8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying , 9 "Arise , go to Zarephath , which belongs to Sidon , and stay there ; behold , I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." 10 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 , "Please get me a little water in a jar , that I may drink ." 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her and said , "Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand ." 12 But she said , " As the Lord your God lives , I have no bread , only e a handful e of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar ; and behold , I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son , that we may eat it and die ." 13 Then Elijah said to her, "Do not fear ; go , do as you have said , but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son . 14 "For thus says the Lord God of Israel , 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted , nor shall the jar of oil be empty , until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth .' " 15 So she went and did according to the word of Elijah , and she and he and her household ate for many days . 16 The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty , according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 17:8-16
Commentary on 1 Kings 17:8-16
(Read 1 Kings 17:8-16)
Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, and some, it is likely, would have bidden him welcome to their houses; yet he is sent to honour and bless with his presence a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, and so becomes the first prophet of the Gentiles. Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet, to show her how powerless was her malice, God will find a hiding-place for him even in her own country. The person appointed to entertain Elijah is not one of the rich or great men of Sidon; but a poor widow woman, in want, and desolate, is made both able and willing to sustain him. It is God's way, and it is his glory, to make use of, and put honour upon, the weak and foolish things of the world. O woman, great was thy faith; one has not found the like, no not in Israel. She took the prophet's word, that she should not lose by it. Those who can venture upon the promise of God, will make no difficulty to expose and empty themselves in his service, by giving him his part first. Surely the increase of this widow's faith, so as to enable her thus readily to deny herself, and to depend upon the Divine promise, was as great a miracle in the kingdom of grace, as the increase of her meal and oil in the kingdom of providence. Happy are all who can thus, against hope, believe and obey in hope. One poor meal's meat this poor widow gave the prophet; in recompence of it, she and her son did eat above two years, in a time of famine. To have food from God's special favour, and in such good company as Elijah, made it more than doubly sweet. It is promised to those who trust in God, that they shall not be ashamed in evil time; in days of famine they shall be satisfied.