Eat It & Die
Elijah knelt by the brook to quench his thirst. The LORD had led him there to drink and even to be fed. The ravens would bring him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening (1 Kings 17:6). This is where the LORD would provide for him and protect him after he had confronted King Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (1). Elijah prayed, and it happened. It stopped raining. He stood before King Ahab and all those who trusted in Baal, the false god of weather, and prayed to the one true and living God. It would not rain again until he said so. But confronting a wicked king with the fact that you intentionally caused a drought does not exactly put you on the royal Christmas card list. It was time for Elijah to run.
“Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, before Jordan,” the LORD instructed Elijah (3). And he did; Elijah obeyed the LORD and was provided for and protected as long as he stayed by the brook Cherith, and then after a while, the brook dried up (7).
“Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee” (9). This was strange. Widows were known to be poor. How was one expected to provide for Elijah? Maybe the LORD had found the only wealthy widow in the nation. Elijah headed towards Zarephath, but as he approached the widow, he knew that was not true. The lady was gathering sticks for firewood. Yeah, she was poor.
"Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink and bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand,” Elijah petitioned (10).
“As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die” (12). And Elijah said unto her, “Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and thy son.” The woman likely wondered what would cause this stranger to make such a request, but he assured her that God would provide all she and her son needed from henceforth, so she heeded Elijah's instructions (14-15).
Elijah was a notable prophet of God. He had just performed a spectacular miracle before the King and stuck it to Baal in front of all his prophets. God could have provided a five-star haven for Elijah, but instead He led him to drink from a brook and eat from the beaks of filthy birds. The prophet was forced to depend upon a poor widow for food. Why? Maybe God wanted Elijah to continue walking the straight and narrow. Perhaps it would have been easy for Elijah to get a big head after such a display of power. This was training day for Elijah. He needed to learn to depend solely upon God. Not to trust in his gifts but in the God who granted them.
The widow had to exercise faith in God to feed the strange man who asked for her last bit of food. She had made up her mind that she and her son would eat those few morsels and die. But, given the opportunity, she decided to trust God, and in trusting Him, she opened herself up to His service.
We would do well to learn trust and obedience from Elijah and the widow. We may not like where God sends us or how He chooses to provide, but His ways for us are best (Psalm 18:30). Elijah and the widow, both needing provision, put their trust in God to their good and His glory.
Maybe there is death in your sights. Maybe your business is on its last leg. Could it be that your relationship has come to a dead end? Are you sick? Is your family in turmoil, struggling financially? God’s methods may not seem fair, but when He is trying to mold you, let Him. When He is training you to depend solely upon Him, submit. And even though you may be experiencing hardship, when He gives you the opportunity to help another, do it. God has a plan; His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. They are high above (Isaiah 55:8-9). So, know that you do not have to just eat it and die. You can trust God; you can be obedient. You can “live and not die and declare the works of the LORD” (Psalm 118:17).
