Oil, Meal and Two Sticks
Pastor Ken Crow
1 Kings 17:9-16 (King James Version)
9Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
10So 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.
11And 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.
12And 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.
13And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.
15And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16And 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.
I want to start out this morning by saying that this is a message the Lord gave me personally a few weeks ago when it seemed like everything was going the wrong way.
Today, He has laid it on my heart to share what he shared with me.
For this widow woman it looked like all would fail. In fact she and her son were about to eat their final meal. She was at the bottom of her barrel. This morning someone feels they are at that place. But I have good news for you in what God brought to my attention through his Word.
She had three things and we will examine those three things this morning.
1. She had two sticks.
The two sticks were to start a fire. The two sticks in this message represent the cross.
Look what sticks can do when turned over to the power of God .
Exodus 4:2-4 (King James Version)
2And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
3And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
4And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:
Numbers 17:6-8 (King James Version)
6And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.
7And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.
8And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.
2 Kings 6:5-7 (King James Version)
5But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
6And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
7Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.
2. The Widow woman had a small measure of meal.
The meal this morning represents the bread of life, the Word of God.
Luke 4:1-4 (King James Version)
Luke 4
1And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Luke 11:2-3 (King James Version)
2And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
3Give us day by day our daily bread.
John 6:31-33 (King James Version)
31Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
3. The Widow woman had a little cruse of oil.
Our oil this morning represents the Holy Spirit.
John 14:26 (King James Version)
26But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Matthew 3:11 (King James Version)
11I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Acts 1:8 (King James Version)
8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 9:31 (King James Version)
31Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
What we see here represented is God represented by the sticks for the fire as God and the cross consume as a fire.
Deuteronomy 4:24 (King James Version)
24For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
Jesus represented by the meal, the bread which is the Word of God.
John 1:1 (King James Version)
John 1
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Luke 22:19 (King James Version)
19And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
The Holy Spirit represented by the oil.
Psalm 23:5 (King James Version)
5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over
This widow woman had these three . Today you may feel you have reached the end of your rope, the bottom of your barrel . But today you can have these three.
And if you take Jesus into your heart you will have them.
Genesis 22:13-14 (King James Version)
13And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
14And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
God Will Provide.
God Bless and Amen
