Friday, August 12, 2022
Destitute. Hopeless. Hungry. Jobless. Money-less. Inwardly she wept. Is this what life had come to? Was this the result of her sin? Why should her son also die? Why had she no husband? She saw other families with husbands, wives and children with all that they needed and with enough to eat. For her, life had turned cruel. Yet, she gathered sticks to build a small fire by which to bake her last handful of flour, mixed with her last oil, to make a small loaf of bread for she and her son, after which she resolved they would both die of starvation. Nothing about her condition gave her hope to believe her situation could be reversed, for she was a widow with a young son, and without a husband to be her covering, to be her head, to be her provider. So, with numerous unanswered questions, she resolved to face her fate and accept her lot of a provision-less end.
Tradition taught her that to be a widow was a virtually hopeless situation. But then the man of God appeared and challenged her with what could have seemed selfish when he said “make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son”. Make bread for him…first? Did he not understand her desperate plight? Here, in her moment of high anxiety she no doubt considered several things: the little flour and oil she had; the pleading, hungry eyes of her son; and her own hunger as she held that handful of sticks. She was suddenly confronted with believing God or what tradition taught her; she could disbelieve the man of God and make the bread for herself, or…she could believe God and act in obedient faith in the face of her otherwise fateful circumstance. But God, in His love, mercy and grace counted her worthy to escape to His place of safety and provision while the prophesied 3 1/2 years of drought endured.
She choose to believe the Word of the Lord! Her active faith was rewarded! And because she believed God, she was counted worthy of being delivered from her otherwise death sentence. She did as the man of God had said, making a small cake of bread for him first, and “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”. She, the prophet “and her household ate for many days”. You can read this account at 1 Kings 17:8–16. She was counted worthy to escape her situation because she believed the Word of God. She believed by faith, which should remind every Christian of Jesus’ teaching when He said not to worry about our physical sustenance, but to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). [My emphasis] That widow of 1 Kings 17:8–16 had to “seek first the kingdom of God” which counted her worthy of being delivered from the certainty of death. The exact same is highly relevant for the end-times.
Our day is coming when, at the middle of the Tribulation Antichrist mandates his mark of the beast. We too will be destitute, hopeless, hungry, jobless, and without money to buy what we otherwise need, for only those who take the mark of the beast will be allowed to buy and sell. And all those who refuse will be faced with the wrath of Satan’s Antichrist for 3 1/2 years. But we who believe the testimony of Jesus Christ and “counted worthy to escape” will by faith enter the safety and provision of God for 1,260 days, Rev. 12:6 and 12:14, which is the last 3 1/2 years of “great tribulation” (Matt. 24:21). “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36). Now is the time to believe; it’s the time to pray; it’s the time to prepare, so that, in that altogether horrifying hour of trial, we too will find our provision! God desires His people to be delivered in our end-time hour of trail, but it requires that we unequivocally believe His Son.
This should not surprise any true Christian who loves the testimony of Christ, who said “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). Christ said exactly what He meant, and meant exactly what He said. God will not be moved to mid-trib provisions and safety for those who deny, silence, or disbelieve the testimony of His Son. In biblical history did God reward unbelief? Never. Does God change? Never. Therefore, will God reward those who egregiously lead people away from the testimony of His Son? Will they who exchange Christ’s truths for unbelief receive God’s divine provision and safety at the time of His elect’s greatest peril? Does God honor unbelief or silencing what His Son taught? No, God rewards true faith, not traditions that silence the testimony of His Son, for “He [God] is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb.11:6), my emphasis. To replace the Words of Jesus with any tradition of men, does not demonstrate that men “diligently seek Him”, no, quite the opposite, it shows that they seek to advance their own agenda. True believers must prepare in Jesus’ testimony.
Our day and great need for God’s safety and provision will visit upon us, as was visited upon that widow of Zarephath thousands of years ago. God warns us, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:11). Have you become captive to the normalcy of tradition; or perhaps the normalcy of silencing the testimony of Jesus for His post-trib gathering of “His elect”? Or maybe you’ve become captive to the deceptive normalcy of flouting the perilous end-times signs now engulfing our nation and world. If so, by faith, get yourself free from the snare of normalcy.
On that note, let’s turn to current events. Former President Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was raided by many FBI agents this past Monday. Such an atrocity hasn’t occurred in the history of the United States! That order came from the Biden/Harris regime’s highly partisan DOJ. This isn’t about justice at all, it’s rather about inciting more division, hatred, and rage. The liberal, unaccountable Democrats and RINOs who currently hold control of our federal government, I believe, are trying to incite rage to the point of civil violence so that President Biden can declare martial law and possibly cancel mid-term elections, so unaccountable Democrats can remain in power, because they are scared to death that Trump will again run for president and sweep the nation to conservativism. Many said the FBI raid on Trump’s residence is typical of third world regimes, and they’re right. What they did to former President Trump, they will not hesitate to do to anybody else. The unaccountable Biden/Harris government cares only about their narratives and crushing every opposing voice. They hate former President Trump and will do anything to stop him from running for, and possibly becoming president once again. Pray against evils.
Pay close attention to what President Harry S. Truman said, “Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.” (Source: John Whitehead’s Commentary) That’s what we, the American people, are now witnessing first hand. These wicked government leaders don’t even try to hide their evil intentions anymore. The fourth beast-kingdom of Dan. 2:40 and Dan. 7:7 is seizing control of governments the world over. And there will be no pre-trib rapture. Let’s be like the widow of Zarephath and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness!
Marlin J. Yoder
