The brief account of the widow’s oil illustrates Yahweh’s blessing of those who are faithful to the Mosaic Law. Yahweh provides a means of income for the widow, a “pastor’s wife,” and her family.
In the miracle of the widow’s oil, we learn valuable lessons on how to receive God’s blessing of provision in times of need. We shall find out how to desire, expect, and take hold of God’s supply in difficult times.
We will walk through the severity of the problem of the widow, the size of the potential of the widow’s faith, and the scope of divine provision.
The Severity of the Problem
The story begins with a cry for help from one of the wives of “the sons of the prophets” (2 Ki.4:1). Who were these sons of the prophets? They were not physical sons, but spiritual sons of the great prophets, Elijah and Elisha. They were male students of these men of God. They were junior prophets and future prophets. They are what we would call today, Bible college or seminary students who are preparing for ministry. They lived in small faith communities throughout the land—similar to the seminaries of today.
Some of these sons of prophets were married. Like the Old Testament priests and Levites, they could marry. They could live with their wives. God does not require celibacy from His servants.
Do you know that many Bible college students struggle to pay for their tuition and meals? Are you on the look out for needy Bible students? Maybe you assume that they are like you—sufficient. No, they are not. Rather, they badly need your prayer and financial support, especially married students.
That is the situation in verse 1. A pastor’s wife is left with her husband’s debt. Unfortunately, he died before he could pay off his debt. It is now up to his grieving widow to pay it off. The problem is—she could not pay it. Being a widow means poverty in those days. She had no source of income. She could not pay her bills. She faced two overwhelming problems—death and debt.
Now the creditor is coming to get her two kids to become his servants, to pay off the debt. Such is the severity of the problem. You might think that this is a terrible way to pay the debt. In the Law of Moses, if you could not pay your debt, your creditor has the right to claim payment by taking your children as servants. They will have to work for him until the year of Jubilee. But servanthood is not forever. In the year of Jubilee, the creditor is required to release them (Lev. 25:39-41; Ex. 21:7).
It is possible that the father pledged her two sons as guarantee. It is also possible that economic oppression has caused this situation (Amos 2:6; 8:6; Mic. 2:9). The creditor now comes to collect by taking the two sons.
Does this sound familiar? Have you experienced severe problems with no solution? What do you do when you face problems that you cannot solve?
The widow did not say, “Lord, is this how you reward your servants who fear You?” She did not complain. She did not borrow money from other people. She did not turn to family or friends. She turned to God. In spite of the severity of her problems, she trusted God. Like her husband who feared God, she walked by faith. She may have lost everything. Yet she has not lost God. So she turned to God. She turned to Elisha—the prophet of God, the man of God, the representative of God.
When you do not understand why things happen, have faith in God. When you run out of solutions, keep trusting God. The Psalmist said, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 121:1-2). Even though you do not understand everything, keep believing in God. Your help comes from the LORD of heaven and earth. Even though you will lose everything, you will never lose one thing. You will never lose the God of love and the love of God. So keep trusting in the God who cares for you.
The Size of the Potential
Notice what Elisha did not tell her. Elisha did not say, “Ok, you should let go and let God.” Elisha did not say, “It’s okay. God will provide.” Instead, Elisha makes her participate in a miracle of God. He asks the first question, “What shall I do for you” (2 Ki. 4:2)? There is a note of Elisha’s decisiveness to meet a need here (2:19-22; 4:1-7; 6:1-7).1 Yet there is more to it. Elisha seems to be saying, “As the prophet of God, what shall I do for you, in behalf of God?” In asking this question, Elisha is making her take part in a miracle. He is opening the windows of heaven for her. God has heard her cry. God is about to do something for her.
You have to expect God to do something for you, for His glory. Yes, expect God to do something wonderful. Do you believe that God is about to do something wonderful for our church? I expect God to give us a sizeable lot in Cebu. I believe God will give us a Christian school someday. I believe God will help us plant two house churches by 2011. If we are to preach the Gospel, expect God to do something powerful and mighty with our church!
Then Elisha asks a second question, “What have you in the house” (2 Ki. 4:2)? With this question, he is asking her to join in a miracle. He is involving her in a miracle. This is what I mean by the size of the potential. God is drawing out the faith potential of the widow by drawing out the size of her faith. The scale of her obedience to God’s Word measures the size of her faith.
It is not enough to trust God while doing nothing. You have to join God in what He is going to do. You join God by taking a step of faith. What do you have in your house, Elisha asks. The tools of blessing are something she already has, not something she does not have.
What do you have right now? Do you have some money, some talent, some clothes, or some word of encouragement? God can use that as a tool of blessing. Oftentimes, God blesses us with what we already have. What God requires only is a heart fully committed to do His will!
The widow answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil” (v. 2). The “jar of oil” is a little flask of olive oil. They use it for ceremonial anointing. Oil can fetch a high price. It was an export product from Palestine.2 One little flask of olive oil was the only valuable thing left by her husband. The pastoral couple was poor.
I remember how much Rev. Andres and Dr. Norfelly Pepito left behind for their children—nothing! They labored hard planting churches here and there in Masbate, Cebu, and Bacolod City. Unlike many pastors today who would sell their souls just to go the USA, they declined their chance one time. They chose instead to labor in a third-world country as the Lord led them. They worked for the things of heaven and not the things of earth. What little land they had, they sold to a church they planted in Bacolod City for a very low price. They left behind no house and lot or money in the bank. Yet they left behind thousands of disciples for Jesus.
