Oil Boom. 2 Kings 4:1-7 May 1, 2016

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1 Oil Boom 2 Kings 4:1-7 May 1, 2016 When I was in elementary school, one of the most popular TV shows in America was about a family who struck it rich from oil. Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs sang the theme song: VIDEO - Beverly Hillbillies Theme Song (37 sec.) As we continue our series The Spirit of Elijah, we come to an episode in 2 Kings 4 featuring an oil boom that delivers a poor widow and her sons from destitution. There are lessons here for us, when we we're running on empty or in a situation that seems utterly hopeless. Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves. And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house? And she said, Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil. Then he said, Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside. So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, Bring me another vessel. And he said to her, There is not another. Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest. A desperate single mom faced the biggest challenge of her life. Tradition says her deceased husband was Obadiah - the prophet who hid 100 of the Lord s prophets and fed them for a time (1 Kings 18:3b-4). Whether she was left with a big debt, or whether she'd fallen into debt after he died, she had no money. Apparently, there were no close relatives near to help. According to the Law, the debt collector had the right to force her sons to work off the debt for at least 7 years. So her only hope - her 2 sons - was about to be taken from her. Yet, in spite of her deep emotional pain and fear, she didn t just curl up into a fetal position and whimper. She didn't run hysterically to her neighbors, begging for money to pay off the debt. Nor did she try to run away to escape the creditor. Blessed is the mother who knows where to go when her family is in need. All of us find ourselves in painful circumstances at some point in life due to our own actions, the actions of other people, or things beyond anyone s control. We face sorrow like the death of a spouse or child, serious illness, financial pressures, loss of a job, secret addictions, relationships falling apart, depression. We may be struggling just to stay afloat - to keep our homes; to stay one step ahead of the collection agency; to help family members in crisis; to pay a car repair bill, a hospital bill, or college tuition. The list goes on and on. Everywhere, people are needy. And they respond to their situations differently.

2 Some live in denial as if doing nothing will make it all go away. Some grit their teeth and charge forward, confident they can manage things. Some work harder, get a second or third job. Trust in their own skills and abilities. Some give up, thinking that nothing they do will make any difference. Some take decisive action but don t seek wise counsel first. Some humbly ask family, friends, and their communities of faith for help. Some turn to the stock market, hoping the right investments will fix everything. The widow realized she was out of options. She turned to God by appealing to the prophet Elisha. God didn t create us to live independently of Him, but rather He designed us to live in intimate, dependent relationship with Him to obey Him, seek Him, learn from Him, ask Him for wisdom and help. God cares about our needs today, and tomorrow. No matter what nightmare you may be going through right now crushing debt to over-whelming grief. Scripture reveals that His heart is open: for those who are alone and hurting for those who struggle with fear for victims of injustice and abuse for people trapped in sinful thoughts and actions for people buried in debt God especially cares for widows and orphans A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. Psalm 68:5 "The Lord watches over and sustains the fatherless and the widow. Psalm 146:9 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress. James 1:27 But God s care isn't limited to widows. He cares about whatever burden we're bearing whatever fear we're facing. Call on Me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you (Psalm 50:15) "...cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7) Elisha's response, What shall I do for you?" seems odd. After all, she'd just explained her grim situation. But it sounds like something Jesus might say. As Jesus and his disciples came to Jericho, a blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus was sitting by the road (Mark 10:46-52). He began to cry out "Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!" After they brought the man to the Lord, Jesus asked, "What do you want me to do for you?" Well isn't that a little obvious? But Jesus wanted the blind man to state his desire - to verbally express his need. When you and I go the Lord in prayer, let's admit our habit, our addiction, our obsession, our struggle with sin. Then he says "Tell me; what have you in the house? Again, this sounds a lot like Jesus. When he fed the 4,000 he asked his disciples, "How many loaves do you have?" (Matt.15:34). In that instance they had 7 loaves and few small fish. The young widow answered Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil. She didn't have a thing of value! The debt collector had probably been there before. The man who

