Two Promises

Before we examine the two significant promises in this verse, it’s vital that we first understand some of its implications. God identifies the widow’s two specific possessions: a flour jar and a jug of oil. Both had practical uses, and each represented certain ideas to people during this historical period. The jar of flour was used for food as well as for various sacrificial requirements. A jug of oil had many more use cases: anointing, beautification, certain rituals, lighting, offering, and as a commodity for trade. The point here is that flour and oil were essential in the everyday life of an individual of that period. They were undoubtedly necessary for many reasons.

On the other hand, the flour typically represented luxury, while the oil represented fertility and prosperity. This collective representation is interesting in this case because we are told they belong to a widow with only a son. Then, if we were to read a bit further, in a short time, the son dies (1 Kings 17:14). In a way, we read a sort of juxtaposition between what the elements represented and her actual condition. However, the oil also represented the presence of God’s Spirit. Therefore, while the woman may have been considered to be physically poor, she was spiritually wealthy. In other words, the widow had God’s favor amid a famine.

Here, we uncover the first major promise: God promises the widow his sustained provision and blessing during a season of famine. If we are not careful, we can quickly gloss over the deeper meanings of the flour and oil. We will casually group them as simple dietary needs. But, as we briefly covered above, the implication goes much further. God wasn’t simply providing food for the widow and her son but also everything they needed to continue thriving within their community—oil for hair and skin, religious ceremonies, purchasing power, etc. Furthermore, God was extending his provision and blessing to a pagan worshiper. Zarephath was a town in Sidon, a Phoenician city known for its wealth and commerce. The people of Zarephath primarily worshipped the fertility goddess of Astarte, also known as Ishtar and Ashtaroth, among other names. In 1 Kings 17, we read how God demonstrates his grace and faithfulness of continued luxury, fertility (bringing the widow’s son back to life), and prosperity to a woman amidst a town of people who worshiped such things but had none.

We now come to God’s second promise. Not only did God promise to sustain the widow but to do so until the day the [he] gives rain. In other words, God vowed that it would eventually rain again. No one knew how long the drought would last. We are also not sure if Elijah himself knew at the time of his judgment against Ahab, and only later are we told that it lasted for three and a half years (James 5:17). Nonetheless, God promised the widow that she would not die but once again see rain. Until God met the widow’s needs naturally, he promised to meet them supernaturally. God’s provision is both natural and supernatural.