Good morning. If you would turn
with me to Luke, Luke chapter four. This morning I have a simple
message. about a woman of Zarephath, which
we're told is in the region of Sidon. It's probably a passage
that you're familiar with. And as I said, it's, I could
say it's a simple message from a simple man for a simple people.
And that's all we are, isn't it? You know, we just, we just
want to know Christ. And we want to see Jesus. And
that simplicity is enough, isn't it? But here in Luke chapter
four, Christ speaks of this widow, this woman. And in reading the
Old Testament scriptures, we might think that this event and
these circumstances were unimportant. The Jews certainly would have.
This woman wasn't even of the people of Israel. And what did this compare to,
all that happened there? What did this compare with the
mighty signs and wonders that God had done for the people of
Israel? And so, as the Jews looked out on their history, they probably
didn't highlight this event. with the prophet Elijah and this
poor woman. But Jesus, at the very beginning
of his ministry, makes reference to this widow in this remarkable
time. of the incarnate God undertaking
this ministry upon the earth. He makes mention of this woman. So let's look at that here in
Luke chapter four, and we'll begin there in verse 14 and read
with me. See verse 14. Then Jesus returned
in the power of the spirit to Galilee. And let me just mention
he returned from where being tempted in the wilderness by
the devil for 40 days during that period. Establishing himself
as what? The firstborn of the new creation. The second Adam of the new creation. Having victory over all the temptations
of Satan, unlike that first Adam in whom we fell. But here he
comes and he comes following that and he comes in the power
of the spirit to Galilee and news of him went out through
all the surrounding region and he taught in their synagogues
being glorified by all. So he came to Nazareth where
he'd been brought up and as his custom was, he went into the
synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And he
was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened
the book, he found the place where it was written. And this
is a quotation from Psalm chapter 61. And this is where Christ
turned when he was handed that book of Isaiah. And he opened
specifically to this passage. He went and looked for it, and
he found it. And he read, the spirit of the
Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel
to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the
blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord. Then he closed the book. and
gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of
all who were in the synagogue were fixed upon him. So powerful were the words of
Christ that as he read this passage, the entire congregation was transfixed. The living word, reading, the
living word. Think of that, in the power of
the Holy Spirit, given to him without measure. No wonder they
were transfixed. And he began to say to them,
verse 21, today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.
So all bore witness to him and marveled at the gracious words,
the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And how could
they not? How could they not? Here he is,
the long expected prophet, David's son and David's Lord, the anointed
of God, the Messiah, the promised savior and redeemer of Israel.
And these words in Isaiah were his words, his words. And what was their reaction? They said, is this not Joseph's
son? They were so moved, transfixed,
so spoken to, and yet, if there's anything that testifies of the
hardness, the total depravity of man in his fallen condition,
it's this, isn't it? Here they are. Well, yes, but
this is Joseph's son, Joseph's son. What unbelief, but it's
an unbelief that is the nature of man, all men, everywhere. 23, and he said to them, you will
surely say this proverb to me, physician, heal yourself. Whatever
we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in your country. And then he said to them, assuredly
I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country, but I tell
you truly, Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the heaven was shut up three years and six months and there
was a great famine throughout all the land. But to none of
them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath in the region of Sidon
to a woman who was a widow. Now it's remarkable, isn't it?
that in this key time, Christ makes reference to this
widow. And there are many things that
Christ is alluding to in speaking these words, but there's no question
that he's telling the people of Nazareth that they too are
living in a land and in a time of great spiritual drought and
famine. just as it was in the time of
Elijah. And as such, they too were perishing
with no hope in themselves. And too, as it was in the time
of Elijah, as you know, and as we'll see, this was brought about
by their rejection of God, rejection of his worship, rejection of
his word, and rejection of his prophet. And they did the same
to Christ. Look there, verse 28. So all
those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, remember
they were amazed. They were transfixed. But now
they were filled with wrath. And they rose up and thrust him
out of the city and they led him to the brow of the hill on
which the city was built, that they might throw him down over
the cliff. the utter rejection of him who
is the prince of life. There were many widows in Israel
in the days of Elijah when there was this great famine throughout
all the land, but Christ says, but to none of them, none of
them was Elijah sent. Well, think of this. Think of
this. The foolishness and the wickedness
and the guilt of this generation that Christ is speaking to was
so much greater. Why? Because in the midst of
this spiritual famine stood the bread of life. A never-ending superabundance. A feast for the soul to satisfy
and give life now and forever there before their eyes in fulfillment
of all the prophecies that they'd received. Christ says to them, this woman, This woman, this widow of another
people, this is who the Lord considered. Do you see that?
