A prophet died and left debts that his widow and two sons could not pay. The creditor decided to take the two sons as slaves in payment of the debt. When the widow begged for Elisha’s help, the Lord miraculously provided them with enough oil to sell and pay off the debt.
In one town a poor widow approached Elisha. Her husband had been a prophet.
This poor widow was unable to pay the debts that her husband had left her with. She had only a small amount of olive oil in her home – nothing else of value. As was the common practice of the time, her two sons were going to have to work for the lender until the money was paid back. In this case, he was going to exact a more harsh payment. They were to become his slaves.
God’s servant, Elisha, told the woman to borrow all the empty jars from her neighbours that she could possibly get, close her doors, and begin pouring the oil from her jar into the borrowed jars. As she obeyed, the widow saw that God provided enough oil to fill all the jars.
2 Kings 4:5-7 So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. 6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”
Lessons from this miracle
1. Pray and ask for God's wisdom
2. Use what you have to get what you need
3. God will give you supernatural abundance when you obey to His word.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
"What do you have in the house?" said the prophet to the woman
Jesus afterward said to His disciples, "How many loaves do you have?"
God can multiply the little that we have and transform it into abundance. Our tendency is to hold back and hold tightly what we perceive to be insignificant in our lives (or what we don’t have enough of). Yet, in God’s order, rather than hoarding our talents (or whatever it is we’re holding on tightly to), you’ll discover that it is in the pouring out of the LITTLE you have that it becomes more.
What does the little jar of oil in this story represent in your life? WHat can you place in God's hands today?
The widow's oil multiplied