LESSON 11   
   *December 4 - 10   
   The Widow of Zarephath:   
      
   The Leap of Faith   
      
   SABBATH AFTERNOON   
      
   Read for This Week's Study:   
      
   1 Kings 17; Job 38; 42:5, 6; Luke 4:24-28; Heb. 11:1; Rev. 1:17.   
      
   Memory Text:   
      
   "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you   
   will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6, NIV).   
    She was no stranger to death. She had seen her husband die. And now she   
   watched, helplessly, as everything around her died. The grass dried up, the   
   trees dropped their leaves, the cows were gaunt skeletons, and the goats   
   bleated pitifully. Every day she scanned the cloudless sky, hoping against   
   hope for a cloud and rain. She had been rationing the flour and the oil in an   
   attempt to make it stretch until the end of the drought. The little round,   
   flat daily loaf was unevenly divided. Her son needed all the nourishment she   
   could give him. It pained her to see the lad so thin and without energy. But   
   her sacrifice seemed pointless, for she feared that both would soon starve to   
   death. There was enough for one final meal. Holding her son's hand, the widow   
   leaves the dusty town of Zarephath to scrounge for firewood in order to cook   
   their final meal. And here the unnamed woman steps into the biblical narrative   
   and into sacred history, where her story teaches us lessons that we can,   
   thousands of years later, apply to ourselves. This week we see the great   
   controversy between God and Satan played out in miniature in the life of an   
   unnamed widow who chooses God and is led step by step into a journey of faith.   
      
   *Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 11.   
   SUNDAY   
   December 5   
      
   To Zarephath   
      
   Although our story begins with God's command to the great prophet Elijah to go   
   to Zarephath, we must remember what led to this command. The kingdom of Israel   
   had fallen into idolatry. Baal worship had become the official state religion.   
   God had dramatically "challenged" the storm god by declaring through his   
   prophet Elijah that there would be no more dew or rain (1 Kings 17:1).   
      
   What irony is found in the idea that God tells a kingdom that was worshiping   
   the storm god that there would be no rain? What does this tell us about God's   
   power in our world in contrast to every other power? See also Ps. 86:8, Jer.   
   10:6, Heb. 1:1-3, and Job 38.   
      
   Elijah had been hiding at the brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:3) while the country   
   of Israel withered under a devastating drought. The brook finally ran dry, and   
   God commanded the prophet to leave and go to Zarephath (1 Kings 17:1-9).   
      
   God commands Elijah to leave Israel and go to a foreign land. Zarephath is   
   located on the Mediterranean coast between Tyre and Sidon. It is within the   
   territory of Phoenicia, which is where the terrible queen Jezebel comes from.   
   One of the important Phoenician national deities is Baal, and Jezebel, as King   
   Ahab's queen, actively imported Baal worship to Israel from Phoenicia. In the   
   ancient world, gods were normally thought of as belonging to a specific city   
   or region. Zarephath, situated outside of Israel in a foreign country, is   
   supposedly far removed from the Lord's area of influence. The people of this   
   heathen nation should also be far out of God's reach. But no one is ever out   
   of His reach. Right in the very center of Baal worship, God is going to make   
   His presence and power known.   
      
   It's important to note that God uses the prophet's need to reach out to a   
   woman in far-off Zarephath. As believers in Jesus, we do not have to project a   
   perfect front to all those around us. We do not have to cover up our problems   
   or pretend that we have no needs, because, as we all know, that's just not   
   true. As Christians, we still suffer, we still hurt, we still need at times   
   the solace and help of others who, in fact, might not be of our faith or of   
   any faith at all.   
   What's wrong with the attitude which says that we show a lack of faith when we   
   seek help from others? What are ways that we might, through our needs, reveal   
   to others the goodness and character of God?    
   MONDAY   
   December 6   
      
   An Unusual Instrument (1 Kings 17:7-12)   
      
   The widow, out gathering firewood to make a last meal for herself an her son,   
   recognizes Elijah as a believer in God right away. The text doesn't say what   
   it was, but something let her know that Elijah was a worshiper of the Lord.   
      
   Read carefully verse 12. The woman acknowledges that God exists, but what does   
   that, at this point, mean to her? Dwell on her phrase, "that we may eat it,   
   and die." What does it imply?   
      
   What similarities can you detect between 1 Kings 17:3, 4 and 17:8, 9?   
      
   God directs and guides His prophet Elijah in order to save his life. First He   
   tells him to hide by the brook Cherith. Ravens are commanded to feed him.   
   Following this, God commands again and sends Elijah to Zarephath, where he has   
   "commanded a widow" (vs. 9) to feed him.   
      
   She seems an unusual instrument for God. She is a non-Israelite. She is a   
   widow with no social standing and no influence or power. She herself is on the   
   brink of starvation.   
      
