Elijah, di Ravens and di Widow

One widow dey pick small sticks outside di town gate. For house, na only one handful of flour and small oil remain. She wan bake one last small bread for herself and her son. And after dat, she dey think, nothing go remain again.

Ahab na king of Israel, and e don do evil pass all di kings wey come before am. E marry Jezebel, one princess from Sidon, and build temple for her god, Baal, right inside im capital. People dey worship Baal as di god of storm and rain. Then one prophet show from nowhere: Elijah, from Tishbe for Gilead. E stand before Ahab and talk, As Di Lord, di God of Israel, dey alive, di one wey I dey serve, dew no go fall and rain no go fall dis years, except I talk am.

Then di word of Di Lord come to Elijah. Go east go hide by di stream Cherith, near di Jordan. You go drink from di stream, and I don command di ravens make dem feed you there. So Elijah go. And every morning, and every evening, ravens dey fly come down carry bread and meat give am. Ravens, birds wey dey usually snatch food for themselves, dey bring food come give prophet. E dey drink from di stream. But rain no fall. Day by day, di water dey go down. And one day, di stream dry finish.

Then God talk again. Get up go Zarephath, wey belong to Sidon, and stay there. I don command one widow for there make she feed you. Sidon. Jezebel own country. Baal own territory. Elijah waka go there, and for di town gate e see one widow dey pick sticks. Abeg bring me small water for cup, e talk. As she dey go bring am, e call after her. And abeg bring me small piece of bread. She stop. As Di Lord your God dey alive, she talk, I no get bread. Na only one handful of flour dey inside jar and small oil dey inside bottle. I dey pick two sticks so dat I go go house prepare am for myself and my son. We go chop am, and then we go die.

No fear. Go do as you talk. But first, make small bread for me and bring am come, then make something for yourself and your son. Because dis na wetin Di Lord, di God of Israel, talk: di flour for di jar no go finish, and di oil for di bottle no go dry, until di day wey Di Lord send rain on di land.

Na big thing to ask. But she go, and she do wetin Elijah talk. And di next day, flour dey di jar. And di next one. And di next one. Day after day, for her, for her son and for Elijah, di flour no ever finish, and di oil no ever dry, just as Di Lord talk.

After some time, di widow son fall sick. E dey worse and worse, until e stop to breathe. Im mama heart break, and she turn face Elijah. You come here to remind me my sin and kill my son? Give me your son, Elijah talk gently. E carry di boy go up to di room for upstairs where e dey stay, lay am for bed, and cry out to Di Lord. Three times e stretch imself over di pikin and pray. O Lord my God, make di life of dis pikin come back inside am. And Di Lord hear. Di boy breathe again. Elijah carry am come downstairs give im mama. See, your son dey alive. And she talk, Now I know say you be man of God, and say di word of Di Lord wey dey your mouth na truth.

Zarephath na real Phoenician town for di coast of di Mediterranean Sea, between Tyre and Sidon, for di place wey dem dey call Sarafand for Lebanon today. For di late nineteen sixties and di nineteen seventies, di archaeologist James Pritchard dig there and find ovens wey dem dey use bake pot, houses and one small shrine. Hundreds of years after Elijah, Jesus remind di synagogue for im hometown say, out of all di widows for dat famine, na to one foreigner for Zarephath God send Elijah.

Di story of Elijah, di ravens and di widow dey for First Kings, chapter seventeen. God feed im prophet with birds, fill one poor woman jar one day at a time, and give one mama back her son. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Wetin you need make God provide for you today, just for today?