Elijah and the Widow
Let's read the story of Elijah and the Widow and then ask some questions.
This text is taken from the English Standard Version of the Bible
Introduction - King Ahab
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Elijah the Prophet
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The Ravens
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The Widow
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.”
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Hunger in the Family
11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil 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.”
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Food Provided by God
13 And Elijah said to her, “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. 14 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.’” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 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.
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Boy gets Sick
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Elijah Prays
19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. 20 And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child's life come into him again.” 22 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.
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The Boy is Well
22 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
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Elijah's name means "Yah is God." (Yah is one of the Biblical names for the God of Israel and is the shortened form of YHWH.) The Phoenicians worshipped Baal who was the god of rain and thunder. King Ahab introduces the worship of Baal to the kingdom of Israel. When Elijah appears in the story a drought begins. How is the drought important to the story? In the next chapter, Elijah will have a showdown with the prophets of Baal to determine who is the true God. How does that theme of who is the true God appear in this chapter?
The story begins by Elijah speaking to King Ahab to tell him there will be a drought. Then God tells him to hide in the wilderness. Why?
Look at the phrase "the word of the Lord came to Elijah" in the story. How many times is it used? Why do you think Elijah waits to hear the word of the Lord before taking his next action? Is it important to listen to God before we take important actions in our life?
In the story, God says he "commanded" the ravens and the widow to sustain Elijah. But when Elijah meets the widow, she doesn't seem to know this. Why do you think that is? How do God's commands play out in life? Are we always aware of them? Was God correct and did the widow sustain Elijah?
The widow would have been an unlikely person to sustain Elijah through a drought, as she had no money and almost no food. Why do you think God chose the widow to sustain Elijah when God could have chosen a rich or powerful person?
Why do you think Elijah made the widow bring him food first before feeding her own family? Why was it important the the widow trust or have faith in Elijah?
The widow lived in an area of Phoenicia that worshipped many gods, including Baal. Do you think the widow was familiar with Elijah's God? Look at the widow's use of the word God. Why do you think she was afraid Elijah brought death on her son? Why do you think the story ends with the widow's recognition of Elijah's God? What makes her finally recognize Elijah as a man of God?