1 Kings 17:8-24

C. ELIJAH AT ZAREPHATH 17:8-24

As the water supply at Cherith began to fail, God instructed Elijah to leave the land of Israel and journey to the Phoenician village of Zarephath. Two great miraculous occurrences are connected with the prophet's sojourn therethe miraculous provision of food in the home of a widow (1 Kings 17:8-16); and the resurrection of the widow's son (1 Kings 17:17-24).

1. THE MIRACULOUS PROVISION OF FOOD (1 Kings 17:8-16)

TRANSLATION

(8) And the word of the LORD came onto him, saying, (9) Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold I have commanded a woman, a widow, to feed you. (10) And he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold there was a widow gathering wood. And he called unto her and said, Take I pray you for me a little water in a vessel that I may drink. (11) And as she was going to get it, he called unto her and said, Bring, I pray you, for me a morsel of bread in your hand. (12) And she said, As the LORD your God lives, I do not have a cake, except a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a vase; and behold I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I might go and make it for myself and for my son, that we might eat it and die. (13) And Elijah said unto her, Do not fear! Go and do according to your word, but make from it a little cake first, and bring it out to me, and afterwards make one for yourself and for your son. (14) For thus says the LORD God of Israel: The jar of meal shall not diminish, nor shall the vase of oil fail, until the day the LORD shall bring rain upon the face of the ground. (15) And she went and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her house did eat many days. (16) The jar of meal did not diminish nor did the vase of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke by the hand of Elijah.

COMMENTS

It is impossible to determine how long Elijah remained at Cherith. Eventually the water supply there was affected by the drought (1 Kings 17:7) which no doubt also affected the available food supply which the ravens brought to the prophet. A second revelation (1 Kings 17:8) instructed Elijah to migrate to the Phoenician town of Zarephath situated on the high road from Tyre to Sidon on the seacoast about seven miles south of Sidon. At this spot Elijah would be in the lion's den, the very heart of the dominions of Ethbaal, the fanatical father of Jezebel. There God had arranged for a destitute widow[413] to care for His prophet. Jesus suggested that Elijah was sent to this widow for her sake as well as his own (Luke 4:25-26).

[413] Whereas a childless widow was provided for through the law of Levirate marriage, the widow-mother was dependent on charity alone for her wherewithal.

Always obedient to the voice of God, Elijah hastened to Zarephath. It is likely that he kept to the east of Jordan as far as Dan where he crossed the river and took the road directly to Sidon and then southward a few miles to his destination. Upon approaching the gates of the city, Elijah providentially encountered the very woman for whom he was looking, though of course he did not at first realize it. He may have recognized her as a widow by her garments (cf. Genesis 38:14; Genesis 38:19). The woman was gathering sticksa sign of her povertywhen the weary prophet approached her and requested that she secure for him a cup of water (1 Kings 17:10). Because Phoenicia is watered by the fresh streams from the Lebanon mountains, the drought does not seem to have affected that area so much as Israel. It is considered a duty almost sacred in that region of the world to supply water to the thirsty. And so the woman scurried off in the direction of the well or water pot.

As the woman was going to fetch the water the prophet also mentioned that he would like some food, a morsel of bread (1 Kings 17:11). This request would soon reveal to him whether or not this was the woman whom God had ordained to sustain him. In responding to the prophet's request, the woman took an oath in the name of Yahweh. Some commentators view this as an indication that the woman was a worshiper of Yahwehperhaps an Israelite who had married a Phoenician. It should be noted, however, that she used the words, the Lord (Yahweh) your god. Obviously she recognized Elijah either by his facial features or by his special prophetic garb (cf. 2 Kings 1:8) as being a Yahweh worshiper. But had she herself been an Israelite or a proselyte, she would probably have said the Lord my God. Polytheists could swear in the name of any God since they in effect recognized the existence of all gods. Therefore, there is nothing in the language of this woman to indicate that she was anything other than a typical polytheist. Furthermore, it was customary courtesy in the pagan world to recognize the deity of another people in addressing oneself to a member of that people.[414]

[414] Honor, JCBR, p. 251-52.

The widow explained her desperate situation to the prophet. She did not have in her possession so much as one small cake of bread. All she had was a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil. At the very moment Elijah approached her, she was gathering a few sticks to make a fire, prepare that bread, that she and her son might eat their last meal (1 Kings 17:12). Since the Phoenicians were in large measure dependent upon Israel for foodstuffs, the drought in Israel would have created great scarcity of grain in Phoenicia. The poor would have been the hardest hit, and this widow was evidently reduced to the greatest extremities.

It is not clear at what point in the conversation Elijah became aware that the woman with whom he was speaking was in fact the widow to whom God had sent him. Some commentators think his words in 1 Kings 17:13-14 indicate that he had already identified her; others, that these verses represent a further test of the woman. In either case the faith of the woman was put to the test. Do not be afraid, the prophet told her. Take the oil and make the cake. The oil was to take the place of butter, and sometimes the cakes were baked in oil. Feed me first, the prophet instructed; then you and your son may eat. Why would a heathen woman acquiesce in such a demand? Would she not in her desperate circumstances view such a request as unreasonable and selfish? Then to his forthright demand the prophet added a precious promise. If the woman would put God's servant first, her jar of meal and flask of oil would be miraculously preserved until the rains returned to the land (1 Kings 17:14).

