"Faith and the Final Handful"
1Kings 17:1-16 June 6/04
The Price of Political Advantage and Personal Gain
What do1es it take to get ahead?
The federal election, to be held in just over three weeks' time, flooded the news with has filled the news with talk of standing, strategy, and what it will take to succeed. It was reportedly recently that the Liberals and Conservatives are running about even in the polls, prompting some to call it a "horse race" between the grits and Tories. Meanwhile the Green Party complains of unfair discrimination due to not being included in the televised debate. The Liberals are promising billions of dollars for seniors and the disabled, along with a national child-care system. The conservatives offer to scrap the gun registry, put more money in security and the military, and reduce corporate taxes and grants. But no changes forthcoming to our country's abortion laws. At the same time, the Marijuana Party is kicking off its campaign with the slogan "let's roll!" Sometimes it seems that principles have been watered down for the sake of catering to what the public want, not necessarily what's good for society. Politicians are leery of taking hard and fast ethical stances, questioning whether that will pay come election day.
Lest we become too critical of our political parties, we must confess that we follow the same tactics on a personal level. We have all strayed into the gray areas spiritually speaking for the sake of our own comfort or pleasure or material advantage. We spend more time in front of the mirror in the morning striving for the best physical appearance while our walk with God gets neglected or shortened. In our church gatherings we find ourselves just naturally gravitating towards those who are popular or make us laugh, and avoiding others who somehow seem to drain us when we interact. And at month-end, we give special attention to bills owing for our latest gadget purchase while envelopes and response forms for worthy charitable causes languish in the dust, overlooked for another month. It's too easy in our personal life to get swept up with society in the drive to "get ahead"; we're tempted to cut religious corners in order to gain personal advantage. Especially when times are tough, perhaps there's too much "month" and not enough "money".
Today from Elijah and those he encountered, we learn the value of faith over just what's feasible. The only thing that will ultimately sustain us is trusting God and obeying Him, even with our last handful of resources.
Ahab's Apostasy
Back in Palestine nine centuries before Christ, they didn't have democratic elections; Kings were made not so much by prophetic appointment or popular choice, but by someone seizing power and wiping out the former king's family. The decades following Solomon's reign showed a troubled political climate in the northern kingdom of Israel. The intrigues and plots and usurpers were enough to make a king nervous. King Jeroboam reigned 22 years, then his son Nadab just 2 years before he was killed. Baasha reigned 24 years, then his son Elah just 2 years before he was killed. There followed a competition between 3 contenders: Zimri, Tibni, and Omri. Zimri lasted just 7 days after murdering Elah - you might call him a "week king". There followed a struggle between Tibni and Omri that lasted 4 years, but Omri's supporters proved stronger. Omri was commander of the army and finally prevailed in the "coup d'etat". He reigned 12 years and was politically successful, establishing a royal capital at the new city, Samaria. But you can see how this whole period was characterized by unrest, intrigue, and rapid fluctuation of kingships. Not only were previous kings killed, their whole families were wiped out to eliminate any chance of other claimants. Ever since Jeroboam rebelled against Solomon's son it was a scary, "watch-your-back" political climate.
King Omri seems to have been very politically astute. He formed an alliance with King Ethbaal of Sidon; an alliance with the coastal peoples would prove advantageous - they had ports and advanced technology. But Ethbaal worshipped the Canaanite gods that the Lord forbade Israel to follow. Josephus tells us Ethbaal was priest of Astarte, or Ashtoreth, partner of Baal, god of fertility. The two were worshipped with lewd rites and licentious orgies; the involvement of the participant with the shrine prostitute was thought to induce the local "baal" god to send rain and thus more crops. A real perversion of religion that unfortunately had a lot of appeal for people -- would it be any different today?
One of the ways kings sealed diplomatic alliances back then was by arranging for their children to marry. So Ahab son of Omri king of Israel became married to the daughter of Ethbaal king of Sidon, whose name was -- Jezebel. One of the more evil women in Scripture. At Jezebel's prompting, some 450 prophets of Baal and 400 of Ashtoreth were imported and maintained by the public treasury. She also instigated the murder of prophets of the Lord (Yahweh). Baalism became the "established religion" as it were; Ahab had a temple and altar to Baal built in the new capital city. Under the political prowess of Omri then Ahab, the country flourished materially even as it sank morally. Ahab's palace was famous for being elaborately ornamented with ivory. Posh and plush, business was good.
