She went and did as Elijah told her; there was always enough food for Elijah and for her and her family.
1 Kings 17:15 NET
Elijah was a prophet of God during the reign of King Ahab, the worst king of Israel up to that time (1 Kings 16:29-33). Elijah announced to Ahab that it would not rain in Israel until he said otherwise and then went into hiding.
Eventually, God sent Elijah to a widow who lived in Zarephath, a town north of Israel. When Elijah first met the widow, she was gathering enough sticks to cook a last meal for herself and her son. Then, the food would be gone, and they would die of starvation.
But Elijah told her to make some bread for him first and then provide for herself and her son. If she did, the Lord would guarantee that her flour and oil would not run out until it rained again. She did what Elijah told her to do. And, sure enough, the three of them lived on that little bit of flour and oil until the drought broke.
This widow is not listed among the great people of faith in Hebrews 11. But she could well have been. To give a stranger the food that would have kept her son alive for another day based on his promise of future provision would be quite the challenge.
An Example of Faith
Why did she do it? In 1 Kings 17:7, God told Elijah that he had commanded a widow to provide for him. So, it is apparent that God had already made her receptive to what Elijah asked of her. But she still had to act on that. Trusting that what Elijah told her would happen. Something unheard of. That no matter how much flour and oil she took from her storage jars, there would always be enough for the next meal.
But she chose to trust that what Elijah told her would happen. As a result, she and her son survived the drought. And she became an example of faith. One who trusted what God told her and acted on it, even though it made no sense at all.
