An old widow named Evie rummaged through the bins, boxes, and jars that were stored in the home that she shared with her two teenaged sons. She searched with growing despair while her children watched from behind, their once hopeful expressions turning to sorrow as she continued to come up empty. The creditors would come this afternoon to collect on her dead husband's many debts and she wouldn't be able to pay. They would surely take her beloved boys away to slavery, and there was nothing that she could do about it.
Evie no longer felt as if she deserved her name, which means "lively" in her Hebrew tongue. Now she was only an old washout old widow and she cast a scornful look at the small jar of oil that she'd found. What possible good could come from such a meager amount?
She turned to face her two strong teenagers. They were rapidly developing into men, but all she saw was their chubby little baby dimples. It was dead silent in the house, yet she still heard their little boyish feet running with the haste that all small children seem to have.
She stepped toward them tentatively, still unable to give a voice to the truth that they all knew. She clutched her sweaty hands together and opened her mouth to explain, but no words came out and she felt like dying. That would be preferable to bearing this news to her sons.
"Be strong, Ima," her oldest, Adir said.
He was a handsome nineteen year old and he spoke with gentle assuredness, reminding Evie of her dead husband, "I-no we," he continued, "will be strong too."
His steady gaze found his younger brother, Amit, who concurred by offering a brave nod.
"That's right, Ima," the somewhat gangly-looking seventeen years said, "We're going to be fine."
Evie knew that her youngest son was working hard to keep his emotions in check in front of her. He'd always been more sensitive than his brother, but he was also more outgoing and he was a village favorite among the very small children that he was so fond of.
Amit continued, speaking as if he was trying to convince himself and her, "Abba prepared us well before he died. We know how to work hard, we-"
"Quiet, my darlings, quiet!" Evie interrupted in an agonized voice, "I don't grieve for your futures. Moses' Law is clear when it comes to enslaving our own people, after all. I only wish that you could have left my home because you had married and were going off to set up your own homes-not like this!"
She looked into Adir's deep brown eyes, wondering what she could possibly say to her firstborn. This felt like a deathbed conversation to her, and it likely was. There was no money left, even for her.
"Adir, my dear son," she said, through quivering lips, "Your dear father and I gave you your name because it means "strong and mighty and I can say with certainty that you've lived up to that name. But now before you is the true test. As far as you are able, my son, always live up to YHWH's expectations and when you fail in this, remember that He is not only just, but also forgiving. Do not be long in coming back to Him."
"Yes, Ima," Adir spoke woodenly, as if he were trying to hold back the inevitable.
"Remember also," Evie continued, "that one day you'll have a wife and family of your own. Teach them by your words and deeds to love, respect, and obey YHWH at all cost."
"Yes, Ima," Adir replied, his voice returning to its normal soft deepness. It was a voice that made Evie shiver involuntarily with memories of his father.
Her oldest stepped toward her, feeling the weight of responsibility now that his father was dead. She held up her hand and shook her head. She wasn't done speaking yet.
Turning to Amit, she said, "My dear Amit, you've never known a stranger, have you? You're loved by all who meet you, aren't you? How could you not get along in this world?"
"But, my son," she cautioned, gritting her teeth to battle the emotions in her heart, "Don't forget to be cautious. There are those in this world who, once they learn of our plight, will be eager to take advantage of your generous heart. Remember to be mindful that not everyone is who they appear to be."
"I'll remember, Ima," Amit's words brimmed with conviction in her ears, making her wonder why she worried about his future so much.
Now, she pleaded with both of them, "I must ask your forgiveness, my dear sons, for not being able to keep you with me until you yourselves choose to leave and start your own families. Will you forgive me for this, my dear ones?"
Both boys' first inclination was to blurt out that their mother hadn't done anything wrong. None of this could be helped and if it could be helped, it certainly wasn't her fault. Business had been hard for everyone lately. Their dear Abba had done his best and lived according to the Law. The debts that he'd incurred couldn't be helped.
But it wasn't their place to say if their mother was asking for forgiveness rightly or not. If she wanted their forgiveness, then they would give it to her.
"I've already forgiven you, my dear Ima," Adir said clearly. He reached out and squeezed her hand, hoping to give her some of the same comfort that he knew his father had given her with that gesture.
Evie turned to Amit, "And you, my dear boy, will you forgive me?"
