StorytellerSample

The broken plea from a widow in this passage is so moving. When the woman’s husband died, she had no way to provide for herself or her family. And not only that, the woman’s husband died with debts—debts she inherited with no way to pay them. The situation was so dire that a collector was coming to pay for the woman’s two sons so they could be slaves. What did she do in response? She begged Elisha, God’s servant, for help. The woman had nothing in her house but a near-empty jar of oil. Elisha directed her to collect all of her neighbors’ empty jars—every single one. Then Elisha told the woman to shut the door and pour her oil into the other jars. So, she did. As soon as she filled a jar, one of her sons would bring another one, then another one, then another one. She kept pouring and pouring and filling and filling until every last jar was full. When the woman reported what had happened to Elisha, he told her to sell those jars in order to pay her debts.

Though we may not be in this exact situation, we can all relate to this woman. Because, as humans, we had a debt we could not pay. But God did not leave us with the weight of our sins. Instead, Jesus paid it, and it cost Him dearly. Just like the woman was given more than she needed, God has given us more too. God hasn’t just forgiven us; He has given us treasures in the heavenly places. So this week, remember you have a Father who gives extravagantly!