II Kings 4:1 Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2 And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. 4 Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” 5 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.
As with yesterday's passage, we find that God has a special place in His heart for widows, which His prophets needed to understand if they were to minister effectively. Elisha, following in the spirit of Elijah, knew that what the woman needed was not merely money, but to see that God could and would supply for her. Just as the woman in yesterday's passage had one asset, this woman had this one jar of oil. God multiplied that to give her what she needed not only for the present crises, but for ongoing support. Once again, there were lessons for Elisha, the widow and her sons, and the people around them to be reminded of: God cares; He supplies; we should care for the needy and with them, trust in God's love and provision.
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