8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
Elijah was a refugee from Israel, a nation crippled by the political corruption of its government. He fled to a foreign country on the Mediterranean where he found refuge with a poor widow. Her resources were meager and she had her own son to take care of. Yet she took Elijah in, and using her flour and oil for baking she made him a small cake to fill his belly. He stayed; and somehow there ended up being enough for her own house and for this foreigner in it. Neither her jar of flour nor her jug of oil ran empty. The LORD provided. It was a miracle.
The same scene is playing out across the Mediterranean all these many centuries later. Refugees are in need and have turned to foreign countries and foreign people for help. Many of the countries and people want to help but wonder if there will be enough.
And the widow begins to bake her cake, hoping -- again -- for a miracle.
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