   What an incredible lesson can be learned from observing this divine strategy.   
   More often than not God chooses us--not for a particular strength that we may   
   have--but rather in spite of our weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9).   
      
   Yesterday we saw that God is not limited geographically. Today we see that God   
   is not limited by human limitations. God is the one who orders in this story.   
   Throughout this narrative it is clear that God is in control, a point that is   
   also very important in the larger context of Elijah's ministry in the great   
   battle between the Lord and Baal. Nothing and no one can stand in the way of   
   God's ultimate will. Later in the story, we will see that even death cannot   
   interfere with God's purposes. Even though things and events that are hurtful   
   or detrimental to our lives will be thrown at us, God's purposes for us always   
   are good (Jer. 29:11), although we may not see this immediately. We need to   
   learn to trust Him in all situations, both the good and the bad, for we will   
   inevitably find ourselves at some point in both.   
   How has the Lord been able to use you despite your weaknesses? How much more   
   could you do were you, through His power, able to overcome those weaknesses?    
   TUESDAY   
   December 7   
      
   Total Surrender (1 Kings 17:13-16)   
      
   Read 1 Kings 17:13-16. What's the first thing Elijah says to the wdow, and   
   why? What great leap of faith is Elijah taking in asking her to do this?    
   Widows were marginal characters in the biblical world at the best of times.   
   Especially if they had no grown children to take care of them, they were   
   easily victimized and had limited legal recourse. A widow in the time of a   
   great drought was even worse off. Each family was fighting for survival, and   
   there would be no handouts to poor widows. This woman is now asked to feed the   
   prophet. She is really the most unlikely candidate, when we consider her   
   social and economic reality. Only a handful of flour and a little oil stands   
   between this poor woman and starvation.   
      
   Whom does he tell her to feed first? What kind of thoughts must have gone   
   through her mind when she heard that? What kind of faith was required on her   
   part?    
   In many of our cultures, it is more appropriate to offer to others before   
   taking for ourselves. However, to add insult to injury, the prophet not only   
   wants to take from a person who cannot afford to give, but he wants to be   
   served first.   
      
   Remember that, throughout this story, the prophet is really standing in as a   
   representative of God before this woman. By asking her for her last bread, the   
   prophet is inviting the woman to take a leap of faith, to surrender all that   
   she has to him.   
      
   What other examples can you find in the Bible when the Lord asks for complete   
   surrender? See, for instance, Genesis 22.    
   When we give God everything we have, we always gain in the end. The woman   
   originally had enough for only one meal. In giving that meal to the prophet   
   first, this pagan woman reached out in raw faith, trusting in what she could   
   not see or understand. In a sense, isn't that what faith is all about (see   
   Heb. 11:1)--trusting in a God we can't see and in promises we don't fully   
   understand? What's amazing, too, is that this isn't even an Israelite woman   
   but a woman from a pagan land who practiced a degrading form of worship. And   
   yet God somehow communicated with her (see vs. 9), and she responded in faith,   
   doing what she had been commanded to, despite how foolish, from a worldly   
   perspective, her actions might have seemed.   
   When was the last time you had to reach out in raw, naked faith, trusting in   
   what you could not see or did not understand? What lessons did you learn about   
   what it means for us, as fallen beings, to live by faith?    
   WEDNESDAY   
   December 8   
      
   Remembering My Sins (1 Kings 17:17, 18)   
      
   The widow gave her last loaf of bread, and God performed a miracle. She and   
   her son miraculously escaped starvation and had a constant source of food.   
   It's hard to imagine the astonishment she must have felt to see this   
   incredible miracle happen, not just once but day by day.   
      
   What is the natural human response to contact with God? See Job 42:5, 6; Isa.   
   6:5; Dan. 10:8; Luke 5:8; Rev. 1:17. Why do you think that reaction is so   
   common?   
      
      
   Through the prophet Elijah, the widow came into contact with God. As we come   
   into contact with a holy God, our sins become more apparent. And then, when   
   something terrible happens, we may feel that the Lord is punishing us. In 1   
   Kings 17:18, the widow blames God's prophet for being there and consequently   
   bringing her to God's notice.   
      
   Look at her reasoning (vs. 18). Why might she have thought the way she did?   
      
      
   Perhaps she saw the kind of faithful and holy life that Elijah lived, and she   
   felt convicted in his presence when she contrasted herself to him. Or, living   
   day by day with such a miracle, perhaps she felt the presence of God and His   
   holiness as never before and thus felt her sinfulness more than ever before.   
   Thus, in that context, she saw her sins as the cause of this tragedy.   
      