This is who the Lord is interested in. Where was Elijah sent? To this widow, to this woman.
The whole nation is at work and turn away from God, turn away
from his righteousness, turn away from his worship, reject
his prophets. and despise the only way of salvation. But none of this will thwart
God's purpose. None of this will hinder God's
purpose to help and save this woman that Christ is speaking
of. That's always the case. It's
always the way it is. This is a great story. It's a
simple story of every poor perishing sinner saved by grace. It's my
story. And I hope it's your story. By sending Elijah, what was sent
to this woman? What does this tell us with respect
to the parallels that we have with Christ? That Christ is emphasizing
and bringing forth, saying, as it was in the days of Elijah,
so too is it now. We'll turn over to 1 Kings and
let's consider then. This is all we want to think
about this morning. 1 Kings, 1 Kings chapter 17. First Kings chapter 17, and while
you're turning there, well, let's just remember and refresh our
minds. And this isn't difficult, as
I think our pastor brought us through this passage not too
long ago. But let's just refresh our minds
of the state of Israel in this time of Elijah. Look back in First Kings, in
chapter 16. We read there, in the 38th year
of Asa, king of Judah, Ahab, the son of Omri, became king
over Israel. And Ahab, the son of Omri, reigned
over Israel and Samaria 22 years. Now Ahab, the son of Omri, did
evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before
him. And it came to pass, as though
it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam,
the son of Nabat, that he took away Jezebel, the daughter of
Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. And he went and served Baal and
worshipped him. Now think of that. Think of the
sharpness of the spirit as he speaks about Ahab. It wasn't enough that he walk
in the wickedness of Jeroboam. That was just too trivial. Too
trivial to follow after such a wicked king. No, he needed
to do more. He needed to do more. He was
so intent on his evil ways that this was just a trivial thing
to him. And he took this wife, Jezebel, and he followed after
her gods, after Baal, and worshiped him, and he set up an altar for
Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And
Ahab made a wooden image Nahab did more to provoke the Lord
God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were
before him. Now that's quite an accomplishment,
isn't it? That's quite an accomplishment when you know the history of
the kings of Israel. He did more to provoke the anger
of the Lord God. This was the state of the nation
of Israel at this time. And Elijah, that troubler of Israel,
prophesies against Ahab and so of course he flees and we know
he goes to that brook Cherith and the Lord in his providence
provides for him by the ravens that bring him food and he drinks
of that brook until it dries up in this great drought that
the Lord brought upon the nation of Israel. We're all greatly troubled by
the state of our nation. And I'm not saying we shouldn't
be. But I want us to consider that as we think of Israel, that
it's not even close to the state, the depravity of the state of
Israel at this time. Isn't that true? It's not long after this that
we hear Elijah pleading against Israel saying, Lord, they have
killed your prophets and torn down your altars and I alone
am left and they seek my life. In Romans 11, Paul makes reference
to this and there we read, but what does the divine response
say to him? That's what we're interested
in, isn't it? We're like Elijah, we look with our perspective
and we feel that way. But what is the divine response? What does the divine response
say to him? I have reserved for myself 7,000
men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Even so then, at this
present time, there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. That's all God's interested in,
isn't he? And that's all you and I are interested in. We don't,
you know, I'm so guilty of this worrying about the state of this
nation in this world. But that's not what we're called
to be concerned with, is it? We're concerned with the divine
response, the divine care, the divine purposes of God according
to the election of grace because this is what God cares about.
God will send forth his word. He'll send forth his spirit and
his power and save his elect from all corners of the earth.
And he'll preserve them and he'll present them faultless before
the throne of grace with exceeding glory. It doesn't matter what
happens. Well, we pick up the story in
1 Kings chapter 17 in verse 8. Now, as I read this, what I would
like us to think about are the things which are portrayed to
us in this story as we read it. So I'll read through the story,
then we'll come back and look at it. But as I'm reading it,
consider what is this story about? What's it comprised of? What
are the thoughts and the actions which are being conveyed to us
in this narrative of this widow woman? We see the passages full
of the word of the Lord. That's how it begins. Then the
word of the Lord came to him, saying, that's how it begins.
Well, that's how it ends. Just jump down to 16 for a minute.
