I am not sure I have ever preached this text, which is rather surprising since it is a wonderful couple of stories with so much in them. Picking up on how Jesus used the story was an important point. I had someone in a previous congregation I served who thought it was inappropriate to not include a New Testament (preferably gospel) lesson in a service. I find it helpful, sometimes, to tell the story (or stories in this case) using both Scripture lessons, which means no New Testament lesson if the story is from the Old Testament.
“OT Sidekicks: the widow of Zarephath”; 1 Kings 17; November 12, 2023; SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp
17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18She then said to Elijah, ‘What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!’ 19But he said to her, ‘Give me your son.’ He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed. 20He cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?’ 21Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.’ 22The Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, ‘See, your son is alive.’ 24So the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.’
Introduction: Elijah the Tishbite bursts onto the scene as a dramatic counterbalance to the sinful shenanigans of King Ahab and his wife Queen Jezebel.
All around him Israel is following the lead of Ahab and Jezebel and choosing the gods of Baal instead of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
A drought has arrived in Israel that highlights the options - the Israelites can follow the Baal gods who are supposed to provide for fertility, which includes water for the crops
or they can follow Yahweh, the one God of Israel, and trust in God to provide for them.
Elijah arrives to highlight the choice.
Elijah’s work will lead to a dramatic battle between Elijah and the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel.
but first, Elijah is sent to a widow in Sidon, a widow who will feed Elijah in the midst of the drought.
the widow is a minor character, a sidekick to Elijah (we are not even told her name);
but a character from whom we have much to learn.
Move 1: First of all, the widow reminds us that God’s authority and concern extend beyond Israel.
a. Her presence in this story sets of a dramatic contrast:
King Ahab and Queen Jezebel - the leaders of Israel; the power brokers; the ones with all the resources
in contrast to a foreigner, a widow, who has little resources and whose place in life is outside of Israel.
1. As the drought plays out, the contrast grows -
King Ahab and Queen Jezebel place their trust in Baal and turn to away from God.
Remember, Baal is the God of fertility and provides the rain for the crops.
So when Israel is in a drought, it calls into question the power of Baal.
2. The widow will find herself tied to Elijah, the man of God as she deals with the impact of the drought in her life. (https://www.patheos.com/blogs/theperipateticpreacher/2016/05/avoid-the-magic-view-the-man-i-kings-178-24/; John Colbert, “Avoid the Magic, View the Man”).
At the end of the story, we can choose which option we want - the way of Ahab, Jezebel, and the Baal gods,
or the way of Elijah, turning back to God.
b. But before getting to the end of story, we discover the path the unnamed widow of Zarephath gives us.
1. Remember, Zarephath is a commercial city in Phoenicia known for exporting wine, grain, and oil, but as the story begins, it is suffering from a drought.
2. Among this suffering and nearing the point of no food to eat, is the widow to whom Elijah is sent.
3. she represents the marginalized people in the society.
4. the prophets have and will continually announce how the marginalized are treated speaks to whether the people are obeying and following God.
5. And the widow she lives outside of Israel, a foreigner.
4. by sending Elijah to this widow in Zarephath, God sends a two-fold message to all of Israel.
One, if Israel does not want the saving grace of God and would prefer to cast its lot with Ahab, Jezebel, and their gods of Baal, then God will go save those who will receive God.
two, Israel may not care about the marginalized foreigner, but God does.
6. a message so important that Jesus references it when he notes in a story in the Gospel of Luke that there were many widows in the time of Elijah, but Elijah was sent to Zarephath (Luke 4: 25-26).
the widow of Zarephath’s presence in the story speaks volumes about the God of Israel and God’s desires and intentions to seek out and care about all people.
Move 2: we also learn from the widow about how to extend ourselves to others.
a. Notice, the widow is not just waiting and watching, victimized by her situation.
