“Please, sir,” the woman said, “I am a widow. Once, when Elisha passed through a town, he saw a woman with two sons. God would give him important truths to tell the people and Elisha would preach those truths to them. Truly God provided Elisha to be a friend to this family in their time of need.īackground Information on the Divided Kingdom.Įlisha was a prophet of God. The woman and her sons were then able to live on the money that was left over. When the widow told Elisha what had happened, he instructed her to sell the oil and pay off her husband’s debts. Solomon had used it years before to pay for some of the supplies he used to build the temple ( 2 Chronicles 2:10). Oil was a precious item in international trade. One jar of oil-based myrrh, frankincense, cinnamon and aloe ointment could sell for as much as one labourer’s yearly salary.
When perfumers boiled oil and then added secret blends of root and bark powders, tree resins and spices, they could make very expensive ointment. Oil was also the base for making perfumes and fragrant ointments. This kept the shields from becoming brittle. Soldiers often worked oil into the leather shields they used in battle. It was also used as a fuel for lamps in homes. Oil was used as a religious offering ( Leviticus 2:4), as a remedy for stomach distress and as a balm to heal wounds. It was spread on bread, used in cooking, and mixed with flour to make bread. Oil that was pressed from the fruit of olive trees had many uses in biblical times. As she obeyed, the widow saw that God provided enough oil to fill all the jars.Īlmost every time the bible mentions oil, it is referring to olive oil. God’s servant, Elisha, told the woman to borrow all the empty jars from her neighbours that she could possibly get, close her doors, and begin pouring the oil from her jar into the borrowed jars. In this case, he was going to exact a more harsh payment. As was the common practice of the time, her two sons were going to have to work for the lender until the money was paid back. She had only a small amount of olive oil in her home – nothing else of value. This poor widow was unable to pay the debts that her husband had left her with. In one town a poor widow approached Elisha.
He became known for his miracles ( 2 Kings 2:19-22). He travelled on his own throughout the countryside, probably on a donkey led by a servant. He faithfully continued the work of the Lord as Elijah had done. After the prophet Elijah was taken to heaven ( 2 Kings 2:11), his disciple and successor, Elisha, became the chief prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel.
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