The Widow's Oil

2 Kings 4: 1 – 7 (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 little 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 afterward 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."

The first lesson in this story is that the widow went to God when she needed help, since Elisha was a prophet of God. Often, we try everything else first, then go to God as a last resort. To be blessed, we should go to God when we are in need. Jesus taught us to pray to God for our needs, and Paul said we can approach God as a loving father.

This widow was facing a very serious, even life-threatening situation. Her husband had died and left her in debt. In those days, a person could be forced into slavery to repay a debt – or the person's children in this case. Without her sons' support, she might have starved. This was a desperate situation for her.

Elisha wanted her to take part in the blessing that God was about to provide. I suppose he could have zapped the money in front of her in some miraculous way, but God's ways are higher than ours. Instead, Elisha gave her some very specific instructions. Had she not followed them, the plan would not have worked.

Notice that God's blessing to her was measured out, in part, by her measure of faith. If she had only asked her closest neighbors for a jar or two, the plan would have fallen short. Since she asked the whole neighborhood, she had enough oil to pay her debt and even live on the remainder until her sons could begin to support her. God is a God of more than enough, but we must completely sell out to him to receive his full measure of blessing.

Why did Elisha instruct her to close the door when the miracle happened? Perhaps it was a private matter for her and her sons, or it could have been for her own safety. Whatever the reason, she followed Elisha's instructions exactly and that is what we must do if we want to see God work in our lives, even if we don't understand.

Consider the impact this miracle had on her sons. Think of the impact it had on her neighbors. She was blessed and God was glorified.