Sermon Tone Analysis

* Elijah and Elisha 3*

Can we turn to 1 Kings 17:8 another story!

*[P]* It’s just like Sunday School!

I was talking to Carol after I spoke last time, and we agreed, that it is a shame that these narrative portions are relegated to mere Sunday School stories.

Jesus didn’t: He was in his home town of Nazareth and spoke in the synagogue there but the people did not believe in Him, they regarded him as just one of the locals, nobody special.*

[Luke 4:24-26*/ //And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.

“But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow./]

The people didn’t like that; they were livid and tried to kill Jesus by throwing Him off a cliff!

There was a message in this story, of such power and impact, that it made people want to kill Jesus!

It wasn’t just a story, yes it was a real incident in history but God is in control of history (He is sovereign) and uses it to speak to people.

He still does, if only we have ears to listen.

God speaks through history.

Jesus used the incident of Elijah and the widow to teach that יהוה was God of the Gentiles too, was concerned for them, cared and provided for them too.

We know what the lesson of this incident is because Jesus used it – it is the lesson that the Good News of life by faith is for all people.

The heathen, that’s us, could come to know יהוה, the God of Israel.

In fact this story holds the message that certain Gentiles were given preference over the children of Israel – there were many widows in Israel, Elijah was sent to none of them; rather to a Gentile woman who was a widow.

She, though not one of God’s people, found the life that comes by faith.

*[P]* This woman recognized Elijah as a man of God, but, as we see, her knowledge of יהוה develops through the things that took place in her life.

You recall that Elijah the man of God was sent by יהוה to a brook; but it dried up: [*1 Kings 17:8-24*/ Then the word of יהוה came to him, saying, /*[P]*/ “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”/*

*/So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; /*[P]*/ and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”

As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”

But she said, “As יהוה your God lives,/ (funny Israel had en mass forsaken יהוה, but she knew יהוה was his God)/ I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; /*[P]*/ and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.”/

(she had nothing, well not quite, but this was the absolute end of her resources.

After this, death was inevitable.

She was staring death in the face!)/ Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me,/ it sounds a bit selfish – but it’s an important principle: you give to God first and then take consider your own provision)/ and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son.

“For thus says יהוה God of Israel, /*[P]*/ ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that יהוה sends rain on the face of the earth.’

”/ (that is what יהוה said, Elijah declared the word of יהוה – the issue was: was she going to believe it or not, live by it?

It wasn’t theory, it was a matter of life and death!)/

So she went and did according to the word of Elijah,/*[P]*/ /(she obeyed, she lived by what the word of יהוה said) /and she and he and her household ate for many days./*[P]*/

The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of יהוה which He spoke through Elijah./

(she acted on יהוה’s word and He kept His word) /Now it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him/ (again she was facing death!)/.

So she said to Elijah, “What do I have to do with you, O man of God?

You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!”/ (funny, she made the link between sin and death.

All was going along smoothly – but suddenly she knew the real issue that had been swept under the carpet: the issue is SIN! [*Romans 6:23*/ //For the wages of sin is death!/]) /He said to her, “Give me your son.”

Then he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed.

He called to יהוה and said, “O יהוה my God, have You also brought calamity /(who brought the calamity?

יהוה did!) /to the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?” /(who caused the son to die?

Elijah had no qualms about laying the responsibility solely on יהוה) /Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to יהוה and said, “O יהוה my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return to him.”

יהוה heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived./

(he came alive!

Sin causes death; but life came!)/

Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.”/*

[P]*/ Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of יהוה in your mouth is truth.”/]

We are so accustomed to the Gospel being for everyone – missionaries are sent to all the world, anyone can become a Christian – we tend to forget that we: [*Ephesians 2:1*/ //were dead in your trespasses and sins,/ *Ephesians 2:12*/ separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world./]

God was the God of Israel only, all others were heathen, abhorrent, godless – it was inconceivable that they could know God or that God could be interested in them.

It is a wonderful and amazing thing that we heathen Gentiles could become God’s people!

From Jesus’ exposition of this incident in Luke 4, we see that this widow stands for the Gospel coming to the Gentile – to those that believe.

