One Jar of Oil...

The woman was trying to do her best, but with these conditions she knew that she wouldn't last long. In fact this was going to be the last meal for both her and her little son. There was a famine in the land and food and drink were scarce. She only had enough oil to make one loaf of bread. And then she and her son would die, just like her husband had died.

But while she was gathering the sticks for the fire, a shadow fell over her. She looked up and lo and behold it was the prophet Elijah! What would a great man like him want with someone as poor as she? She was soon to find out...

Elijah asked if she would make a loaf and give him a cup of water, promising her if she did that the Lord would provide for her and her son. Then going into the house she poured her last flour on the table and emptied her jar of oil and made, what seemed to her, the last piece of bread, and she gave it to this man!

I'm not sure how it happened but somehow she found out that there was more flour and more oil in the containers! Oh what happiness, now she could make something for her little boy and for her as well!

The next woman was very poor she had two little boys to take care of and her husband was dead, and she owed a lot of money to someone else. She had probably sold everything she owned just to try to pay some of the debt back, but no matter how much she sold she still didn't have enough, and their food was scarce as well.

She decided to go and see the prophet Elisha and ask him for help, maybe he would give her some money or tell her what she should do. Elisha asked her if she had anything of worth in the house, no nothing much just one jar of oil she said (my paraphrase). "Go" said Elisha "to your neighbors and ask them for containers then when you have as many as you can get, go into your house with you and your boys and shut the door, and then pour the oil in the containers, you will have enough."

So going out she and her two sons asked for containers, and getting as many as they could carry they brought them home and shut the door, just like Elisha said. She and her boys laid them all over the table and floor, and then taking her one jar of oil, she started to pour it into the first container.

It filled it up, as it did the next and the next until all the containers they had were full! Talk about a miracle, not only would they have enough to pay back the debt they had enough money left over to have a good life once again!

Oil has been used for centuries. It is still a very important ingredient for many dishes such as bread and others as well. It was very valuable back in the Bible times, and could be sold for a nice chunk of money. But oil also represents the Holy Spirit in the Bible. Oil is what can keep a fire blazing hot, even if you were to pour water into the fire at the same time as you did the oil, the oil would keep it burning.

We might only have a small jar of oil, like those two women had. But if we believe and pray we can turn that one jar of oil into so much more. We can then go to our neighbors and fill their containers with our one jar, and they would all be full. The first women's oil lasted her for 3 years, until the famine in the land ended. The second one not only could pay her debt off but probably had enough over to get her life back in order and provide for her two sons.

Oil was used in the Holy Place in the sanctuary of God, to light the candlestick. The Bible says that we must be baptized with two baptism, the first one is water and the second is with the Holy Spirit. The oil to light the flame and keep us going! Even if you start out with one jar of oil you can multiply that until fills up every container!

I want the Holy Spirit to fill my jar with oil, don't you?