"For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth'” ~1 Kings 17:14
We're continuing to look at the story of Elijah in 1 Kings chapter 17. Many fascinating things happen in this chapter. Last week, God fed Elijah from the mouth of ravens. This week, through the words of Elijah, God performs a miracle for a single mother and her son.
After leaving the brook, the Lord commands Elijah to go to the town of Zarephath. There he asks a woman for a drink of water and a morsel of bread. The woman tells him she will bake their last bread and then die.
Elijah responds, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth’ ” (13-14).
It must have been emotionally devasting for her to know she was giving her last piece of food away...but she didn't allow that to overcome her faith in Elijah's word. The woman was obedient to Elijah, just as Elijah was obedient to God, and her family ate for many days! You see it turned out better for her to take the risk than play it safe.
What we can glean from this story is that even in hard times, God can still bless us as long as we are obedient to His commands. For the rest of the land, the drought was a curse, whereas, for the lady and her son, it turned into a blessing. God performed a miracle by refilling her bin of flour and jar of oil so she could continually make enough food for her and her son without fear of running out.
When we place our trust in God, He dispels all fear from our life. Even when life situations are tough or seem dire, He is YHWH Yireh, literally translated as the Lord who sees, or as we translate it into English, the Lord who provides. The Lord sees our needs and He provides for them.
"For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him" (2 Chronicles 16:9).
Always improve the present moment
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