The Lord Will Provide

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“‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah” (1 Kings 17:14–16).

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

The times are tough. King Ahab rules Israel, and he is considered to be the worst, wickedest king of all, which is something considering the notorious history of Israel’s kings. To compound his own evil, he has married Jezebel, princess of Sidon; and among other things, Queen Jezebel will be known in history as the one who particularly plagued Israel with the worship of false gods. She will also be remembered as one who “cut off the prophets of the Lord” (1 Kings 18:4), depriving the people of the Word of the Lord. These are dark days for Israel: as the people follow the lead of their king and queen and turn away from God increasingly, God withdraws His protection more and more. It is not that He is unfaithful, but that they do not want to have Him around.

Among the prophets not cut off is Elijah. He has just been sent by God to tell Ahab that, because of his sin, there will be a terrible drought in the land. The drought will last for years; and with it, there will be famine and starvation. After preaching this Word, Elijah hides at a brook until the drought runs it dry. After that, the Lord sends the prophet to a town called Zarephath. Zarephath is in Sidon—Jezebel’s hometown according to some. It’s easy to imagine that Elijah is spending quite a bit of time looking over his shoulder.

And to whom is Elijah sent? To a poor widow and her son. There’s no social safety net in Zarephath, no EBT cards, no food pantries. Without a husband, widows have few options for maintaining a household even in the best of times. And this is not the best of times!

We find the woman at the city gate gathering sticks to make a fire, and with that fire, she plans to use the last of her flour and oil to bake a little bit of bread. Once that morsel is gone, there is no more food. As far as she knows, this is their last meal.

So, there you have it. That’s the setting for our text. Wicked rulers. Widespread drought and starvation. A prophet on the run. A widow and son with no food. It’s a grim scenario.

There is reason for hope, though—hope in what we do not see. Where a prophet of God goes, he speaks God’s Word. And God’s Word has been spoken in Sidon before. It was not so long ago that nearby King Hiram reigned, a friend and ally of both David and Solomon. There’s no reason to believe that this widow is not a believer—that when she says, “As the Lord your God lives,” she is speaking of the Lord of whom she has heard. In fact, the Word of the Lord tells the prophet, “I have commanded a woman there (in Zarephath) to feed you.”

When Elijah arrives, he calls to her and asks for a cup of water. Normally, that’s a simple request, but remember that there’s been a drought and water is scarce. Still, the woman goes to get some; but before she can, Elijah has another request: “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” Here, she balks. “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in in a jug. And now 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.” It’s an accurate description, one to which we probably find hard to relate. Where there’s no food, death follows. That is life and death in this sinful world, and that is what she sees.

But faith trusts in what it does not see. Faith trusts in what it hears from God. So, the prophet speaks the Word of God to the widow: “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.”

The natural reaction would be disbelief, unbelief. Put yourself in her shoes: you’ve got one meal left during a famine, and a stranger appears and tells you that God said to give it to him instead. But by faith, the woman trusts the Word that Elijah speaks, and the Lord keeps His Word. She feeds Elijah; and lo and behold, there’s enough food left for her and her son. Not just that day, but for many days, as long as three years, however long it was before the drought ended. The Lord always keeps His Word: in times of plenty and in times of want, the Lord always keeps His Word.

But you’re not in Zarephath; are you? Elijah lived many centuries ago; and since then, the world has changed a lot. At the same time, though, there are some ongoing themes throughout history, many of them troubling. There will always be a mixed bag of rulers and authorities. There will always be natural disasters, poverty, and scarcity. There will always be anxiety, worry about the future and rebellion against God. There will always be death until the Lord returns. I leave it to you to ponder which of these most trouble you.

Of all these troubles, there is one that stands out the most: it is the scarcity of the Word of God. Where the Gospel is proclaimed, people repent and believe. They are made alive and enjoy God’s favor. Where the Gospel is not preached—where it is replaced by some other message of some false salvation, such as politics, science, philosophy, there is no true grace and life to be found.

