Thy Son Liveth

The Story

During a long famine, God sent the prophet Elijah to the town of Zarephath, where a widow lived with her young son. She had been down to her last handful of flour and a little oil, but she shared it with Elijah, and from that day on her flour and oil never ran out.

For a while, it seemed like their troubles were over.

Then her son became sick, and he got worse and worse until he stopped breathing.

The widow was crushed and angry. She turned on Elijah. “Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?”

Elijah didn’t argue. He said, “Give me thy son.” He carried the boy up to the upstairs room where he was staying and laid him on his own bed. Then he cried out to God, “O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?”

Three times Elijah stretched himself over the boy and prayed, “O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.”

God heard Elijah. The boy began to breathe again.

Elijah carried him downstairs to his mother and said three of the sweetest words in the Bible: “See, thy son liveth.”

Reflection