"Yes, Ima, I do." He answered quietly and simply.
"That's alright then," Evie sighed, glad for some relief on this dreadful day; then suddenly, she felt a nearly overwhelming urge to weep.
"My children," she said, hoping to maintain her composure in front of them, "I know that this is our last day together, but I-I must go out-I must…"
Her voice cracked and both boys rushed to her side.
"I-I I must go out," she croaked again, holding up her hands up to keep them away. She hated herself for saying that. She'd just told them to be strong, so why couldn't she herself be?
A fine example you are, she scolded herself silently.
Adir interrupted her thoughts, as if he'd read her mind.
"You're the best mother in the world, Ima," he said kissing her cheek, "You go for a walk and refresh your spirit;" He gestured around the house, "Amit and I will clean up this mess."
Evie stared at him and wanted to laugh. She'd overturned and emptied every box and barrel and bin that the family owned in her fruitless search for something to keep the creditors at bay.
"But you can't!" she protested, shaking her head, "What do two boys know about cleaning a home? I will clean it."
Amit, despite her protests, was already gently guiding her toward the door. He planted a kiss on her cheek as he opened it, then gently shoved her outside with a twinkle in his eyes.
"My dear, Ima," he teased lightly,"You just finished saying what big boys we are. We may not know much about housework but, like all good boys, we know how to make our mother happy. We also know that it pleases YHWH when we honor you, and so I'm confident that He'll give us some inspiration so that our feeble efforts might please you."
"It'll be hard," Adir said, dropping his usually serious manner in order to cheer up his mother, "But, if YHWH can create the world in six days and then manage it forever after, then surely He can help two nearly grown boys to clean a home."
"You take your walk, Ima," Amit told her, "Yesterday, I heard some of the children talking about Elisha coming toward our village. Perhaps he is close by."
"Yes, yes," Adir encouraged, "What a good idea! Perhaps if you talk with YHWH's prophet, you will find the comfort that we aren't able to give you."
"I remember," Amit added, "that Abba used to speak often to YHWH's prophet, Elisha. As I recall, Abba spoke with him quite often and even invited him to stay with us when he spent the night in our village. Go and speak with him, Ima. Perhaps, he can help us."
Evie's heart stirred with hope for the first time since her husband had died. Maybe there was a way out of this!
Her face revealed her sudden excitement and she practically laughed with joy. "There is no "perhaps" my dear, Amit," she reminded her son, "If YHWH is willing to help us, then Elisha will know what to do. But, stay here and pray that YHWH will answer our prayer. Don't clean, only pray until I've returned."
After the door was slammed shut, and their mother's footsteps had hastened away, the two boys couldn't resist giving each other a high-five.
"Well done, little brother," Adir beamed,"I didn't know Elisha was close by. He'll comfort our Ima, even if YHWH remains silent."
"Yes, yes, but remember what Ima told us, we must pray that YHWH will intervene. Come now, brother. Let's pray."
Evie's steps quickened and her heart rose with hope when she saw a great crowd of people gathered around the village's well, just outside the city gate. As she drew closer, she could hear Elisha's voice and she practically shoved the people aside until she was standing directly in front of him. Then she collapsed to her knees, her hands grasped tightly together as she pleaded for, not just her own life, but for her sons as well.
"Elisha, my husband always spoke well of you while he was alive and you've stayed in our home many times. Do you remember how, when Adir and Amit were young boys, you could get them to listen to YHWH's words when my husband and I could not?"
"Yes, of course, I remember your dear Adir and Amit," Elisha answered with curiosity, sensing that Evie wasn't there to reminisce, "And your husband was a dear friend. I'm sorry that this world has lost such a faithful man and even more sorry that I've lost a friend and that you and your sons have lost a husband and father."
"But, come Evie," he continued, "Stand up and tell me. You haven't come to talk about old times. What can I do for you?"
"We're in trouble, Elisha," Evie said, with a slight quiver in her voice, "My husband has left us with many debts. Business has been hard for us these last years and, though he was a good man, he couldn't always pay."
"What do you have in your house?" Elisha asked.
"Only one small jar of oil," Evie answered, her nerve almost breaking as she remembered her fruitless search. What could possibly be done for them when there was so little to work with?
Elisha held up his hand, as if to stop the tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks. He gave her a small smile of reassurance and patted her arm.
