fear, but trust. Only believe. Only trust the word of the Lord. “Go home and do as you have said, but first, make me a cake.” God tests us, doesn’t he? And so, he tests this widow and says, “Will you trust me? Make me a cake first, and then after that, you eat.” And then comes what she needs. Because faith comes by hearing, doesn’t it? It comes from hearing the word of the Lord. And so, you want faith, you’ve got to hear the promise. And he says, here’s the promise that you get: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. ‘The jar of flour will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.’” Now, it’s interesting how he says it. “The Lord, the God of Israel.” This is very similar to the interaction that Jesus had with the Samaritan woman. Salvation is from the Jews, so he’s humbling her too. It’s not going to be a Sidonian salvation, it’s going to be a Jewish salvation. “And I am a Jew,” says Elijah. “And as the Lord, the God of Israel, speaks, so it will be.” And so salvation comes from the Jews.
And all of us are gentiles. We need to accept that. We are grafted into a Jewish tree, aren’t we? We are Jews by faith. We’re Abraham’s descendants by faith. And so, salvation comes from the Jews. So, he humbles her, but then he gives her a promise. “The jar of flour will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.” Now, God could have done it a different way, but basically he says, “You know that little dribble you have at the bottom of your oil jar? Well, it’s going to still be there day after day. And that little last handful of meal, corn meal or whatever flour, it’s going to still be there the next day after you’ve scooped out that last amount.”
Now, he could have done it differently. Another time, later on, there’s a woman who needs a lot of money, and Elisha says, “Go get lots of jars, and just keep pouring,” and the oil just flows. And he says, “Go and take that and sell it, and you’ll have enough money to pay your debt, and you’ll have enough to live on.” And so, God could have done it that way so that there was an abundance of oil, but he chose not to do it that way. Instead, there’s just enough every day to live on. Does that sound familiar? Sounds just like the manna, doesn’t it? Day after day after day, they had to look to God and trust him and to believe that he would be faithful, and he was faithful. “She went away and did as Elijah had told her.” Faith apart from deeds is dead. But she obeys, and she makes the cake. “And there was,” in fact, “food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family, for the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping what the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.”
“Day after day after day, they had to look to God and trust him and to believe that he would be faithful, and he was faithful. “
Now, what’s the application to us? Well, I think the application is, first of all, don’t move and don’t eat except at the word of God. Learn to follow the way Jesus did. Learn to have Jesus’ attitude. “I’m not going to eat unless God says so. I’m not going to move unless he says so.” In this, you have to cultivate a prayer life, don’t you, just like Elijah. You have to be willing to listen and to move as he commands.
Secondly, have the faith of the widow. She was willing to trust God for something astonishing, something that had never been heard of before, that the little handful of oil and flour at the bottom would not run out. And how her faith was rewarded by ever-strengthening faith. Imagine the faith of the widow and the faith of Elijah and of the boy after a long period of time of this. Their faith is being bolstered day by day by day, looking to God. What are you trusting God for? Are you facing financial difficulties? Are you facing problems? Are you facing issues? Look to God and trust him, and trust in his promises the way they did.
Pastor Andy Davis preaches a verse by verse expository sermon on 1 Kings 17:7-16. The main subject of the sermon is Elijah’s interaction with the widow of Zarephath.
– SERMON TRANSCRIPT –
Now, we’ve already seen in 1 Kings 17, last time we looked at verses 1-6. We talked about the historical background. It’s a terrible time in the life of Israel. Elijah was a prophet to Israel, the northern kingdom. One king after another, had been wicked and idolatrous, and so it was a terrible, terrible time. And suddenly, out of nowhere, this mysterious, powerful figure Elijah appears, and he says, “As the Lord my God lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither rain nor dew, except at my word.” And then he leaves. And he goes at the command of God. And God tells him to leave and go eastward, and hide in the Kerith Ravine east of the Jordan, and there he will drink from the brook, and he’s ordered ravens to feed him. And so, this unclean bird… He wasn’t allowed to eat the ravens. Now, I think that was wise of God, okay, because you can get hungry out in the desert. The ravens are off limits, but the ravens are going to bring food. And this is what happens. He obeyed the word of the Lord, in verse 6. “The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.” Now, this is a fascinating thing. He gets little bits of food. How much food could a raven carry? Think about it. I mean, you had to be patient if you were Elijah. Just little bits of food dropped out of the raven’s mouth. And you’re looking up to heaven. When is the next bird shipment coming in? It’s getting to be… My stomach’s growling. And so, it just caused him to grow in his faith and in dependence on God. And so, he is looking, and the ravens did care for him.
