Stephen Whitehouse - Class 1 - A Widow’s Faith

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   Well, it's worth just reminding ourselves of the figure of Elijah and then his character. Keep a marker in 1 Kings chapter 17 because we're going to base our thoughts upon that chapter. But I'd like us now to go to 2 Kings chapter 1. And here, and I'm sure we're all aware, that it's the account of Ahab's son.

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   And Ahab sends out messengers to find out whether he's going to be healed of this terrible disease. And the messengers come back and they inform him of a person they have met on their way. We read here in verse 8 of chapter 1. And they answered, Ahaziah, and said, he was a hairy man and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins.

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   And immediately this king realizes that it's Elijah the Tishbite. So he was renowned for his appearance. It was a stark appearance. So imagine this man coming into the court of Ahab. And there they are, dressed in their royal robes and apparel. Ahab, and this man here, a hairy man, he was known as the god of hair.

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   You can imagine his mane. And he was girt with a girdle of leather around his loins. And we know that he also carried the mantle, the prophet's mantle. And there he was, standing as a figure of God. And Ahab as a figure of Baal. These two forces come in opposition, one with another.

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   But what about his character? I'd like you now to look at 1 Chronicles in chapter 12. It's an interesting reference here. He came from Gilead, didn't he, Elijah? Gilead is of the east of the Jordan. And we find this little verse here in 1 Kings chapter 12. And it describes the fortitude of the Gileadites.

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   Now those who were sojourning in Gilead at this time were from the tribe of Gad. And so when we come to 1 Chronicles chapter 12 and David is assembling his troops, this is the character and the fortitude of the men and women that came from Gilead, the place that Elijah came from. So 1 Chronicles chapter 12 and verse 8.

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   And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hole to the wilderness. They were men of might. And they were men of war, fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as arose upon the mountains. What a fitting verse to describe Elijah, brothers and sisters.

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   He certainly was a man, fit for the battle. He was going to take on Ahab and Jezebel and all the courtiers and all the prophets of Baal, and even Baal himself. And he had a face like the face of a lion. He would roar forth in the court of Ahab. His bravery was renowned.

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   And we know that this was a man who was summons here, there and everywhere in northern Israel from that phrase, the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord would compel him to go from one place to another. And here he is, as swift as the rose upon the mountains. So you imagine Elijah there with the face of a lion, as swift as the rose upon the mountains.

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    And there he is, standing in Ahab's court. But there's a very sobering exhortation for us, brothers and sisters, isn't there? With one exception, the word of the Lord compelled Elijah to go. He waited patiently for the word of the Lord to speak to him. What about us in our own lives? Are we motivated by the word of the Lord?

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    Can we honestly say that about ourselves, brothers and sisters? That our decisions in life, our actions, our work in this dispensation is motivated, is energized by the word of the Lord. And Elijah was a man of like passions, James 5 verse 17 says. He was a representative man. And so we can identify ourselves with this man, Elijah.

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    And he was compelled by the word of the Lord. And let that be an exhortation for ourselves. Well, Elijah said there'd be no rain. I want you to go back now to Deuteronomy chapter 11.

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    Elijah was speaking the words of the Lord. He was an extension of the word of the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ was the word made flesh. And we see the similarities with Elijah here. He's only speaking what the law of Moses had said. If you glance down then, in verse 13 to verse 15 of Deuteronomy chapter 11, you see that rains would be poured upon the earth if they followed the God of Israel.

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    So they are the blessings. I want you now to look at verse 16. Take heed to yourselves, says God, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside and serve other gods, Baal and Baalim, and worship them. And if they did this, well, what is the response from the father? Verse 17.

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    And then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and the land yield not her fruit, unless she perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you. So it was just an extension of what God had said through his prophet Moses.

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    And so Elijah prayed and shut up heaven, but God had already commanded, an edict had gone forth, that if they were disobedient, he would close heaven. Now this is where the challenge is, brothers and sisters, because Baal was viewed as the God of the rains. And the Lord God, in demonstrating his supremacy over Baal and the God of the rains, he was going to close heaven for three and a half years.

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    And so we see that contest. That contest didn't just take place on Carmel, brothers and sisters. It began now. The Lord God closed up heaven. Let's go back then to 1 Kings chapter 17, and let's continue with the narrative. So, as the word of the Lord then instructs Elijah to go, and what does God say to him?

