The Widow of Zarephath

Two Psalms speak to the troubles of the believer, whether living under the Old or the New Testaments: Psalms 37:25 and 34:19. In Psalm 37:25 David gives a general observation on life, "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." David's observation matches my own from the perspective of serving as a pastor beginning over forty years ago. That does not mean that believers never face trials or persecutions -- on the contrary, they face many. But Psalm 34:19 assures that while this is so, we may still rely on our sovereign God who turns everything to our ultimate good in Christ (Romans 8:28): "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivers him out of them all."

This sermon picks back up a long series out of the book of Hebrews and is the first part of an exposition of Hebrews 11:35. It examines the account of Elijah's dealings with the widow of Zarephath recorded in 1 Kings 17 and the miracle of the raising of her dead son. The focus is on the nature of faith and the importance of our expecting God to hear and answer our prayers. It is an unusual sermon from the Grace pulpit in that the pastor begins with several personal accounts of dramatic answers to prayer and then moves into a running commentary on 1 Kings 17.