DO YOU NEED FRESH OIL?

 Thank you to those who found the time last week to read about Zelophehad's daughters. I'm currently preparing a series on Ruth and Naomi, and it's been enlightening to know the reasons for levirate marriage. And, yes, sometime down the track, I hope to share the lessons the Lord is teaching me in the book of Ruth.

                                             But for now, how's your oil supply???

The widow and her oil.

 

She poured a tiny dribble of oil into the flour. Enough to make bread for one day to avoid starvation.

 

“Mother, my tummy rumbles.”

 

“Yes, my son, and I’m sorry. Here is your ration for today.”

 

 She looked at his scrawny arms and swollen stomach. A tear rolled down her cheek, but she wiped it away. How long could they survive? Only yesterday, the debt collector had demanded his money. She had no coins to pay him, and he’d threatened to enslave her two sons.

     Before his death, her husband told her to trust in the Lord. As the great prophet Elisha’s student, he’d witnessed Elijah’s ascension to heaven in a chariot of fire and whirlwind. If God could sweep a prophet to heaven, why hadn’t he helped a poor widow? Did you need to be God’s favored servant for him to save you from hunger? And if the creditor seized her sons, how would she live? During the Jubilee, the nation released its slaves, but she could die in the interim. Her heart pounded with hopelessness, her forehead throbbed, and she wrung her hands in deep despair. Her husband’s death had been cruel, but to lose her sons would be a fate worse than death.

 

Elisha. For no apparent reason, her thoughts drifted to the prophet. Dare she visit her husband’s former teacher? Would he listen to her desperate plight and what could he do to help her?

 

   In desperation, she wrapped her shawl around her head and searched the village. As she approached the company of prophets, he held out his hand and smiled, and a glimmer of hope flickered in her heart.

 

 “How can I help you?”

 

“Your servant, my husband, is dead. He was a God fearing man, but his creditors have threatened to take my sons as slaves.”

 

 “What do you have in your house?”

 

“I have nothing, my lord, except a little oil.”

 

“Go, ask your neighbors for empty jars, and collect as many as you can carry. Return home, shut your door, fill the jars, and put them aside.”

 

She obeyed Elisha. Although his suggestion sounded incredible, she had to try.

  “Boys, we must gather jars because Elisha is promising us our oil will stretch enough to fill them! When we visit our neighbors, you’ll need to carry the jars for me.”

  

  Down each village street they hurried, knocking on their neighbor’s doors, begging for fresh empty jars.

“Please, do you have any spare jars? Thank you! Yes, these are perfect. I’m so grateful for your generosity.”

 

Delighted, they returned home, their arms overflowing, their hearts expectant of the Lord’s gracious provision and miracle.

 

 “Now lads, arrange the jars in rows while I fill them.”

The boys arranged the jars at their mother’s side, the pots clinking together as they moved them across the floor.

 

 “Yes, that’s brilliant! See, the oil just keeps flowing. Bring me another jar, please. It’s amazing. Elisha was right!”

 

As each filled, the boys removed the full jars, replacing them with fresh ones. The more she poured, the more the oil flowed.

 

God had heard her weeping and was easing her sorrow. She looked around her kitchen and her heart leaped with joy and amazement. Golden sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm glow on the shiny oil bottles. This was fresh, abundant, and glorious hope beyond her wildest dreams.

 

“Bring me another jar, lads.”

 “Mother, we’ve run out. See, that’s the last jar.”

 

“Look at how much oil we have! We must tell Elisha.”

 

As they ran back to the prophet, their eyes shone, their hearts beating with wild excitement.

“Elisha, Elisha, we have collected every empty jar in the village, and we’ve filled our house with oil jars. How can we thank you?”

“You don’t need to thank me. Rather, praise God for his goodness.” He smiled before raising his arms to heaven in worship.

 

 “Praise be to God for his mercy.”

He turned to the widow, her face a picture of gratitude and pure appreciation.

 

“Sell the oil and pay your debts. You can live on the profits.”

 

 

⃰⃰⃰    ⃰⃰   ⃰

 

I love the Lord’s abundant grace. The widow’s oil reminds me of the New Testament story when Jesus’ disciples discovered a young boy with his lunch, comprising five loaves and two small fish. What was so little among so many people? Yet from this scanty meal, Jesus fed five thousand men and their families.

 

The widow had tried to care for herself and her sons, but circumstances beyond her control left her destitute. Why hadn’t she visited Elisha sooner? Was it pride, or was she afraid to approach the great man of God? We don’t know.

 

 How often do we rely on our resilience to survive instead of the Lord?

 

Oil in scripture depicts the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus gave us as a guarantee of his presence. Elisha instructed the widow to shut the door of her home while she filled the jars. Jesus taught us to enter a quiet room and shut the door as we pray. Wherever you select as your sanctuary, being alone with Jesus is the most precious of relationships. As we spend time in the Bible, he revitalizes our souls by his Holy Spirit and fills us with his abundant love and care, sufficient to calm our weary minds.
  

    What circumstance is beyond your control? How long have you tolerated this stress? The widow found relief when she trusted Elisha and acted in faith.

 

  If you lack faith, ‘close your door’ and ask the Father for your needs. ‘My God shall meet your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus.’ Philippians 4:19. Ten minutes with Jesus is worth more than an entire day of chasing your tail and achieving little, because stress has clouded your mind and judgment.

 

The widow could have laughed at the prophet for his unbelievable suggestion. Her neighbors could have mocked her when she begged for jars, but she took the risk and trusted his godly wisdom. His genuine witness to the truth and his obvious kindness encouraged her belief.

 

 Noone knows how Jesus will respond to our needs, but we may be sure everything works together for those who love him and whom he calls according to his plans. While we wait, we learn patience and dependence on him.

 

 

  “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

 

 Malachi 3:10.

 

If you give your time with Jesus, he will reward you with his riches. Material blessings are useful and necessary, but spiritual blessings are treasures which you will keep for eternity. Do you yearn for the Holy Spirit’s anointing? Enter your quiet place, close the door and pour over the Bible. Jesus has your reward ready and waiting!