“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” – 1 Kings 17:9
Elijah & The Widow of Zarephath
In 1 Kings 17, the profit Elijah tells King Ahab of the coming drought and follows God’s instruction to flee the town and hide in a ravine, where he is fed by the ravens for a year. However, as the drought continues, the brook runs dry and God instructs him to go to the town of Zarephath and the widow there. Upon arriving and meeting the widow, he learns that she and her son have just enough flour and oil to make one final loaf of bread and have resigned themselves to their fate. Elijah instructs her to make the bread and bring him some and promises her the flour and oil will not run dry until the drought is over. Elijah stays with the widow and her son, and they eat well every day. Some time later, the widow’s son falls ill and dies, and Elijah performs the first recorded raising of the dead in the bible.
Promise of Zarephath
There is so much hope at Zarephath. It is a place of safety and hiding. It is a place of rest. It is a place of God’s continued provision. It is a place of life and resurrection. It is a place of serving and being served. It is a place of miracles and a place of revelation.
Finding Zarephath
As women in ministry, aren’t we often in need of our own Zarephath? Our own rest, our own safety, our own place of provision, of fulfilled promises, even of resurrection? A time to be served and healed, a time to reclaim life and joy. That is the significance of Zarephath, the place and story to remind us of the God who loves us, provides for us, heals us, and breathes life into us. It’s not about the place, it finding the promises of Zarephath that Jesus offers us here and now.
Johnna Buckland says:
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