Now, beginning at verse 7 and following, “Sometime later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, ‘Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I’ve commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.’ So he went to Zarephath, and when he came to the town gate, a widow was there, and she was gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, ‘Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?’ As she was going to get it, he called, ‘And bring me, please, a piece of bread.’ ‘As surely as the Lord your God lives,’ she replied, ‘I don’t have any bread, only a handful of flour in a jar, and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat it and die.’ Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first, make a small cake of bread for me from what you have, and bring it to me. Then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of flour will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.’’” Verse 15, “She went away and did as Elijah had told her, so there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family, for the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.” Now, this again is part of God’s wonderful and strange way of dealing with people. I would not have done it this way. If we had put this whole thing together, we wouldn’t have thought of doing it this way. But God, I believe, is working in the life of Elijah as much as he’s working through Elijah to his people. What do I mean by that? Well, I think it has to do with two basic things over which we feel we should or do have control, namely, where we will go today and stay, and what we will eat today. And in these two ways, God is humbling Elijah and causing him not to move or to eat except at the word of God.
Now, both of these ideas have their roots in God’s dealing with the nation of Israel. Let’s look at the first one, and that is in Deuteronomy chapter 8. Turn back with me in Deuteronomy 8. Deuteronomy 8, in verse 1. Now, the context of Deuteronomy was that this was the second giving of the law, after 40 years of wandering in the desert Moses was about to lead the people across the Jordan into the Promised Land. Moses himself would not come with him. He had disobeyed God, and God would not permit him to enter the promised land. He would die on the other side. But right before he went up to the mountain where he died, he gave this, the second giving of the law. And it’s rich and it’s powerful and it’s relational. There’s a lot in here about loving God, and the law is woven together in a love relationship with God. But so also, now, is a history. Whereas the first giving of the law, none of this had happened yet, now we’ve had 40 years of the people of God out in the desert. 40 years of wandering in the desert. And this is what God says in Deuteronomy 8:1 through Moses. “Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised, on oath to your forefathers. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these 40 years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these 40 years. Know, then, in your heart, that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.”
Now, you know the story about the manna. The people were very concerned, and murmured and argued against God, and said in effect, “God, you’re a poor quartermaster. You brought this huge army of people out in the desert, and you haven’t provided food for us.” They spoke faithlessly, didn’t they. They didn’t understand that the God who created heaven and Earth had made plans for them to eat, and they should have trusted him. And so it was, the next morning there was manna on the ground. The word manna is just the transliteration of the Hebrew word for “what is it?” They went out and they picked it up, and “What is it?” And it had a sweet kind of coriander flavor, and they picked it up, and God gave them strict instructions about how it was to be collected. They were to collect only enough for a day. Only enough for a day. No, not just enough for one person for a day, you could collect as much as you want, but it was to be eaten that day. And so, some would be strong and vigorous and go out and collect a lot, and some were not as strong and they didn’t collect enough. But as they shared one with another, he who collected much didn’t have too much, and he collected little didn’t have too little, and there was enough for everybody. That was the plan, anyway. All right? Of course, the first time they didn’t do it right, they never obey, and they collected way too much and stored it up for a midnight snack, or something in the morning. You know how you get hungry. And what happened was the next morning there was maggots all over. It was just disgusting. And God was displeased with the people because they had not obeyed his command. What was he teaching them? He was humbling them and testing them. “You will collect only enough for today. I will give you enough food for today, and that’s all. Enough for today.” Of course, there was an exception in the seven-day cycle, wasn’t there, because they were not to collect on the Sabbath day. And so, the day before the Sabbath they were to collect twice as much as usual, and they were to store it over. Did they obey? No. They didn’t collect enough. And so, the next day they went out with baskets to collect. “How long must I put up with these people?” said Moses. “They don’t listen to anything you say.” Sooner or later, though, after 40 years, they got it, didn’t they? They collected enough, day by day, except that one day they collected twice as much and they had enough to eat the next day, so they did not labor on the Sabbath.
