Last week, we focused on story of King Solomon building the Temple in Israel. The Temple became a more permanent home for the Ark of the Covenant than the tent it had been kept in. The Temple also became the center of worship life for believers in God.
After Solomon’s reign, the kingdom broke into two kingdoms – Israel and Judah. An evil king came to rule Isarel four generations after Solomon’s Reign. Although Ahab was the king of Israel, he was not a faithful follower of God and instead worshipped then Canaanite Storm God Baal.
The prophet Elijah was motivated to lead the people of Israel to worship God, instead of false idols like Baal. In today’s reading from 1st Kings, chapter 17, Elijah visited King Ahab to warn him that God was sending a drought to the kingdom to punish them for not being faithful followers of God. King Ahab did not like what Elijah said, so Elijah had to flee from Israel. In exile, God provided for Elijah and for faithful followers of God.
Listen to how the story unfolded as we turn to 1st Kings chapter 17:
The Scripture 1 Kings 17:1-16
Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”
2 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah:
3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.
4 You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”
5 So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.
6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him:
9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”
10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?”
11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.
14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.
16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
Here ends this reading of the word of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen
Let us pray....
The Message God’s Care for the Widow
The widow of Zarephath was preparing to die. She was gathering a little bit of wood...sticks.... that she was going to take to her home. She was planning on building a little fire, taking the last of her flour and water, baking a tiny cake, eating it with her son, and then lying down and waiting for death.
But, Elijah interrupted her plan. He asked her for a drink of water. And, even though the widow had very little, no food, very little water, she complied with the hospitality rules of her culture and brought the stranger a drink.
God had a plan for the widow and her son, just as God had a plan for his prophet Elijah.
Through God’s miraculous work, the widow, her son, and Elijah had enough food to last the drought. God kept the widow’s flour jar full, her jug of oil full, and she had enough water to make their daily bread until the drought was over.
Compassion for widows and orphans is one of the cornerstones of our faith. God cares for people whose loved ones have passed away. God loves them and supports them; God wants us to love and support them.
Although things are a little different in the twenty-first century, in the United States, a death in the family or a divorce can suddenly plunge a family into poverty. We have many people in our communities, in our school districts, in our county, who are struggling to pay for rent or housing. We have neighbors who are hungry. We know of families who can’t afford to have their cars repaired, or their teeth fixed, or keep their electricity on.
Our scriptures are full of commands to us to help the poor. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are consistent on this matter. In Isaiah, God commands us: “to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke. To share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
In the New Testament, Jesus commands: “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
St. James wrote: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
As people of faith, it is our responsibility to help vulnerable people in our society...this means that we have a mandate to provide food and money to our local pantry, the Daily Bread. We have a mandate to help the young single mothers who turn to Every Good Gift for help developing job and life skills. We have a mandate to support the work of the Wider church through our offerings like One Great Hour of Sharing that helps provide sources of clean water, food, education, and health care for refugees, disaster victims, and displaced people both within the US and throughout the world.
We are called to pray for and to support families in crisis. This means calling and listening to church members and friends who are grieving. This means bringing a bag of groceries over to a newly divorced mom. This means checking on our elderly neighbors when the temperature drops to make sure they have their furnace working and their fuel oil tank full. We are called to keep a watchful eye out for people who are struggling and who need support.
God has compassion for widows and orphans – people who were the most vulnerable people in the Ancient Middle East. God has compassion for hurting people and people who are in need. Let us work to help the most vulnerable people in our society and put our faith into meaningful action.
May we do so with love in our hearts today and all days. Amen.
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