The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run
dry, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Elijah. It begins with the word of the
Lord. It ends with the word of the Lord. This passage too is
full of faith. It's full of simple faith and
simple trust. We find desperate need and abundant
provision. We find a simple obedience and
sacrificial generosity. We find a story full of mercy. Think of this now in the midst
of this nation as we just read, in the midst of this wicked nation
ruled by this evil king. What do we find here? A story
full of mercy and full of goodness and kindness, a story unexpectedly
full of life in the midst of this famine of death. This is
a story full of good news, full of hope, a story full of those
things which make up the gospel of the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Verse 8, then begin again. Then
the word of the Lord came to him saying, arise, go to Zarephath,
which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded
a widow there to provide for you. So he arose and went to
Zarephath. And when he came to the gate
of the city, indeed, a widow was there gathering sticks. And
he called to her and said, please bring me a little water and a
cup that I may drink. And as she was going to get it,
he called to her and said, please bring me a morsel of bread in
your hand. So she said, as the Lord your
God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a
bin. and a little oil in a jar, and
see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and
prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die."
And Elijah said to her, do not fear. Go and do as you have said,
but make me a small cake from it first and bring it to me,
and afterwards make some for yourself and your son, for thus
says the Lord God of Israel, the bin of flour shall not be
used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the day the
Lord sends rain on the earth. So she went away and did according
to the word of Elijah, and she and her household ate for many
days. The bin of flour was not used
up, nor did the jar of oil run dry according to the word of
the Lord, which he spoke by Elijah. Now, I almost feel that I ought to just
sit down. It's the word of God is so full,
isn't it? So full. Here, Back in verse eight, we
read, see, God says to Elijah, see, I have commanded a widow
there to provide for you. The word of the Lord came to
Elijah. This is always where salvation
begins. It begins with God. Elijah didn't know this widow.
This widow didn't know Elijah. This woman of Zarephath had no
knowledge of what the Lord was going to do for her and for her
son. Salvation begins with God. It ends with God. And everything
in the middle is of God. It just is. It doesn't matter
how often you hear the opposite. in this world today. That just
is the way it is. It's the only salvation, which
is of God. And this is the only salvation
that matters, isn't it? You know, not long ago, the Lord
brought to my attention a great verse, a great verse. It's so
clear and so simple. And I've mentioned it before
and I'm going to mention it again. God commands salvation. He does. Doesn't that put an end to all
speculation? God commands, keep your place
here, but turn over to Psalm 71. I want you to see that. Psalm 71 and the first few verses
of that great psalm. I want to fix this firmly in
your mind. I know you know this. I know
you believe it. I do too. But sometimes it's just so good
to see the word tell us so clearly and so directly. But here is
this. In you, let's just begin in verse
one. In you, oh Lord, I put my trust. Let me never be put to
shame. Deliver me in your righteousness
and cause me to escape. Incline your ear to me and save
me. Be my strong refuge to which
I may resort continually. Now here, you have given the
commandment to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. God gives the commandment to
save. He always does. He always does
in his purpose. God commands Elijah to go to
Zarephath to provide for this widow. And he commands the widow
to provide for Elijah, even though she doesn't know it yet. Now,
why will this widow provide for Elijah? Because God commanded
it. See, listen to what he tells
Elijah. See, I have commanded a widow
there to provide for you. In verse 10. Indeed, indeed,
a widow was there. You see that? Verse 10, where
are we? Verse 10, so he arose and went
to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, indeed,
a widow was there gathering sticks. Now Elijah, he arose in obedience
to the command of the Lord, and he goes to Zarephath, and he
comes to the gate of the city, and what does he find there?
A woman gathering sticks, but note how the word of the Lord
says, indeed, a widow is there. Now this too is always the way
with the Lord. If the Lord has said that he
would find it that way, indeed, that's exactly how he's going
to find it. It doesn't matter what it is
that God has said to Elijah or to you and I. Turn anywhere in
the word of God and tell yourself this. Read what he said and you
can have absolute assurance and confidence that indeed it is
exactly as he says or it will be exactly as he says. And that's
a great hope for the believer, isn't it? To look at those things
and have this absolute assurance that what God says, what God
promises, he's able also to perform. Now, why was this woman at this
gate? Because the Lord had commanded
her. As I said, she wasn't aware of this yet. At this point in
time, she had no knowledge of this. All she knew, all she knew
is that she was gathering sticks to cook her last meal. She had
no knowledge of the purpose of God for her. She was unaware
of the movement of the spirit, which moved her to come to that
specific place at that specific time in which she would meet
the prophet of God sent to her. The prophet who would speak to
her the words of life. Elijah calls to her and says,
please bring me a little cup of water that I may drink. And
the woman, look at this, the woman despite these terrible
circumstances and her hopeless state puts this aside and in
kindness goes to get a little water for this stranger. And
as she's going to get it, he says, please bring me a morsel
of bread in your hand. Now, it always surprises me when
I see this type of thing, especially in the Lord's interactions in
his ministry on the earth. You know, often there's all these
seemingly unimportant discussions and interactions
that go on. But what is this showing us?
