Friend of StrangersSample

During a time of Israelite apostasy, the prophet Elijah suddenly appears out of nowhere. Elijah prophesies that there will be a severe drought in Israel, and he is forced to flee for his life. God sends Elijah to the brook Cherith to hide him there for a while. At Cherith, God teaches Elijah to depend on God for provision. When it was time for Elijah to move on, God told Elijah to go to a Gentile widow in Sidon, an area north of Israel in present-day Lebanon.

Life was extremely difficult for widows in Biblical times. With children to support and care for but no husband to work and earn money, life was tough. Additionally, there was a drought; it is understood that this widow was not even able to feed her son, let alone Elijah.

But God, who saw her heart, knew that she may have nothing to offer, but she was willing to serve God if only he would make it possible. God blesses her. As the prophet Elijah stays with her, God miraculously provides her with flour and oil to bake bread.

From the prophet Elijah, we learn that God is with us and provides what we need when we flee for our lives and leave our homeland and when there is drought and famine. We also learn that Israel breaks the covenant with God most when they oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and it is instead a foreign widow with a fatherless boy who takes care of God's prophet.