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:
• Often very poor
• Lived lives that were very hard
• Was at the mercy of any who might help
• Was at the mercy of any who might try to harm
b The dilemma of widows was something that had to be dealt with by the early church in Acts 6.
aa Even in the Pastoral Epistles, Paul instructs Timothy and Titus concerning widows.
bb But just as God was testing Elijah, there was a test involved for this widow.
cc She literally was in a place of scrapping the bottom of the barrel and God was putting her in the cross hairs of a test.
dd However we all need to be reminded that in places of testing we also discover the power of God’s blessing. No matter who you are. . . there will be a test.
c Fetch me water. . . Bring me a morsel of bread. . . That is how the test looked to this widow.
aa Generally when you find yourself in a place of testing, a place that demands sacrifice, a place that requires going the extra mile, we can experience a host of choices:
• Be selfish
• Doubt and be discouraged
• Rationalize and offer excuses. . .
bb Or you can determine to pay the price no matter how high the cost seems to be. Far too often we cry out to the Lord to deliver us out of the test that He intends to walk us through it.
3 Misconceptions about this matter in the Christian life can be a great source of pain and misunderstanding that the devil would love to use to take advantage of us.
a You will have agonizing dilemmas, dark doubts, and closed doors to endure and none of it means that you are any less loved by God. . . it just means it is life!
b The sooner we see that then the more safe we become in our walk with God.
C. The Widow’s Response to the Request—1 Kings 17:12-14
1 Kings 17:12-14 KJV And 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. [13] And 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. [14] For 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.
1 This poor widow’s response to Elijah helps us to see far deeper into the situation. She tells him that she doesn’t have a whole lot to give, in fact what she does have will only keep her and her son alive for just a few more days.
a This widow had come to a place that the majority of people will get to at least once in their lives.
aa Her future was dark and she was not expecting to last very much longer than just a few more days.
bb You have met more than a few people like that.
• I only have just enough money to make it until Tuesday and payday is not until Friday.
• I have just enough to take care of myself and my family there isn’t any way to help anyone else.
• I have lain awake at night wondering, wondering, wondering how this thing could work out.
• I have lost my joy and my feeling for life because of the empty barrel and empty bottle.
• I can give you a drink but I cannot afford to give you a piece of bread.
b In the face of all of her explanation, Elijah could have just given up and said, “You’re right! Maybe you are not the one God has in mind to help me.”
c But that was not his response at all. He told her to “fear not.”
2 “Fear not” is a phrase that is found sixty-two times in the Bible. Many of those times are when God was speaking directly to His people.
a • It came from God in when His servants were confused.
• It came to others in times when they were fearful of the outcome of a situation.
• It came when people were in physical pain.
• It came when some needed a sense of direction.
• It came when men were facing great adversity.
• It came when a covenant between men was honored.
b Now it is coming from a man that God has His hand on to a widow who can hardly see past her tomorrow.
aa God’s “fear nots” always reach beyond our tomorrows.
bb Elijah promised her that the meal would not waste and the oil would not fail. . . until the Lord made a future provision for her.
D. Confidence In the Word of the Lord—1 Kings 17:15-16
1 Kings 17:15-16 KJV And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. [16] And 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.
1 She went and did. . . That is the key to the whole passage.
a This prophet whom God was smelting and refining had to depend on something that appeared to have very little resources.
b But just as Elijah had left the brook Cherith and obeyed. The widow obeyed and the prevailing plan of God was worked out.
2 Our obedience just as Elijah’s and this widow’s hinges on God’s hand of action in our lives.
a We come to believe, then to repent, then to baptism in Jesus name, and then receive the Holy Ghost.
b We also come to know that holy living, holy praying, and holy involvement in the Kingdom is a part of us bringing water and the morsel of bread.
c In responding to the Word of the Lord, we are brought to a place of confidence:
• A confidence to have access to God—Eph. 3:12
• A confidence to do the things that we have been commanded to do—2 Thess. 3:4
• A confidence that will remain to the end—Heb. 10:35
• A confidence that can ask anything and He will hear us—1 John 5:14
d Confidence and obedience will always be very closely related to each other.
III. CONCLUSION—TRUST IN THE LORD
-It would almost appear as to a running theme throughout these first three messages on Elijah. . . You have to trust in the Lord. . . no matter what.
Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. [6] In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Psalms 37:3-7 KJV Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. [4] Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. [5] Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. [6] And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. [7] Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
-Perhaps there is a lengthy trial that you cannot seem to shake free from in your life. We have to remind ourselves that God’s “prophet of fire” went through a 3 ½ year famine and drought and mixed all through it was the hand of God in action. If it could sustain Elijah, the same holds true for us!
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Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
