"The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil
fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth."--_1
Kings 17:14._
IT is very sad to say, but the Israelites went on getting more fond of
idols, and would not worship God. They grew so wicked that at last He
punished them, to teach them who sent the rain and did them good.
He would not let it rain for three whole years. No rain by day, no dew
by night! The corn would not grow, the grass dried up, and all the
streams were nothing but stones; so that there was nothing to eat or to
drink, and everyone was in sad distress.
[Illustration: ELIJAH FED BY THE RAVENS.--1 Kings 17:5, 6.]
There was one good man, a prophet, called Elijah, and God took care of
him. He sent him to a lonely place, by the side of a little mountain
stream, where there still was water to drink; and every morning and
evening there came two ravens, who were sent by God, to bring him
bread and flesh. That was a great miracle, or wonder, which God worked
to feed His prophet.
In time the brook dried up, and then God sent Elijah to a town called
Zarephath. There Elijah saw a poor woman gathering sticks, and he asked
her to give him a bit of something to eat. But the poor widow woman
said she had nothing for herself and her son but a handful of meal and
a little oil, and she was going to make a cake of it, and bake it with
a fire of her sticks; and that was the last she could get, so they must
die of hunger after they had finished.
[Illustration: THE WIDOW'S SON RESTORED TO LIFE.--1 Kings 17:21, 22.]
But Elijah still told her to make him a little cake first, for he
said, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not
waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord
sendeth rain upon the earth."
And the woman believed him, and gave him a bit of her last cake. And it
was as he said. There was always meal and oil enough to feed them day
by day: the widow, and her son, and the prophet, went on living on the
meal every day, for God fed them.
At last the child fell sick and died; and his mother grieved for him.
But Elijah laid the child on his bed, and prayed to God to have mercy
on the widow: and God had mercy. The little child's soul came back, and
he was alive again; and Elijah gave him to his mother.
Are not these three great wonders of God's goodness? God does not let
us see miracles now, as He did in those times, because we are taught to
believe in Him without them. But He still takes care of us. He takes
care that if we trust to Him, and pray to Him, we shall have our food
every day. And if we are ready to give what we want ourselves away to
one who needs it, He will make it up to us, and take care of us all
the more. And though no one is brought to life now who has died, yet
God often gives us back our friends when they have been very ill; and
we know that we shall all rise up from the dead and live with God for
ever, at a greater call than Elijah's.