Now it happened after these things (see vv.1-16) that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him. So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?” And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!” Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.” (vv.21-24)
We can imagine the happy days of provision in the household of the widow. Their needs were supplied by a continuing miracle of God concerning the widow's jar of oil and meal. Yet those happy days were eventually covered by a dark shadow – the sickness and death of the widow’s son. The death of the son was a double blow to the widow. Not only did she suffer as any mother who loses a child, but she also suffered as one who lost her only hope for the future. The expectation was that her son would grow and provide for her in her old age. Now that expectation was shattered. And the death of her son, the widow indirectly blamed Elijah. She more directly blamed herself and her unnamed sin. Whatever her sin was, the guilty memory of it was always close to her.
It was not the miracle of the meal and the oil (vv.15-16) that convinced the widow of Zarephath that Elijah’s God was real. It was the resurrection of her son that convinced her. Sound familiar? The son was raised and God provided for the widow on every level, not only with the miraculous supply of food, but also with the resuscitation of her son.
The heart of the gospel is built on the death and resurrection of Jesus. He proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Word of God is truth and those who believe will be raised up to eternal life with Him.
The Truth: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