And so, this was a cycle of training, wasn’t it? Because eating is basic to life, isn’t it? It’s just a basic thing. You should be able to go to the fridge and get what you want out of it, right? Well, I think it’s a interesting thing that we Americans have. We’ve got enough and to spare. How long do you think you could go without going to the supermarket and not starve? Think about that. I’m not saying eat in comfort and eat the things you want. I’m not asking how long will your ice cream last. I’m not asking any of that. I’m asking how long do you think you could go and not starve? Probably a long time, longer than you think. You don’t need as much food as you think you do, as much as I think I do. All right? But it’s there. We store up for the future. And as you store up, you learn to not trust God anymore. But the people of Israel did not have that luxury. They couldn’t store anything up. And so they had to humble themselves. And so, the lesson was clear: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” What does that mean? Well, we know it’s been reiterated in Jesus’ life. Remember, Jesus went out, and for 40 days he ate nothing. The 40 days, I think, corresponds in some way to the 40 years of wandering in the desert. And so, for 40 days, he ate nothing. And at the end of the 40 days he was hungry. You remember that. And the tempter came to him and said, “If you’re the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” And he said, he answered, “It is written, ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Now, the first time I understood that and read it in Matthew 4:4, I said, “You know what that means? I need to have a quiet time.” Have you ever thought that way? “Oh, I need to read the Bible. I need to stay in the Word because man does not live in bread alone.” I really don’t think that’s what it’s saying. I think indirectly it’s saying that we need to feed on the word of God, but that’s not what he’s saying. What he’s saying is, “I don’t eat until God says so.” And that what Jesus is saying, in effect. Doesn’t that correspond better with the experience in Deuteronomy 8? He’s saying, “I’m not going to turn the stones into bread because I’m not going to eat until God says so. Now, if God tells me to turn the stones into bread, I’ll do it. And as much as he says that I will turn into bread, I can do it, but he hasn’t said so. And so, basically I’m waiting on God.” This is Jesus’ attitude now, “I’m waiting on God, and when he says so, I’ll eat again, and not until. And he hasn’t said so in 40 days.” Perfect obedience by Jesus Christ. And so, there’s a humbling going on here, “I’m not going to eat until God says so. I’m not. I’m not going to eat.” So it also was with movement. They wouldn’t even move except at the command of God.
Look at Numbers chapter 9. Numbers chapter 9:15 and following, “On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it.” Now, you know that cloud, the pillar of cloud, it says, “From evening until morning, the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire,” that was the pillar of fire, “and that’s how it continued to be. The cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out. Wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord’s command, the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in the camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days. At the Lord’s command, they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening until morning. And when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out. But when it lifted, they would set out. At the Lord’s command, they encamped and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order in accordance with his command through Moses.” Is this not the same lesson as the manna? Just as the lesson of the manna is, “You don’t eat until I say so.” Also the lesson of the pillar of cloud and fire is, “You don’t move unless I say so.” “At the Lord’s command, I eat and don’t eat. At the Lord’s command, I move and don’t move.” Now, the question I ask you is: do you live that way? Do I live that way? Do we eat only at the Lord’s command? Do we move only at the Lord’s command? It’s not natural to us, is it? We want sovereignty over these matters, don’t we? We want enough food, and we want freedom to go here and there where we choose.
“Now, the question I ask you is: do you live that way? Do I live that way? Do we eat only at the Lord’s command? Do we move only at the Lord’s command?”
