What did Elijah do for the widow in the Bible?

Answer 1

Eliyahu (Elijah) did a number of things, including rebuking Achav (Ahab) and predicting Achav's death. Probably the most memorable thing was when he had all of the idolatrous prophets gather. He challenged them to invoke their false god and perform a miracle, and they failed. He then called upon the true God, who did do a miracle. Immediately after, the false prophets were slain.

Answer 2

One of the foremost prophets of Israel. Evidently his home was in Tishbeh, thought by some to be a village in the land of Gilead, E of the Jordan River. (1Ki 17:1) He started his long career as prophet in Israel during the reign of King Ahab, who began to rule about 940 B.C.E., and continued during the reign of Ahab's son Ahaziah (began c. 919 B.C.E.). (1Ki 22:51) The last time he is mentioned as serving as a prophet (this time for Judah) is toward the end of the eight-year reign of King Jehoram of Judah, whose rule started in 913 B.C.E.-2Ch 21:12-15; 2Ki 8:16. Through Elijah, God provided a pillar of strength for true worship in a time when Israel's spiritual and moral condition had fallen to an alarmingly low state. King Ahab the son of Omri had continued the calf worship established by Jeroboam, but worse, he had married Jezebel the daughter of the Sidonian king Ethbaal. Under her influence, Ahab added greatly to his sins beyond all Israel's previous kings by introducing Baal-worship on a grand scale. Baal-priests and false prophets multiplied, and corruption reached an extreme state. Jezebel's hatred of God caused persecution and slaughter of the true prophets; they were driven into hiding in caves.-1Ki 16:30-33; 18:13.

Additional Comments:

He was one of the most important prophets in the Old Testament and performed many miracles, including resurrecting a child at 1 Kings 17:17-24. He started being a prophet around 940 B.C.E. and continued through the reign of King Jehoram of Judah, whose ruled began in 913 B.C.E. On a whole, the nation of Israel's faithfulness to their God had fallen to a very low level during his lifetime. Elijah was used to pronounce King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, as working against God by allowing and participating in calf worship and Baal-worship on a very large scale throughout the land. Elijah had a "show-down" of sorts with the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings chapter 18, and it ended with God consuming 450 of Baal' s prophets in a ball of fire that came down from heaven. Because of this, King Ahab and Jezebel wanted Elijah dead. Elijah then fled and became somewhat down-hearted because he thought he was the only true servant of God in all of Israel. It was during this time that God communicated with him and revealed several other individuals that were also faithful to God, including the person that God wanted Elijah to train as his successor, who was Elisha.

Answer 3

A:Biblical tradition credits Elijah and Elisha with performing various miracles but, while often impressive, many of these miracles were not performed for moral good. According to the Second Book of Kings both prophets performed two miracles for good purpose.

For his friend, Elijah converted an ordinary cake into one that never grew smaller as it was eaten and, in contrived circumstances, resuscitated her apparently dead son.

For his friend, Elisha made a pot of oil into one that never emptied, no matter how much was poured from it (2 Kings 4:3-7) and, in similarly contrived circumstances, resuscitated her apparently dead son.

In Elijah's case, the magic cake ensured that his friend and her children would not go hungry, while the magic pot of oil ensured that the children of Elisha's friend would not become slaves to pay her debts. Neither Elijah nor Elisha thought to use this skill to alleviate poverty throughout Israel or for all time.

These good miracles can be compared with the passage (2 Kings 2:23-24) in which Elisha cursed in the name of God 42 little children who had laughed at his bald head, whereupon the children were mauled by wild bears.

Answer:

As God's chosen Prophets, they can only perform 'righteous miracles' according to God's will. They are God's physical representatives. By this definition then, they could not do anything without God's approval. Even Jesus said He could do nothing without the Father (John 5:19, 30).

Elijah is told by God to go to a particular woman during a drought who would care for him. When he gets there, he quickly discovers she is near out of food and she and her son would soon die. Via Elijah, God insures the food lasts until the first rainfall. Surely God desired this to occur just as it did.

1 Kings 17:8-9New King James Version (NKJV) Elijah and the Widow8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."

Elisha, following in the ways set by Elijah (John the Baptist later), also feeds a poisonous stew of gourds to over 100 men without illness (2 Kings 4:38-41).

When we read of the Prophets we must understand they are just as human as we are and they are not necessarily the reason something good or perceived bad happens. Only God performs the actions through them to show/warn the people of their falling away or sinful behavior. This was the case with Elisha and young men who taunted God via him. Bears appeared and punished them for this abuse, in effect, they mocked his report of Elijah's ascension, and they made fun of him for his baldness. Elisha cursed them for their disbelief and flagrant disrespect for God's prophet-actually disrespect for God-and God backed up Elisha by sending the bears. Note that it does not say the youths who suffered attack were killed-just that they were "mauled" by the bears, the Hebrew here allowing for a wide range of injury:

2 Kings 2:24 (New King James Version - NKJV)

24 So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.

Answer 4

The Acts of Elijah are recounted in the latter part of 1 Kings. The most famous story that concerns Elijah is when challenged the Prophets of Ba'al on Mount Carmel to prove that their god was real. The contest involved both Elijah and the Ba'al Prophets preparing sacrifices to their Gods (Hashem and Ba'al), but requiring the god to provide the fire. Elijah even watered down his sacrifice before a flaming ball came out of the sky and enveloped the sacrifice. The Prophets of Ba'al were less lucky. Failing to show their god's presence was a death sentence.

