What've You Got Series

So why was it written? To show us that we need to obey God’s commands and believe God’s promises.

You’ll remember Elijah from 1 Kings and his confrontation of the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel we looked at that story last week. When God spoke to Elijah in the Wilderness of Sinai this was part of the message; 1 Kings 19:16 Then anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah to replace you as my prophet.

Now I love the account of how Elijah announced the news to Elisha.

1 Kings 19:19-21 So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field with a team of oxen. There were eleven teams of oxen ahead of him, and he was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and walked away again. Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, “First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!”

Elijah replied, “Go on back! But consider what I have done to you.”

Elisha then returned to his oxen, killed them, and used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the other plowmen, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.

Did you catch what he did? He killed his oxen, broke up his plow, built a fire with the wood and had a BBQ. Why? He was saying for everyone to hear; I have started a new life and the old life is finished. Perhaps there are some oxen that need to be killed and some plows that need to be burned in your life.

Well you know the story, in 2 Kings we read that Elijah was swept up to heaven in a chariot of fire, have you ever wondered about the song “Swing Low Sweet Chariot coming for to carry me home”? And it was to Elisha that the widow came. This morning we need to take a look at the widow and what we can learn from her story.

2 Kings 4:1 One day the widow of one of Elisha’s fellow prophets came to Elisha and cried out to him, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”

First of all 1) She Knew What She Didn’t Have. The widow didn’t try to fool herself and she didn’t try to fool Elisha. She came right out and told him she had no money, no husband, possibly no children and no hope. She knew what she didn’t have. And in that regards she may be a step ahead of some of us.

What are you missing in your life? Maybe it is a financial need although it’s doubtful that anyone in this group goes home to a no heat and no food. Theodore Parker was an American pastor in the 1800’s and he once commented “As society advances the standard of poverty rises.” And so what constitutes poverty today would have been unimaginable 50 years ago. But sometimes our needs are financial; it was Woody Allen who said “Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.”

Often times though are needs are much more serious then mere finances. Perhaps your needs are physical maybe sometimes you think “I would give everything I have if only I didn’t have to suffer with. . .” and you can fill in the blank. Or perhaps it’s an emotional need, you’ve been estranged from a loved one, you’re harbouring unforgiveness or resentment toward someone.