Well, even Elijah’s like that, I think. So, look back at 1 Kings 17. God commands Elijah to go to a certain brook, Kerif, and he goes. He doesn’t move from there until God says so. He stays at the brook, Kerif. Do you wonder how he spent his time? Nothing to do there except pray and wait on the Lord, and he prayed and he waited on the Lord. And I’m sure he did some waiting on the ravens, too. Waiting on the Lord and waiting on the ravens. Meanwhile, sometime later, the brook started to dry up. Now, don’t you think Elijah knew the significance of the drying brook? He knew. He knew his days there at Kerif were numbered. Soon, the brook would be dried up entirely. You can’t live long without water. And so, he’s waiting on the Lord. And suddenly the Lord’s command comes to him in verse 9, “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there.” Now, why in the world would you go there? Now, this is significant. Jesus refers to this in Luke chapter 4. We’re not going to turn there, but in his first preaching in Luke, he’s preaching to his own people in Nazareth, and he unrolls the scroll, and he preaches from Isaiah, and he says, “Today, the scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” The people are astonished, and they’re amazed, and they speak graciously about him, and then he lays a bomb on them. And this is what Jesus does all the time. He says exactly the wrong thing, but it’s the right thing because he says it. He offends them deeply. And he says, “I want you to know that a prophet’s not held in honor in his own town, so let’s just go ahead and get into it today, because you’re going to reject me sooner or later. Let’s do the rejecting right now. There were many widows in Israel during the time of Elijah, but he wasn’t sent to any of them, but to a widow and Zarephath in Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Naaman the Syrian, but not one of them was cleansed, only the foreigner.” But what is Jesus saying? He’s saying, “My plans go beyond the parochial borders that you have. I’ve got my eyes on the whole world. I’ve got my eyes on the Gentiles, too. And you will reject me. They will listen, and so I’m going to them, ultimately.” The message is going far and wide, and they were bitterly offended at Jesus, and they wanted to kill him that day. But Jesus uses this experience of Elijah here to talk about God’s worldwide saving purpose, and also the fact that his ways are not our ways, and his thoughts are not our thoughts.
Now, if you were to trace out Elijah’s journey, you would realize he had to travel across a desert, so I think he probably took the last gulp from the brook, if there was a gulp left. I mean, when a brook dries up, there’s not much left but mud. And so, can you imagine that trip across the desert to the region of Sidon? It must have been horrendously difficult for Elijah, a real tough trial. And he gets there, and it says, “I’ve commanded a widow to feed you.” The interesting thing is, the widow doesn’t know it yet, okay? She’s not aware of the command. See, God had already commanded in himself, and it was a done deal, and he commanded Elijah to act accordingly, but the widow didn’t know anything about it yet. You see, God’s command goes ahead of the actual events. He knows the widow will obey, and it’ll work out just fine. But it’s a little bit touchy at the beginning. Now, one bit of irony happens right here at the start. Where is he commanded to go? He’s commanded to go to Sidon. Now, what’s significant about Sidon? Well, look back if you would to previous chapter, chapter 16:31, this is talking about evil King Ahab. Now, Ahab had unusual tastes in women, especially in a queen. He married Jezebel. Look at verse 31, “He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, King of the Sidonians.” Where do you think Sidonians live? Well, they live in Sidon. And so, Elijah gets sent to Jezebel’s hometown, basically. Now, don’t you think they’re looking for Elijah right now? It’s been a long time, now, and this guy shows up out of nowhere, proclaims a drought, and then disappears for a long time. And they’re looking everywhere. They would never think to look in Sidon, of all places. And so God sends Elijah right to the lioness’ lair, hometown of Jezebel. And he’s commanded a widow of Zarephath in Sidon to feed him. “I’ve commanded the widow to supply you with food.” In verse 10, “So he went to Zarephath,” the obedience of Elijah. He goes at the Lord’s command. Where the Lord says to go, he goes, and, “when he came to that town gate, a widow was there carrying sticks.” Now, how did he know that was the widow? Well, it doesn’t say. He just sees a woman there, and perhaps something inside his spirit says that’s the one, but it doesn’t say that. It could be that he’s just going to go on trial and error. So, she’s out there picking up sticks, and, “He calls to her and he asks, ‘Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?’” Now think of the physical side. He’s just traveled across the desert. It may even have been several days since he’s had something to drink. And so, he’s actually begging for water that he might survive. What’s interesting, though, is the drought has gone that far beyond the boundaries of Israel. The drought is including Sidon and other areas. And so, it’s not just God’s people that are judged here, but also the Gentiles as well.
