[1 Kings 17:8-16] Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 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 sends rain on the land.’” 15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

How do you figure Him out? God's ways are tough to understand, aren't they? Corrie Ten Boom, who survived a Nazi concentration camp in WWII and must have questioned God more than a few times, claimed that a God who is "small enough for our understanding would not be big enough for our needs." On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson published a New Testament with all the "unreasonable parts" edited out of it to fit God into our heads and bring Him down to our level. Our Bible reading this morning takes us far beyond human understanding. Once again, we can only sit back and say:

Our God is Astounding

1. The Astounding Request

About eight centuries before Christ, a severe famine gripped the land of Israel. God had withheld rain for three years as a punishment for wicked King Ahab and the wayward people of Israel. The people were on the verge of death, their bodies and spirits parched by the relentless drought. At God's command, the prophet Elijah journeyed to the village of Zarephath along the Mediterranean, where he encountered a widow gathering sticks. He called to her: "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" Think of it! What a preposterous request! Didn't this man know about the blistering drought, which made drinking water a commodity that was virtually priceless? No one had any to spare. Simply astounding!

Even more astoundingly, Elijah called to her with a second, even more staggering request: "And bring me, please, a piece of bread." This must have stunned the widow. Nobody had enough food to share in times of famine. Most folks had barely enough food to stay alive, and some didn't even have that much. This woman fell into that category, facing imminent starvation: "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread – only a handful of flour and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it – and die." Her cupboards were bare. Her hope was gone. And still, this prophet of God has the nerve, the audacity to augment his request: "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son." How presumptuous – to take the last bite out of a starving widow's mouth. Simply astounding! Then he tells her not only to make it for him first but to bring it to him. Of all the gall! Astounding!

We're missing something here, aren't we? Let’s look a little closer at this morning’s Bible reading: "Then the word of the LORD came to him." God commanded Elijah to do this. God, through Elijah, was testing the widow’s faith and asking her to put God first. Wait a minute! Surely, God couldn't expect this widow to bring an offering to the Lord! She had nothing! True. She had nothing but sticks and crumbs. Even in her dire situation, God requested the first and best of what little she had. Out of the widow's last bite, God expected the first bite. Astounding! It is a powerful lesson about faith, obedience, and the miraculous provision that follows faith.

What about us? Has God made any astounding requests of us? Well, let's look at what we know. We know that God made us. We know that God has redeemed and remade us. We know that God has given us all that we have. It is only right then that He has the first claim on all that we are and all that we have. He wants our first, and He wants our best! That is where He has staked His claim – the first and the best! The first day of the week belongs to the Lord – it is the Lord’s Day. The first fruits of the Hebrew harvest belonged to God. The first portion of our material blessings belongs to God. He didn’t hold back from claiming the first part of the last bite of a widow's last supper. He asks and expects the very same from us – the first and the best – right off the top of pay, profits, perks, and presents. He wants us to put Him first! Leftovers do not honor God. Truly, that is an astounding request, wouldn't you say!?

Now consider this: He always puts us first. He loved us first. He chose us first. He put us first on Calvary. He put us first at the Resurrection. He puts us first in His incessant intercession at God's right hand in heaven. We are first in God's thoughts this very minute and every minute of every day as long as we live and breathe. So why such an astounding request? Because He wants to stretch our faith to bigger dimensions. Also, remember, this was only the beginning of His dealings with her, not the end. The beginning was bitter. The end was sweet. Let's now add to that Astounding Request…

2. The Astounding Promise

God wasn't about to let His request stand alone. He set a promise right alongside His request: "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 sends rain on the land." Even in giving Elijah the first from her last crumbs, she would not lose; she would gain. God would provide for her. The promise balanced the request. No, the promise far over-balanced and far outweighed the request.

God never requests anything of us unless He's attached an astounding promise to that request, a promise that far counterbalances the request.

1) God commanded: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation," To this command, He affixed the promise: "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

2) God commanded: "Love one another," and He connected to this command His promise: "The Father Himself loves you."

3) God commanded: "Pray continually," and He fastened to that command this promise: "My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."

