A Simple Story From The Old Testament

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

It’s wonderful to have such a nice, simple story from the Old Testament to preach on.  I’m tired of all of these deep, confusing stories.  What a wonderful change.

So here we have a story about Elijah bumping into a widow who was gathering sticks for a cooking fire.  This story takes place in the middle of a drought so the widow, who would already be poor, does not have enough money to feed herself and her son.  Elijah reaches out to her and, by the power of God, provides for her and for her son throughout the rest of the drought.

A nice simple story about our duty help the poor, and in the Old Testament, especially widows and orphans.  Well, that’s it.  I’m done with this one.  We have a duty to provide what we can to help the poor.

But wait a minute.  Why were they having a drought anyway?  And what does that have to do with our story?

King Ahab and Queen Jezebel (and many of the Israelites) were worshiping Baal, the Canaanite god of fertility and storms instead of the God of Israel.  As a punishment for this Elijah decreed a drought.  When Elijah talks to the widow, she says “As the Lord your God lives.”  She follows the God of Israel, not Baal.  Because of this, God provides for her in the drought.

So obviously this is a story about the dangers of idolatry.  If we turn from God and follow false idols, all that we have of true value will wither and die.  If we follow God’s call, the least we have will become a great treasure.

Or it’s a story about our duty to the poor.

But wait a minute.  If this were just a story about idolatry, God would have filled her jug of oil and jar of meal as soon as Elijah and God knew that she followed God.  But they weren’t.  Elijah sent her to make food for him first.  If she made the food for Elijah, then her jug and jar would not run out.  She had to prove her faith.  She had to believe that if she gave her last crumbs to Elijah, she would still have enough for herself and for her son.

So obviously this is a story about the power of faith.

Or it’s a story about the dangers of idolatry.

Or it’s a story about our duty to the poor.

So much for a simple story from the Old Testament.  I guess nothing in this book is truly simple, is it?

Before I leave our simple story about Elijah and a widow, I want to share one more layer from it.  And I think this one might be the most important (though all of them are important).

I think this story is about the grace of God that we see when we are good stewards of the gifts we have been given.  What does it mean to be a good steward?  Well, the simplest meaning is to take care of the gifts that we have been given.  But as this story has shown us, simple just doesn’t cut it.  There is much more.

Does anyone remember the parable of the talents?

That simple meaning of stewardship would be like the servant that buried what he was given to make sure that he didn’t end up with less.  This type of stewardship is not favoured by God.  It doesn’t do anything to make the world a better place.  It doesn’t further God’s kingdom.

The next level of stewardship would be like a conservative investment.  We take what we have and invest it in safe, stable, traditional ways.  We get some return and still have almost no risk.  This is marginally better, but it still isn’t the type of steward God is calling each of us to be.

No, God is calling us to be sacrificial stewards like the widow in our story.  Because of her faith that God will provide, she is able to give more of her gifts than she can really afford to give.  Just as she gave her last crumbs, we are called to use all that we have and all that we are to make the world a better place.

She also gives us another important message about stewardship.  Stewardship is not about money!

That’s right.  Stewardship is not about money.  It is about gifts.  Everything we have is a gift from God.  There are many gifts.  We are given gifts of talent, gifts of time, gifts of inheritance, and yes, gifts of money, and many other gifts.  A good steward in God’s eyes gives of their gifts as they can afford and even more.

And the grace of good stewardship, the grace of sacrificial stewardship, can be seen time after time both in this book and in our lives and the lives of everyone around us.  When we are generous with the gifts we have been given, when we give as much or more than we can afford to give, we are blessed with even more gifts from God.

This is the true message of stewardship and of this Old Testament reading.  The gifts that God has given us are meant to be used.  When they are used, they bear fruit.  When they are horded, they wither away and die.

Or is it about the power of faith?

Or is it about the dangers of idolatry?

Or is it about our duty to the poor?