1st Kings 17:7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. 8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
This providence of God is of particular concern, not only because she wasn’t a Hebrew, but because at that time, there were other faithful persons among the remnant who had not bowed the knee to Baal. Even though the apostasy of Israel had reached epic proportions, yet there were still a few thousand folk who had not subscribed to the prevailing apostasy, and being in the minority, as they always would be, God took notice, and made mention of them when Elijah mistakenly thought he was the only remaining faithful person.
Therefore, the question of concern is, “Why didn’t God send His servant Elijah to stay with any one of the other faithful remnant people, but instead sent him to a foreign land, to a woman who was not a blood descendant of Jacob? Could it be just a mere coincidence, or is The Lord, through this singular providence, seeking to teach us some solemn truth?
It is worthy of note, that Elijah was at this very time, preparing for the contest on Mt, Carmel which was to take place between the commandments of God and the commandments of men and thus, he would be sustained by the providences of God through the woman of Zidon, who would take care of all Elijah’s food, and shelter. Very interesting!
1st Kings 17:13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. 14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!