Perhaps it was the authoritative manner of the man, or his prophetic garb, or the fact that he had spoken an oracle in the name of the Lord which caused this heathen woman to believe and obey. Her faith was rewarded. For many days she, her son, her prophetic friend and her houseprobably friends or poor relativesate of that meal and oil (1 Kings 17:15). All attempts of rationalists to rule out the miraculous in this passage fail.[415] This passage certainly suggests that God was doing more for that widow than merely sustaining her providentially by natural means. The natural and obvious interpretation of 1 Kings 17:16 is that there was a supernatural and inexplicable multiplication of the woman's food supplies. This widow received a prophet in the name of a prophet, and she received a prophet's reward (cf. Matthew 10:41).

[415] As, for example, Gray (OTL, p. 381) who sees the factual basis of the story being that the generosity of the widow touched the conscience of her better-provided neighbors.

3. THE RESURRECTION OF THE WIDOW'S SON (1 Kings 17:17-24)

TRANSLATION

(17) And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was very serious, because there did not remain any breath in him. (18) And she said unto Elijah, What is between me and you, O man of God, that you have come unto me to bring my iniquity to remembrance, and to slay my son? (19) And Elijah said unto her, Give me your son! And he took him from her breast and brought him up to the upstairs where he dwelt, and laid him upon his bed. (20) And he called unto the LORD and said, O LORD my God, Have You also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn to slay her son? (21) And he stretched out upon the lad three tunes, and he called unto the LORD and said, O LORD, my God, let the soul of this lad return into him I pray You. (22) And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the lad returned into him and he lived. (23) And Elijah took the lad and brought him down from the upstairs to the house and he gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, See your son lives. (24) And the woman said unto Elijah, Now I know beyond all doubt that you are a man of God, and the word of the LORD in your mouth is true.

COMMENTS

While the prophet was in residence at the widow's home, her son fell desperately ill. The phrase there did not remain any breath in him (1 Kings 17:17) has been taken by some commentators to mean that the boy had died of his affliction.[416] Others feel that no more than a coma is intended by these words.[417] That the expression need not in itself mean the child was dead is proved by Daniel 10:17 where Daniel is said to have no breath in him while in fact he was very much alive. However, 1 Kings 17:18; 1 Kings 17:20-21 certainly point in the direction of actual death.

[416] Keil, BCOT, p. 239.
[417] Hammond, PC, p. 386-87. Cf. Josephus Antiquities VIII, 13.3 he appeared to be dead.

The woman was quite upset over the loss of her child and immediately jumped to the conclusion that the prophet's presence had drawn the wrath of God upon her house. What is between me and you (lit., what to me and you) is a formula occurring several times in the Old Testament.[418] The question may be paraphrased, What business does a saintly man like you have with a sinful woman like me? It seemed to this simple woman that before Elijah had taken up residence in her home that her own shortcomings had passed unobserved; but in the presence of this saint, attention had been focused, by contrast, on her failings. To this woman the death of the child was evidence of divine displeasureretribution for sins which would never have been noticed had Elijah left her alone (1 Kings 17:18). What have I done? i.e., Is this the result of my association with you? She felt that the man of God by residing with her had become aware of the sin in her life and had called her sin to the remembrance of the Lord. The death of her son she regarded as a judgment upon her sin (1 Kings 17:18).

[418] Judges 11:12; 2 Samuel 16:10; 2 Kings 3:13.

With calm confidence Elijah asked the desperate woman to give him the limp corpse of her son. He took the child from the bosom of his mother and carried him up into the upper chamber[419] where he dwelt and laid the lad on his own bed (1 Kings 17:19). In mighty intercessory prayer the prophet cried out to God. He began his petition with a rhetorical question: Had God brought misery upon this woman because of the prophet just as He had previously brought misery upon Israel?[420] (1 Kings 17:20). Then in an action prayer the prophet stretched himself upon the child in order to warm the body of the lad in expectation of the return of life into that corpse.[421] Three times the prophet repeated his action prayer, and each time he accompanied it with earnest entreaty that God would permit the child's soul or life to return to his body (1 Kings 17:21). The Lord heard that prayer of faith and the lad revived and lived (1 Kings 17:22).

[419] Probably a flimsy shelter on the flat roof where guests might be accommodated without infringing the privacy of the small, one-room, family dwelling.

[420] 1 Kings 17:20 may also be interpreted in the following way: Have You brought evil also on the widow who has shared her last with me as You have upon the evildoers?

[421] Gray (OTL p. 382) affirms this was contactual magic where the health of Elijah was magically conveyed to the corresponding organs of the child. Such concepts are, of course, completely foreign to the Old Testament faith. Furthermore, Gray can produce not one example in extra biblical literature where someone attempted to convey health to another through magic!

With great joy Elijah descended from that upper chamber with the child and tenderly handed him over to his anxious mother (1 Kings 17:23). Satisfying herself that the child was indeed alive, the joyous woman burst forth in grateful acknowledgement that Elijah was truly a man of God. Her words should not be taken to mean that she had previously doubted that Elijah was a man of God, but only that she regarded the mighty resurrection miracle as final proof of his authority. The miracle served as Elijah's credentials, and the pagan woman was now utterly convinced that the message he had been sharing with her was absolutely true (1 Kings 17:24). These words imply that the woman was genuinely converted to the true faith by the miracle performed in the upper room.