   In many ways, this is such a common reaction. We often blame ourselves and our   
   sins for the tragedies that hurt us or our loved ones. What did I do that   
   caused my child to get sick? What sin has caused this calamity in my life?   
   Though it is true that many times pain and suffering result directly from the   
   sinful choices we make, it's also true that tragedies come for which we see no   
   apparent reason and certainly through no fault of our own. Remember the story   
   of Job. Even God admitted he was a righteous man, and look what happened to   
   him. We need to be very careful in how we seek to explain the cause of tragedy   
   in our lives. What's more important is how we respond to those tragedies, and   
   fixating on the supposed cause most likely won't help.   
   We all face unexpected and inexplicable tragedy, don't we? It's part of what   
   it means to be fallen beings in a fallen world. How can you learn to trust and   
   love God, even amid painful times?    
   THURSDAY   
   December 9   
      
   Testing Faith   
      
   How was the faith of both the widow and Elijah tested here? 1 Kings 17:17-24.   
      
   Notice the struggle that Elijah himself had with the death of the boy. It   
   doesn't seem as if he knows for sure that the Lord will raise him. His prayer   
   seems to reflect some of the attitude of the woman herself, blaming God for   
   the death. What this shows is that even prophets can struggle with   
   understanding things that happen (Matt. 11:1-3).   
      
   No question, for quite a while both the widow and Elijah were living in the   
   presence of a miracle--the continual supply of flour and oil--which should   
   have been more than enough to keep their faith strong. And yet, even with   
   something as dramatic as that, their faith was put to the test.   
      
   How often, too, we might have had some incredible experience with God,   
   something that really touched us in a powerful way, only to question Him later   
   when events unfold that we don't like. That's why, though miracles can have a   
   role in the building of faith, they shouldn't be the center of it.   
      
   How does Elijah refer to the Lord? What does that tell us about his   
   relationship with God?   
      
   Elijah has a very intimate relationship with God; he calls God "my God."   
   Having a close relationship with God does not mean that one has all the   
   answers. Elijah cannot understand why God has permitted the child to die. But   
   it is when we have an intimate relationship with God that we can best   
   experience the power of4 God in our lives. The miracle does not occur by a   
   special magic formula or even the attempt of the prophet to keep the boy warm.   
   The writer of the account makes it clear that it is God who resurrects the boy.   
      
   Elijah himself is thrilled at the results. "Look, your son is alive!" he   
   probably shouted to the widow. No doubt, whatever this incident did for the   
   faith of the woman, it surely helped Elijah, as well.   
      
   The widow's response ends in a faith statement. She now knows that the God of   
   Israel is able to sustain life and also give life.   
   Read Luke 4:24-26, where this widow is mentioned again. How do Christ's words   
   here help us better understand this story as a whole? What lessons might we   
   draw from it for ourselves, we who are part of a privileged group?    
   FRIDAY   
   December 10   
      
   Further Study:   
      
      
   " 'And He said, verily I say unto you, No prophet is acceptable in his own   
   country. But of a truth I say unto you, There were many widows in Israel in   
   the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months,   
   when there came a great famine over all the land; and unto none of them was   
   Elijah sent, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, unto a woman that   
   was a widow. 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.' Luke   
   4:23-27, R. V.   
      
   "By this relation of events in the lives of the prophets, Jesus met the   
   questionings of His hearers. The servants whom God had chosen for a special   
   work were not allowed to labor for a hardhearted and unbelieving people. But   
   those who had hearts to feel and faith to believe were especially favored with   
   evidences of His power through the prophets. In the days of Elijah, Israel had   
   departed from God. They clung to their sins, and rejected the warnings of the   
   Spirit through the Lord's messengers. Thus they cut themselves off from the   
   channel by which God's blessing could come to them. The Lord passed by the   
   homes of Israel, and found a refuge for His servant in a heathen land, with a   
   woman who did not belong to the chosen people. But this woman was favored   
   because she had followed the light she had received, and her heart was open to   
   the greater light that God sent her through His prophet."--Ellen G. White, The   
   Desire of Ages, p. 238.    
   Discussion Questions:   
      
      
     What is the connection between sin and suffering? The widow of Zarephath   
   thought that her sin caused her son's death. In the New Testament, the   
   disciples thought that being blind was the result of the individual's or his   
   parents' sins (John 9:2, 3). Should we relate differently to people who are   
   suffering as the result of their own sins as opposed to those who seem to be   
   suffering through no cause of their own? Or should we not even make that   
   judgment call? Defend your answer.    
     A child is born with a rare genetic disorder, and the mother feels that God   
   is punishing her for her rebellious youth. What advice and comfort can you as   
   a class offer her?   
      
     Ask if anyone in class ever witnessed a miracle, something that could have   
   come only from God. What was the person's reaction? How has the impact of the   
   miracle in the person's life changed over time? Did he or she ever struggle   
   with doubt again, despite having witnessed something so amazing? What lessons   
   can we learn from these experiences about what it means to live by faith?   
      
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