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    Well, it says there in verse 3, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherish, that is before Jordan. Now, this is how God works with his servants. He returns to Gilead. That's where Cherith is. He would have been familiar with the territory. This is the blessings of the Father.

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    He wasn't going to be placed in total isolation. Now, the word Cherith in the Hebrew means to cut off, to sever. And the Lord God was severing his relationship with Israel. God was denying Israel their prophet, Elijah. And so God was cutting off Elijah, and cutting off himself from them. There would be no rain.

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    There would be no blessings of Deuteronomy chapter 11. But did you notice that little phrase at the end of verse 3? He goes to the brook Cherith. Cut off. That is before Jordan. What a lovely phrase that is. There he is in isolation, and it's before Jordan. Now, the word Jordan in the Arabic is the word, Na es sharia, which means the watering place.

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    And the reason why it's been given that name was that it's a plentiful source of water. Can you see what God is doing with Elijah? He's in a drought. There's no rain. He's in a brook. And before him is a source of water that would supply all his needs. But no. God wants Elijah to be by the brook.

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    He wants Elijah to have faith. He wants Elijah to be reliant upon him. Isn't that wonderful, brothers and sisters? The providential hand of God. God wanted Elijah to rely upon him. And it goes further than this. Verse 4. And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

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    So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. For he went and dwelt by the brook Cherish, that is, before Jordan. So God had at his disposal the angels, the mighty messengers of God. But God didn't choose his mighty angels. He chose his humble winged creatures to supply Elijah morning and evening, morning and evening, and morning and evening.

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    Verse 6. And the ravens brought in bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook. Picture that, brothers and sisters. The first moment of the day, with the sun rays, a gift from God comes to Elijah. This is why we chose hymn number 88.

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    New every morning, great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3, verse 23. And Elijah would have known that verse. Great is thy faithfulness. And just before he sleeps, the messengers of God come once more to feed him bread and flesh. There's the reliance of Elijah upon God. Now, as we all know, brothers and sisters, the ravens, it says in Leviticus chapter 11 and verse 15, were unclean.

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    They were unclean. And so, God is educating Elijah in a new way. In a new way in how he's going to deal with his people. God is saying very clearly that if he so chooses, he will choose the unclean things of this life. He will gather them in his arms and he will bring them to glory.

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    The ravens were unclean. Not only were they unclean, they were viewed as an abomination. Elijah, eight of them, thankfully, with a thankful heart. And so, brothers and sisters, the verse of the Lord Jesus Christ, take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself, sufficient until the day is the evil thereof.

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    And that's an exhortation for ourselves. Implicit trust Elijah had on his God. And what of us, brothers and sisters, sometimes we can become so preoccupied in our planning, in how we're going to plan our lives, but we should not forget this eternal principle that we have today and we do not have tomorrow for tomorrow is God's.

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    And so, we should have the same spirit and the same attitude as Elijah. The other thing I want to develop here as we develop our thoughts a little further, Elijah here is being fed by these unclean animals. And I want you to imagine that this is a glimpse of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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    The gospel that had been given to Israel was going to go forth. He's being fed by unclean animals. His next phase of his life was going to go to a Gentile territory and he is going to sojourn with a Gentile, both cursed under the law. And so, this is the first part of his education.

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    God is instructing him in righteousness and saying, I choose these unclean things and you, Elijah, will need to associate yourself with that. And he would have to do that in Zarephath. Well, we shouldn't fail to see the miracle here. Let's go to Job chapter 38. The ravens here were providing Elijah bread and flesh morning and evening, morning and evening.

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    But Job here says in Job 38 and verse 41, who provided for the raven his food when his young ones cry unto God they wonder for lack of meat. And so, Job is saying that it's a miracle. It's a miracle that these ravens brought Elijah food because they struggled to provide food for themselves.

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    It was no problem at all. Because God was with them. And so, Elijah would have been aware that these ravens would have struggled to bring forth fruit. But, he had trust in his God. Well, let's go back then to 1 Kings chapter 17. There he is at the brook Cherith. It says there in verse 8, and the word of the Lord came unto him saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath which belongeth to Zidon and dwell there.