Now, God is not unjust. The Gentiles were worshiping idols, too, and so God’s judgment can come down anytime. He sends rain on the evil and the just, and sun on the righteous and the unrighteous. But he can withdraw those blessings anytime he chooses, and he’s chosen to withdraw it from the Gentile regions as well. And so they’re under drought, and they’re under famine. And so, he asks for life itself. He asks for a cup of water, and she goes to get it. Now that’s a real sign, isn’t it, to Elijah? She’s willing to go get the water. She’s willing to listen. But then he pushes it a little bit too far at that point. He says, “Oh, and while you’re there, would you mind baking me a cake, something to eat?” Well, this is a little too much for the widow. Look what she says. “‘And surely as the Lord your God lives,’ she replied, ‘I don’t have any bread, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil and a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat it and die.’” So, it’s not looking good. They have enough for one more meal, and all the neighbors are out. She’s probably considering herself blessed that she still has that. That’s all there is left. And she’s going to make it for her and her son, and then she’s going to die. She doesn’t even have enough fuel for a fire. She’s got to go out and find some sticks. She’s poverty stricken, and Elijah says to her, “Don’t be afraid.” Now, isn’t that something? Don’t give in to fear, but trust. Only believe. Only trust the word of the Lord. “Go home and do as you have said, but first, make me a cake.” God tests us, doesn’t he? And so, he tests this widow and says, “Will you trust me? Make me a cake first, and then after that, you eat.” And then comes what she needs. Because faith comes by hearing, doesn’t it? It comes from hearing the word of the Lord. And so, you want faith, you’ve got to hear the promise. And he says, here’s the promise that you get: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. ‘The jar of flour will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.’” Now, it’s interesting how he says it. “The Lord, the God of Israel.” This is very similar to the interaction that Jesus had with the Samaritan woman. Salvation is from the Jews, so he’s humbling her too. It’s not going to be a Sidonian salvation, it’s going to be a Jewish salvation. “And I am a Jew,” says Elijah. “And as the Lord, the God of Israel, speaks, so it will be.” And so salvation comes from the Jews.
And all of us are gentiles. We need to accept that. We are grafted into a Jewish tree, aren’t we? We are Jews by faith. We’re Abraham’s descendants by faith. And so, salvation comes from the Jews. So, he humbles her, but then he gives her a promise. “The jar of flour will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.” Now, God could have done it a different way, but basically he says, “You know that little dribble you have at the bottom of your oil jar? Well, it’s going to still be there day after day. And that little last handful of meal, corn meal or whatever flour, it’s going to still be there the next day after you’ve scooped out that last amount.”
Now, he could have done it differently. Another time, later on, there’s a woman who needs a lot of money, and Elisha says, “Go get lots of jars, and just keep pouring,” and the oil just flows. And he says, “Go and take that and sell it, and you’ll have enough money to pay your debt, and you’ll have enough to live on.” And so, God could have done it that way so that there was an abundance of oil, but he chose not to do it that way. Instead, there’s just enough every day to live on. Does that sound familiar? Sounds just like the manna, doesn’t it? Day after day after day, they had to look to God and trust him and to believe that he would be faithful, and he was faithful. “She went away and did as Elijah had told her.” Faith apart from deeds is dead. But she obeys, and she makes the cake. “And there was,” in fact, “food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family, for the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping what the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.”
“Day after day after day, they had to look to God and trust him and to believe that he would be faithful, and he was faithful. “
Now, what’s the application to us? Well, I think the application is, first of all, don’t move and don’t eat except at the word of God. Learn to follow the way Jesus did. Learn to have Jesus’ attitude. “I’m not going to eat unless God says so. I’m not going to move unless he says so.” In this, you have to cultivate a prayer life, don’t you, just like Elijah. You have to be willing to listen and to move as he commands.
Secondly, have the faith of the widow. She was willing to trust God for something astonishing, something that had never been heard of before, that the little handful of oil and flour at the bottom would not run out. And how her faith was rewarded by ever-strengthening faith. Imagine the faith of the widow and the faith of Elijah and of the boy after a long period of time of this. Their faith is being bolstered day by day by day, looking to God. What are you trusting God for? Are you facing financial difficulties? Are you facing problems? Are you facing issues? Look to God and trust him, and trust in his promises the way they did.
