Learning to accept groceries from unclean birds prepared Elijah for his next stop—a Gentile’s home.
Yes, it’s more blessed to give than receive, but I think it’s more humbling to receive than to give—as Elijah the mighty prophet was to discover— especially from a Gentile widow in Sidon! Her hometown of Zarephath means “refinery,” and this would certainly be a refining experience. The Lord said He had already “commanded a widow there to provide” for Elijah (1 Ki 17:9). Imagine that—from a widow’s hand to Elijah’s mouth! But when he arrived at the city gate, there was the widow gathering a few sticks to prepare her last meal for her son and herself. All she had was “a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar” (v 12). We can be sure that Elijah would never have requested the widow’s last meal for himself, but he was acting on behalf of God, and God must be first. This was a test of faith for both Elijah and the widow. Could they believe that, if God was first, then what appeared to be her last meal would be transformed into the first of many meals from that bin and jar? As Elijah said, “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’” (v 14). Could they both understand that this hand-to-mouth existence was in fact from God’s hand to their mouths? Then all would be well. Do we understand that? Here are our Lord’s own words: “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (Mt 6:31-32). In a much richer way, the Father’s two greatest Gifts to us—the Son and the Spirit—are beautifully illustrated in the flour and the oil, and They will never run out!