V. 12: [in response to Elijah] "And she [the Widow of Zarephath] said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse; and behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die."

The widow acknowledges the Lord in her reply and she states she only has a small amount of flour and oil and that really she was preparing this last meal for her and her son and then readies to die.

Comparing the Widow’s life with our own:

We may or may not be able to relate to her circumstances

• of being on the verge of starvation,
• being the sole provider of her and her son. But we may be able to relate to her feelings
• of desperation,
• hopelessness
• or the sense the feeling that the situation is beyond our control.

-- How does she handle it and where does her faith come in?
-- How would we handle it and where does our faith come in?

Perhaps we are able to see more of what she did not do, i.e.,

• her response to Elijah’s request to be fed first (v.13).
• Her willingness and submission to his request show that at this point as she sees things, it would not make much of a difference given the situation she was facing.
• She was ready to prepare and serve what she considered to be the last meal to her and her son, she was ready to surrender to death (v. 12).

-- What place have we been or are currently that we are stretched and what is being asked of us seems beyond our ability?
-- Do we trust God in those times or do we try to find a solution on our own?

The Widow was searching for the twigs to prepare the meal (v.12) and what she encountered with the prophet Elijah was the last thing she thought anyone would ever request of her. This request, she knew was far beyond her ability or her available resources.

V.13-14: Elijah recognizes and acknowledges her fear and states to her how the Lord will supply for them.

God’s promise:
v.14: “For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.”

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