“Then the word of the Lord came to him, ‘Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.'” (1 Kings 17:8-9, ESV)
The Lord sent Elijah to Zarephath,, a town in Phoenicia to minister to a poor widow. The name Zarephath means “the crucible”, “the smelting furnace”, a place where metal is refined. Here Elijah was to be refined, humbled and strengthened for his calling as prophet. God did this by having Elijah minister to one family, a pagan woman and her son. As a nonJew, this poor widow had no access to God and no hope of salvation. And at this point, she was on the point of death from starvation because of the famine and drought in the region, but she had accepted her fate. Yet even at the end, she was willing to be unselfish and share her last meal. And for her kindness she was rewarded. Out of all the widows in Israel, out of all the poor people suffering at that time, she was the one God chose to bless.
The Lord sent Elijah, as He often sends His saints, to minister and bless non-believers, pagans. We are called to be a light to the world. The people in the world, like this poor woman, do not merit God’s blessing or our help. Yet they do not have to. They don’t have to change before we or the Lord helps them. The Lord uses His church to meet the needs of the undeserving poor and the unworthy dregs of society. And we are to use all things the Lord has given us for His work. We need to give freely, without seeking to get in return. We are to love and give when it hurts, when we may have to do without, when we are in the midst of our own trials, illnesses and afflictions. And the Lord will enable us to do so.