Answer 5

A:The prophet Elijah was expert at performing magic tricks or trivial miracles. For his friend, he converted an ordinary cake into one that never grew smaller as it was eaten and, in contrived circumstances, resuscitated her apparently dead son. There was no witness to the resuscitation, but it is described in exact detail.

Rather than use a boat when he wanted to cross the River Jordan, he divided the waters by striking it with a stick and walked across (2 Kings 2:8), a feat only performed previously in the biblical account by Joshua, who at least needed a practical way of getting millions of people, their livestock and possessions across the river.

His one great miracle (1 Kings 18:19) is highly contrived. He challenged King Ahab to let the opposing priests compete with him to call upon their gods to start a fire under a bullock carcass. Of course, he set the rules for this contest, which he won convincingly. The crowd then held the 450 priests until Elijah personally killed them all. Yet, in spite of seeing a miracle performed, and in spite of their fervent involvement, the people continued to worship the gods that Elijah despised. Questions arise from this passage, among them: why did Ahab agree to this contest, given that he knew that Elijah was his enemy; why did the priests agree, knowing that their gods had never before performed on cue like this; why did the people participate in the murder of the priests, but not change their faith?

Elijah, alone among the prophets, was honoured by being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11), rather than facing a normal death. Apparently his companion, Elisha, was the only witness to this event, but for no other reason than to create a sense of theatre or perhaps to convince the reader that the whirlwind was of divine origin and not merely a natural phenomenon, a chariot of fire and horses of fire passed by before Elijah was taken up.

It was in the gift of Elijah to grant his supernatural powers to his companion and protege, Elisha. There is no suggestion that either Elijah or Elisha thought of asking God whether this was to be, and Elisha soon demonstrated that he had these powers by becoming the third person, after Joshua and Elijah, to divide the waters of the Jordan.

In an episode remarkably like one earlier attributed to Elijah, Elisha made a pot of oil into one that never emptied, no matter how much was poured from it (2 Kings 4:3-7). Later, just as the woman friend in whose home Elijah was staying had accused Elijah of bringing evil that caused the death of her son, so a woman friend in whose home Elisha often stayed, accused him of deceiving her, after her son had died. And just as Elijah lay on top of the son to revive him, so Elisha lay on top of the other son to revive him (2 Kings 4:28-35). These episodes seem to be a retelling, in a slightly different context, of the stories already told about Elijah.

One story about Elisha (2 Kings 2:23-24) does no credit either to him or his God - he called upon God to kill 42 little children who had laughed at his bald head.

Another Answer:

Elijah was a Tishbite, a faithful prophet of the true God, who had early in his life learned the fear of God. His calling was to fight against idolatry and injustice, protesting a corrupt society. His sudden, direct pronouncements and his abrupt appearances and disappearances created an air of mystery.

Elisha became his 'successor' in a sense, receiving a double portion of God's power via His Holy Spirit (see 2 Kings 2:13-14). He too was a prophet of God. Both of their many exploits as God's prophets may be read in 1&2 Kings.

Consider the story in 2 Kings 2:23-24 concerning Elisha.

As Elisha was departing after reporting on Elijah's being taken away, a sizable group of young people began to mock this messenger of God. The Hebrew here can mean children, teenagers or young adults in their early 20s. Judging by Elisha's response they were certainly old enough to know better and to be held accountable for their actions, implying they likely were teens or young adults. Their taunt, in modern parlance, would essentially be, "Go up in the air, baldy!"

Thus, they mocked his report of Elijah's ascension, and they made fun of him for his baldness. Elisha cursed them for their disbelief and flagrant disrespect for God's prophet-actually disrespect for God-and God backed up his prophet Elisha by sending the bears. Important to note that it does not say the youths who suffered attack were killed - just that they were "mauled" by the bears (verse 24) - the Hebrew here allows for a wide range of injury.

2 Kings 2:23-24New King James Version (NKJV)

23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!"

24 So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.

Note: All miracles are done by God via His name.

Answer 6

He brought about a miracle from God, twice, to provide her with food and to revive her dead son (1 Kings ch.17). See also:

The Israelite prophets

Answer 7

Elijah restored Israel back to worship of God and away from idolatrous worship of pagan gods.

Answer 8

Elijah made the dead widow son alive again, he made the oil and flour to multiply.He also healed Nahaman of leprosy.

Answer 9

If you are referring to the account at 1 Kings 17, Elijah provided the widow with food through a famine and raised her son from the dead. Both were very kind provisions from God.