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Saturday, February 25, 2023

The Widow of Zarephath: Part 2

In part 1 of this study we set the background, introduced the prophet Elijah, King Ahab and his wife Queen Jezebel. 

We learned that because of King Ahab’s wickedness God brought a famine on the land, and that He sent Elijah to inform King Ahab of what was to come.  It appears that King Ahab didn’t take the news well and as a result God sent Elijah to a hiding place where He provided for Elijah’s needs while King Ahab searched the country for him.

After a while the brook where God had placed Elijah dried up and Elijah needed a new hiding place.  God sent him to a certain widow in a city called Zarephath.

That’s where we’re going to start part 2 of our study …

Being a widow at this time in history was difficult enough but when you add in the consequences of a famine the situation worsens.  Not only was this woman a widow in the midst of a severe drought, but she was a widow with a young son.  It’s important to note here that the widow was not homeless and that she had a house with a spare upper room (I Kings 17:19).  This makes me think that maybe there was no food to purchase or that she might have used up or possibly lost all her money.  Regardless of the why, her situation was dire, to say the least. 

Such was the case when we first meet the widow of Zarephath.

Luke 4:25-26 … 25 But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a severe famine came over all the land; 26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

(Sidenote: Zarephath was part of the land given to the tribe of Asher (Joshua 19:28), but Asher never controlled it, because of Israel’s failure to destroy the Canaanites as God had instructed in Deuteronomy 20:17 and in Judges 1:31)

When I look closely at these verses, I notice the following:

There were many widows in Israel during this famine.

The famine lasted 3 ½ years.

The famine was severe.

God sent Elijah to a particular widow outside of Israel’s control.

This particular widow was hand-picked by God out of many.

I Kings 17:9-12  (NASB) …

9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide food for you.”  

The word ‘commanded’ jumped out at me in this verse and I wanted to know if this woman had a choice, or did God force her to obey?  According to Strongs, the Hebrew word for command in this verse means charge, command, commission, appoint, ordain (of divine act).

The NIV used the word directed in place of command, but almost all of the other translations I looked at used the word command which to me, has a stronger connotation.

This is one of those verses where I had to step back and look at the whole of the Bible and of what it teaches about God.  When I did that, I decided that God did not force the widow to provide for Elijah but commanded/directed her to with the built in option of her choosing to disobey.

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the entrance of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.”

God’s timing placed the right widow at the right place at the right time.

11 As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”

Did Elijah know this woman was the widow God was sending him to when he entered the city gates?

12 But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no food, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks so that I may go in and prepare it for me and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”

Was this woman a Jew or was she a Gentile, did she believe in the one true God, did she even know about the one true God? In her desperation, was she seeking the one true God?  My opinion is that she was a Gentile, with her only knowledge of God being hearsay or possible occasional teachings from followers of God who passed through the city.  I find it quite easy to think that in her desperation, she was indeed seeking the one true God, I’m pretty sure I would have been!  If she was a Gentile, she was dependent on someone else to teach her about the one true God.  Maybe God was using her to provide a place of residence and provision for Elijah so that he could teach God’s word not only to her but also to the pagan society in which she lived.  When God guides, He provides!  Teaching comes in all forms, shapes and sizes, doesn’t it?  It was how the word of God was spread then and it’s how it’s spread now.  It’s a pretty big responsibility for those who are believers!

Since God had commanded the widow to provide for Elijah, I wonder if she was on the lookout for him.  Do you think she thought about how she would recognize him?  If the widow had been on the lookout, how long had she been waiting and watching?  I wonder if, when she was down to her last meal, if maybe she thought that God had changed His mind about sending Elijah to her since she no longer had any food.  If so, this would be a good reminder that God’s timing is not our timing and that when we think we have nothing left to give that God shows up and proves otherwise.

The widow was picking up sticks in order to build a fire to prepare the last bit of food she had for her and her son (verse 12).  Can’t you just feel the hopelessness the widow surely felt, she had done all she could do, there was nothing left except to prepare her and her son’s last meal and then to die.  The widow desperately needed help and God was in the process of showing up in ways that she couldn’t yet fathom.

I find it interesting that God could have provided for Elijah any way that He wanted, hadn’t He just been doing so via ravens and a babbling brook (I Kings 17:3-4), but instead He chose a destitute widow living in a pagan city.  One has to wonder what it was about the widow of Zarephath that made God decide, out of all the widows He could have chosen in Israel (Luke 4:25-26), to choose this particular one outside of Israel? 

Maybe she had a servant heart.

Maybe her location was a deciding factor.

Maybe it was that she was willing.

Maybe in her desperation she had been seeking God.  God always shows up for those seeking Him.

Maybe God had a lesson for the widow to learn.

Maybe God had a lesson for everyone to learn.

Maybe it was all of the above.

What are your thoughts?

In closing I’d like to share some take-aways I came up with from this lesson:

Our status in life has nothing to do with God’s ability to use us.

Sometimes God has dual or even multiple purposes for things that happen.

God works with the willing.

God gives us opportunities to serve Him.

God lets us choose.

God is always right on time.

God has a plan.

God wants everyone to have access to His saving grace.

God is faithful and trustworthy.

