Provision and Purification in Drought

1 Kings 17:1-16
    1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word."
    2 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 "Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."
    5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. 7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
    8 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." 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink." 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."
    12 So she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
    13 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.'"
    15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.

Elijah the prophet spoke the word of the LORD against evil Ahab and Israel who imitated his bad example.  He proclaimed a prolonged drought which would last for years on end until the LORD moved him to speak and stop it.  God sent Elijah to hide from Ahab by a stream of water and was fed by birds which He sent to keep the prophet alive; he stayed there until the water dried up, then to a widow who lived in Zarephath of Sidon between Tyre and Sidon whose meaning was refining (as of smelting and purifying precious metal).  He approached the widow and she agreed to make him a meal, supposing it would use up the last of her food and then they would all die of starvation afterwards.  God had another plan, however.  The LORD told her through Elijah that the flour and oil would be perpetually renewed as long as God willed it in His plan - this daily test of patience while relying on the provision of the LORD was the refining of faith in the word of the LORD.  We are not prophets, nor do we need such miracles to build our faith to trust God’s word, but we are faced with day to day living and trust for our daily bread to sustain us, as we are taught to pray for as well in Matthew 6:11 and Luke 11:3.  Proverbs 30:8-9 reminds us to be content by asking for only what we need to refine our faith, not too much or too little in order to avoid stepping aside from reliance and godly contentment (1 Timothy 6:6).