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    Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. Now, what I want to suggest to you now is that Elijah takes on the experiences of Israel of old as they wandered in the wilderness. And hopefully, you'll see that as we develop our thoughts. But that's the point I want to make that Elijah now takes on in figure the experiences of Israel.

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    but specifically the experiences of Moses. Elijah now becomes a figure of Moses. And he tries so desperately to be Moses. And we will see he will fail. But God instructs him in the ways of Moses. So just part that for a moment and let's just develop our thoughts. So he goes then to Zarephath.

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    The trust of Elijah. Where was Zarephath? Well, it was a Gentile area. It was outside the boundaries of Israel. And it was between Tyre and Zidon.

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    It was the very place that Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, reigned. The very source of Zidonian worship. The influence of Jezebel. So there's Elijah being fed by ravens. The brook dries up. He doesn't go until he's instructed by the word of the Lord. And remember, Israel in the wilderness, they never moved, did they, until the word of the Lord came to them.

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    So that's a similar pattern. And God says, I want you to go to the very source of the affliction that's being brought upon the land because we know the prophets of the Lord were being persecuted by Jezebel. That's faith. And not a remark comes from the lips of Elijah. He just goes forth.

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    Let's go to Luke chapter 4. And as we go there, brothers and sisters, sometimes we're called upon to do difficult things, are we not? We know deep down that we should do certain things in the truth and we know they're going to be very challenging. Do we do them knowing that God is going to be with us?

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    Or do we ignore the word of the Lord? And here, the Lord Jesus Christ reminds the children of Israel concerning Elijah and this special woman of Zarephath. Luke chapter 4 and verse 25, But I tell you of a truth. Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias when the heavens were shut up three years and six months when great famine was throughout all the land.

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    But unto none of them was Elijah or Elias sent save unto Sarepta a city of Zidon unto a woman that was a widow. Now just pause for a moment. One of the greatest prophets the world has ever seen. Israel is in dire straits and God says I want my great prophet Elijah to go to Zarephath to do what?

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    To do what? To bring one person into the truth. And she happens to be a Gentile. And we will see a pattern is established. A pattern of the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't that wonderful? Elijah's sole responsibility now was to bring one person into the truth. Now he goes to Zarephath and Zarephath in the Hebrew means a place of refining.

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    And so here in Zarephath the characters of Elijah and the widow woman would be moulded and shaped. They would experience the heat of affliction but together they would bring forth fruit meat unto redemption. I want you now to go to Matthew chapter 15.

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    He goes to Zidon Elijah does. No mean feet 80 miles on foot would have been a difficult journey for him. Zidon is a village or a town on the coast of the Mediterranean. It's a fishing port. The root of the name Zidon literally means hunting and it comes from a derivative root which means to catch fish.

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    Don't you think that's interesting? Elijah now is becoming the first prophet to go to the Gentiles and he goes to bring someone into the truth and he goes to a place that means to catch fish. And when the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to his disciples when they were to spread the gospels to the four corners of the earth what did he call them?

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    Fishers of men. So all these fishers of men that the Lord Jesus Christ sent forth to speak to Gentile men and women is it being founded on this account the principle that's being established here in 1 Kings in chapter 17. Well let's develop this a little further look at Matthew chapter 15 don't you think it's remarkable that the Lord Jesus Christ throughout his three and a half ministry three and a half years ministry he goes out of Israel just once did you know that?

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    He goes out of Israel just once and where does he go? He goes to the very place that Elijah went to he goes to Tyre and Zidon look at this Matthew chapter 15 and verse 21 then Jesus went thence and departed into the coast of Tyre and Zidon and so the memory of 1 Kings chapter 17 would have been very much at the forefront of his mind and Elijah finds a woman in Zarephath in Tyre and Zidon and who does Jesus find?

