Elisha and the Widow's Oil

  2 Kings 4:1-7

August 25, 2021

 

Elisha and the Widow's Oil

Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”  And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.”   Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few.   Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.”   So, she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured, they brought the vessels to her.   When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing.   She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”

 

We have been witnesses of the like of faith in God, and we have seen much-misplaced faith by many in the Church in the things of the world.  It reminded me of my past whereas a believer, but not yet a follower of Christ, I often had misplaced faith.  It is not a new thing for as the Jewish people came out of Egypt, they looked not to God but to Moses and Arron.  And you recall Moses going up on the Mountain and God giving him the Ten Commandments and the people not knowing where he had gone talked Arron into making a calf out of gold for them to worship.  Arron at this time feared men more than he fears God.  It brings no pleasure for me to say, many men who have the role of the pastor are like Arron at this time of his life. That is the bad news but my hope and prayer are that you will do as I did this morning, dwell on Moses’s request.  “Now, therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.”  Exodus 33:13

 

When you have a real need who do you look to, I have asked myself who is my refuge, who is my source, to whom will I look too?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice