Elijah

Life

Widow of Zarephath

The Israelite presence in Tyre and Sidon, at about the same time that the so-called “Phoenicians” began their rise to supremacy over the seas, is absolutely undeniable. At 2 Sam. 24:2-7, for instance, King David sends Joab to number the tribes of Israel. Tyre and Sidon were among the places to which Joab journeyed. Elsewhere on the seacoast, Elijah visited the widow of Zarephath, and neither was that noble woman a Canaanite.

Matthew 10:41 He receiving a prophet in the name of a prophet gains reward of the prophet, and he receiving a righteous man in the name of a righteous man gains reward of the righteous man.

In 1 Kings chapter 17, the widow of Zarephath received and sustained the prophet Elijah, and she was rewarded with sustenance in return, for the grain and oil did not fail in a time of famine. Then her son fell ill, but she also received the life of her son, even though it was at first through trial. In 2 Kings chapter 4 the woman who made a place of rest for the prophet Elisha, not knowing for certain but only perceiving that he was a man of God, was also rewarded by conceiving a son although she had been barren. That child too, nearly died, and was delivered through his mother's abidance in the faith. Here we have those same promises if we continue to exhibit that same faith. Yet there is a common theme here, for we see that in each instance a single act of kindness was not sufficient: rather we must continue in faith without failure.