NL 309: God’s Care for the Widow

image: “The Prophet Elijah with the Widow of Zarephath and her Son” by Abraham van Dijck (wikimedia)

image: “The Prophet Elijah with the Widow of Zarephath and her Son” by Abraham van Dijck (wikimedia)

1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24]

Initial Thoughts

  • Clear connection to the Gospel text and to Luke 7:11-17

  • This is the introduction of Elijah

    • “Elijah is introduced immediately after the first mentions of Ahab and Jezebel, thus bringing to the fore all the main characters involved in the impending showdowns between prophet and monarchy.” (Cameron B.R.Howard, Women’s Bible Commentary, p,. 172)

Bible Study

  • Elijah 

    • begins his work by promising a draught then lives in wilderness

      • Sent out to find safety from Ahab - who may not have been pleased with the harsh word Elijah gave him. 

      • Draught is presumed to be judgment against Ahab for worshiping Baal, but this is not expressed explicitly.

      • Sustained by ravens and by the waters of the river

      • Eventually, even the river dries up.

    • Elijah becomes the miracle-worker and the center of these series of stories.

    • “Unlike the figure cut by Nathan or Ahijah, Elijah looks very much like the protagonist of a cycle of folktales, providing sustenance in time of famine through supernatural means and reviving the dead. It is obviously Elijah, not Moses or Isaiah, who establishes the template for many of the stories about Jesus in the Gospels. It was also this aspect of Elijah as a miraculous and compassionate intervener on behalf of the wretched of the earth that was picked up later by Jewish folklore.” (Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible: The Prophets, p. 504)

  • Three Miracles: 

    • Hospitality - welcoming the stranger

    • Abundance- giving to others first not last

    • Healing - about the widow - not the son- a lot like the story from Luke

  • Woman

    • The anti-Jezebel - Jezebel is the Baal worshipping wife of Ahab who, together with her husband, are leading people away from YHWH

    • The woman in this story, “a Phoencian woman who is poor, awed by Elijah’s power, and who professes the word of YHWH as truth stands in marked contrast to the wealth, unflinching, Baal-worshiping wife of Ahab...at the end of the religion still trumps ethnicity in the judgment of the Kings” Cameron B.R.Howard, Women’s Bible Commentary

  • Welcome 

    • Elijah is sent to someone who is suffering from the very drought he proclaimed

    • Woman welcomes Elijah- creepy, hairy man from the wilderness v powerless and poor widow- she should run away not bring him something to eat and drink

      • She cares for Elijah over herself

      • Did she have a choice or does she accept him out of fear?

    • Woman is Sidonian, same ethnicity as Jezebel, Elijah’s hated rival

    • Stays for many days

    • Her welcome and listening as an outsider is in contrast to Ahab and Jezebel- the insiders who should have listened - this is what Jesus picks up on later (Robert Wall, Feasting  on the Word)

  • Abundance

    • Woman gives, even though she is on the brink of starvation. She literally gives what she needs to survive

      • God provides abundance (this can be tricky) 

      • “A vivid description of the woman’s desperation. The little flour that she possesses is scarcely enough to sustain two starving people; it will provide no more than a teasing taste, a mere scrap of flatbread baked over embers.” (Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible: The Prophets, p. 504)

    • Gospel of Abundance vs Gospel of scarcity

      • Do we give from the first or from the last?

    • How do we practice abundance?

      • Abundance leads to community - united Elijah with the widow and her son (vs. 15)

  • Healing

    • Elijah resurrects the son through a prayer of lament and accusation v. 20

    • Elijah raises his complaint to God

    • Not about who did it, about compassion in the midst of suffering

      • not about the why, about the response - compassion

    • Widow sees God not in the suspected wrath (v.18) but in received grace (v.24)

      • Answer to v.1 Blessing, grace, and abundance come from God

Thoughts and Questions

  • The problem with God’s abundance is it sometimes rests in the pockets of scarcity. How do we transform our despair of scarcity into the hope of abundance? How does this look when struggling with a church budget?

  • What are we doing to seek out the widows and orphans in need of grace and good news? Do we go to them or wait for them to come to us?

  • Good time for a stewardship sermon - about trusting in God against all odds. She gives the last of her food to feed a hungry stranger because she believes the good news of the stranger. She is fearful but does not allow her fearfulness to lead to scarcity but to life-giving abundance.

Year 3Eric Fistler1 KingsComment