1 Kings 17:8-16 - Then the word of the LORD came to him, "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed 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. And he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink." And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." And she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die." And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that He spoke by Elijah.

I find this really interesting. What does God mean, "I have commanded a widow there to feed you"? Has she had some sort of dream or vision? Or is it just that the Holy Spirit has prepared her heart to listen to Elijah and respond to his need?

For she does respond—and that's pretty amazing, when you consider that her family is on the point of starvation. Why should she give their last food to a stranger? But she does—and what's more, she recognizes him. I'm not sure she knows that he is a prophet, or just that he is from Israel—but she manages to get right the single most important thing about Elijah, which is that he belongs to "the Lord your God" (verse 12). And even if she doesn't feel confident enough to claim this God as her God, nevertheless she responds with trust and obedience when Elijah tells her that God has promised to save all three of them from starving.

It's amazing what God does to call people to Himself—strangers, foreigners, people in need like this widow. People like us, who have no reason to believe God would care about us at all-except that He really does, and has given us His promise that He will save us. As Jesus says, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him" (John 3:16-17). Jesus willingly gave Himself for our sake—living, serving, suffering, dying, and rising again—so that all of us, even the last and lowest, might live forever with Him. And because He loves us, we know and trust that His promise is true.

WE PRAY: Lord, thank You for noticing and caring about me in my need, and coming to me! Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Reflection Questions:

1. Why do you think God would send Elijah to a foreign family to find and give help?

2. Why did Jesus get into trouble for pointing out that God chose a foreigner (see Luke 4:16-30)?

3. What does this say about God's attitude toward foreigners? Toward us, who were once outsiders to His people?

Today's Bible Readings: Jeremiah 39, 52, 40    Hebrews 10:19-39

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