I’d like to speak this morning about faith. We are people of faith, amen? However, there are times when some of us struggle with not having enough faith. A broken relationship, news of a life-threatening illness, loss of a job, or your house burns to the ground, a normal response is to feel devastated and to be filled with fear.
Turn with me to 1 Kings 17:1
PRAY
Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” ESV
Our story begins with Elijah, a prophet of God, confronting King Ahab. In chapter 16, the king is described as one who, “did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.” (1 Kings 16:30) and “Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger, more than all the kings of Israel who were before him.” (1 Kings 16:33)
During one of the greatest religious crises in the history of the kingdom of Israel, God was still working. Even in our own nation today, God is still working. Dark times call for bright light. During this deep spiritual darkness in Israel’s history, God raised up Elijah. Elijah somehow gained the audience of King Ahab and told him, “There shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
1 Kings 17:2-5 ESV
"And the word of the LORD came to him: [3] "Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. [4] You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." [5] So he went and did according to the word of the LORD. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan.”
God told Elijah, “get out of here!” Not just for the obvious reason that his life was in danger by King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, but because God was more interested in working in him than he was in working through him. God said, Don’t just do something, sit there! We could learn from this today. In our busy and chaotic culture, there’s so much running. There are meetings, and appointments, and when we think we can catch our breath, there are emails and text messages. Then there are group emails and group text messages!
God is speaking to us today, “Hide yourself!”
In Isaiah 40:28-31 we are told, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
So Elijah waited. We must infuse into our hectic lives, the discipline of being still.
Elijaha stayed in a ravine, along a small tributary to the river Jordan. It was named Kerith, which means separated, and the name depicts perfectly Elijah’s situation – he was alone with God. During this time, God took very good care of Elijah. He had water. The ravens fed him breakfast and supper. He was on his own for lunch. He probably fasted…hence, the first fast food.
Verse 7 tells us, “some time later the brook died up.” The brook dried up! What a subtle suggestion that it was time to move on.
We are told in verses 8 and 9, “Then the word of the LORD came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”
This morning, I want to introduce to you a single mom, a widow with a young boy to take care of, and she is a woman of faith. She didn’t start out as a woman of faith, but she sure ends up a woman of faith.
Whoever you are, whatever your circumstances, and whatever your faith is like, you can become a person of greater faith. I call it flour power. I’ll explain why in a moment, but first let’s read from verse 10,
“So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink." [11] And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." [12] And she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die." [13] And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. [14] For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" [15] And she went and did as Elijah said. And Elijah, she, and her son ate for many days. [16] The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.” 1 Kings 17:10-16 ESV
In verse 8 the God directs him to go to Zarephath, which is located in modern Lebanon. It was not to be a vacation by any means. Zarephath, which means, fiery trial, depicts perfectly what his situation is going to be.
Notice, God doesn’t give Elijah much to go by. God is light on details here as He tells him in, “Go and live in Zarephath, where I have instructed a widow there to feed you."
So, does the woman have a name? What will she be wearing? What is her address? Does she know I’m coming? Do I meet her in the morning? What if I’m late? Does she have a criminal record?
As we relate this situation to our own lives. Each of us has been in a situation where we’d like for God to tell us more. God, could I please have more information? Lord, if you would only fill in the blanks, then I would believe. If we had the details in advance, then, we wouldn’t be walking in faith would we?
Like Elijah, we must walk the path in faith, even though we don’t know what’s around the bend, over the hill, or beyond the horizon.
When Elijah arrives, he finds the woman, front and center. They didn’t have Google maps, like today. That was so long ago, he would have had to look in the phone book. Elijah discovered that God had orchestrated everything to perfection.
In verse 10, He finds her gathering sticks, and Elijah asks for a drink of water. In the ancient Middle East, hospitality was a very big deal. It would be shameful for this woman to refuse him a drink of water. She may be broke, but she still has her dignity, so she heads for the water jar. Yet suddenly, as she is going to get the water he adds, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” Now he is asking for everything.
At this point the drought has been going on for about 3 1/2 years. She is trying desperately to take care of her son. Usually, a widow would have family to help take care of her. The Hebrew law, from Deuteronomy required that her husband’s brother was to marry her and make sure she was taken care of. THAT would make you extra careful who you married, wouldn’t it? But this woman apparently doesn’t have anyone. As a woman she has low social standing, and as a widow she has NO social standing. She is so much a non person, we never even learn her name.
Hold out your hand. Do you see? All she had was what fits in the palm of her hand. What, is that about 1/3 cup? She has practically nothing, and yet….God will use what she has in such a fantastic way. As she walked off to prepare that little meal, do you think that she had any idea that her story would be told for centuries?
When you’ve done everything you can do, that’s when God will step in and do what you can’t do. Paul understood how this works. He wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
When Elijah met this woman, she had nothing, everything was depleted, even her faith.
All that’s left is despair and utter hopelessness as she says in verse 12, “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.” If there ever was a phrase that spoke of faith – that was NOT it….and yet she is in a perfect situation for God to change her life!
At this point does she even know who God is? She is a pagan living in another land where they worship false gods. She is not a Hebrew, she is not a believer. She had very little to do with God, but God still had her in his care. You may identify with this desperate mom. Know this, God’s love for you is unconditional. Step out, like she did. With a teeny, tiny, twinkle of faith, she said, “As surely as the LORD your God lives…”
And in faith, in verse 15, “She went away and did as Elijah had told her.” Did you see that leap? The woman just did a whole row of hurdles. She goes from a person with no faith, to having a little faith, which compels her to be obedient, and very soon she has great faith. Amazing!
