In First and Second Kings, we have the stories concerning Elijah and Elisha. The Bible tells us that Elijah was a mighty prophet that God sent to Israel during the time of King Ahad and the time when they worshipped Baal. If you remember, Elijah asked God to send fire down from heaven to set the altar on fire before the priest that followed Baal. Elijah also stopped the rain, resurrected the dead, and performed other miracles for God. At the end of his time, Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha was an apprentice to Elijah and became the prophet and continued the work of Elijah. As a matter of fact, Elisha received twice as much power from God as Elijah and was accepted as the new leader of the prophets. As a result, Elisha was able to perform many miracles.
Remember that widows lived a difficult and sad life two hundred years before Jesus’s birth and many years after that. Women were utterly dependent upon their husbands for their livelihood. Widows were dependent upon their families’ kindness and were often outcasted. In the fourth chapter of Second Kings, Elisha runs into a widow who had recently lost her husband. In this story, the widow went to Elisha and cried that her husband had been a servant to Elisha and that he was dead. She said she had creditors who would take her children into bondage to pay off her husbands’ debt. Elisha asked her what she had in her house that was of value, and she had nothing but a small pot of oil. Keep in mind that Elisha worked for God and was known for creating miracles. Elisha told the widow to have faith and go to the neighbors, collect as many pots as possible, and bring the jars back to her house. He told her that once she had collected the pots, she would shut the door of her home and not let anyone inside. Elisha then told her to take the small pot of oil and start pouring it into the pots she had collected. She followed his directions, soon realizing she had many pots of oil. Elisha told her to sell the oil pots and pay off her creditors. He instructed her to be safe and live with her children peacefully.
Who was this woman, and why are we concerned about how her problems became involved in a Bible story? According to Josephus, a historian of early times, the widow was married to Obadiah, who served on the court of King Ahad. She was typical of a woman of that time in that she was comfortable being cared for by her husband one day and then destitute the next day. A person’s status and well-being can quickly change just by a few events. In the Biblical days, women and families were not thought of the same way today. When a person experiences a death of a loved one, there is always grief, emotional turmoil, and confusion. When a man died, the widow was responsible for paying off all debt. Many times the widow had no source of income and would be allowed to keep only things left after any debt was paid. The children were subject to being taken and placed into servitude, a form of slavery. If you think about these widows’ circumstances, they are not much different than what could happen to widows today. Granted, we have insurance and opportunities that did not exist then, but we still have emotional turmoil and grief.
The widow in this story did not see that even in her loss, she still had family, personal worth, and items of value. Elisha was able to redirect her attention away from the immediate grief. Elisha showed her that she could work through her problems and maintain her family. Elisha showed her that her faith would allow her to survive a situation that looked very grim. Elisha was able to show her that there are miracles hidden in every situation. These miracles must be looked for and searched out before becoming apparent. Remember, God will not force himself or his blessing on anyone but will freely give blessing to anyone that will ask. So, I have to ask you, when was the last time you asked God for forgiveness and help in your daily lives and prayed for a blessing? If you make an effort and pay attention, you will soon see that your life is surrounded by a multitude of small blessings. And you will also find that these blessings are contagious; the more you look and search, the more you will see and discover.