And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.
In the town of Zarephath, Elijah meets a starving widow. She has one handful of flour and one last meal planned, a stranger has just asked her to feed him first — and this verse records what she did.
Faith acting on a single word
One message from God was all she had, and she acted on it at once. One writer turns that into a question for readers who own the whole Bible.
W. W. FeredayOne verse from God was enough at Zarephath. Without hesitation the hungry woman acted on it. She proved God's word true; and it is always true. We must pause here and take account of ourselves. We have what the widow did not have — the whole Word of God... The widow of Zarephath gave her all on the strength of one verse from God.
Verse 16 calls that same message the word of the Lord. One writer ties it back to verse 5, where Elijah obeyed in the same way, and then forward to how God speaks now. (The quote follows an older translation of verse 15: "she went and did according to the word of Elijah.")
H. L. RossierThis widow's faith is of the same kind and quality as that of the prophet; so she walks the same path he does. It is always so: "And he went and did according to the word of Jehovah" (v. 5). "And she went and did according to the word of Elijah" (v. 15), but the word of Elijah was "the word of Jehovah which he had spoken through Elijah" (v. 16). It is the same word, whether it comes directly to the prophet or whether it is addressed to men through him. So it is today with the gospel.
Who comes first
Elijah asked her to bake for him before she fed herself. One writer puts the whole test in that order.
A J PollockBut how could it be done? Only in this way: if she cared for God's interests FIRST, He would care for hers AFTER. Putting God first brought her the brightest reward of her life.
Supply without a storehouse
The miracle never produced a surplus. The jar was never full; it just never ran empty.
Frederick W GrantAll the way through, Elijah has to learn the lesson of dependence... He has no stock of his own, we may say, ever to live on... And then when he comes to Zarephath you find the same thing. The widow is called on to sustain him, and there is a little oil in a jar and a handful of flour in a barrel. The flour does not fail in the barrel, and the oil does not fail in the jar. It does not increase, however — it stays a handful of flour and a little oil. That keeps him in constant dependence on God.
Who ate
The verse widens from the woman and her son to her household. One writer draws four points from that wording.
The Christian's FriendThe first is that if God commanded the widow to sustain Elijah, He Himself supplied her with the means of doing it. The second follows from the first: when we use what we have for the Lord, our means are multiplied... Another is that the son is no longer mentioned; now it is "her house." This shows God's ways of grace with His people, blessing their households through those who head them... Lastly, God will magnify His own faithfulness. His word had promised, and the blessing came according to His word — the word which He spoke by Elijah.
Chosen from outside Israel
She was not an Israelite. One writer traces her place in the story back to God's own choice.
William KellyThere was the electing grace of God at work in this widow... There were many widows in Israel; God chose this one outside Israel... But if grace works, God will prove that it is grace. He will show that there is no ground for acceptance to be found. Any such ground would strip grace of its character.
The flour and the oil as pictures
One writer reads the flour and the oil as a picture of what keeps believers fed now.
W. W. FeredayWe can picture a happy, contented household in Zarephath. The flour and the oil did not fail. The woman and her son had the benefit of Elijah's helpful conversations and his prayers. There was no home on earth more favoured by God at that time. The food suggests what nourishes the souls of believers today. The flour speaks of Christ, and the oil of the Holy Spirit.
Summary
- One word. She had a single sentence from God and gave everything on it; we have the whole Bible and must ask what we have done with it.
- Same word. God's word to Elijah and His word through Elijah to her carried the same authority. The gospel carries it now.
- First, then after. God's interests came before her own, and that order was both the test and the way into blessing.
- Daily, not stored. The supply never became a stockpile. It stayed a handful, so prophet and widow leaned on God every morning.
- Her house. One woman's obedience fed a whole household for many days. God chose her from outside Israel, which shows grace to be grace.