The Widow from Zarephath: God Honors a Generous Heart
By Bill Valine
The humorist Erma Bombeck once wrote a book she titled “If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits?” If life is wearing you down and you are asking yourself that same question, you are not alone.
Life had been hard for the widow of Zarephath, too: Then the word of the LORD came to (Elijah), saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, 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.” (1Kings 17:8 – 12)
Life was hard. The woman was anonymous – we don’t even know her name: she was simply a widow. She was identified by tragedy, by the poverty that surrounded her, and by her dire circumstances. She didn’t even have enough money to buy the necessities of life.
She lived in a time of drought. We are not told how long she had lived through the years of famine and drought, but we do know that before meeting her in Zarephath, Elijah, by whose word the rain had stopped (1Kings 17:1), had spent an extended time living near the Brook Cherith (1Kings 17:2,7).
She had been struggling against famine, both in body and spirit, for so long that you can almost hear the weariness in her voice as you read the words, “We may eat it and die.” She had become resigned to her fate. Would you blame her if she wondered whether God even knew she existed, whether he even saw her?
Even when David struggled, he wondered if God had abandoned him: “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalms 13:1) But God had not abandoned him, nor had he abandoned the widow. He saw her, and he knew her.
God knew she lived near Sidon, which meant she was a foreigner surrounded by idolatry. Yet she accepted the man of God, who to her was the foreigner (v. 12). God saw that she acknowledged her sin (v. 18). He saw her generous heart: he knew that even in a time of drought she would show a stranger hospitality and with no hesitation give him a drink of water (v. 11). He knew she would be willing to share her last meal with Elijah (v. 15). He knew he could count on her, so he moved her to help Elijah in his need (v. 9).
This woman shows that there are no foreigners, no strangers, no orphans, and no second-class citizens in the kingdom of God. As he chose the widow and accepted her, he has willingly chosen us. He has adopted us (Rm 8:15 – 17), and we are fully accepted by him, with all the rights and privileges of a member of his family (Jn 1:12 – 13).
There are many times when we don’t see ourselves as God sees us. We compare our lives, filled with routine, mundane tasks, to others and find ourselves lacking. We think we have made too many mistakes, or we lack the talent, for our lives to hold any significance. But that is not how God sees us.
When he looked at the woman from Zarephath, God did not see her failures. He did not see her lack of resources as limiting her usefulness. He saw in her an opportunity to change the course of nations.
The widow had no idea just how significant the consequences of her gift would be. God had used Elijah to declare the drought; he planned to use Elijah to end it, but only at the proper time. During the drought, Ahab had searched for Elijah, even having the leaders of the surrounding nations swear they knew nothing of Elijah’s whereabouts (1Kings 18:10). The widow helped Elijah hide from Ahab, right in his father-in-law’s backyard!
At the right time, God used Elijah to show he was the true God by bringing fire down from heaven. God used Elijah to challenge the people to worship the true God. God saw His will done and the nations altered because one ordinary woman was willing to use what she had on hand to help a stranger in need.
The lesson for us is that there is great potential in even one ordinary person: How the Blacksmith Saved the Kingdom (A positive spin on the poem “For want of a nail.”)
The blacksmith replaced a horseshoe nail.
Because of the nail, the shoe was saved.
Because of the shoe the horse was saved.
Because of the horse the rider was saved.
Because of the rider the message was saved.
Because of the message the army was saved.
Because of the army the battle was saved.
And because of the battle the kingdom was saved.
All because the blacksmith replaced a single nail.
Like the widow of Zarephath, our actions are all significant in God’s eyes. Even our daily tasks, well performed, are important to him: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord (1Cor 15:58). And he promises to reward anyone who will be faithful: Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart (Gal 6:9). So, as we go about our daily lives, we should be encouraged: who knows what extraordinary consequences God may bring out of our all too ordinary actions.