1 Kings
Chapter 17
Elijah: The Drought
Now Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, whom I serve, lives, neither dew shall drop nor rainfall except at my command.”
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah:
“Leave this place and go eastward. Hide yourself by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan.
You shall drink from the brook and, for your food, I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
So Elijah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to live by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan.
There the ravens brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
After a while, the brook dried up because no rain had fallen on the land.
Then the Lord spoke to Elijah:
“Go to Zarephath of the Sidonites and stay there. I have given word to a widow there to give you food.”
So Elijah went to Zarephath. On reaching the town gate, he saw a widow gathering sticks. He called to her and said: “Bring me a little water in a vessel that I may drink.”
As she was going to bring it, he called after her and said: “Bring me also a piece of bread.”
She answered: “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread left, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am just now gathering some sticks so that I may go in and prepare something for myself and my son to eat—and die.”
Elijah then said to her: “Do not be afraid. Go and do as you have said. But first, make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then make some for yourself and your son.
For this is the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of meal shall not be emptied nor shall the jug of oil fail, until the day when the Lord sends rain to the earth.”
So she did as Elijah told her, and from that day on, she had food for herself, Elijah, and her son.
The jar of flour was not emptied, nor did the jug of oil fail, following what the Lord had said through Elijah.
After this, the son of this housewife became ill. And such was his illness that he stopped breathing.
She asked Elijah: “What did you do, O man of God? Have you come to uncover past sins and cause my son’s death?”
He answered, “Give me your son.”Taking him from her lap, he carried him to the upper room where he was staying and laid him on his bed.
Then he called on the Lord: “O Lord, my God, will you afflict even the widow with whom I am residing by letting her son die?”
Then he stretched himself on the child three times and called on the Lord: “O Lord, my God, let this child’s breath return to him.”
The Lord listened to the pleading of Elijah, and the child’s breath returned to him, and he lived.
Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room. He gave him to his mother and said: “See, your son is alive.”
Then the woman said to Elijah: “Now I am certain that you are a man of God and that your words came from the Lord.”
Commentaries
Elijah: The Drought.
The name Elijah, which means “the Lord is my God,” best summarizes his life and ministry; for Elijah is, above all, the champion of the Lord. The crisis of Yahwism had escalated to a life-and-death situation. In the Northern Kingdom, this crisis reached its peak during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel. The marriage of the king of Israel to this Phoenician princess proved disastrous for the Yahwist cause. Not only did he build a sanctuary to Baal in the capital, Samaria, but he also implemented a policy that was openly opposed to Yahwism, putting its prophets to death. It is within this dramatic context that Elijah’s mission unfolds. The drought itself is a fairly common occurrence in Palestine. Still, in this narrative, it serves as a sign of God’s displeasure with the anti-Yahwist offensive that has been unleashed in the Northern Kingdom, orchestrated and encouraged by the monarchy.
In the miracle at Sarepta, the widow symbolizes and embodies the Gentiles called to faith. The miracle also emphasizes the trust of Elijah and the widow. Despite all appearances to the contrary, Elijah remains confident in the Word of God and maintains his faith until the very end. Similarly, the widow obeys, relying on Elijah’s word. The miracle at Sarepta, like that of the brook Cherith (cf. 17:1-6), demonstrates God’s care and providence for His prophets.
The resurrection of the widow’s son, like the other miracles attributed to Elijah, serves as a critique against the Canaanite religion, which worshiped the god Baal. The woman, probably the widow of Sarepta and a foreigner, shows a confession of faith in Elijah as a man of God and a messenger for the Lord: “Now I am certain that you are a man of God, and that your words come from the Lod” (24).