The Widow of Zarephath
References: 1 Kings 17:8-24; Luke 4:25-26
Jump directly to previous Women of the Bible:  Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah,
Jochebed, Deborah, Miriam, Delilah, Naomi, Hannah, Michal, Bathsheba, Queen of Sheba

After the prophet Elijah had delivered God's message to Ahab that there would be no rain for three and a half years and was fleeing from the wrath of Jezebel, God told him to go to the brook Cherith and ravens would feed him there. He did so and the ravens brought him bread and flesh every day for some time. Eventually the brook dried up due to the drought and God told Elijah to arise and go to Zarethath (Sarepta) and that he had commanded a widow there to sustain him.

When he arrived there the widow and her only son were gathering a couple of sticks to make a fire and bake a small cake from the remaining meal and oil they had and then they would lie down and await to die. Can you imagine the prophet saying to her after she told him that to go ahead and do it but to make him a little cake and bring it to him first! But then he gave her a promise from the Lord that "the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth". We do not know that she knew he was a prophet but she evidently had some knowledge of the God of the Israelites and she obeyed his command.

For about two years Elijah abode with the widow and her son, but the son got sick and died. The distressed widow blamed it on Elijah and he told her to give him her son and "he carried him up into a loft where he abode, and laid him on his own bed" and prayed and then stretched himself upon the child three times praying that God would let the child's soul come into him again. "And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again and he revived."

The woman's testimony then was "Now by this I know that thou art a man of God and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth." God always keeps his promises. I think he has a special place in his heart for widows as we see in the scriptures he takes great care of them. Jesus himself made mention of this widow in the passage in Luke. Check it out.

In His fellowship, Celeste