Think about it. The only thing that will last forever is what you do for Christ today.
The dead husband left nothing but a jar of olive oil. A jar of oil is but a small thing. But God can turn a small thing into a big thing! What little thing do you have in your life today? God can turn that little thing into something wonderful for His glory! That is the size of your potential!
Then Elisha told her what to do in vv. 3-4. She is to go around her neighbors. She is to gather as many containers as she can. She is to go inside her house and shut the door behind her. It shall be a private miracle, not a public one.
It is in the private moments with God that you will see the work of God! Someone said that when we work, we work. But when you pray, God works! Do you or your family spend time with God alone? It is in those private moments with God that God works!
The widow and her kids shall see the work of God before their eyes. She is to pour the oil in each container. When the container is full, she is to set it aside. Then she is to fill up the next container and the next.
Did she follow Elisha’s instructions? Yes, she did. “And as she poured they brought the vessels to her” (v. 5). The Hebrew is clearer. The verb “poured” (Heb. yatsaq) is a hiphil participle, signifying causative, continuing action. She pushed herself to pour the oil on every container. She just kept on pouring and pouring and pouring with all her heart!
If you expect God to do something for you, you have to obey God’s Word for it. True faith in God results to obedience to God. Faith that fails to obey God is a false faith. James said that faith without action is dead (James 2:17). Faith in God without action is a dead faith. The faith that trusts God is the faith that obeys God.
The Scope of the Provision
“When the vessels were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another vessel.’ And he said to her, ‘There is not another.’ Then the oil stopped flowing” (2 Ki. 4:6). When did the oil stop flowing? It stopped flowing when the last jar got filled. It stopped flowing up to the last jar.
The number of containers she collected measured the extent of her faith. How much she trusted God is determined by how many containers she collected. There was no limit to the oil. Yet the number of containers available limited the oil. Likewise, God’s supply is unlimited. But oftentimes, our lack of faith limits it.
Alan Carr tells the story of two men who went down to a lake one day to do some trout fishing.
One man had a strange habit. Every time he would catch a trout he would pull out a little ruler and measure it. If the trout measured larger than the ruler he would throw it back. So strangely enough he kept all of the little trout that he caught, but he threw back all the big ones.
Well his partner watched that all day long, and as they prepared to leave he looked at him and said, “I can’t stand this any longer. I have never seen a man fish like you in my life. . . . You’ve kept all of the small trout and thrown back all of the big ones. . . . Why did you do that?”
The man said, “Because I only have an eight-inch frying pan.”3
The oil of God’s presence, power, and provision is limitless. God can fill us with His limitless presence, power, and provision. But we limit Him by the small container of faith that we have. We limit Him by our unwillingness to obey Him. When we stop obeying Him, He stops filling us. We limit Him when we bring to Him vessels that are not empty, but filled with sin and selfishness. If sin fills our hearts, then there is no room for oil.4 We have to come to God with hearts empty of sin, so that God can fill us with the oil of the Spirit.
You may say, “If she only collected more containers, she would have received more oil.” The answer is she did. “She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest” (2 Ki. 4:7). She is to sell enough oil to pay all her debts. Then she and her sons can live on the rest of the unsold oil. There is still enough money to buy food. This means that she collected many containers. She and her sons must have borrowed all the containers in the neighborhood that there was nothing left to borrow. That is a sign of great faith in God!
The scope of the provision depends on two things—the size of your faith in God and the step of your obedience! The size of God’s supply depends on the size of your faith. Jesus said, “According to your faith let it be done to you” (Matt. 9:29, NIV). The size of God’s supply depends on the step of your obedience.
When did the oil start flowing? The oil started flowing when the widow started pouring. It was only when she acted on her faith, and only when she obeyed God’s Word, when the blessings came flowing.
Have more faith in God! When God promises something to you in His Word, take His Word for it and obey Him! Then expect God to do something wonderful before your eyes.
Conclusion
The God of the Old Testament is not the God of some churches today who overlooks your physical needs. He is not the God of some who just say, “God bless you,” while withholding the blessings of God (James 2:16). Rather, He is the God who provides money for the poor widow. He gives a child for the childless. He supplies food for the hungry.
Likewise, the gospel of Jesus is not the feel-good gospel of some churches that overlooks the poor. The gospel of Jesus is good news for the poor, the hungry, and the sick of this world (Lk. 4:18; 6:20-21).
You may be facing challenges, difficulties, or obstacles today with no solution in sight. Let me ask you—what do you have right now? God can bless you with what little you have today. Nothing is too small for God to bless you.
God will only fill hearts empty of sin. If we keep sin in our hearts, there is no room for the oil of God. Turn from your sin and God will fill you with His Spirit.
How much God provides you depends on how much you trust God and obey Him! Therefore, consecrate your life to Him!
ENDNOTES
1 Hobbs, 2 Kings, 73.
2 James A. Montgomery, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Kings (ICC; ed. Henry Synder Gehman; New York: Scribner, 1951), 366.
3 Alan Carr, “When You Reach the End of Your Rope.” Cited November 27, 2010. Online: http://www.sermonnotebook. org/oldtestament/2Kings4_1-7.htm.
4 Dilday, 1, 2 Kings, 273.
