Giving in Scarcity
1 Kings 17:7-24 (ESV)
7And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
The Widow of Zarephath
8Then the word of the Lord came to him,9“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”10So 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, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.”11And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”13And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.14For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’”15And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.16The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
Elijah Raises the Widow's Son
17After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.18And she 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!”19And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed.20And he
cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child's life[a] come into him again.”22And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.23And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.”24And 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’s story opens in a deeply unideal moment: (1) hunted by a king, (2) hiding beside a shrinking brook, (3) alone and waiting on God. Yet in that lonely place, the Lord fed His prophet through the most unlikely “servers”: ravens. It was a quiet reminder that the Triune God provides in ways no human strategy could ever match. This is the God who declares, “every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). The One who owns all things can summon His creation to care for His people.
- When the brook dried up, God’s faithfulness didn’t.
- The God who commands ravens can command widows (even a gentile widow in pagan Sidon). God chose a widow, one of the most vulnerable people in the ancient world, to sustain his servant.
- Zarephath was Baal’s backyard, yet God sent His prophet there. - Baal, the so called god of rain, could not help his own worshipers. - The Triune God gives.
- This story invites us to trust God in our own scarcity.
I. God Provides!
A. The tug in our hearts: “God must provide versus I must provide.” (Josh Herrera)
In 1 Kings 17, we see a striking contrast between Ahab and Elijah: 1. Ahab tries to secure his future through an ungodly alliance.
2. Elijah, on the other hand, entrusts himself to
the God who called him, even when obedience
puts a target on his back. The famine did not
cause him to reconsider his allegiance to YHWH.
Instead, he learned that God’s provision
(including the meaning and purpose of a miracle) is not merely about meeting needs; it is about revealing himself as the true “Source and Sustainer of life.” Every act of provision in this
chapter is a quiet assault on false gods; whether Baal in the
ancient world or the “functional gods” we bow to today:
money, work, reputation, hobbies, or self reliance.
3. There is nothing wrong with diligence in work or study.
Scripture commends it. But when our hustle eclipses our
dependence on God, we drift into what is called practical
atheism (living as though God is irrelevant to our daily
survival). That disconnect between what we confess and how we live is spiritually dangerous. It leaves us restless,
unsatisfied, and always chasing “just a little more.” It becomes a rabbit trail with no finish line.
4. The narrative here reminds us that true security is not found in the alliances we build, but in the God who keeps covenant with His people. The Triune God provides not only bread for the
body but faith for the heart, teaching us to rest in Him rather
than in ourselves.
B. BCI, let’s turn our eyes to the true God and trust Him, for “the things of earth grow strangely dim” when we look to His glory and grace.
II. Giving is Participation in Gospel Ministry, according to the “Word of the Lord.”
See how this passage begins, develops, and ends. Elijah went to Zarephath because the “word of the Lord” sent him, and he spoke hope to the widow because the “word of the Lord” shaped his message. - “Then the word of the Lord came to him (Elijah)…” (1 Kings 17:8)
- “The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of
oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord
that he spoke by Elijah.” (1 Kings 17:16)
- “And 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.’” (1 Kings 17:24)
A. Elijah moved because God spoke, not because life was safe or convenient. B. God’s provision follows the path of his word. Elijah and the widow were sustained “according to the word of the lord.” Their preservation came not from resources but from the God who speaks. His word sustained them.” God meets needs where his word is trusted, proclaimed, and obeyed. C. Giving flows from faith, not pressure. The widow’s priorities changed because God’s word changed her. Her generosity wasn’t forced. It was the fruit of faith awakened by truth.
D. Giving becomes worship when it joins God’s work. Jesus quoting the widow of Zarepath: “There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah… yet Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.” (Luke 4:25-26)
E. Giving “increases the harvest of your righteousness.”
“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 9:10)
Conclusion:
A. Giving is a matter of faith and obedience.
B. Obedience places us under the gracious hand of God, who loves to bless His people.
C. God gives not excess, but enough.
D. David Slusher – “We don’t give to get—we give in faith, trusting that the God who sees never forgets.”
Elijah is the God sent prophet who brings life to a dying
household, but Christ is the greater Prophet who brings life to a dying world. The widow receives a never-failing supply of flour and oil, but in Christ we receive the true “bread of life” whose provision never runs out. In Christ, we meet the Triune God whose word sustains, provides, and even raises the dead. And only through Christ can we learn to give according to His word: freely, joyfully, and for the glory of our Triune God.