By Sue Schneider
Editor’s note: for Women’s History Month, we’re sharing reflections on bold women found in the Bible.
Read 1 Kings 17
When the prophet Elijah is on the run from the law, having called down a drought to punish corrupt rulers, God sends Elijah to the land of Sidon. This is notable because Sidon is Gentile territory—specifically, it’s the homeland of Elijah’s enemy, Queen Jezebel. God assures the prophet that he will be okay there because a bold woman in the region will take care of him.
Sadly, there is no record of the conversation God may have had with the widow of Zaraphath about this plan, though her role in it is key. When we encounter her, all we know is that she has known grief and loss, for she is a widow. At this moment, the single mother is on the verge of death because of the drought Elijah called down from heaven. She is beside herself because she is sure her child will die of malnutrition soon. Political conflicts, famine and poverty are always harshest on the children, aren’t they? But Elijah, leaning against her gate, begs the widow for some water and, just as she turns to get it, has the audacity to also request a bite to eat.
This bold woman, familiar with the gnawing ache of an empty belly and the parched dry throat of one who has little access to water, worries that the next meal she fixes for herself and her son may be their last supper. And yet, her response to the strange man who practices a different religion, who speaks a different language, and who generally doesn’t belong in her community, is a gracious and courageous one. “I’m sorry, Sir. Whatever YOUR God promised you, I can’t help you. My son and I will be dead soon” (I Kings 17:12).
Elijah proclaims to her what God’s messengers always announce: don’t be afraid. God is a living God and will provide. “The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that YHWH sends rain on the earth” (I Kings 17:14). Most people think the miracle is what comes next: that after the woman feeds Elijah, her flour and oil really don’t run out until the drought is over. And that is extraordinary, to be sure. But isn’t this moment at the gate a miracle too—the time when a struggling woman, filled with the horrifying image of her starving son’s distended belly and sunken eyes, invites company over for dinner?
This bold widow is a model of trust in God, even though she isn’t sure she can claim a relationship with God as her own. She bravely acts on a key biblical principle running through both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament: when you have enough to share, share it. Her generosity exemplifies God’s economy—that God can do infinitely more than we can imagine when we offer what we have, even if we don’t think it’s much. After all, it is not truly ours. Everything is God’s, and all of it is for the flourishing of God’s creation.
The latter part of this story sometimes gets left out because in verse 17—despite this woman’s leap of faith and the subsequent miracle of oil and flour not running out—her precious son dies anyway. Only someone who hasn’t known the pain of doing the right thing and suffering for it could blame her for being outraged at Elijah and the God he worships: “Did you come here to punish me? Didn’t you say that if we took care of you, your God would take care of us? Can’t you help me?”
This woman is not afraid to voice her deepest fears and feelings and is not timid about calling for accountability and aide from God and God’s representative. This is a model for all of us about what bold faith looks like. It is not meek or passive, but honestly questions God and God’s people, expressing the truest depths of her heart, and anticipating an answer.
Elijah responds to her suffering and her challenge as the Church must: he takes her cause to the Lord. “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son? Please help!” (I Kings 17:20-21). God responds by empowering Elijah to enact some kind of CPR, restoring the boy to life. The boy’s mother’s joy turns into humble faith at this. Unlike Queen Jezebel, who could not bear to hear the words of Elijah, this other woman of Sidon exclaims, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth” (I Kings 17:24).
Why do some children never grow up while others grow old? We do not know. This wonderful story does not erase the sorrow we experience with and for all the parents whose children are not brought back to life. What this unique story teaches us is simply this: if God can turn the heart of a Gentile woman toward a Hebrew prophet, if God can feed hungry people with very few evident resources, then surely God can provide a way for you and me and everyone else through all the bleakest valleys of the shadow of death we encounter. It may not look the way we expect, but God is always a God of resurrection and new beginnings. The God who chose and worked through the widow of Zaraphath chooses and works through each of us as well, bringing life out of death every time.
Sue Schneider was born and grew up in the Philippines, the middle child of Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod missionaries. Her first career was teaching English on the middle, high school, and college levels. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in 2002, and has served as a pastor in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Washington.