Resurrections grabs our attention in Bible stories. Hence, many of us likely know the story of the widow of Zarephath in the Bible. Not only did she show great faith by feeding a prophet the last of her food during a famine, but she showed an equal amount of faith when begging the prophet to help her dead son.
If you haven’t heard of her story, no worries. We shall dive into the two instances where she shows up in Scripture and why she leaves quite the impression on all of us.
Who Was the Widow of Zarephath?
Before we explore her story, we need to understand who she was.
First, as explained in Scripture, she’s widowed. This may not seem significant, but when we encounter her, she lives in a land struck by famine—thanks to the evil king over Israel. Sometimes, Israelites and surrounding nations experienced turmoil whenever someone evil was in power.
Widows couldn’t financially support themselves. For this reason, the Old Testament laws of Israel include laws about kinsman-redeemers who would marry widowed relatives (like Naomi’s relative Boaz marrying her daughter-in-law, Ruth).
We know this widow has a son—her one hope for someone who could provide for her. She cannot keep him fed during the time of famine.
She lives in Zarepheth— a small Phoenician town known for metalwork. Although famine struck Israel, it appears to have reached other nations during the time of King Ahab (1 Kings 17). A famine so bad that by the time the prophet Elijah reached her, the famine took place for 3.5 years.
Elijah meets the widow as she gathers sticks outside. Little does he know that she intends to do so to make one last fire: that way, she can cook one last meal for her son before they die from starvation.
We know that famines got bad in Scripture—to the point that women would eat their babies during sieges.
So when Elijah asks her for a loaf of bread, he asks her for everything she has left.
What Two Miracles Did Elijah Perform for the Widow?
The widow experiences two miracles on account of her hospitality.
The First Miracle: The Widow Of Zarephath’s Flour Doesn’t Run Out
When she and Elijah first meet, and he asks for bread, she informs him about her dire situation. She cannot even make food for herself and her son beyond that day.
Elijah encourages her to have faith.
She must have enormous faith in Elijah because she returns home and makes him a meal.
When she makes Elijah’s meal, she notices something. The jar of flour doesn’t run out nor the jug of oil.
Elijah tells her this miracle will continue until God sends rain on the land—a sign that he has stopped his judgment.
Elijah’s protege, Elisha, has a similar miracle with another widow involving oil sometime later.
The Second Miracle: The Widow of Zarephath Sees Her Son Rise from the Dead
As much as we appreciate bread being multiplied—as we later see Jesus do when he feeds 5,000 men—I think we tend to pay far greater attention when a resurrection happens in Scripture.
Especially because it only happens to a select few—such as Lazarus, Eutychus, and the widow’s son.
We should also note that it often takes another person to make this resurrection happen. The only resurrection that happens based on the person’s will alone is Jesus’ resurrection (because he is God incarnate).
We can imagine the widow’s rage when her son passed. She’d given great hospitality to a man of God and showed her faithfulness. And yet, her son’s condition worsened until he stopped breathing.
Elijah takes the boy upstairs and pleads with God to bring him back to life. God does so. When Elijah returns the son, the widow proclaims that he must indeed be a man of God to be able to do this miracle.
We don’t know why God would allow for her son to die. But he allows the son to return, perhaps showing the woman his true power.
Scripture doesn’t tell us much else about this woman. Elijah stays with her for some time, but eventually, God calls him back to speak to Ahab again (1 Kings 18) when rain finally falls on the land again.
Still, we have a lot we can learn from this woman. Before we do that, I also want to highlight that she was not an Israelite. In fact, she lived in the country that Elijah’s enemy, Jezebel, came from.
Throughout the Old Testament, God used Gentiles in unique ways. We see this happen with people such as Ruth and Rahab. Even during the time of Jonah, the “pagan” people seemed to grasp the beauty of the Gospel far more than the Israelites did.
The many moments when God used Gentiles to work his will shows that he’d intended to graft the Gentiles all along. They were a part of a bigger plan that spanned both testaments.
What Can We Learn from the Widow of Zarephath?
Although she only has two stories in one chapter, the widow at Zarephath can teach us a lot about faith and hospitality, especially in hard times.
She Was the Least of These
No one would have seemed less qualified to serve a prophet of God. She no longer had a husband to support her. She’d hailed from a foreign land outside of Israel. She didn’t even have enough food for herself and her son and planned to starve to death that day.
When Elijah fled Ahab, it would’ve made more sense for such a man of God to stay with a wealthy family with food storehouses, ready for years of famine.
Instead, God chooses a woman with humble means to work a few miracles.
She Had Enormous Faith
Elijah had asked everything from her. She had just enough flour left for one last meal with her son… when a stranger rolled into town and asked for what she had left.
But she believes. She believes Elijah when he tells her God will provide. She believes him when she goes to knead the flour. She believes him when he says that her oil and flour jars won’t go empty until the famine stops.
It also takes enormous faith for her to confront Elijah about her son. Most women would’ve accepted that their sons had passed from this life to the next, but she knows the miracles of Elijah. She knows he can call on Yahweh to make a grand miracle happen. And he does just that.
She Hosts Elijah for a Long Time
How long? We don’t know. But we can imagine anywhere from months to years.
Hospitality is not the first gift we drift toward during desperate times. Coming off the heels of a pandemic, I bet many of us can think of times when we acted in a tight-fisted manner or withheld our hospitality.
Hospitality matters most during difficult seasons. We can set out feast spreads during bountiful times, but what we do during famines counts the most.
We can imagine she could’ve even fallen back on the excuse of being a single parent. “I’m working hard to feed two mouths, so ask someone else.”
Instead, she willingly treats a foreigner with grace and compassion. And because of her faith, she witnesses some of the most beautiful miracles to happen in the Bible.
Photo Credit: Public domain (1712 print by Caspar Luyken, via Wikimedia Commons)
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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