According to the word of the Lord, the prophet, Elijah, journeyed to a brook, which was called Cherith, east of the Jordan–and from its waters he took.

God told him to look to the ravens, for His provision of meat and bread. Both in the morning and in the evening, Elijah was thereby fed.

But there was no rain in the land, for Elijah had prayed for its delaying–to prove that his was the true God, not Baal, as King Ahab was saying.

The waters of the brook didn’t last then, so he needed again to move. God told him to go to Zarephath, where His provision again He would prove.

Elijah saw there a woman gathering sticks, a widow, as God had said. He called to her, asking for water. Then, he also asked her for bread.

She replied she had only a little flour in a bowl and a little oil in a jar. The sticks were for a fire to cook a bread cake, which wouldn’t go very far.

She had thought she and her son would eat it and then prepare to die. To her surprise, Elijah said that was the reason that God had sent him by.

He told her God wanted to provide for her, and her flour and oil wouldn’t fail. Sharing with him first, as a prophet of God, was all that it would entail.

So she did as Elijah had told her, serving the food first to him and then her son. She believed and trusted in God, that their lives weren’t over and done.

Day followed day and they always had meals–her supply was not diminished. It’s a Biblical lesson of security through faith–we’re blessed before God is finished.

During Jesus’ ministry, a little boy’s lunch, of fishes and loaves that seemed few, became enough when blessed by Him; and He blesses giving the same today, too.

P. A. Oltrogge

(from 1 Kings 17)

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want….” Psalm 23:1

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38 NKJV

“The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered.” Proverbs 11:25

There are many Christian ministries (one’s own church, first) that are “good ground” (proclaiming the gospel) in which to sow seed, mixing faith with your giving. The Biblical account about the widow of Zarephath, above, is an example of the faithfulness of God in our lives when we give into the gospel.

“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22

(All scriptures NASB, or as noted)

Power of the Tithe, by Bill Winston, under “Store” at http://www.billwinston.org

God Owns My Business, by Stanley Tam, at http://www.christianbook.com