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    And behold a Gentile woman a woman of Canaan came out the same coast and cried unto him saying have mercy on me O Lord thou son of David my daughter is grievously vexed with the devil so she also has a domestic issue a domestic problem and she needs a healing hand of God and this would need the healing hand of God and look at the principle brothers and sisters how does the Lord Jesus Christ summarize this situation look at verse 28 then Jesus answered and said unto her O woman great is thy faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt and her daughter was made whole from that very hour so are we being told that these Gentiles will be grafted into the olive the Israeli olive if they showed faith there's the principle of her sisters verse 28 O woman great is thy faith and we know that's true in 1 Kings chapter 17 she showed and demonstrated tremendous faith and the healing hand of God blessed her home just as the healing hand of God blessed the home of this woman let's go back to our original account 1 Kings chapter 17 and Elijah then faithfully goes to Zarephath and he's greeted isn't he he's met by a woman verse 10 so he rose and went to Zarephath and when he came to the gate of the city behold that the widow woman was there gathering of sticks and he called to her and said fetch me I pray thee a little water in a vessel that I may drink now it's interesting you know brothers and sisters because if you look at

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    verse 9 how did God ensure that this widow woman was at the gates well we read in verse 9 God had commanded the widow we see at the end of verse 9 commanded the widow we don't know how whether it was through a vision or the angels spoke to this widow but it was commanded but it's the very same word that we find in verse 4 God commanded the ravens and the ravens were unclean and so was this woman under the law and notice something else at the end of verse 9 what would this unclean woman do for him she would sustain thee and what would the ravens do at the end of verse 4 they would feed thee the same Hebrew word sustain and feed it's a repeat and Elijah was educated at Chereth to prepare him for Zarephath and we'll see that God willing a little later so we have these two individuals sharing common circumstances promises both desperate for a divine provision a Jew and a Gentile coming together for a common good now we see there at the end of verse 10 Elijah's first command fetch me I pray thee a little water in a vessel that I may drink now what I want to suggest to you now is that this is the call of the gospel the process of bringing this woman into the truth now commences with that phrase fetch me I pray thee a little water in a vessel that I may drink it let's prove that let's go to John chapter 4 we see the similarities between Elijah and the Lord Jesus Christ and these accounts would

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    have been in the mind of the word made flesh the Lord Jesus Christ the son of God here we have a familiar chapter to us all the woman of Samaria and look at the language it's a repeat of one Kings chapter 17 John 4 verse 5 then cometh Jesus to a city of Samaria which is called Sikar or Shechem near to the parcel of the ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph verse 7 there cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water what's Jesus' first command notice that bread and sisters give me to drink that was the first command of Elijah give me to drink of a woman in need and how is Jesus going to answer this woman look at verse 13 whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst but the water that I shall give him shall be in a well of water springing up into everlasting life so Elijah asks give me to drink and the woman would give him to drink but what did Elijah have at his disposal he had a well of water springing up into everlasting life he had the hope of Israel and she was going to become a spiritual Jew an adopted daughter of God the God of Israel how wonderful brethren sisters that this figure is being played out Elijah calling this woman into the truth well let's go back then into 1 Kings chapter 17 because the commands continue it was hard enough to ask for water but a harder request comes verse 11 and she was going to fetch

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    it and he called to her and said bring me I pray thee a morsel of bread in thine hand and she 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 cruise 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 what a challenge she only had enough food for her and her son and she's been asked to give it to Elijah what a test and what a test for Elijah knowing that this was her situation and asking and have we brothers and sisters ever been asked to do something for the truth that we know that might be of detrimental impact to our families have we ever been placed in such a situation that we have to put God first before our family and we trust in God that he will bless us this is what this woman did she was the woman with the last might she gave over her life to this man relying on him to provide for her it's a very powerful excitation but what did she have did you notice all she had was a handful of meal and a barrel of oil do you think that's appropriate she had a handful of meal and a barrel of oil it's very appropriate I want you to go back to Leviticus chapter 2 Elijah knew exactly what he was asking of this woman Leviticus chapter 2 she has a handful of meal and she has some oil and when we come to

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    Leviticus chapter 2 it describes for us the meal offering we see there in verse 1 and when any will offer a meat or a meal offering the Hebrew word is minka unto the Lord what happens look at verse 2 he shall bring you to Aaron's son the priest and he shall take thereof or there out a handful of flour and some oil thereof that's exactly what the woman had with all the frankincense thereof and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar to be an offering made by fire a sweet savor unto the Lord verse 4 and if thou bring an oblation of a meal offering bacon in the oven it shall be with unleavened cakes a fine flour mingled with oil or unleavened wafers anointed with oil and if thy oblation be a meal offering bacon in a pan it shall be a fine flour unleavened mingled with oil so it was a meal offering and a meal offering spoke of dedication I'm dedicating my labours to God and that meal offering the handful of flour and oil was made into a cake and what did Elijah ask for a little cake first she was to offer a sacrifice she was to offer the meal offering now this is wonderful I want you to go to Malachi chapter 1 now look at this little obscure verse that we find in Malachi chapter 1 and it's the same Hebrew word as minka the meal offering we see here in verse 11 for from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great where among the

