The text for this lesson is 1 Kings 17
Key Point
- Just as God provided food and life for Elijah, the widow, and her son, so He provides food, forgiveness, and life eternal for us in Christ.
- Law: In sin, I complain that God does not give me what I need or deserve.
- Gospel: God daily supplies me with those good gifts that sustain me in body and soul, giving each of them through His Son.
Discussion Points
- Discuss some of the challenges the widow at Zarephath (a city not in Israel) would have faced in her lifetime (ninth century BC) that she would not have to deal with in twenty-first-century-AD America. What comparative advantage did women in Israel and in the Early Christian Church have versus those in pagan lands? See Exodus 22:22; Deuteronomy 10:18; and James 1:26–27.
- What could have moved God to bring such a harsh drought upon His people? See Deuteronomy 11:13–17 and 1 Kings 16:29–33.
- The Lord made miraculous provisions for Elijah by the brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:2–7) and then for Elijah, the widow, and her son (17:9–16). What other miraculous feedings in the Bible do these stories bring to mind? What do these stories teach us about God?
- Losing a child is one of the bitterest experiences that any human being can have, especially a mother. Even Mary, the mother of our Lord, was to witness the death of her Son. What comfort can we offer parents who lose a child, in light of 1 Kings 17:17–24? See Psalm 31:15; 39:4–5; Romans 6:3–4; Hebrews 2:14–15; 11:35; and 12:1.
- What did the events of Luke 7:11–16 signal to the people of Israel? What conclusion did some Jews reach about Jesus, according to Matthew 16:13–16? How does Elijah fit into the New Testament? See Matthew 17:1–3, 8–13.
- According to Romans 6:5–11, what is the difference between miraculous resurrections such as the son of the widow at Zarephath and the resurrection of Jesus? What implication does this have for our daily lives?
- According to 1 Kings 17:18, what did the widow conclude was the reason Elijah had come? When tragedy strikes our lives, why should we never draw conclusions like the widow did? See Hebrews 10:17–18; Romans 8:28, 31–32; and 1 Peter 3:21–22.
