The Rich Ruler and the Widow in Zarephath
The story of the rich ruler who came to The LORD Jesus with such a burning desire asking; “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
in Luke 18:18, it holds a tremendous mystery for those called to serve in The Kingdom of The LORD Jesus Christ.
This rich young ruler had listened to the teachings of The LORD Jesus Christ; pondered on these and pressed on to get a personal attention with The LORD Jesus Christ; and when he got his moment; he asked a very pertinent question; “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
The LORD Jesus Christ answered him saying; “Thou knowest the commandments; do not commit adultery; do not kill; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honour thy father and thy mother?” (Luke 18:19).
Confident in his disposition; this ruler answered The LORD Jesus Christ; “And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up,” (Luke 18:21).
To his shock and dismay; The LORD Jesus then said to him: “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me,” (Luke 18:22).
Wait a minute!
This man from his youth had dared to keep the commandments! He gave himself all up to the precepts of the law; and had received the great blessings of riches promised to those who obeyed these precepts (Deuteronomy 28).
How then would The LORD ask him to give up the very fruits of his obedience?
This certainly doesn’t add up — he must have thought to himself.
Afterwards, we see that this man became sorrowful because of what The LORD told him. “And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich,” (Luke 18:23).
Yet, The Scriptures speaks of a woman — a widow in Zarephath — who displayed an unusual and an almost unbelievable disposition when a demand was placed on what she had.
The Prophet Elijah had been sent by The LORD to Zarephath, because The LORD had commanded a widow to sustain him.
Elijah arrives Zarephath; discerns this widow; who had only a handful of meal in a barrel, a little oil in a cruise, she was preparing to make as the last meal for herself and her son — so they could eat and die.
Yet! She heard the instruction by Prophet Elijah to give first to The Prophet of The LORD — and she dared to obey — because of a certain disposition in her heart that can best be described by what Apostle Paul said of himself in 2 Corinthians 1,
“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead….” 2 Corinthians 1:9.
This woman in Zarephath already had the sentence of death in herself; she had died to herself; and if her last act would be giving it all to The LORD — let it be that she died giving it all for the righteous cause of The LORD.
The difference between the rich ruler, was that he obeyed The LORD for his reputation sake.
He saw the possibilities of the blessings of riches that would accrue to the man who walks in obedience to the commandments and the precepts of The LORD.
His obedience to the precepts was not for The Glory of The LORD; but as a means to an end — the riches, honor, societal status amongst men, it would bring him.
So when he came to The LORD; he came asking; “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”.
He had seen how his obedience to the precepts and commandments brought wealth and riches to him; now he needed to know what more to do; what more principles to apply to get even more — to himself.
Such that, if obeying the principles would seem to bring him loss, tear down his reputation as a rich honorable ruler in the society; he would not abide by it.
Oh! How true are the principles of The Kingdom!
Give and it shall be given unto you. But do you give transactionally that it be given unto you; or do you give because of a greater commitment to seeing the righteous rule of The Kingdom of The LORD Jesus Christ advance in the earth?
“Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” John 4:34.
This means;
- His labors and the wages of his labors [meat] is all to do The Will of The Father.
- His giving and the fruits from his giving [receiving] is all to do The Will of The Father.
- His obedience and the fruits of his obedience [riches] is all for The Will of The Father.
- He considered the entirety of His life and all that is available to him as instruments to do the will of The Father — birthing The Righteousness, Joy and Peace of The Kingdom of The LORD Jesus Christ to the Nations of The earth
This disposition of heart is what makes the difference in how much of The Righteousness, Joy and Peace of The Kingdom of The LORD Jesus Christ; The LORD can entrust to you to birth in the earth.
When abiding to precepts and ordinances becomes more about the reputation we covet and the societal status it can bring — the reputation of being anointed, of being wealthy, of being powerful before men, of being of a certain social class, of being of a certain order — rather than being all for The Glory of The LORD and the birthing of His righteousness in the earth; we soon become like that rich ruler.
Cause, when the demands of The Kingdom for major breakthroughs in righteousness to be attained in the earth requires both your seed and your harvest; your labor and your wages; your obedience and the fruits of your obedience?
Will you walk away in sorrow because of the need to uphold your reputation? Or will you give it all up even to the point of giving your very breath for the advance of the righteousness, joy and peace of The Kingdom into the earth?
It is very easy to be abide to the principles and precepts of The LORD because of what the fruits of obedience can bring; the bigger question is;
What Is The Advance of The Righteousness, Joy and Peace of Kingdom of The LORD Jesus Christ into the earth worth to you?
“…And they loved not their lives unto the death?” Revelation 12:11b.
What will you give and how far will you go to see The Righteousness, Joy, Peace of The LORD Jesus Christ increase in the earth?
~ by Abel Praise
Abel Praise, serving as Team Lead, Ministries Of Abel Praise is committed to working with apostolic and prophetic ministries across nations to raise up a new generation of leadership in The Body of Christ; by making teaching and training resources available and stewarding Ministers In Congress Conventions. See also: abelpraise.com
So well spoken! God bless you & your family!
Wow! This opened up something for me. Back when I first got saved, I was working in the nursery, helping in children’s bible classes and loving it. In my heart though, I was expecting a harvest. I expected God to bless all this work with children of my own. When that never happened, I became hurt and angry to the point of falling away for a while. While I certainly repented for the period of falling away, it never occurred to me to repent for transactional service. My heart might have been partly in the right place, but clearly mixed with great error. May I walk forward with no thought but to glorify God in Jesus. Thank you for this teaching.