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    Gentiles and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name and a pure offering or minka that means meal offering for my name shall be great among the heathen saith the Lord of hosts so we'd be shown a glimpse of the future here this woman is in a Gentile territory she's a Gentile and she's being commanded to give of the minka the meal offering the handful of flour and of the oil and to make it into a cake and the Malachi here says what this woman did in 1 Kings chapter 17 is a glimpse of the future when the Lord Jesus Christ is in the earth God's name will be praised in all Gentile territories and they will give of the minka the meal offering so what a wonderful little cameo is being portrayed before us she was the Gentile listening to a prophet of Israel and she was to give her the minka well there's more than this let's go to Numbers chapter 15 so we've considered the meal and we've considered the oil but Elijah didn't ask for the meal did he he didn't ask for the oil he asked for a cake and he wanted the cake first well this is the language of Moses Numbers chapter 15 look at verse 17 and the Lord spake unto Moses saying speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them when you come into the land whither I bring you then it shall be that when you eat of the bread of the land ye shall offer a heave offering notice unto the Lord ye shall offer a cake notice of the first Elijah asked

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    first for a cake this is the language of Numbers chapter 15 the first of your dough for a heave offering as you do the heave offering of the threshing floor so shall you heave it of the first of your dough shall you give it unto the Lord a heave offering in your generations well what's that about well when the children of Israel were in the wilderness the Lord God provided the manna and quail and so when they entered into the land God said I want you to offer the first of your dough I've provided for you you now provide for me and so the cake came and it was the first cake and it symbolized a heave offering now what was a heave offering under the law well the heave offering was the right shoulder of an animal and what did that speak of total strength so this woman then is being asked to give all her strength to Elijah all her strength to the God of Israel and that's exactly what she did she gave everything to God she was going to die there's no food in the house but there's more let's go to Leviticus chapter 7 and all these passages would have been running through the mind of Elijah he knew exactly what he was asking this woman to do Leviticus chapter 7 verse 11 and this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which ye shall offer unto the Lord if he offer it for a thanksgiving then he shall offer with the sacrifice of a thanksgiving giving unleavened cakes mingled with oil and unleavened wafers anointed with oil and cakes mingled with

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    oil of fine flour fried besides the cakes he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offering so she had to give thanksgiving and it was part of the peace offerings now what were the peace offerings the peace offerings were part of the sacrifice that the children of Aaron could eat of it spoke of fellowship with God God was united with Israel so if we draw all these sacrifices together we're being told that this woman would have to dedicate herself she would have to recognize her sin she would have to be thankful for God's blessings and if she did all these things and she offered a sacrifice to God God would bring her into fellowship that's the hope of the gospel though it was seen under the rituals of the law that was the hope of the gospel now think about this Elijah had been at cherith there was no food there and he had to rely on the ravens he now goes to Zarephath to help this woman this woman now has to trust Elijah that Elijah would bring the bread each day don't you see how God is working Elijah was tested and Elijah came through that test and now he becomes a mediator for this woman he had been tested in all points as she was yet he'd not failed can you see that brothers sisters we see Christ do we not a man who now sits at the right hand of the father who is described by the great apostle as a compassionate high priest these are the works of God and they're all consistent

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    now one final reference concerning this bread I want you now to go to Numbers chapter 11 I believe this is the most important reference concerning this cake so from the woman's perspective she was to offer to God but how is God viewing this God viewed it as a gift and isn't it significant brothers and sisters that the manner is described as the same ingredients as we read in 1 Kings chapter 17 as far as God was concerned he was giving this woman manna number chapter 11 then in verse 7 and the manna was of coriander seed and the color thereof is the color of bedellium and the people went out and gathered it in grounded mills or beat it in a mortar and they baked it in pans and they made cakes of it and the taste of it was was a taste of fresh oil and so as far as God was concerned he was giving her manna she was as it were in the wilderness and would she enter into the promised land Elijah takes on the figure now of Moses who is bringing great miracles to Israel and she takes on the figure of the nation of Israel we're going back then to 1 Kings chapter 17 we know that this was not sustained tragedy struck we see there in verse 17 and it came to pass that after these things that the son of the woman the mistress of the house she fell sick and his sickness was so sore that there was no breath left in him so he felt sick want you to notice that phrase she was the mistress of the house the Hebrew word

