And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
God sent Elijah to a foreign town, to a widow who would feed him. He finds her at the gate, gathering sticks for what she expects to be her last meal. He asks her for water. Then, while she is already on her way, he calls after her for bread. Why would a prophet press a starving woman like this?
A Request Made on God's Word
Elijah did not size up the widow before speaking. God had told him she would feed him, and he acted on that alone. So the second request was not thoughtless. It was a probe, and it drew the truth out.
The Christian's FriendWhen he arrived at Zarephath, he met the poor widow who was to be his hostess straight away. There she was, by the gate of the city, gathering sticks. Elijah's faith saw no difficulty in her appearance, or in her obvious poverty. He knew God had told her to sustain him. So, resting on the sure word of the Lord, he asked her to fetch him a little water in a vessel to drink. As she was going to fetch the water, he added another request: "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." This second request drew out the condition this poor widow was in. She hid nothing.
An Echo of the Woman of Samaria
One writer hears an echo of the Gospels in how Elijah asks. He also finds something surprising in her reply: a woman outside Israel names Israel's God, while Israel was turning away from Him.
W. W. FeredayWhen Elijah found himself face to face with the widow of whom the Lord had told him, he asked her for a drink of water, much in the same way as the Lord Jesus asked a drink from the woman of Samaria. As the widow turned to fetch it, he said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." … Notice that she brought in the name of the Lord. This is wonderful! The foolish people of Israel were turning their backs on the one true God, preferring the false gods of the Zidonians. Yet here is a woman who, despite the ungodly influences around her, believed that Israel's God was the true God.
Weakness Brought Into the Open
The two small requests did not create her poverty. They uncovered it. That uncovering is necessary, not cruel. God gives nothing until the truth is out.
Hamilton SmithYet how humbling to pride, to be kept alive by a widow! How the distressing circumstances wither all self-confidence! But the desolate widow, the handful of meal, the cruse of oil, and death hovering over all, only serve to unfold the resources of the living God. And once the utter weakness and hopelessness of the circumstances comes to light, God is free to unfold the resources of grace. Elijah's request for "a little water" and "a morsel of bread" bring to light the condition of the widow. Truth is upheld, and so grace can be displayed.
A Trial Not Made Lighter
God could have stocked her house before Elijah ever knocked. Instead every detail presses harder. One writer says this is how God treats faith He means to bless.
William KellyThe prophet asks a great deal of her pity. He puts her faith fully to the test. If he had not been a prophet, and if this had not been a trial of faith, his words would have been most cruel and selfish… But this was exactly the trial of it. God, when He gives a trial of faith, does not pare it down so as to spoil the very force of His blessing; but the opposite. The greater the faith the more He tries… clearly God did not use the prophet to give her a barrel of meal to encourage her, or a cruse that began pouring out oil in a wonderful way — though He could easily have done it. This would have spoiled the whole teaching.
Grace Sent Outside Israel
God did not send Elijah to a stranger by chance. It follows a pattern, and Jesus later pointed back to this very household.
The Christian's FriendWe learn this everywhere in the Scriptures. When God's people drift away and refuse His testimony, He turns, as it were, to those outside. There He shows the sovereignty of His grace. The Lord Himself reminded His hearers in the synagogue of Nazareth of this fact. He cited this very case of the widow of Zarephath in support, along with that of Naaman the Syrian… In Scripture a widow stands for someone who is desolate and has no resources. Elijah had to go to such a person for support, so that he might learn the lesson himself… when all created streams are dried up, the fullness of God remains unchanged.
Summary
- The ask — Elijah's call for a morsel of bread rests on God's word to him, not on anything he could see in the woman at the gate.
- The exposure — The request does not cause her emptiness. It reveals it, and her whole situation comes into the open.
- The opening — Once the truth of her weakness is told, God is free to show what He has. Truth maintained first, grace displayed after.
- The pressure — God does not soften a trial of faith. He leaves the difficulty standing, so the blessing carries full weight.
- The reach — When His own people refuse His message, God turns to an outsider. Jesus later named this household as proof.