Bursting onto this decadent scene came Elijah the prophet. His name means "The Lord (Yahweh) is God" -- an outright challenge to the prevalence of Baal and Ashtoreth, memorialized by numerous altars and "Asherah poles". Old Testament scholar Bernhard Anderson describes Elijah this way: "Coming from across the Jordan, where he had lived a rough, semi-nomadic life on the edge of the desert, he must have been a strange sight in the cultured land of Israel -- clothed in a garment of hair, wearing a leather girdle, and displaying his rugged strength (2Kings 1:8)...Elijah had a way of coming from nowhere to surprise people." A real contrast to those who lived in luxury at the palace. We can understand why Jesus centuries later compared John the Baptist to the Elijah who was expected to come (Mt.17:12f). Living independently, learning to do without what are commonly taken to be "necessities" afforded both Elijah and John a certain freedom and boldness to announce God's warnings to a depraved culture.
Elijah's opening line is quite startling, as we read in 1Kings 17:1: "As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." This was throwing down the gauntlet, a direct challenge to Baal in the sphere of his supposed power: fertility. Yet really no one should have been surprised that God might use drought and famine to get their attention. Moses had sung centuries before back in Deut.32(15f,19f,24): “Jeshurun [referring to Israel] grew fat and kicked; filled with food, he became heavy and sleek.He abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior.They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols...The LORD saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters."I will hide my face from them," he said, "and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful...I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague..." Sometimes God resorts to pain in order to get our attention when we've wandered from Him.
Elijah's Obedient Exile
Of course, Elijah's daring pronouncement put him square in the sights of Jezebel's execution squad. God arranged a safe place for him to hide at. The Kerith Ravine was somewhere east of the Jordan around the Dead Sea, out of range of Ahab's henchmen. God told Elijah to go there and added (1Kings 17:4), "You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there." What a wonder - food by special delivery, Custom Crow Courier Incorporated, twice a day! "The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning" and again in the evening.
Outside of the country, God provides for the faithful prophet while inside Ahab's realm, idolatrous people were going hungry and thirsty. God's provision for those who obey. Elijah probably didn't get fat, but he got through with the Lord's help. The service of the ravens is just one more instance of God's sovereignty expressed through animals; there's also Balaam's donkey that talked (Num.22:21-30) and the great fish that swallowed Jonah for safekeeping (Jonah 1:17). The obedience even of the birds is in stark contrast to the people's religious infidelity.
Sidonian Widow's Sacrificial Offering
The brook from which Elijah drank eventually dried up because there was no rain. He needn't worry, God had another plan already in place. God spoke to him again (v9): “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.” Now, looking at a map, you'll realize this wasn't just up the road: Zarephath was 120 miles away, diagonally across the country, up in the northwest next the Mediterranean, whereas Elijah had been down in the southeast. What's more, this was in the very heart of enemy territory, spiritually speaking. Sidon was where Ethbaal ruled and the Baals were worshipped. Kind of like sending one sheep into the midst of a pack of wolves, when your name's "Elijah" = "Yahweh is God". But whatever the prophet's doubts may have been, God was going to demonstrate He was sovereign there too in a surprising way. Yahweh is a universal God, maker of all there is, not just a little local Baal amongst others. Even in the midst of pagan foreigners, God was already at work, predisposing people to believe in Him.
When Elijah arrived, I imagine a little weak and out of breath, he saw a widow gathering sticks. He didn't know it then, but she was gathering firewood for one last meal with her son before their food supply was totally exhausted. She moved and stooped slowly and methodically, not in a rush...was all hope really gone?
Elijah called to her and asked if she'd bring him a little water. She responded kindly by going to get it, even though he was a stranger. Eastern hospitality unfortunately puts our Western variety to shame. On the radio this week, a host commented that even adults now are being cautioned not to talk to strangers! Trust is much diminished in our society.
Yet the widow back then rose to the risk. As she was going, he added another request: "And bring me, please, a piece of bread." This stopped her in her tracks. There was only a tiny bit of flour left, it couldn't be the stranger and them both. She explains the situation to him - there's "only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug." (17:12) It's this tiny handful of foodstuff that becomes the litmus test of true faith, her launching pad into orbit with God.
So this foreign widow, a stranger to the covenant God gave the Israelites through Abraham and Moses, takes the risk and offers the sacrifice of obedience that the Israelites with their multiplied altars to strange gods neglect to make. She entrusts to God all she has left as her primary obligation. She acknowledges, through her gift to Yahweh's servant, that the Lord is her Provider, her Sustainer - not Baal. When we have nothing else to give, our last handful is the most precious offering we can make in the Lord's sight. Hundreds of years later, Jesus would notice a widow putting a few copper coins in the Temple treasury and make a similar point - she gave more than all the others because "she, out of her poverty, put in everything -- all she had to live on." (Mk.12:44)
As a consequence, Elijah prophesies a wonderful promise that will save this lady lacking hope and her little boy: “For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’” (1 Kings 17:14) An unending supply. Not that she'll corner the market on wheat and get rich on a monopoly, but she will have enough. God's going to see her through, because she has faith, and dares to put God's priorities first. Somehow, mysteriously, the flour and oil were increased according to need. Jesus did it with loaves and fishes, and changing water into wine. The Lord's supernatural power is available to sustain us through our crises, when we act in faith, trusting Him to be who He says He is. The believing widow went and did as Elijah told her, and v15 says, "there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family" - in keeping with the word of the Lord. There is a reward for trusting obedience. Heb.11:6 says, "“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Believe and you will see, let go of that last handful in God's direction and He can do something bigger than you ever dreamed possible.
Yahweh Jireh - The Lord will Provide
Abraham discovered this truth back in Gen.22 when he offered up Isaac, his own long-awaited son, on the altar. In response to his son's query while climbing the mountain where the lamb was, Abraham said, "God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." (Gen.22:8) And God supplied a ram so the patriarch didn't have to kill his son as did the surrounding nations with their abominable child sacrifices to the god Molech amongst others. Gen.22:14 says, "So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide."
When Jesus was fasting and seeking direction for His ministry in the desert, Satan tempted Him to turn a stone into bread, for He had the power to do it. But Jesus refused, and instead offered the Father that handful of His obedience despite the hunger, recalling, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Mt.4:4)
I remember when we were finishing up a two-year term in Congo and I was sensing God's call to pastoral ministry, making out a budget for going back into theological college after having already done six years of post-secondary training. It looked like the funds our family of four had accumulated up to that point would be completely used up by the end of seminary. But God provided our needs and opened up sources of income so we could manage.
Would you believe that the organization which Entrepreneur Magazine rates as the world's fastest-growing franchise is owned by Christians? Gary and Diane Heavin have opened some 8,000 "Curves" fitness centres on four continents in less than 8 years of operation. But Gary had to learn the lesson of faith along the way. John Hillman in Living Light News reports that Gary wanted a career in medicine but became drained by working nights at a pizza parlour. He dropped out of college and bought a failing health club in Houston Texas. He soon had 17 units; but over-expansion forced the clubs into bankruptcy and left the young business man jobless and $5 million in debt. The situation was compounded by personal problems, as Heavin lost custody of his two children following a divorce. He recalls, "I suffered through the loss of my wife and children, the business and my reputation.At age 30, I found myself telling God what a mess I had made.At that point, I gave Him the rest of my life." He handed over that last handful.
Since then, Curves has grown til some 3 million women have benefitted. Heavin's book, Curves: Permanent Results without Permanent Dieting, spent 14 weeks last year on the Times best-seller list. Today the Heavins demonstrate their faith in God by giving away 10% of their company's gross revenue and 80% of Gary's net income; last year this resulted in $10 million being donated to charitable causes.
The widow took the word of the Lord through Elijah at face value and acted on it, and so experienced God's supply. Gary states, "We're just simple, Bible-believing Christians.Standing on the evidence of absolute truth has served us, our company and 8,000 owners well...We believe our business is blessed because the Bible says, if you honour God, He will honour you." So loosen your grip on that last handful and discover what God can do when you're totally available! Let's pray.