It's showing us that, for one, that these are two real people
in a real place. facing the real circumstances
of life. And the Lord always works within
those. Think about that. We see this
type of situation portrayed over and over in the life and ministry
of Christ. And this is so often how he works
to save people. This is how he begins, not through
signs and wonders, not through the wisdom of this world, but
through the simple interaction of one person with another, where
one person has the words of life. And that's all. And that's a
great encouragement to me as a minister of the gospel, as
a missionary. And I've seen how the power of the word of the
Lord works in these circumstances just as it did in this case with
the woman of Samaria. We'll look there in verse 12.
So she said, so she said, as the Lord lives, I do not have
bread. In response to this request of
Elijah, the woman speaks of the circumstances of her life. This
poor widow was in great want. She was in dire straits. She'd exhausted everything, everything,
all of her supplies in the face of this terrible famine. And not only that, it's clear
that there were no other means of her obtaining food. Now, no
doubt she had relatives and friends. It doesn't say anything, but
no doubt she did. But when there's no food, there's
no food. You know, we're so insulated
here in the US from that connection. It's a false security. You know,
people in New Guinea are much more conscious of it because
everything they eat, they grow. And if they have a drought, if
the circumstances change where the gardens don't bear, then
they're hungry. And you can have money, but if
there's no food, that money won't buy you anything. You know, it
doesn't go into the details, but all we know is that this
woman was in a place where she had no food for herself and for
her son. And she was preparing to cook
her last meal. She said, as the Lord your God
lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin.
and a little oil in a jar, and see, I am gathering a couple
of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my
son that we may eat it and die." It was such a little bit of flour,
a handful, and such a little oil that it didn't even require
much firewood to cook. She says, I'm gathering a couple
of sticks, and that would be enough to cook this little bit
of food. After this, there would be no
food and they would die. Think of the heartache and the
pain, the soul suffering of this woman as she contemplates seeing
her son starve to death. The simplicity of this woman's
words just emphasize the profound nature of her need. She's on the doorstep of death
with her son. Now why had God sent Elijah to
this woman? To provide for him throughout
the famine. That's what he told Elijah. To
provide for him throughout the famine. So what will happen? What will happen? The widow will
provide for Elijah, but she has nothing. She's cooking her last
bit of food. She has nothing. But the widow,
but she'll provide for Elijah throughout the famine. Elijah doesn't doubt this for
a second. When you read the word, don't
you wish you had the faith? these saints that are held up
before us. And yes, they too had great weakness. We see Elijah just so becomes
another person. But that's us too. But don't
you wish at least once in a while we could be like them? Elijah
doesn't doubt for a second. The Lord has told him to come
to this widow of Zarephath and that she would provide for him.
And here he is. And what does he find? This woman
has nothing. She's dying. But she's supposed to provide
for him for this entire time. But he doesn't doubt. He doesn't
doubt that this is exactly what's going to happen. And this really
is the faith of God's elect, isn't it? Because in the things
that really matter, we do have this faith. Have you thought
about that? When God gives faith, it's a
faith that is sure and certain and confident in the word of
God. It's a faith which overcomes.
It's a faith which will never let go. Why? Because he preserves that
faith. Our faith will never fail if
it's a God-given faith. And what a glorious thing that
is to contemplate, isn't it? That this is, if there's one
sin that there is a sin we cannot commit, and it's the sin of unbelief,
of turning away, if it's a God-given faith. That's how certain our
salvation is in Christ. What does Elijah tell the woman?
Do not fear. Do not fear. Go and do as you
have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring
it to me, and afterward make some for yourself and your son.
