A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. “‘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 Lo...

Click here to listen to this sermon. “Then [Jesus] came up and touched the bier and the bearers stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother” (Luke 7:14-15). Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Our readings for today are full of miracles. We begin in the little town of Zarephath, where the prophet Elijah dwells with a widow and her son. This is Old Testament time, famine and all, where mortality rates are terribly high and death is all too common. In this case, the widow’s son becomes sick and dies. He was all that she had left—both for family and for her livelihood. Now, he’s gone. So the widow cries out to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?” (1 Kings 17:18). The widow’s anger is understandable. She has just lost her only son! She instinctively lashes out at someone...