Today's Scripture
Choices 1 Kings 17:8-24
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” 11 As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.” 15 She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son
17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 She then 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!” 19 But he said to her, “Give me your son.” He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed. 20 He cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” 22 The Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.” 24 So 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.”
RJ's Devotion
What does the passage say?
V.8-9 Elijah was commanded to go to Zarephath.
V. 10-16 There he meets the widow and asks her to bake for him. When she followed his request, God continued to provide for her need.
V.17-24 Later, her son dies, and she blames Elijah since she cannot blame God. Elijah carries the son and revives the young boy.
What does this passage mean to me/us?
It sounds harsh for Elijah to demand the women to bring him bread first, when she says, “I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die” (v. 12 NRSV). However, this woman, maybe out of disparity, meet his demand. When she offered, basically, all she had to the Lord, she also saw how God provided for her. The meal in the jar and the oil jug was never depleted. When we put God first, we will see God working in our lives.
Do we experience God providing in our lives?
Prayer
Lord, help us to offer all we have for you, even in the difficult times, so we will experience your hand working in our lives.
In Christ Name, AMEN.
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