The great cry of the reformation, taken from Habakkuk was: [*Habakkuk 2:4*/ //the righteous will live by his faith./]

*[P]* [*1 Kings 17:9*/ //“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”/]

*[P] Chosen for faith:* Although this woman was not an Israelite, יהוה was aware of her circumstances and had decided on a way both to provide for her and His servant.

He had commanded her even although she was unaware of it – long before Elijah asked for food or she responded.

God had appointed this woman unto salvation.

The woman obeyed, but her faith and obedience were because God had so ordained it (יהוה commanded her) – from her perspective she had faith, from God’s perspective He commanded her – so her faith was not of herself.

Even faith is a gift of God.

We have no faith unless God provides it – it is ALL of grace [*Ephesians 2:8*/ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God/.]

God is in control, He is sovereign.

Why did Elijah come to this widow?

Because God ordained it, chose her.

He directed her to be at the gate of the city just as Elijah arrived.

*[P]* *A responsive heart [1 Kings 17:10-11*/ //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, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”

As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”/]

Elijah asks for water – to see how she responds to serving a stranger, he was testing her heart to see whether there was a generous, giving, serving heart.

She had a responsive heart, she went to get it.

So seeing her respond willingly, Elijah thought perhaps this is the widow יהוה told him about.

So, encouraged by her response, he dared to also request for some bread (because יהוה had said that He had commanded a widow to provide for him).

She would serve, get water that cost nothing, but there was a famine!

Was she willing to give of her own substance in a time when food was precious and she was evidently not a woman of wealth?

She knew he was a man of God and she responded.

Her god was Baal, god of the storm, who was supposed to ensure fertility of crop; he had let her down, she knew Elijah served יהוה, she responded to יהוה the true God.

*[P]* *The poor are rich in faith [1 Kings 17:12*/ //But she said, “As יהוה your God lives,/ (she knew יהוה was Elijah’s God, but He wasn’t hers)/ I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.”/]

A few verses before the passage we read earlier in Luke 4, Jesus said: [*Luke 4:18*/ //“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor…./*]

*God is particularly concerned and close to those who are poor and with no one – the widow and orphan are dear to His heart and He cares for them.

The Gospel is for the poor.

[*James 2:5*/ //did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith?/]

People may be rich in money, or in skill, talent, power, resourcefulness – and they rely on the resources they have; the poor have no resources, they are forced to depend – they have faith.

It was not that this woman was unwilling to feed Elijah; it was just that she was unable – she didn’t have any bread to give him.

This woman had reached desperation point, absolute rock bottom, she was preparing to die.

She had the resources for one last cake of bread for herself and her son.

There was no more hope – this was the end!

We have to come to that point.

We have nothing we can give God.

And that is what prevents people coming to God, they rely on the resources they have.

She had to choose between one meal, then certain death; or the possibility of endless supply – seeing that death was inevitable, this woman had little to lose by trying the latter option.

This is why it is easier for the poor to have faith, they have less to lose, and less to give up relying upon.

They are closer to reality in that they know the futility of relying upon themselves to supply their need – they know that they need to depend upon another.

If she had a stash of flour and was asked to give this up for the promise of daily provision, perhaps faith would have been more difficult to exercise.

God is compassionate and all knowing; He knew how much flour the widow had and knew when it would run out and that things really were desperate.

He knew how long it would take Elijah to get from Cherith to Zarephath and the brook dried up at just the right time and His word telling Elijah what to do came at just the right time so that Elijah arrived precisely when she was about to prepare her last meal!

It is the timing of God!

He is in total control.

She may have thought things were getting bad before; but יהוה steps in at just the right time, often at the very last moment.

He knows the plight of the poor and sends deliverance at just the right time [*Romans 5:6*/ For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly/.]

Bless His wonderful Name! יהוה intervenes at that moment before the spark of hope fails.

God hasn’t forgotten – He is there, right on time.

Elijah’s need resulted in the provision of the need of the one who supplied his.

*[P]* *Faith requires our ALL [1 Kings 17:13*/ //Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son./*] *She only had enough for one last cake!*

*There would be no flour and oil to make one for herself afterward.

If she acted by reason, it made no sense!*

*A foreigner from Israel asks a poor widow, about to eat the last morsel of food she has, for some bread.

With absolutely nothing, she is asked to give her very last substance!