For thus says the Lord God of Israel, the bin of flour shall
not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the
day the Lord sends rain on the earth. Now again, We could say,
how does Elijah know this? It doesn't say anything about
God revealing that to him. Well, Elijah knows this because
God has told him, I have commanded a widow to provide for you, this
widow. And if God has commanded this
widow to provide for him, then that's exactly what she's gonna
do. Whatever food she has is going to remain. That's what
God has said, and that's what is going to happen. And what
could we say? What does the woman hear? What
words does she hear from Elijah? She hears good news, doesn't
she? Do not fear. The Lord God has
said, the bin of flour shall not be used up. The jar of oil
will not run dry until he sends rain upon the earth. For this
woman, here is life from the dead. Here is salvation. It's good news. And with this
good news of salvation comes a call to faith. Do you see that? A call to faith. Go and do as
you have said, but make me a small cake from it first and bring
it to me. And afterward, make some for
yourself and your son. Now, What do you think this woman
would do, naturally speaking, seriously? Her situation is desperate
in ways we can't fathom. This is the last food for herself
and her son, and here comes this stranger. And he tells her, in
the midst of this great famine, to go and cook the very last
bit of flour and oil that she has. and give it to him first, that
he may eat, then go and cook for yourself and your son. Naturally
speaking, can you see that ever happening? No, no. She went away and did according
to the word of Elijah. And when God calls his elect
to believe, they do exactly the same. They do exactly the same. Why did this woman go and do
all that Elijah had told her to do? Because she believed the
word of the Lord given to Elijah. Simply that. By faith, she obeyed. And went and did according to
the word of Elijah. And what great faith, what great
faith. A chorus calls to mind that woman
of Canaan who came to Christ, you know, in desperate need too,
because of her daughter being severely demon-possessed. And
how she cried after him and his disciples, and we know the story,
rebuffed again and again, and she says, Lord help me, Lord
help me. And what did Christ say at the
end of that? Oh woman, great is your faith. Great is your faith. Why did this woman believe? Because
the Lord had commanded it. Do you see that? And she and
her household ate for many days. Many days. You know, at this
point in time, there was over two years remaining in this drought
and famine upon the land. The bin of flour was not used
up, nor did the jar of oil run dry. She was given a never-ending
supply, a never-ending supply of bread every day. Bread for
today, and what about tomorrow? Bread. And what about the next
day? Bread. And the next week? Bread
in the next year, bread, a never ending supply. This was an abundant supply of
the bread of life. This was the word of the Lord
spoken by God to Elijah for this woman of Zarephath. This was
the word of truth. This was the word of life. This
was the promise of God for her. And this is just one of the many,
many wonderful pictures given to us of Christ, the true bread
of life, isn't it? Who's given to us as a bread,
the bread which gives life for everlasting. You remember when he said, not
long after he had begun his ministry, how he said to those unbelieving
Jews, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never
hunger. Listen now. He who comes to me shall never
hunger. And he who believes in me shall
never thirst. But I have said to you that you
have seen me and yet do not believe. And that's true. We've seen that.
And that's true. But listen to what he says. All
that the Father gives me will come to me. And the one who comes
to me I will by no means cast out. He is the bread of life. Well, let's close then where
we began. Remember, Jesus was handed the
book of Isaiah. Turn over to Isaiah 49. He was
handed the book of Isaiah and he read from that glorious gospel
proclamation of Isaiah 61. He read from there and he said,
today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. But there's
also a parallel passage of that in Isaiah chapter 49. So turn
there, Isaiah chapter 49, and this too is speaking of this
promised savior, this redeemer that God will send. And there's
no question when Christ said to those gathered in the synagogue,
today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing, that it would
have called to their mind this passage too in Isaiah 49. because
it's speaking of the same, it's a prophecy of the same person.
And these Jews were steeped in the Old Testament scriptures.
They knew them, especially the leaders. And this would have
been cold to their minds. So just look there, let's just
finish by reading a few verses here in Isaiah 49 verse eight. Isaiah 49 and beginning there
in verse eight. And we read, thus says the Lord,
in an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of
salvation I have helped you. I will preserve you and give
you as a covenant to the people to restore the earth, to cause
them to inherit the desolate heritages. That you may say to
the prisoners, go forth. And to those who are in darkness,
show yourselves. Now listen, they shall feed along
the roads, and their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.
They shall neither hunger nor thirst. Neither heat nor sun
shall strike them, for he who has mercy on them will lead them.
Even by the springs of waters he will guide them. I will make
each of my mountains a road, and my highways shall be elevated.
Surely these shall come from afar. Look, those from the north
and from the west and these from the land of Sinai. Sing, O heavens,
be joyful, O earth, and break out in singing, O mountains,
for the Lord has comforted his people and will have mercy upon
his afflicted. Amen.