1 Kings 17:16 KJV And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Elijah.
1 Kings 17 shows us the difficulties and blessings of Elijah’s life.
Elijah was one of God’s mighty prophets.
In the Old Testament, God spoke to His people through the prophets. When God’s prophets spoke, things happened. They spoke with the authority and power of God.
God told Elijah to go to king Ahab and declare a famine over the land of Israel.
Elijah told the king, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” (1 Kings 17:1)
After he delivered that word to Ahab, God told Elijah to go down and hide by the Brook Cherith which flows into the Jordan River.
God said, “You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did what God said.
His bread and meat were delivered by ravens every morning and evening, and he drank from the brook.
He had no creature comforts of life. The ravens only delivered one meal of food at a time.
Have you ever considered that God commands even the birds of the air?
When the Brook Cherith dried up, God opened up the second part of His plan to provide for Elijah.
1 Kings 17:8-9 NKJV Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
In the first phase of God’s provision, ravens were commanded to provide for God’s prophet. Now God said, “I have commanded a widow to provide for you…”
God commanded ravens and they brought bread and meat.
Now God commanded a widow to provide for him.
Watch this unfold. You can almost feel the excitement…
Has God ever told you, “I will take care of you?” Has He ever said, “Don’t worry, everything is going to work out?”
You need to know that Elijah did not know what to expect.
All he had was faith in God and the promise, “I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
You need to see that when God commanded, it appears that she did not get the memo.
This woman and her son were suffering from the drought. They were down to their last cup of flour and she was out scavenging for sticks to make their last meal.
God’s sources of deliverance do not always fit within our definition of “provision and blessing.” I can imagine that Elijah thought that she was a rich widow and had plenty of food and supply.
You have probably thought the same thing.
God said, “I will supply all your need according to my riches in glory.”
You did not know that you were going to eat up all of your resources. You did not know that you were going to be fed manna from heaven. You did not know that God was going to sustain you one day at a time.
We often think one thing and God is doing something different.
We think the well is deep and the water is cold. We think of a self-adjusting rest-o-pedic mattress. We think the pantry is full. We think of maid service and three meals a day.
Elijah went up to the widow’s house with anticipation…and faith!
The Lord said, “I have commanded this widow would sustain him for the duration of the famine.” Elijah was prepared to go and stay with no other promise than what God said.
When he arrived at Zarephath, the story continues.
1 Kings 17:10 NKJV 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.”
The woman was where Elijah was expecting to find her.
1 Kings 17:11 NKJV And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
1 Kings 17:12 NKJV 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.”
Have you ever been faced with information that did not match your faith-filled expectation?
God said: “I have prepared a widow who will sustain and provide.”
Just exactly what does that mean?
What does it mean when God promises that everything will be all right?
He did not find a fully stocked pantry. He did not see a jolly cook with loaves of fresh bread. He saw a thin…weak… widow woman and her frail weak son. She and her son were down to their last days. They were preparing to eat a small bite of food and die.
God said: “I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
You need to know that little is much when God is in it.
This woman only had ONE CUP of meal and a little oil in a jar.
She said it was just enough for one biscuit. She had no plans past that last meager meal.
The only thing the prophet of God could rely on was his faith in what God had said.
God said He had prepared this widow for this task.
Have you ever thought this is not enough?
What had the Lord done to prepare her for this task? She was physically reduced and had little to offer. Her only hope was in what the prophet said.
Listen to the word of the Lord that came from the man of God.
1 Kings 17:13-14 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.”For thus says the Lord God of Israel: “The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day the Lord sends rain upon the earth…”
This reminds me of Jesus telling the disciples to have the multitude sit down for a meal, when all they had was a few fish and biscuits.
Elijah and the widow had something no one else had.
They had God’s word. God said, “The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail.” Have you ever considered how this worked? Every time she went back to get some meal, there was some in the barrel.
It never ran out.
Many people want the meal and the oil to be multiplied before they are willing to obey God.
God had a miracle provision for them. They had God’s word on this. God said He would prepare a widow. He said she would sustain him. God said He would multiply the oil and the meal.
Philippians 4:19 NKJV And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
God knows what is going to happen in your life. You need to know that God has it under His control. When there was no way, God made a way. He specializes in things thought impossible. He is not limited by human supply.
The drought was terrible in the land.
Everyone was suffering and no storehouse was full of food. There was no shipment coming in at the grocery store.
God knows how to work it out.
This is the marvel of serving the awesome omnipotent God.
God knows how to work it out.
God can supply when there appears to be no supply. God knows how to work it out.
God has answers that you can count on!
You don’t have to try to make this work. You can count on God.
He is El Shaddai, the Lord Almighty.
When God revealed Himself to Abraham as El Shaddai, He said: “I am the Lord Almighty, I will multiply you and give you this land.” (Genesis 17)
God kept millions of His people as they wondered in the wilderness.
He took away from them all sickness and they were afflicted with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt. Their clothes did not wear out. God gave them bread from heaven and water from a rock in the wilderness and sustained them for forty years.
Remember what Jesus did when He walked on this earth.
- He was born to be our Savior.
- He lived to heal the broken hearted, give liberty to captives, and open prisons to those who are bound.
- He suffered and was bruised to carry our sickness and griefs.
- He died to pay the penalty for our sins and offenses.
- He was raised to justify us and present us to God.
- He lives forevermore to make intercession for us to the Father.
- Jesus said, “No one is good but God.” (Luke 18:19)
Here is the good news – God cares about you.
Matthew 6:25-33 NIV Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
God knows how to provide for your need.
He knows what is going to happen when He sends you to the widow’s house. We prefer the “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over” type of answers. We want a super abundant running over supply.
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. God may supply one day at a time and a little here and a little there.
When God works like that, you need to know that the barrel is not as empty as you think.
Our God has a limitless supply. His storehouse is full. You can trust the Lord God Almighty.
Don’t trust the barrel or the widow. Put your trust in God.
Matthew 6:25 ESV“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Another translation says: “take no thought for your life…”
1 Kings 17:16 NKJV The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.
I like the way the New Living Translation says this.
1 Kings 17:16 NLT For no matter how much they used, there was always enough left in the containers, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah.
The barrel of meal could not be used up and the cruse of oil did not fail.
There is no way to reason this out.
God works where things seem impossible. He knows how to multiply oil and meal. He can do what no one else can do.
Psalms 37:25 KJV I have been young, and [now] am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread.
You can trust God!
Watch what that widow woman did.
1 Kings 17:15 NETShe went and did as Elijah told her; there was always enough food for Elijah and for her and her family.
God will not let you down.
The barrel is not as empty as you think!
Your heavenly Father knows what you have need of and you can trust Him. He will carry you through and supply your need. He will fix it for you. He is your Healer and Deliverer. He is the Savior and Holy Ghost Baptizer. He is the Wonder Worker.
He can do it for you.
