Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” ~ 1 Kings 17:17-19 (NIV)
After Elijah reached Zarephath and sheltered with the widow and her son, God blessed them. Though the drought worsened, the jug of oil and jar of meal never failed. It would have been reasonable to expect the good times to continue.
But the widow’s son sickened and died. Anguished, she lashed out at Elijah. “Did you come to remind me of my sin?” Any mother would be devastated by her child’s death, but she’d also lost her husband. She looked for someone to blame.
This is a human response, although somewhat unreasonable. We live in a fallen world, and God hasn’t promised immunity from hardship, even to those who follow him. Think of Joseph, who resisted the advances of Potiphar’s wife, but still ended up in prison. Or Daniel, who publicly prayed despite the king’s command, and was thrown to the lions.
Though I empathize with the widow’s angry words, what I find interesting is Elijah’s calm response. He didn’t remind her of all he’d already done to help her and her son. Ignoring her harsh words, he took this problem to the Lord.
“Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” (1 Kings 17:19-21 NIV)
The Lord heard Elijah’s plea, and He returned the boy to life. When Elijah put the boy in his mother’s arms, she expressed not only gratitude, but faith.
I believe the Lord prepared the widow’s heart with a whisper before Elijah even arrived at the town gate. She must have heard the truth about God’s love and claims on her life during the time the prophet lived with her and her son.
The widow reacted out of pain and confusion when her son died. Her faith faltered. When Elijah asked her to give him her son, he allowed her time to quiet her soul and consider. And God, in his mercy, looked on her heart, where a tiny spark of faith burned.
In an intersection of time and eternity, God reached down and touched the widow’s son, restoring him to life. He was still subject to a fallen world—would grow old and die again. But God gave him back on loan—a comfort to his mother and a blazing sign of God’s mercy and power. The widow’s faith flared from a spark to a sturdy flame.
Thoughts
- Have you ever experienced that which only God can do? Perhaps your miracle was as soft as a whisper to the heart or as earth-shattering an event that, even now, you can hardly bring yourself to speak of.
- I love this from Bible scholar A.W. Pink: “Bring into the scene the living God, and no matter how drastic and desperate be the situation, all difficulties at once disappear, for nothing is impossible to him.”
Dana McNeely dreamed of living in a world teeming with adventure, danger, and romance, but she had a problem—she also needed a lot of peace and quiet. She learned to visit that dream world by stepping into a book. Soon, she began writing her own stories, fact and fiction.
Inspired by the Bible stories of Elijah, Dana wondered why the prophet came to stay with the widow of Zarephath and her son. Who were they? What was their life, before? How did the boy change after he died, saw the other world—and came back? Those questions led to Dana writing RAIN, in which she built her dream world of adventure, danger, and romance. Peace and quiet, however, have remained elusive.
No stranger to drought, Dana lives in an Arizona oasis with her hubby the constant gardener, two good dogs, an antisocial cat, and migrating butterflies.
Her upcoming novel RAIN spins the tale of a mysterious prophet, a desperate youth, and a relentless queen during Israel’s great drought. Look for RAIN March 2021 from Mountain Brook Ink. While you wait, subscribe to Dana’s newsletter for updates and a FREE Novelette, “The Eyes of the Lord.”
A young widow must choose between honoring her father or following her heart . . .
In 894 BC, Hadassah, a young widow, struggles to make a living for her father and herself, while facing an unwanted marriage and her father’s recent strange behavior. Nathaniel, a mysterious new neighbor, engages her feelings in more ways than one. Meanwhile, the king of the war-torn southern kingdom makes an unwise alliance that will change their lives.
