K-17: The Widow Provider

“So she [the widow] went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah” (1 Kings 17:15-16)

The story of the widow in chapter 17 of 1 Kings, or K-17, illustrates the abundance of God in the midst of famine when we obey His Word. The widow of Zarephath was commanded by God to provide for the prophet Elijah when the Brook Cherith dried up. She was gathering sticks to make her last meal and was prepared to die with her son because she was down to the last few drops of oil and a handful of flour. Nevertheless, she listened to Elijah the man of God who told her to “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.” Elijah then prophesied that the bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until God sends rain again.

In the midst of starvation and drought, it must have been unthinkable and even suicidal for the widow to feed the preacher first. It wasn’t a piece of cake, but she obeyed anyway. She ignored the natural circumstances of lack, went against her survival instincts and demonstrated great faith in the Word of God through Elijah. As a result, she and her household ate for many days while others were starving because her flour and oil was never used up. When the widow put God first and obeyed His Word, God supernaturally provided for her and her son as well as Elijah. The lesson here is no matter how bleak your situation, no matter how hurt, oppressed, sick or broke you are, if you are willing to obey God and His Word and do whatever it says no matter how crazy it may be to your human intellect, God will deliver you out of your lack and into His abundance. The Soviets didn’t do a good job building K-19, but God has K-17 written in His Word so that even if Harrison Ford and The Widowmaker get to you first, God is still The Widow Provider and He will take good care of you and your household.

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