The Widow Series

2 Zarephath was quite a distance from Cherith.

• It was eight miles south of Zidon.

• It was thirteen miles north of Tyre.

• It was eighty miles north of Samaria.

• All summed up it was about one hundred miles for Elijah to travel.

a He had to walk it out. Twenty miles a day and it would have been nearly a week for him to walk this distance.

aa Constantly looking over his shoulder for the troopers of Ahaz to find him.

bb He had to camp out by the roadside at night and hunt or beg for any food he might have gotten.

cc Furthermore we cannot forget the famine and drought that was ravaging the land.

b Zarephath was the domain of Ethbaal, Jezebel’s daddy!

aa I imagine that Elijah knew that and he had to wonder why that God was leading him into Baal’s backyard.

bb The very fact that Elijah had brought judgment to Israel because of their allegiance to Baal it ironic because now God is placing him in the middle of it all.

3 He had spent a year at Cherith and he had no indication at all how long he would be in Zarephath. “Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there. . .”

a Elijah is also directed by God to dwell there. . . stay there. . . Here is another matter of the test. . . Sometimes staying in a place has its own set of difficulties too!

b What do you do in moments when God you are told to stay?

c You stay. . . But there is a crucial key to existing in those places:

C John 15:4-8 KJV Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. [5] I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. [6] If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. [7] If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. [8] Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

1 More fruit than we can imagine will grow when men and women are willing to put roots deep down in a place where God has called them to live in.

a Fruitfulness and dwelling . . . staying. . . settling. . . will always be connected.

• Strong families • Strong marriages • Strong churches • Strong people. . . the vast majority of the time are the results of just digging in and staying no matter what!

b That is one of the secrets to having great strength in the Christian life. . . Abide in the Lord and let His words abide in you!

2 Elijah, go and dwell in Zarephath. Even though it literally may be next door to Baal, God knows where you will be and that is all that matters.

B. The Widow—1 Kings 17:10-11

1 Kings 17:10-11 KJV So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. [11] And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

1 God used the unclean ravens to feed Elijah at Cherith and He used an unlikely widow at Zarephath to sustain him there.

a God had a widow that was going to feed and shelter him.

b Many commentators are at odds as to whether or not this woman was a true believer of Jehovah in the heart of Baal country or if she was just another person who God used to accomplish His purpose.

c If she was a worshiper of Jehovah, then her witness is just as substantial as that of the three Hebrew boys who did not bow to Baal.

aa She would end up putting her life on the line to help Elijah.

bb She was serving God right in Baal’s backyard.

2 If she was not a worshiper of Jehovah, you must believe that God ordained her to be just the person that Elijah needed to meet.

a Widows in biblical times: