“Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ ” She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.”
1 Kings 17:8-16 NIV
“The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.” Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.” She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
2 Kings 4:1-7 NIV
What do these two accounts have in common? Two of the greatest prophets who ever lived encountered these women and both of them had the same response to the question of what do they have in their house. “I have nothing except.”
Then they go on to explain what the nothing is. Are you there yet? Are you at your nothing? Seeing what you have or your life as insignificant, not enough for God to use? Your little can become much, but it depends on who’s asking the question.
In the first story, it almost seems like Elijah was being heartless. But God already told him who it was that would sustain him in the drought. What he didn’t say was that the sustainer needed sustaining. What’s interesting is that she had no problem giving him a drink, in a drought. Indicating that she had more water than she did flour and oil. Interesting. When she told Elijah her plan, he told her do not be afraid, go and do what you have said (bake the cake for you and your son) but before you do, make mine first. If you bake mine first, without fearing, here’s what the Lord God says: The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry.” Pump the brakes. Who said anything about a jar of flour and a jug of oil? That’s not what she said. She said a handful of flour and a little olive oil.
I prophesy to you today, and I’m not a prophet. But I hear the Word of the Lord. If you will put Him first, you will never experience lack, no matter what drought may arise in the land you live in. He’s El Shaddai your exceeding and abundant supply.
As she went in obedience to the word of Elijah, I believe when she went to get the handful of flour, hallelujah!! I’m bursting on the inside from the revelation! The handful of flour became a jar, and the little olive oil became a jug of oil. Are you catching this? What do you have in your house that God has asked for you to give to Him, that has remained dormant or small because you have refused to put Him first? It can be your money, your children, your life, your career, your relationships, your dreams and aspirations, what have you been holding back from God? You won’t experience your miracle until you put Him first.
Oh, she would’ve eaten her last meal for sure. She was telling the truth. She had just enough. Obedience brought her more than enough to sustain all three of them for three and a half years. The Word of God must be acted upon, in order for the manifestation to take place. And you MUST have the right attitude in your obedience. If you’re grumbling and complaining keep your little flour and oil. Faith requires you to trust where you cannot see. I can’t count how many times God has asked me to give in addition to my tithes and offerings, during the worst times of my life. I’m sharing today because my obedience payed off. I was never without food even when my cupboards and refrigerator were empty. And I never begged anyone for help, when I ran out of money.
In the next story we find a widow whose husband was one of the prophets in Elisha’s school of the prophets. He died and left his family in debt. If there are men in my audience who have not made the proper provision for their families future, let this be a lesson to you. As a man of God, that’s your responsibility whether your wife works or not. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 13:22a “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.”
I’m sick and tired of seeing “go fund me” pages for people who die without making preparations for the future. No wife should be stuck trying to figure out how to bury you and take care of your children. And no children should be running around trying to figure out how to bury you. This was the plight that this widow was faced with.
She went to the prophet Elisha because her husband worked for him. Back then if you can’t pay up, your sons were the payment, they had to work off the debt. That would be devastating for a widow in those days, because the sons were expected to care for her. Elisha asked basically the same question Elijah did, what do you have in your house? The response she gave was the same as the other widow. “Your servant has nothing except.” That except was her miracle.
Listen to what the prophet told her to do in verse 3 go read it above. Underline these words in your bible. “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. This is the key part. “Don’t ask for just a few.”
Don’t limit the supernatural flow of God in your life. We have no way of knowing if she did that, or if she just got the minimum amount of jars. But we do read that as long as she had jugs the oil flowed. The oil didn’t stop because God ran out of oil, it stopped because she ran out of jugs. When the demand is no longer there, the anointing will cease to flow.
The Church of Jesus Christ is not experiencing the flow of the supernatural supply of God’s power in the earth because there’s no demand. The oil or anointing will not flow where there are no vessels to fill. He said don’t just borrow a few. When she asked her son for another jug, he said there is not a jar left. The Holy Spirit is asking the same question. Where are the jars, where are the vessels left for Me to pour My anointing into? We’re reading a natural account but it has spiritual significance and relevance to us today.
Because she was willing to submit to Elisha’s word, her life was changed from one of despair to one of abundance. We too can experience God’s supernatural abundance when we become vessels that place a demand on the supernatural. As long as she had empty jars God had the supply. As long as we empty ourselves of ourselves, God has the supply. Not only will you supply others, which she did by selling the excess, she and her house were supplied as well. The anointing on our lives is not so we can be puffed up, but rather it is to be used to benefit others and bring glory to God.
Are you willing to trust the Word of the Lord and give Him the little? Don’t buy the devil’s lie that you can’t afford to give, you can’t afford to save, you can’t afford to purchase life insurance to protect your family, or whatever else you’re telling yourself. What do you have in your house? In both instances what they thought was nothing, became the something that revolutionized their lives. Trust your little to the One who multiplies, and never subtracts. Trust His Word and you’ll be established. Put Him first. Don’t leave your family stranded. He’s in the details if you’re willing to do what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3:5-6. There were a lot of things my daughter and I thought we couldn’t do over the years, but by trusting God, and walking in obedience, we have seen the handful of flour and the little bit of oil increase to the glory of God.
I’ve told you I’ll never ask you to do anything I’m not willing to do or haven’t done. God has a vast supply, but He’s waiting on the demand. In the age of Covid we’ve seen surplus turned into waste because of a lack of demand. Milk dumped, oil production slowed, peanut farmers are now worried that if football is cancelled their supply will rot. The vendors that supplied airlines with snacks are hurting, and the list goes on. When the demand stops the supply ceases. It hurts the heart of the giving God, whenever His children does not place a demand on His supply. Change your attitude towards God, and your life will overflow with abundance.
When your nothing is given to God through obedience, it will become something for you and for others. To God be the glory.
Heavenly Father,
Little does become much when we place it in the Master’s hands. Thank you for letting faith rise in our souls today. We have learned that faith in Your Word works every time. What a mighty God we serve! A God who desires to meet every demand placed on Your supply. We don’t ask in arrogance or a sense of entitlement, but in humility and trust in Your unfailing love and care for us. Today, we place our little in Your capable hands. We watch the supernatural flow of provision in every area, as we willingly put You first. In Jesus Name. Amen
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant