Elijah fed by ravens, and the widow's jar that never ran out

Elijah the Tishbite told King Ahab that there would be no dew or rain for years except according to his word. Then the word of the LORD told Elijah to leave and hide by the brook Cherith, near the Jordan River.

Elijah drank from the brook. Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and again in the evening. After a while, the brook dried up because there had been no rain.

The LORD then told Elijah to go to Zarephath. There he saw a widow gathering sticks. Elijah asked her for water and a little bread. She explained that she had only a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse. She said she and her son expected to eat one last meal and then die because they had no more food.

Elijah told her not to fear. He asked her to make a small cake for him first, then prepare food for herself and her son. He also told her the LORD’s promise: the meal would not run out, and the oil would not fail, until the LORD sent rain again.

The widow did what Elijah said. She, Elijah and her household ate for many days. The barrel of meal did not run out, and the cruse of oil did not fail. The account says this happened according to the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.

First Kings 17 introduces Elijah during the reign of Ahab. Elijah, called the Tishbite and identified with Gilead, came to the king with a severe message: there would be neither dew nor rain for years except according to Elijah’s word. The seriousness of the drought becomes clear as the passage continues: the brook dries up, and a widow has almost no food left.

After speaking to Ahab, Elijah received instructions from the LORD to go east and hide by the brook Cherith, near the Jordan. He could drink from the brook, and God said ravens would feed him there. Elijah obeyed. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and again in the evening.

As the drought continued, the brook dried up. The word of the LORD then sent Elijah to Zarephath, a town belonging to Zidon. God said a widow there would sustain him.

At the city gate Elijah saw a widow gathering sticks. He asked her for a little water, then also asked for a piece of bread. The woman explained how little she had left: only a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse. She was gathering sticks to prepare food for herself and her son. She said they would eat it and then die because they had no more food.

Elijah told her not to fear. He asked her to make a small cake for him first and then make food for herself and her son. He gave her a promise from the LORD God of Israel: the barrel of meal would not be used up, and the cruse of oil would not fail, until the day the LORD sent rain on the earth.

The widow did what Elijah said. The text reports that she, Elijah and her household ate for many days. The meal did not run out, and the oil did not fail. Their supply was not described as a huge storehouse appearing all at once. Instead, the food continued to be there as it was needed.

The passage links every stage to the word of the LORD: Elijah’s warning to Ahab, his move to Cherith, the ravens’ provision, his journey to Zarephath and the continuing supply of meal and oil.