But here’s the Good News: While it may be scarcely found, God’s Word is still found. And this is the clearest connection between our Old Testament lesson and you, here, today. For where the Word of God is proclaimed, miracles happen.

And the same God proclaims His Word to you today.

Where the Word of God is proclaimed, miracles happen. You see this in the text: Elijah spoke God’s Word, and the flour and oil didn’t run out. The household stayed alive throughout the famine. Likewise, God continues to provide daily bread for you today; and while you do not hear Him speak outside of Scripture, you know that He creates by speaking. He provides daily bread ultimately by His Word.

Where the Word of God is proclaimed, miracles happen because God is at work. Do not dismiss the miracles that happen here. The Lord speaks, and sin and death are removed far from you. He says it is so, because He has gone to the cross and died in your place. This is a far greater miracle than the one at Zarephath, because this is about eternal life and death. The Lord spoke at your Baptism and sent the devil scurrying away as He clothed you in His own righteousness. He speaks His Absolution and gives you life everlasting. He speaks at the Supper to give you His own body and blood in bread and wine; and far better than the wonder bread of Zarephath, He declares, “I am the Living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

You were in far worse shape than the widow at Zarephath who knew her hunger. You were once dead in your sin, but blind to know it. But by the grace of God, His Word has reached your ears. And where the Word of God is proclaimed, miracles happen. Now you know that death might be terrible from this side, but it’s no match for your Savior who went to the cross and conquered death for you.

This is true. And because it is true, you have other comforts as well.

One is this: because you are the Lord’s, He will keep you and deliver you from every trouble. We know this in theory, but it is more difficult to accept in practice. Before you can be kept and delivered from trouble, there must be trouble. That’s how it works in a sinful world. Before the widow and her son could be delivered from famine, first came the famine.

When you are troubled, when trials come your way, my friends, it is a good time for self-examination. We sinners are tempted often to think the sky is falling anyway, to think of things as worse than they are. When we do so, we deny that God is taking as good of care for us as He is. Furthermore, even when we pay lip-service to trusting in God in trouble, we are usually scheming as to how we’ll get ourselves out of it—putting our trust in our plans and resources. For such things, it is good and right to repent, for you know the better truth: the Lord let the widow get down to her last cup of flour before He saved her, but He did save her. The same Lord watches over you night and day. He will not forsake you.

In addition, the Lord makes much out of little. He did so with the widow’s flour and oil. Also remember the Gospel lesson for the day, as Jesus observed another widow placing two copper coins in the temple offering and said, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:43-44).

Like the widow of Zarephath, this widow also had very little. Yet, by faith, she gave more than all others who seemed to contribute much more. It was this widow with two copper coins who received praise from the Savior, and it was the Savior who made her offering “more” by His Word.

God originally created people to serve and to give; but that natural inclination was lost at the fall into sin. By nature, we’re selfish; but redeemed by Christ, we are once again set free to give and to serve. Sometimes, for whatever reason, we have little to give in offerings or energy; and because of this we’ll be tempted to feel like inadequate children of God. And so, we are—but only because our adequacy never came from us but comes from our Savior. By His grace, you act and give and serve by faith. And whether it be a little or a lot, the Lord declares that what is done in faith is pleasing to Him.

As we leave today, let us hold fast to the assurance that the Lord indeed provides. Just as He sustained the widow at Zarephath with a miracle of unfailing flour and oil, so too does He sustain us through His Word and promises, even in times of drought and uncertainty. Where the world sees scarcity, faith sees the abundance of God’s grace and mercy, poured out for us in Christ. Where the world sees trial and challenging times, faith sees an opportunity for growth. In every trial, God remains faithful, providing you not only with daily bread but with the Bread of Life, Jesus Himself, who strengthens, forgives, and sustains you. Trust in His provision of temporal and spiritual blessings, for the same God who worked miracles in Zarephath is at work in your lives today, reminding you that He will never leave nor forsake you.

Go in the peace of the Lord and serve your neighbor with joy. You are forgiven for all your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.