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    mistress is the word bala bala the root of the name Baal does this signify that she still had a relationship with Baal it would require the resurrection of the dead for her to truly believe in the living God the God of Israel now why is it brothers and sisters if we ask ourselves that rhetorical question why is it that Elijah this woman and this child they were being fed by manna day in day out and the child died amidst the scene of miracles why did he die Jesus Christ answered why this child died I read these words to you it's in John chapter 6 I am that bread of life your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead this is the bread which cometh down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die I am the living bread which came down from heaven if any man eat of this bread he shall live forever this manna could not sustain them forever it was just a figure of something greater to come the Lord Jesus Christ the bread of life and so the child died and what does this woman do well she brings her sins to memory in verse 18 but she calls him a man of God keep a hand in 1 Kings chapter 17 I want you to go back to Deuteronomy chapter 33 what a wonderful clue we have here we could have easily overlooked that phrase oh man of God she knew exactly what Elijah was she knew that he was a figure of Moses and this was manna indeed because when we come to Deuteronomy chapter 33 we come

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    across a title of Moses it was unique to Moses we read there in verse 1 and this is the blessing where with Moses the man of God bless the children of Israel before his death she looks to this man she says yes you are like Moses you are that man of God yes indeed this was manna but my child is now dead why why and the account continues then in 1 Kings chapter 17 that Elijah moved because he had developed he had forged a deep relationship with this woman and a child and he separates the child so that the child is with him and his God and he prays to his God and he stretches himself upon that child three times three the number of the resurrection Elisha would do similarly to the Shunammite son but this resurrection that we read of in 1 Kings chapter 17 there are two two major observations I believe to be seen here the first observation is that Elijah was not hindered by the law what we see Elijah do here he goes beyond the law because the law said in numbers chapter 19 that it was a defilement the defilement to touch a dead body Elijah goes beyond the law he'd already been fed by the ravens he'd already been with a Gentile he was already unclean he goes beyond the law and secondly at no other time had a servant of God called upon God to raise the dead to life Elijah is the first man a prophet to the Gentiles and the first man to call upon God to raise the dead and so surely brothers and sisters we see here very powerfully a

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    figure of Christ a man whose gospel would go to the four corners of the earth a man who said I am the resurrection and the life though this man be dead yet shall he live in John and chapter 5 and so the earnest prayer of a faithful man an effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much we read in James chapter 5 and and there in verse 22 the Lord heard the voice of Elijah that word heard literally means a person hearing attentively unlike Baal God was observing the entire scene he empathized with Elijah he empathized with the widow he knew exactly what he was calling both of these characters of God to do and he heard and he responded and her faith now was fulfilled verse 24 and the woman said to Elijah now by this I know that thou art a man of God again that title of Deuteronomy chapter 33 and the word of thy Lord the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth a Gentile then had been brought into the truth Elijah's work had brought forth fruits I want to go to one final reference now Hebrews chapter 11 the faith of this woman and the wonderful scene of God extending his gospel to a Gentile territory and bringing a Gentile into the truth and here in this momentous chapter where the faithful of old are described in their wonderful acts we read in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 35 women received their dead raised to life again and others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they may obtain a better resurrection verse 38 of whom the world was not worthy they wondered in

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    deserts and in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth and these all having obtained a good report through faith receive not the promise God having provided some better thing for us that they without us should not be made perfect women receive their dead raised to life again surely this describes the woman at Zarephath the woman that was identified by the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke chapter 4 and it was Zarephath in the place of refining that their characters were forged and they came forth Elijah and this widow they came forth as purge gold purge gold brothers and sisters and part of the jewels that the Lord Jesus Christ will gather to himself when he returns and so finally then the lesson that Elijah and the widow and the lesson that all of us brothers and sisters have to learn in this life is found in verse 6 and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him