"That's enough, Evie." he said, "That's enough."
He went on, "This is what you must do. You and your sons go throughout the village and collect all the empty jars that your neighbors have. Ask everyone to give you whatever they can spare. Don't ask for just a few, ask for everything that can be spared."
He continued, "Take all the jars and pour the oil into each one. When one is filled, set it aside and fill the next one. Do this until every jar is filled, then come back here and I'll tell you what to do next."
Evie hurried home as fast as her legs would carry her, half afraid that the creditors were already there, hauling her children away. Interestingly, she didn't think about their meager amount of oil filling all those jars, she only wondered if they'd have enough time to do what Elisha had said.
She blasted through the door, her eyes wild with both joy and fear and she stumbled over her words, trying to get everything explained as quickly as possible. Adir and Amit were terribly shock to see her in such a state, but they quickly recovered their wits and tried to calm her down.
"Calm down, Ima," Amit laughed with joy, sensing more than knowing that all would soon be well. "Elisha wouldn't have told you to do something that couldn't be done."
"Come on, Ima," he continued, as she babbled on. He took her by the arm and settled her on a rug, "What do we need to do?"
"Amit is right, Ima" Adir concurred, "Why, it's just exactly as we've been praying for ever since you left us. But, YHWH didn't give your poor boys the ability to discern your thoughts. Slow down and tell us what to do."
Evie took a few deep breathes, forcing herself to calm down, then she explained all that Elisha had said. For the next half-hour the three of them scoured their small village for empty jars and Evie realized, with a strange thrill of delight, that she didn't even think of this chore as begging. She was simply doing what YHWH, through His prophet, had told her to do.
Once they'd gathered all the empty jars in the village, they shut themselves into their home and began to pour their meager supply of oil into each jar. At first, they worked in silence, concentrating on their work, but soon the miracle began to hit home for them.
I must have carried six loads of jars," Amit said, astounded, as he handed yet another empty jar to his brother, "Yet our little amount of oil keeps pouring. Where is it coming from?"
"It comes from YHWH, Amit," Adir said shortly. He wasn't angry, only concentrating all his energy on not spilling their precious miracle, "You know that."
"I do know," Amit admitted sheepishly, "But I don't think that I've ever witnessed a miracle firsthand. Look at this-"
"Quite talking and hand me another jar, Amit!" Adir snapped impatiently, feeling anxious about getting their chore done.
"But that's it," Amit said, suddenly realizing that the last jar had been filled.
"I must return to Elisha at once and ask him what to do next," Evie said, immediately heading for the door.
She ran hastily toward the well, suddenly having the unrealistic feeling that Elisha might have moved on to another village and forgotten about them.
Instead the prophet gently laughed when she fell at his feet, her hands clutched together and her eyes imploring him.
He raised her to her feet, reading her mind.
"You Evie?" he questioned, "I thought you had more faith than that. Don't you know that I wouldn't forget about you and your sons?"
She laughed sheepishly, "Ah, I guess I do know that. It's just that my fears have been great today and rational thought seems to have deserted me."
"Peace, Evie, peace," Elisha murmured gravely, laying a hand on her shoulder, "Have you filled all the extra jars that your neighbors could give you?"
"Yes," Evie replied breathlessly, her heart surging with renewed hope once again.
"Then sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live off of what is left."
Evie was so happy that she could have thrown her arms around YHWH's prophet and kissed him. She stopped herself just in time and Elisha burst out laughing when her expression revealed her awareness of what she'd almost done.
"Thank you, thank you," she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Author's Notes: Evie is, like I mentioned in the story, a Hebrew name that means "lively". Also, as mentioned, Adir means "strong and mighty". Amit, the one I didn't happen to mention, means "friend".
The boys call Evie "Ima" because that means "mother". I was using it as a term of endearment here. Abba, of course, means "father" but please don't criticize by saying that Abba is too formal a term for a term of endearment. I got both ways when I was looking it up, so I decided to go ahead and use it.
As for Mosaic Law on enslaving fellow Hebrews, it says that they must be freed from slavery after six years of service without cost to them. If a Hebrew man is married before he's enslaved, then both he and his wife must be freed, but if he marries and has children while he's enslaved then, while he is allowed to go free, his wife and children remain the property of the owner. If he will not leave his wife and children, he can chose to become a slave for life and will be given an ear-piercing to show his status.