Elijah asks for the impossible. He asks to be fed first, which will take all she has. You see that in verse 13. He wants her to make the cake, bring it to him and then go back and make the other cakes. See, she cannot divide what is left to make sure she and her son gets some. She cannot make the cakes and then change her mind when she sees there is not enough left over. She must give away what she has first. By all logic and sense she is choosing death for herself and her son.
Listen closely as I present how Elijah encouraged her in verse 14 – in essence he spoke the Word of God to her, the powerful Word of God, “Don’t be afraid. 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.’”
Right there. The Bible tells us that faith comes, “By hearing the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17) I believe this was when something inside her said, “take the step.” It doesn’t make sense, it defies logic, it runs contrary to everything she may have ever done in her life, yet she turned to walk to her house…with something that she lacked just a few seconds before – real faith. Who could do this? Who could give up all they had, knowing that it would directly lead to their death, and their child’s death. I don’t think there is one of us who could. She couldn’t either, but God blessed her with the faith to take the step, and she responded. It is one thing to say you believe, and quite another thing to take action on that belief.
God doesn’t ask her to do anything way out of the ordinary does he? God doesn’t ask her to build some great church or be a missionary and travel to other lands. He doesn’t ask her to give up her house. He asks her to use her flour and oil and make a small piece of bread. Granted, it was all she had, but it wasn’t something that was beyond her everyday life.
God uses ordinary, everyday ways to build our faith. Yet notice it is a spiritual thing that hits her, not a material thing. She had to believe before she took action and made the cake of bread, or she wouldn’t have made it.
She was limited in what she could give, but God was limitless in how He would bless it. What she offered didn’t seem like much, but it was all God needed. Flour Power! Remember what Paul said? “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
This is how it works with God, we have a dim view of ourselves, we feel like we are nothing, like just a little bit of flour, what we have to offer isn’t worth anything, and yet God says, you are just what I want. Let go and watch me work! Flour power!
The woman let go and blessings from heaven opened up. It was like the manna from heaven, like Jesus with the loaves and fishes. The flour and the oil didn’t run out.
The great leap of faith that the woman experienced, that amazing moment, in time became routine. What was once so incredible is now expected: One more cake, one more fire….my faith, which is real, which believes to some degree, goes flat. It is just flour and oil after all.
Perhaps it’s like when God does extraordinary things in our lives. We experience answers to prayers, various miracles, you’d think nothing could cause us to ever doubt God again. Yet, the experiences accumulate. We take them for granted. The extraordinary seems ordinary. Elijah has got to be thinking, “This place is called fiery trial, and it has been nothing but endless eating, what in the world is around the corner?”
1 Kings 17:17-18 ESV
After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. [18] And she said to Elijah, "What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!"
In verse 17, we learn that the woman’s son became ill. He grew worse and died. Her son died. Ahh, there’s the fiery trial. For this single mother, what good is an endless jar of flour if her son cannot share in the blessing? Of course she is angry. She is traumatized when she said to Elijah in verse 18, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”
This woman has had an amazing miracle take place in her life, on top of that she has seen God’s faithfulness on a daily bases, but still the death of her son pulls the rug out from under her. There are times when life is too much for us to handle. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; [9] persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” (ESV)
Paul reminds us that though we may think we are at the end of our rope, we are never at the end of our hope. In a fallen world, with perishable bodies, suffering is expected, but God never abandons us.
1 Kings 17:19 ESV
And he said to her, "Give me your son." And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed.
In verse 19 we see Elijah step into action. At this moment, I can imagine what is taking place, the screams and agony from this mom, Elijah also being traumatized, He took the boy, perhaps out of desperation, to the upper chamber, the second story having no roof, allowed escape from the drama, or perhaps allowed him space so he could explde. I would imagine that Elijah did not take the boy without his mother letting him go. Like that moment where she turned to go make the cakes of bread, that moment where she let go instead of holding on – she does it again. Again, she finds herself in weakness and she let’s go.
1 Kings 17:20-24 ESV
And he cried to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?" [21] Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this child's life come into him again." [22] And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. [23] And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, "See, your son lives." [24] And the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth."
You know the outcome. God heard his cry, God answered his prayer, and the son lived.
Verse 24 reads, “Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”
I suppose before, she was like many of us. We believe in God, we know that He loves us, but it really doesn’t make much of a difference in our lives. Suddenly something happens which changes our level of faith and we are never, ever the same. This single mother began believing only for enough to see her through one more meal and then she would starve. Then, as God was faithful to her each day, building her faith, he prepared her for what lie ahead.
It’s something like how some of you learned how to ride a bicycle. Your mom or dad would walk next to the bike and hold it up while you peddled. All you had to do is peddle. They steered, they kept it from falling over. Then as you gained confidence and stability, they’d apply less pressure and before you know it, but they’re not holding on at all. You are riding the bike while your parent runs beside you.
Stop waiting for the details. Stop holding on to what you have. Stop holding on to that thing you have been holding on to – let go and let God. You’ve got flour power!
(A scripts taken from the ESV translation.
