Word for the Week: Domestic Encouragement
The jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing... The Lord heard Elijah’s cry and the boy’s life returned to him.
1 Kings 17:16-17, 22
Here is a story of a small household – a widow, her son and a long-term lodger. Elijah lived with this little family for several years, a quiet mostly uneventful time. Life was difficult as the famine bit, but he was far from the dangers and idolatry of Israel.
They were encouraged and reassured by two miracles – the provision of a reliable source of basic food throughout the drought, and the son’s restoration to life – astounding miracles, but at the same time very personal. Did her neighbours know that the jug and jar were always full? Possibly not, since they were only eating the same pancakes as everyone else. Did they know the boy had died? Again probably not since Elijah acted immediately after the boy stopped breathing. These miracles were for the widow and for Elijah.
The Lord reassured this kindly woman from a land where Baal was god, that he is the only true God. And the Lord encouraged Elijah, building him up for a demanding future. He was encouraged by the widow’s faith; encouraged that God has the power to act miraculously; encouraged that his own words delivered the miracle of oil and flour; encouraged by God’s answer to his prayer for the child’s life. He was encouraged, warmed and comforted so that when the call came to go back to Israel, Ahab and Jezebel, he knew that the power of the living God was with him.
The Lord works with us, too, even if generally in less dramatic ways – reminding us of his care with acts of encouragement, and building us up to trust him for any big challenges ahead. But do we always notice?
Margaret Killingray
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