Single lesson
Elijah and the Widow's Flour and Oil
1 Kings 17:8–16
In this lesson, children follow the account of Elijah and the widow step by step, notice the choices each person makes, and see how Yahweh’s word was carried out through a time of need.
Before you teach
These verses begin when Yahweh speaks to Elijah and sends him to Zarephath. There Elijah meets a widow gathering sticks at the city gate. The passage focuses on Yahweh’s word, Elijah’s instructions, the widow’s response, and the food that does not run out.
Students will be able to retell the sequence in 1 Kings 17:8–16, name the key choices made by Elijah and the widow, and explain that Yahweh kept his word by providing meal and oil for many days.
Welcome: What happened first?
6 minBegin by introducing the people and place in the passage. Tell the children they will listen for what Yahweh says, what Elijah asks, and what the widow does. Explain that this account starts with Yahweh’s word coming to Elijah and sending him to Zarephath, where a widow would sustain him.
1 Kings 17:8, 1 Kings 17:9
Read and explain: Elijah meets the widow
6 minRead verses 10 to 12 aloud. Help the children notice the order: Elijah goes to Zarephath, sees a widow gathering sticks, asks for water, then asks for bread. Explain that the widow says she has only a handful of meal and a little oil, and she describes how little food remains for her and her son.
1 Kings 17:10, 1 Kings 17:11, 1 Kings 17:12
Discuss: A hard instruction and a promise
6 minRead verses 13 and 14 carefully. Point out that Elijah says, “Don’t be afraid”, tells her to do what she said, and asks her to make him a little cake first. Then show the reason given in the passage: Yahweh, the God of Israel, says the meal will not run out and the oil will not fail until Yahweh sends rain on the earth.
1 Kings 17:13, 1 Kings 17:14
Make and respond: Sequence cards
6 minChildren make simple cards for the main events, then place them in order and retell the account to a partner. Encourage them to include both actions and words: Yahweh spoke, Elijah went, Elijah asked, the widow explained, Elijah gave Yahweh’s message, the widow did it, and the food lasted many days.
1 Kings 17:8, 1 Kings 17:10, 1 Kings 17:12, 1 Kings 17:14, 1 Kings 17:15
Closing: What was the outcome?
6 minFinish by reading verses 15 and 16. Ask the class to identify the outcome in the text: the widow went and did according to Elijah’s saying, her household ate many days, and the jar of meal and jar of oil did not run out. Emphasise that this happened according to Yahweh’s word spoken by Elijah.
1 Kings 17:15, 1 Kings 17:16
Questions to explore
What does Yahweh tell Elijah to do before Elijah meets the widow?
Look for the command at the start of the passage, including the place Elijah is told to go and what Yahweh says about the widow there.
1 Kings 17:8, 1 Kings 17:9
What does the widow say she has in her house, and why is that important in the story?
Use her own words about the handful of meal and little oil, then connect that to the later outcome when the jars do not run out.
1 Kings 17:12, 1 Kings 17:16
What happens after the widow does according to Elijah’s saying?
Answer from the final two verses by naming both results given in the text.
1 Kings 17:15, 1 Kings 17:16
Make, think or respond
Story Sequence Cards
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or textas
- scissors
- Bible
Try it together
- Write or draw seven simple story moments from the passage on separate cards.
- Mix the cards up and ask children to place them in the order the account happens.
- Read the verses again and check the order together from the Bible.
- Have each child retell the account using the cards in sequence.
This activity helps children follow the order of 1 Kings 17:8–16 and notice the choices, promise, and outcome in the passage.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, prepare picture prompts in advance and let them place the cards in order with help from the teacher.
- For older or more confident readers, ask them to add a short caption to each card using words from the verses, such as “Don’t be afraid” or “did according to the saying of Elijah”.
An optional closing prayer
You may pray: “Yahweh, thank you that your word came true in this account. Please help us listen carefully to what you say in Scripture and remember that you kept your word to Elijah and the widow.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
1 Kings 17
8 Yahweh’s word came to him, saying,
9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.”
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”
11 As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
12 She said, “As Yahweh your God lives, I don’t have anything baked, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me a little cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make some for you and for your son.
14 For Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of meal will not run out, and the jar of oil will not fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth.’ ”
15 She went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, he, and her household ate many days.
16 The jar of meal didn’t run out and the jar of oil didn’t fail, according to Yahweh’s word, which he spoke by Elijah.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.