"Make Me A Little Cake First"

by R. Hickling, Nottingham | Category: General | Dec 1979

As Elijah approached Zarephath he saw the widow woman gathering sticks. His heart must have been saddened as he thought of her plight. The seriousness of the situation was clear from her words, "As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in the barrel, and a little oil in the cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die" (1 Kin. 17:12). Naturally she was concerned about her son and, no doubt to a lesser degree, about herself. She had still a little meal and a little oil and when these had been used the grim prospect was a lingering death with all the horrors of starvation. She had heard the stranger's request. It had been made with great courtesy. It was hard enough to provide the drink of water under the prevailing conditions but she was prepared to do this. But his second request had been too much. He had been most courteous again, but a morsel of bread! Maybe this traveller did not realize how serious was the situation.

The widow woman's answer came quickly. She had to think about her own. She was not unkind but how could she provide for this traveller? Was there no one else better fitted than she, a widow woman, to meet his need?

Then came the challenge. "Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it forth unto me, and afterward make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD, the 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" (1 Kin. 17:13,14).

The message was clear. If she provided what was asked, if she put him first, then both she and her son would be provided for. What a challenge in such a desperate situation! But on what had the speaker based his promise? Was it reliable ground? "As the LORD God of Israel liveth". Powerful words indeed! She had said "As the Lord thy God liveth". The widow knew that most nations had their gods. There was a god in Zidon. But this man was of Israel and she had heard of the God of Israel and so could speak to him of his God. But the title she used was not sufficient for Elijah. Consider his words, "the LORD, the God of Israel". There were lessons this Gentile woman must learn, and, in so doing, she would be better able to stand by the promises He made.

The God of Israel! This was the One who had declared His Name to Moses (Exod. 3:14), the One who had brought low the proud and stubborn Pharaoh and who had led His people out of Egypt to the land promised to their forefathers. He was no graven image or deity produced by the flights of man's fancy. He was Israel's God through whom salvation was to come (John 4:22). The promises of God become very real and precious to those who in some measure apprehend the power of the One who promised.

So the widow woman made her decision. She would trust the promise

of Elijah's God. She lit the fire and baked the cakes. The first one went not to her son or herself but to Elijah for she did according to his saying (1 Kin. 17:15). They ate and ate and ate again. The drought went on but the supply of meal and oil did not fail. She had obeyed the word of the God of Israel, she had put His prophet first and, in turn, the need of her son and herself had been supplied abundantly.

Over the last fifty years or so the pace of life has increased enormously. In many countries of the world today there is a constant air of haste and bustle and many "run to and fro" just as they will at the time of the end (see Dan. 12:4). Such an atmosphere brings with it considerable strain. In our spiritual lives Satan is quick to take advantage of such an environment. It is easy today to let the demands of our Lord take second place and for the challenge of discipleship to be swamped by prevailing circumstances. One of the first elements of spiritual life to suffer in this way is communion. Thus the believer is robbed of that essential spiritual lifeline of listening and speaking to God. Having become very anxious about the affairs of this life we may be quick to bake our own cake first leaving the Lord's demands to take second place an~ give Him what is left over. Such an attitude is not adopted always wilfully. It is a situation that can creep over us insidiously and we find our prayer life, the reading of the scriptures and the Lord's service still have a place but not the first place! The hymn writer, W. D. Longstaff, knew something of this when he wrote:

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;

Spend much time in secret with Jesus alone.

This spiritual malaise can show itself also by a confusion of what we want with what we need. Maybe we can recall the days of early childhood when we would pester our parents with the cry, "I want that!" But it was not always given to us because they were wise enough to differentiate between our desires and our needs. If all our desires had been met it would not have been to our good, but how lovingly and earnestly and often at great cost do parents labour to supply the needs of their children!

In our Christian life we can make the same mistake. It can happen at any stage in life's experience but perhaps the most vulnerable is the time of adolescence. Life is before us. We are anxious. We are concerned about companionships whether with the same or the opposite sex. The possibility of marriage, of a future home, of a family. An ambition to succeed and many other aspects of life are concerns which occupy our attention. All these have their right and proper place before the Lord. But, He says, "Seek ye first His kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33).

This is a promise. It is given by the Lord Himself. All the things we need, not necessarily the things we want, will be added if we put Him and His kingdom first. Are we not in a similar position then to the widow woman of Elijah's day? Is not the challenge to us much the same as it was to her? "Make Me... a little cake first". She did so, and the resulting blessing was far more than anything she could have imagined. How shall we respond to the challenge of our Lord and Saviour?

R. Hickling, Nottingham | Dec 1979
General