I Kings 17: 9,12-13: “Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which [belongeth] to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. And she said, As the Lord they God liveth, I have not a cake, but, an 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. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first.”
Really now, could you have sat down to eat a sandwich prepared by a poor starving widow and her son? With every bite you take you would have four hungry brown eyes staring at you.
I have heard certain hungry preachers use this story when it came time to talk of tithing and somehow they forget to mention verse 9. In verse 9 we find that the widow and God had already reached an agreement in this matter of feeding the man of God. Elijah had already been feed by ravens, he didn’t need this widow’s food. He was merely being obedient to God.
Looking at the give and take between Elijah and the widow it would appear they were feeling each other out to be sure this was their contacts. Elijah may not have been sure this widow was the one that God called him to meet and the widow may not have been sure that Elijah was the man God had commanded her to sustain. Elijah was no Mr. Know It All. Look at verse 20, Elijah was quite in the dark as to why God allowed the widow’s son to die. He didn’t always know the mind of God himself.
For a widow, with a young son to invite some strange man just walking into town to come to her home was a pretty bold thing to do. However, from the give and take it would seem Elijah and the widow were speaking almost in coded language to each other to confirm their identities. This was not unusual in that day as it is today. We often speak in coded language or esoterically to each other. Two young lovers may look out into a forest. The man may say: “You know, Honey, that may be a nice place to do some good rabbit hunting.” She would snuggle up to him and say: “Let’s you and I go rabbit hunting.” Only she and her young man know what they are talking about but it is a sure bet it is not a hunting license they will need. When Jesus spoke in parables it was so not everyone would understand. Oh, they might understand some message from the stories He told, but only those who knew the esoteric nature of the language He used could really understand what He was teaching.
If we assume a coded or lest just say a guarded conversation then note that Elijah asks the woman to fetch water in a vessel. I mean what is she going to fetch water in but a vessel. I know what you are thinking, I am just reading too much into this, perhaps, but I just call it meditating on the Word of God, so let’s just follow this bunny trail a little and see where it leads, just for the fun of it.
The word vessel is bakali which comes from the root word kalah which means many things from destruction or to waste, ruin, to be complete or finished to a bride. Could Elijah be asking for water in a container that would run dry. Elijah then asks for the bread in her hand. What bread? What little meal she had she had not yet prepared it. I say this was again some coded or guarded language. She could consider that the bread symbolized life. Bread in Hebrew is lechem spelled Lamed – from heaven, Chet – joined with God and Mem – hidden knowledge. This would suggest hidden knowledge reveal from God. Perhaps this was a good clue that this was the man God told her about.
She did not say she had no bread but no cakes. Elijah didn’t ask for cakes. The word cake is ma’og from the root word ‘avag which is spelled Ayin Vav and Gimel. The word means cake but it also means to enlarge. Perhaps she was telling Elijah, “God said I am to feed you but I don’t even have enough to feed my son and myself.” Then she says that she has a handful of meal. The word handful is Kap like in the letter Kap. The kap is an empty vessel waiting to be filled. She also says that she has a flask of oil. The word flask is saphah which means to spread out. Could she be saying: “I have a promise of provision from God and I am waiting for the miracle.”
With this Elijah was able to say: Feed me first. I think, just my opinion here, what was going on was that Elijah was really saying: “Yes, I am the one that God said He would send to you to sustain or laklaklak. This is a very strange word, it is made of of three lak(s) an agreement between three people, her, Elijah and God. I believe this was the word the woman received from God. What she gave to God’s servant, God would return in equal proportion to her and her son. Elijah’s request to be given the first piece of bread was just a confirmation, not a condition. This is very important to understand. She said “Yes Lord,” long before Elijah appeared on the scene. She had already agreed with God that Elijah would get first dibs on the cakes. Elijah was simply saying: “I can confirm what God told you laklaklak. You sustain the man of God and God will sustain you. I am that man, so do what you and God agreed to do.”
If God gives us a promise, sometimes He will wait to the eleventh hour to fulfill that promise. I mean at my age that’s hard your heart. I don’t know about your but during that time of waiting, I can really begin to doubt if I even heard from God to begin with. Yet, God will give us little coded, guarded or esoteric signs to confirm that we did hear from him. My study partner is always looking for the number 22 as a confirmation from God. 22 means nothing to me. I get my little coded or esoteric confirmation from God when for no reason at all I begin to tear up and my nose runs. Very embarrassing, but humbling. What’s your little code from God. I bet if you think about it, you will discover one, pay attention for like the widow woman if you don’t you may just miss a blessing form God. But keep in mind it is between you and God, little signs that the rest of the world probably would not even recognize, but between you and God it is as clear as a woman snuggling up to Her lover and saying: “Let’s you and I go rabbit hunting.”
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