1 Kings 17:15

1Ki 17:15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat [many] days.

Ver. 15. And her house.] Which till now we read not of, more than of a son only. See on 1Ki 17:12.

Many days,] viz., Till the Lord gave rain, and the earth returned to its former fertility. When means may be had and used, miracles are not to be expected.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki_17:15

She went and did according to the saying of Elijah.

Modern liberality, and the widow of Zarephath

I. The treatment he received was verily the manifestation of the womans mind towards god himself. Were it otherwise, it would be hard to point out anything in which we could be pronounced as doing it for, or contrary to the will of Almighty God. He has Himself, however, placed this matter beyond all dispute, for He has said, He that giveth to the poor leadeth to the Lord; and Christ represents the judgment scene in telling you that He will welcome His people with the assurance, Inasmuch as ye did a deed of charity unto one of these My brethren, ye did it unto Me.

II. This gift is to be no act of necessity, but one of pure oblation To grudge while you give, or to give because the necessity of fashion, or custom, or demand is laid upon you, is to spoil the gift altogether. That is but half a gift which is not brought freely home. It is one thing to give of our substance in obedience to a reiterated request; it is another thing to bring it unto God freely and with delight.

III. Observe what it is which God demands? Satan, the world, or vanities, let these obtain your service, and you are speedily enhanced in their thraldom, and all is sure to be at length drawn into and swallowed in their insatiable vortex. You cannot, even if you would try deliberately to make the compromise, arrange for the bestowment of a certain portion of your means, or time or thought, upon unhallowed pursuits. All absorbing is the power of sin. The energies of body and mind insensibly flow into its channel, and the votary becomes the slave, and ultimately the ruined victim. But what is His demand of you, whose service is perfect freedom? Not so much as He has a right to demand; far less than many, moved by His grace, are willing to bestow. Sin, which absorbs all if it can, is but a robber at the best, for it can lay claim to no sort of right whatever, while God, who has a right to all, demands but little. What I do here claim, however, is, that though the requirements of God be comparatively small, they are, nevertheless, universal.

IV. No act for God is performed without his favour, and the blessing of the Lord it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it. (G. Venables.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 17:15. She did according to the saying of Elijah — Giving glory to the God of Israel, by believing his prophet. O woman, great was thy faith! One has not found the like, no not in Israel. All things considered, it exceeded that of the widow, who, when she had but two mites, cast them into the treasury. She took the prophet’s word that she should not lose by it, but it should be repaid with interest. “Those that can venture upon the promise of God,” says Henry, “will make no difficulty of exposing and emptying themselves in his service, and giving him his dues out of a little, and giving him his part first. They that deal with God, must deal on trust; seek first the kingdom of God, and then other things shall be added. Surely,” adds he, “the increase of this widow’s faith to such a degree as to enable her thus to deny herself, and to depend upon the divine promise, was as great a miracle in the kingdom of grace, as the increase of her oil was in the kingdom of providence. Happy they that can thus, against hope, believe and obey in hope.” She and her house did eat many days — A long time, even above two years before the following event about her son happened, and the rest of the time of the famine. See how the reward answered the service! She generously made one cake for the prophet, and was repaid with many for herself and son! What is laid out in charity, is set out to the best interest, upon the best security. One poor meal’s meat this poor widow gave the prophet, and in recompense of it she and her son did eat many days, and probably some of her kindred too, here included in the term her house, an expression which would hardly have been used of her one son.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17:15-16 She did as Elijah said, and God rewarded her act of faith. The fresh supply of the widow’s daily necessities reminded her of God’s faithfulness and goodness (Lam 3:22-24; Phil 4:19).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That is, till he had rain and food on the earth.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(15) The barrel of meal wasted not.—The miracle is doubly remarkable. First, in this instance, as in the similar miracles of Elisha and of our Lord Himself, we see that God’s higher laws of miracle, like the ordinary laws of His providence, admit within their scope the supply of what we should consider as homely and trivial needs—in this respect perhaps contradicting what our expectation would have suggested. Next, that it is a miracle of multiplication, which is virtual creation—not necessarily out of nothing—doing rapidly and directly what, under ordinary laws, has to be done slowly and by indirect process.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. her house] She had enough for all their own needs and something over, which she could give to poorer relations. The whole history of the woman shews that she knew much of the religion of the God of Israel, though we are not told how she had been brought to the knowledge.

many days] There is no word for ‘many’ as the italics shew. The Hebrews used ‘days’ for a long time. Thus the same word is rendered in Gen_40:4 ‘a season;’ in Num_9:22 ‘a year,’ i.e. the complete round of days. The margin of A.V. has ‘a full year’ in the present verse.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And she went, and did according to the saying of Elijah,..... Made a cake for him first, and brought it to him, which showed great faith in the word of the Lord by him:

and she, and he, and her house, did eat; many days, a year at least, if not two years, see Kg1 17:7 the widow, the prophet, and her family, lived upon the meal and oil so long; we read but of one son, but she might have more.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

She did according to the saying of Elijah; giving glory to the God of Israel, by believing his prophet.

Many days, i.e. a long time, even above two years: see 1Ki 18:1. Heb. days, i.e. a full year; as 1Ki 17:7; namely, before the following event about her son happened, and the rest of the time of the famine after it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. She went and did according to the saying of Elijah — “It was one of those sudden recognitions of unknown kindred souls — one of those cross purposes of Providence — which come in with a peculiar charm to checker the commonplace course of ecclesiastical history. The Phenician mother knew not what great destinies lay in the hand of that gaunt figure at the city gate, worn with travel, and famine, and drought. But she listened to his cry, and saved in him the deliverer of herself and her son. It may be that this incident is the basis of the sacred blessing of the Prophet of prophets on those who, even by a cup of cold water, receiving a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet’s reward.” — Stanley.

And her house — There were others, then, in that household besides herself and son.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah the echo of ver. 13, "Go and do according to thy saying": and she, and he, or he and she, according to Chethib and her house probably her friends or poor relatives who came to partake of her plenty (Bahr), did eat many days. Heb. days, i.e., an indefinite period. See note on ver. 7. The word does not refer to the first baking (ver. 13), but it is to be explained by the next verse.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Many days - A long time, even above two years, before the following event about her son happened. And surely the increase of her faith to such a degree, as to enable her thus to deny herself and trust the promise, was as great a miracle in the kingdom of grace, as the increase of her oil in the kingdom of providence. Happy are they who can thus against hope believe and obey in hope.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.