4) God commanded: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse," and He attached to that command the promise: "Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

Never divorce God's promises from His commands. They go hand-in-hand. The blessings of the promises always far outweigh the commands. We don't really need specific promises attached to His specific commands. His track record ought to be good enough, shouldn't it? We should be able to trust implicitly in His love just by turning to Bethlehem's cradle and Calvary's cross. How could anybody NOT trust this God after such an astounding, mind-boggling gift and such a fantastic plan for the salvation of humanity? Specific promises on top of that unspeakable gift are a bonus. It's like getting an all-expense paid trip around the world and then having an extra hundred grand thrown in for spending money. So God heaps promise upon present, bonus upon blessing, and grace upon grace in all His dealings with us. It is simply astounding! Now let's look at…

3. The Astounding Results

Suppose we were standing along that dry, dusty street in Zarephath that day, witnessing the widow’s plight. Chances are we would have felt the weight of her desperation. What if she would have turned to us with a questioning eye for advice? How would we have advised her? Let's look at how the woman did without our advice.

She didn't argue with Elijah at the audacity of the request. She didn't offer a million excuses why she couldn't serve her Lord when she was asked to serve. Without hesitation, she embraced the staggering sacrifice Elijah asked for, trusting fully in God's plan: "She went away and did as Elijah had told her." No questions asked. It didn't make sense to her, but if it made sense to God, that was good enough for her. She took God at His Word and obeyed Him. Astounding! Truly a display of absolute trust, obedience, and devotion.

Now look at God's response to her trust and obedience. Astounding! Even though no rain was falling, God rained down His blessings upon her because of her obedience and faith. God more than fulfilled His promise to her. Because she trusted Him enough to give Him the first big bite out of her last little bite, God honored her in several unforgettable ways:

1) For many days, Elijah, the widow, and her son ate from what otherwise would have been an empty jar of flour and jug of oil. God provided not just sustenance but a powerful testimony to His unending provision and faithfulness. Truly astounding! "There was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah."

2) The prominent prophet Elijah lived with this widow and son in their humble home for a few years. Imagine how her faith grew in that time!

3) On one occasion, her son fell sick and died. Elijah restored him to life (one of only three Old Testament miracles!).

4) The Lord Jesus mentioned this widow in His first sermon to His home congregation in Nazareth and immortalized her memory. God blessed beyond all measure this poor widow, whose name we don't even know, for her pure faith in God against impossible odds.

This is not just a colorful story in an ancient book. It is the authentic record of how wondrously God deals with His people in all things. It sets the pattern of His love for us as well in 2024.

Take our time. Time is our most precious and most scarce commodity. Most likely we have only crumbs left over for anything more in our busy schedules. But even in these days of fierce competition for our time, God asks for the first generous share of it.

So often we postpone daily Bible reading, personal prayer, and serving Him by serving others, promising ourselves that we will do it all later when we have more time. But that later never comes. One procrastinator admitted: "I’m running out of laters.” If we give God the first priority of our time, He will give us happiness that will never run dry, even when there is a famine of joy all around us.

And how about our talents? I’m sure you’ve heard the prayer of the slacker: “Lord, use me freely in Your service, especially in an advisory capacity.” The Lord rewards us richly for willingly and cheerfully offering to serve Him. We will always get much more than we give. That’s a guarantee. Jesus tells us, “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Even more besides.

That brings us to our treasure. It would probably be a good idea to stop giving what we have left over and start giving off the top to honor our God, wouldn’t it? Anyone who has ever given sacrificially – not just till it hurts, but till it feels good again – has exactly the same testimony: you can’t outgive God. He honors and blesses us beyond our wildest dreams.

The widow of Zarephath's story serves as a powerful reminder of unwavering faith and unflinching devotion. By giving her first and best, she witnessed God's boundless generosity in return. A beautiful lesson in trust and obedience. Saints, let's strive to give to God and serve Him wholeheartedly, trusting that our service will be met with blessings beyond measure. You’ll be astounded at the results! Amen.

Rev. Timothy A. Unke, Campus Pastor

Crean Lutheran High School

campuspastor@creanlutheran.org