I’d love it if you’d share any take-aways or insights you have over what we’ve studied in this lesson.

May you be blessed by what you’ve read!

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2023 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.

Saturday, February 18, 2023

The Widow of Zarephath Bible Study

I'd like to invite you to join me in a Bible study in which we see God using the most unlikely person, in her circumstances, to do the most unlikely thing!

The Widow of Zarephath, part 1

(c) 2023 by patsy norwood  All rights reserved!

Background:

It’s been an ‘on again – off again’ relationship that the children of Israel, through their own choice, have had with God since Moses brought them out of Egypt.  They turned away from God on more than one occasion only to be led back to Him through godly leaders. 

This study takes place under the reign of King Ahab.  King Ahab was a very wicked king who ruled over the 10 northern tribes of Israel, known as the Northern Kingdom, he was evil and had no compassion for the people he ruled over.

I Kings 16:30- 33   Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

I Kings 21: 25-26 There certainly was no one like Ahab who gave himself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife incited him. 26 He also acted very despicably in following idols, conforming to everything that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out from the sons of Israel.

There are two things that stand out to me in these Scriptures:  (1) Ahab did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him (I Kings 16:33) and (2) that Jezebel his wife incited him to do evil (I Kings 21:25).

May I never incite my husband to do wrong and may I always be mindful that my actions matter to God.

As a result of King Ahab’s wickedness God sent a famine on the land and He sent the prophet Elijah to make the announcement to the king.

I Kings 17: 1, Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall certainly be neither dew nor rain during these years, except by my word.”

I wonder what King Ahab’s immediate reaction was to Elijah’s announcement.  I’m assuming it was quite threatening for in the very next verses, we find God giving Elijah further instructions that included hiding himself … (it seems that God is giving Elijah his instructions one step at a time.  This surely was a faith affirming journey for Elijah!)

2 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 3 “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 And it shall be that you will drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide food for you there.” 5 So he went and did everything according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook.

(The Brook of Cherith was about 30 miles from where King Ahab was in Samaria.)

Did you notice that God was taking care of Elijah’s physical needs and protecting him at the same time?  I find that comforting and reassuring!

Then in verse 7, some time later, things change … 7 But it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

It was time for more instructions from God and He immediately showed up …

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide food for you.”

God tells Elijah to go to Zarephath of Sidon some 100 miles away where paganism was rampant and where Jezebel’s father, Ethbaal, was king.  It seems that God is providing for Elijah right under Ahab and Jezebel’s nose!  (I Kings 16:31)

Meanwhile King Ahab has everyone looking for Elijah so this would have been a dangerous journey for him.  (Poor Elijah, do you think he was scared?)

I Kings 18:10 … 10 As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you.

This seems to be a pretty intense political situation, involving other nations and kingdoms, revolving around God’s faithful servant, during some very godless times!  The players thus far are (1) the God of creation, (2) a powerful and wicked king and his wicked wife and (3) a faithful servant of God.

And then God’s provision for Elijah continues via a widow … a very specific widow!  (I Kings 17:9)  We’ll talk more about that in part 2, but for now and in closing I’d like to share some take-aways I came up with from our study thus far:

(1)  God provided a way for His faithful servant  (When God guides, He provides!)

(2)  Elijah’s obedience to God’s instructions was imperative  (I shudder to think what would have happened to Elijah had he not obeyed God!)

(3)  God can be trusted

(4)  God is always right on time

(5)   No human, no matter how powerful, is a match for God

I’d love it if you’d share any take-aways or insights you have over what we’ve studied so far.

May you be blessed by what you’ve read!

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2023 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.

Friday, February 17, 2023

Scripture Writing

What is Scripture writing?  It's just what it sounds like ... writing out Scripture on paper.  This year I committed to writing out Scripture following Write On My Heart Every Word, by Carla Moore and it has become something I look forward to daily.  It has amazed me that I am learning so much with this simple act.

Before I start a new book of the Bible though, I do a little background research.  For example, I recently finished writing out the book of Galatians and knowing the background of the book helped me understand the things Paul was teaching, which in turn helped me to more accurately apply the lessons to my life.

written by Paul

Theme:  By grace, not by the Law of Moses

Paul's work in Galatia had been extremely successful.  Great multitudes, mostly Gentiles had enthusiastically accepted Christ.  Sometime after Paul had left Galatia, certain Jewish teachers came along insisting that Gentiles could not be Christians without keeping the Law of Moses.  And the Galatians gave heed to their teaching with the same whole-heartedness with which they had at first received Paul's message ...  (Excerpt from Haley's Bible Handbook)

There's more, but with this, one can get the gist of what Paul was attempting to correct.  Knowing this before I started writing out the book helped keep the text in context.  This is so important in understanding God's Word.

I derived four take-a-ways from the simple act of writing the book of Galatians:

(1)  in the Christian era, we are saved by God's grace, not by the Law of Moses
(2)  we can easily be led astray
(3)  false teaching abounded then and it abounds now
(4)  we must know God's Word in order to recognize false teaching

Can you see why it's important to know the background of a book before you start writing or studying it?

May you be blessed by what you’ve read!

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2023 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.