Elijah replied to the woman with encouraging words. He both told her not to fear and the reason that she should not fear. If he had not told her the reason, the exhortation not to fear might have seemed an empty platitude. What comfort is it in a time of difficulty when someone says, Everything is going to be alright,
without ever explaining why that is so?
Yet between the encouragement not to fear and the words that explained the reason for such encouragement, Elijah places a request that might well have tested the woman’s trust in Elijah and her faith in the God he served. The prophet told her to proceed with her intention to make a cake for herself and her son. But she is first requested to make a cake and bring it to Elijah to eat.
Do we realize the faith that would be required to do as Elijah commanded (most of the verbs are in the imperative)? In effect, he told her to give him the very food she planned for herself and her son. But then how were they to be fed? Apart from what Elijah says next, there would be no apparent reason to trust him. His following words, however, provide the grounds for that trust, calling her to place her faith in him and in the God of Israel.
Elijah declared in the name of the Lord that the containers in which she stored her flour and oil would not be emptied until God sent rain upon the land. Do you see the faith that was necessary on her part? She must believe that the man before her was a prophet of the Lord. She must believe that the drought was under the control of his God, and she must believe that the God of Israel (a foreign nation) was so kindly disposed toward her that he would keep her and her son supplied with food during the entire length of the drought.
13 Elie lui dit: Ne crains point, rentre, fais comme tu as dit. Seulement, prépare-moi d'abord avec cela un petit gâteau, et tu me l'apporteras; tu en feras ensuite pour toi et pour ton fils.