Overview
Zarephath (also spelled Sarepta) was a town between Tyre and Sidon in Phoenicia. During the three-year drought in Israel, God directed Elijah to this foreign city where a widow sustained him with her last provisions. There, Elijah multiplied her flour and oil, and later raised her dead son to life, declaring "the LORD your God is the living God" (1 Kings 17:24, ESV).
Key Scriptures
"So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks" (1 Kings 17:10, ESV).
"And the word of the LORD came to him, 'Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you'" (1 Kings 17:8-9, ESV).
Jesus referenced this account: "And Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow" (Luke 4:26, ESV).
Application
Trust God's provision in difficult seasons, knowing He often works through unexpected sources and circumstances to accomplish His purposes.