1. When Elijah meets her, she has been out collecting wood for a fire so she can cook what little food she has.
2. In fact, when Elijah asks for food and drink, she tells him that she has gathered the sticks to go and cook her last meal. (https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-32-2/commentary-on-1-kings-178-16-6; Steed Davidson, Executive Director, Society of Biblical Literature)
3. She may be near the end of her rope, but she is clinging to it, trying to survive.
b. In her dire straits, she still offers hospitality to Elijah.
1. She is willing to share her last meal she is cooking with Elijah, trusting that he will in fact take care of her.
2. This, of course, is in contrast to Ahab and Jezebel who have chosen to cast their lot with Baal, rather than trusting in the God of Israel.
c. Let’s stop here and imagine the widow’s willingness to welcome Elijah into her home and share her meager resources with him.
1. It is one thing to share out of abundance, but she is sharing out of scarcity.
2. I had a chemistry teacher in high school.
I don’t remember her name or much chemistry, but I remember a lesson she shared with the class one day.
We were talking about how to handle ourselves when dealing with adversity,
when things are not going our way,
when it seemed the world was against us.
when you were all wrapped in yourself and your problems
she commented that in her life experience, that’s exactly when you ought to reach out to someone else,
extend yourself to someone in need,
open yourself up to more than your own issues.
2. The widow of Zarephath does not need to share her very limited resources; in fact, she ought to retrench and keep it all for herself and her son.
3. But she extends herself to Elijah, offers to share what little she has with him, and discovers that Elijah introduces her to the one who can and will provide for her.
4. We who too often see limitations and obstacles can learn from the widow of Zarephath about opening ourselves up to new possibilities.
Move 3: We also notice how the widow turns to Elijah in her time of need.
a. the first story of dealing with limited resources gives way to another life-or-death story, but this time it involves the widow’s son, who she believes has died.
1. too often, readers of this story get bogged down in whether Elijah resurrected the widow’s son and brought hm back to life or whether he was merely resuscitated.
2. Sometimes, we get bogged down in the details we miss the point.
3. Do not miss this point: the widow turns to Elijah in her critical time of need.
b. As she turns to him, she seems to be angry, or distraught, full of accusations.
1. “What have you against me, O man of God?” You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!’
2. Of course, even her accusation carries with the affirmation that Elijah is a man of God.
3. her frustration sounds to me a bit like Martha in the gospel of John, who races to meet Jesus after her brother Lazarus died and greets him with these words: "if you have been here, my brother would not have died.”
4. the widow speaks for all of us who find ourselves scared,
or frustrated with life’s circumstances
or feel helpless at what is happening in our lives or our world
5. we struggle when we do not know what to do
or cannot find ways to change the trajectory of our lives or our world.
6. we pray for peace and then hear stories of wars in the Ukraine and the Middle East
we ask for an end to gun violence and it erupts unexpectedly in places for no seeming rhyme or reason
we feel our lives out of control, unable to find the path forward for ourselves
we watch as difficult medical journeys unfold for ourselves or our loved ones.
6. We recognize in the widow of Zarephath our own frustrations and helplessness.
b. She offers a powerful reminder to us when she turns to the man of God who has wandered into her life.
1. Where do we turn as we face the challenges in our lives?
2. it is so easy to only trust in what we can do,
or what our resources can by or manage
to think we are left to our own devices.
2. In doing so, we forget the example of the widow of Zarephath who discovers the God of life,
discovers the God of healing,
discover the God of unimagined possibilities.
And chooses to turn to God.
Conclusion: At the end of the story, Elijah will go to Israel. he has more adventures to come taking on Ahah, Jezebel, and the priests of the Baal gods.
But I am left thinking about the widow and her son back in Zarephath.
and her jar of meal.
I know it’s not exactly the same, but I grew up opening the refrigerator and seeing a jar of sour read dough starter sitting on the top shelf.
Every day it was there, speaking to the possibilities of biscuits yet cooked,
dough yet divided and shared.
Every day, the widow of Zarephath sees her jar of meal and her jug of oil and sees the God of Israel to whom she turns.
What do you see?
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment