I sat down after a long day to rest my weary body after a day of toil in the fields. My young children came to me and a I greeted them with a hug. How blessed I felt as I gazed above the heads of my children in my embrace at my beautiful wife preparing our evening meal. She smiled at me. Suddenly this moment was interrupted by a knock at the door.
My wife frowned as I glanced at the door. Once again their was a knock. I sighed and released my children as I stood up. “Who could that be?” I looked at my children gazing up at me with a curious look. They were as puzzled as I was about who was visiting us at this hour.
When I opened the door I was surprised to see the widow from down the street with her two boys. One of the boys held an armful of empty jars.
“Well, good evening,” I greeted her. I did not know her, but I had heard of her plight — how her husband died and now his creditors were likely to take her sons as slaves to pay for the debt left by her husband. I was sure she was looking for handouts to avoid the fate of her boys. In my mind I thought they were getting what they deserved. It was a consequence of taking on debt. I wasn’t about to give up what what I earned. By this time my children gathered behind me by the door as my wife looked on from the table while she continued to prepare our meal.
“Please, can you spare a few empty jars?” She asked.
“Empty jars?” I didn’t expect that request. “What do you want with empty jars “ I asked. She certainly did not have anything to put in them.
“I am only doing what the prophet Elisha asked me to do.”
“Elisha?!” My eyes widened. “Is he at your house?”
“No, I went to him and pleaded for help to save my sons from slavery.”
“I’m aware of your situation,” I replied. “As are most people in town, yet this is all your ask for?”
“It is what the man of God told me to do.”
I nodded. I had a lot of respect for Elisha and I wasn’t about to argue with his instructions. “Children. Go get a couple empty jars from your mother.”
They immediately ran to the table where my wife already had two jars waiting. She smiled at me and nodded in agreement. When I took the jars from my children, I noticed they were the jars my wife’s mother made for her. I glanced at her, unsure whether I should give up these special jars. She smiled again and nodded.
“Here you go,” I told the widow as I handed her the jars.
“Thank you,” she replied with tears in her eyes. She handed the jars to her son who held them tightly in an embrace. “I hate to impose, but do you have any more jars you could spare?”
I glanced back at my wife. She reached toward the shelf behind her and grabbed a jar that was given to me by my grandfather. She looked at me and I nodded. “Son, go get that other jar from your mother.”
My son retrieved the jar and I handed it to the widow. “I’m afraid this is all we have to spare.”
“Thank you so much,” she said as she handed the additional jar to her son who carefully added it to his armful of jars.
“May I ask what the prophet intends to do with these jars?”
“I’m not sure,” she replied. “After I pleaded with him to help, he said, ‘How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?’ Then I told him I had nothing except
a small jar of olive oil. That’s when he told me, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
I nodded at her as we exchanged a stare. Behind her eyes I saw hope. She revered the Lord like her husband.
“Thank you for the jars,” she said with a slight smile.
“You’re welcome,” I replied.
I began to close the door, but paused as I watched her walk to the next house with her two sons. I admired her faith, her trust that this prophet would work a miracle for her.
#WednesdayWalk Through the Bible — an exploration of what unknown people might have seen or felt when they witnessed the events in the Bible. This post is from the perspective of someone who encounters the widow at his door asking for empty jars based on 2 Kings 4:1-7 (NIV).
© 2019 CGThelen
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I praise you dear God for the majesty of your creation. I praise you for the vista of mountains in the daylight that leaves us breathless. I praise you for how that same mountain ridge is so strikingly different and amazing at sunset. I praise you for the beautiful detail within that mountain range from majestic trees rising high above to a towering waterfall tumbling down a steep cliff into a relaxing stream that nurtures the smallest flower. I praise you for the sights and sounds of your creation: the bubbling brook, the wind in the trees and the sound of crickets in a warm night. Only you dear Lord give us so much in this world you created for us. May we forever sing our praises to you dear Lord for what you have given us.
