Women with a Story to Tell: The Widow at Zarephath.

As the kingdom of Israel wore on, a succession of unfaithful and power-hungry kings failed in their commission to shepherd the people of Israel. As things went astray, and the priests tended to side with the administration; that's where the power, money, and privilege was. As part of the loyal opposition, God raised up itinerant prophets to remind the government of its duty and to tell the people outright not to follow such kings.

One of the fiery prophets was Elijah, whom we have met in his protest against King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. Here is his introduction into the story. 

 “Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the LORD the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word’” (I Kings 17: 1). 

 The word of God then came to Elijah and told him to flee eastward and take refuge in a wadi (a nearly dry creek bed) near the Jordan River. There, ravens came bringing him food. When the wadi dried up completely, God sent him westward to Zarephath which is near Sidon on the Mediterranean coast (in modern Lebanon). God said, “for I have commanded a widow there to feed you” (I Kings 17: 9). 

 It is interesting that God commands the attention of the environment, the rain and the ravens, and God seems partial to working with people of low status, in this case a widow living with her young son. Proud kings and queens, self-absorbed military officers and priests do not listen to God, but the humble do. Their obedience is crucial in God carrying out his plan. 

 When Elijah got there, the widow was destitute. Elijah asked for a little water and bread. The widow then told her story.

“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; now I am 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” (I Kings 17: 12). 

 This widow appears not to be an Israelite since she lives in Phoenician territory. This assumption is confirmed by Jesus at a much later date when he made the point that “there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon” (Luke 4: 25-26).

 Perhaps that is why the widow says, “As the LORD your God lives.” Sidon was in the middle of the realm of Ba'al worship, that was her environment. But God through Elijah is about to show her signs that the God of Israel is the God of all the nations, the Creator of all that there is, and thus the Master of the environment as well. Will she become a believer?

 “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. For thus says 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’” (I Kings 17: 13-14).

 This is a critical time for this woman. She is a widow and thus in a marginal position in society. She is “the mistress of the house,” as it says later, but she has little to manage since her store of food will be empty after the next meager meal. There is no margin for error, at least in a world where God's presence is not considered. And, she has a young son to care for, so she is not being selfish, she is being responsible.

This widow is in a vulnerable position. She lives in difficult economic times, she is without protection, and she is harboring a foreign political refugee under her roof. What should she do? Should she call homeland security, or should she listen to God? 

 This non-Israelite decides to put her faith in YHWH, the God of Israel who turns out to be the God of Phoenicia and Palestine and Syria and all the nations. The text says, 

“She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 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” (I Kings 17: 15-16), 

 And for that, her story is recorded in Scripture. Further, this widow was remembered by Jesus; how great is that? Now, we too honor this foreign woman who received God’s grace and showed hospitality to God’s prophet during difficult times. She is the Widow at Zarephath.