25 But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;
26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.
I Kings 17:1-24
9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
12 But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.”
13 Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son.
14 For thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.’”
15 So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days.
16 The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.
17 Now it came about after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe, that there was no breath left in him.
22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived.
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”
II Kings 5:1-17
1 Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper.
14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
17 “ . . . for your servant will no more offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD.”
While reading the passage in Luke, I couldn’t help but turn to these particular passages in Kings to reread the full stories mentioned. Several things jumped out at me when I read these accounts:
- God sees us as individuals
- God fully knows and understands our circumstances
- God deals with us differently
There were “many widows in Israel” and “many lepers in Israel.” I want to emphasize “many.” Why did God choose just one widow for Elijah to minister to? Furthermore, why did He also choose to minister to that same widow again and heal her son? He did two very amazing miracles in that one widow’s life! Her words shed light: “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”
I have to ask myself, “Do I KNOW that the word of the LORD is true?” If I know that it is, and of course His word IS true, then is my faith evident in how I think and respond to my circumstances?
Regarding Naaman, I think it is significant what verse 1 mentions about him. He was captain of the army of the king of Aram, he was a great man, highly respected, victorious, and a valiant warrior. BUT, “he was a leper.” So why did God do a miracle in his life? Look at verse 17 again: “ . . . for your servant will no more offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD.”
Overwhelmingly, it is all about God, not us or our circumstances. The widow had nothing and Naaman seemingly had it all, yet both had desperate needs. God chose to work mightily in their lives and accomplished His purposes: testimony that the word of the Lord is true and God is the only true God.
An application for me is that God works differently in lives and I shouldn’t expect Him to do the same miracles for me that He does in the lives of others. It is easy to compare myself to others when I am in the midst of a trial. It’s tempting to complain inwardly that God is not “rescuing” me as He did a friend or acquaintance, that He’s not acting quick enough to please me, or He doesn’t love me like He does another. It’s wrong thinking and it leads to wrong behavior. The truth is that God does love me as much as He loves you or anybody! He provides trials to mature me and build my faith in Him. The kind of trial, as well as the duration, is totally up to God.
These passages in the Bible really ministered to me, particularly at this time as we are in a new phase of selling our home, i.e. under contract. Why God let our house remain on the market for so many months is, quite honestly, a mystery, but I can see His hand in it and thank Him for His perfect timing.