3 now threatened to make her two sons indentured servants has already emptied her house of furniture and other valuables. Bit by bit, one loss followed another! But her faith had not failed. She still sought help from the Hand of God. She watched her cupboard being emptied little by little, day after day. Now everything was gone... except a pot of oil! When facing devastation, can we repeat the words of the prophet Habakkuk and mean them? Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. (Hab. 3:17-18) Have we grown in grace enough to embrace Job's famous confession? "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him!" Do you have a spouse who loves you? Do you have food enough for today? Do you have money for this week s groceries? This young widow had none of those. But her pot of oil, which she thought to be of little value, would become the instrument of her deliverance. Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet: Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few." Why might she be reluctant to do that? It would be embarrassing. People would want to know why she needed to borrow their vessel. She'd have to tell the whole story to the whole neighborhood. She'd be admitting her poverty and desperation. Until we confess our true situation we cannot get help. Admitting our need before God is the first step towards deliverance. It would be hard work. Some neighbors might turn her down. And what if she broke a jar? How could she ever replace it? How could she and her children lug all those heavy jars home? Those jars were heavy. Archaeologists have found pots were 3 feet tall or more. And it was hard work to clean all those jars out. You don't put oil in dirty jars. And she had to keep track of each one to know where to return each jar. It would be time consuming. Collecting numerous containers would take a while. But, good things take time. What are doing now that's so time consuming that you're want to quit? It would be repetitious. Solutions often come from repeating small things over and over. Hour after hour, the widow and her boys went out, gathering large containers. They walked till their feet ached. Each house was further away than the last one. Each one had to be cleaned. Pot after pot the house slowly filled up. If we're looking for relief and God's blessing in our marriage, every day, we just keep speaking loving words to our spouse. Speak loving words to our children. Over and over we keep being kind. We keep smiling. We don't quit in the middle of our task. We don't quit gathering pots. We don't quit doing the same thing over and over again. God has things He wants to teach us. She must have had unanswered questions. "I'm going to look stupid. My neighbors will wonder 'What in the world is she doing?' What I need is money - now. I've got bills to pay! How are all these empty pots going to pay my bills?"

4 When God gives us the talent, the gift, the material, the money, whatever he designates as the instrument for our healing, and tells us to use it, we need to act right away. We need to seize the moment - not throw up a lot of objections as to why it won't work, or keep peppering Him with questions we want answered. He wants us to act - to trust and obey! Having faith often doesn t seem to make sense and frequently makes us uncomfortable. When the widow obeyed God's word, she experienced a miracle. God may be asking you to act in faith so that He can provide. Keep believing, keep on giving! You may be weary of praying for healing, tired of sending out resumés, tired of putting up with that obnoxious supervisor, tired of so much studying! Having faith does not mean we should sit around and wait for God to do all the work. Usually, God s plan requires us to actually do something. Elisha could have snapped his fingers and made the jar appear out of thin air, but typically that s not how these things work. Just like the fish and five loaves, or Peter getting out of the boat we have to take action, because He wants us to walk by faith and not by sight. Having faith sometimes means engaging other people What would have happened if she yielded to her awkwardness and not asked her neighbors for the jars? We may need to engage others to hold us accountable, to get their counsel, to hold your feet to the fire... God wants to involve others. It's about more than just you and your needs. God could have just said the word and provided enough oil and jars for the widow. But He didn t. He wanted her to act in faith, but He also cared for the neighbors. He wanted to show Himself to them. He wanted them involved for His glory. Faith Requires us to listen to God, not our fears. Often we argue with ourselves - rationalizing, second-guessing, questioning ourselves. But without faith it is impossible to please God. Then Elisha instructed "go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside. The widow was to do her work in private. Again, we see that Jesus did some of His miracles in private. He once healed a deaf man after he pulled him away from the crowd. (Mark 7:33-35) Another time before raising a 12-year-old girl from the dead, he had everyone leave the room except her parents (Mark 5:39-42). Some things are to be done with the door shut! The woman was to have her sons with her as this miracle unfolded! God wanted the boys to see and know of His great Power! When did the oil multiply? Not when Elisha told her what to do. Not when the vessels were gathered. Not even when she shut the door. The oil multiplied when she began to pour it into the empty vessels. It was when she acted upon her faith in the Word of God, as delivered by the prophet, that she saw the mighty blessings of God.

5 Only when the last container was full did the oil stop flowing. Olive oil was a precious commodity back then - a valuable staple of the economy because of its multiple uses: People used it as a cosmetic. It was used as a medicine. It was used to prepare food. It was a source of energy. It was used in religious rituals like announcing a king or burying the dead. Plus, it had an incredible shelf life so it could be bartered and traded. After her oil boom this woman had enough to sell and pay off her creditor with plenty remaining for her family to live on, presumably for the rest of her life. She was saved by the oil and she would be sustained by the oil! The same is true with us regarding the miracle of salvation. We're saved by faith and we're sustained by faith! She just had a jar of oil. The point is, we have more than we think, when we offer God the little that we have. God takes what we offer Him and multiplies them using them in surprising, sometimes, big ways. Many times we think too small. We don t factor in God s power, so we don t attempt great things for Him. Perhaps the only limiting factor is our obedience. Our little becomes much when we put it in God s hands. God used two weak and childless senior adults to be the source of an entire nation He used a young man sold into slavery by his jealous brothers to rule the nation of Egypt God made a shepherd boy into Israel s greatest King. Jesus used the lunch of boy to feed 5,000 and teach that He alone is the Bread of life. Our Lord used 12 uneducated men to turn the world upside down. What will God do with what you have? A boy s lunch, Moses' rod, Elijah's mantle, David's sling. "What do you have in your house?" Struggling to keep it together, to even keep your head above water? Our God has boundless resources. Here's a final lesson this passage teaches us. It shows us again that Elisha was an Old Testament "type" who foreshadowed the coming Jesus, the Messiah. Debt cancellation is what Jesus is all about. We were all in debt from our sins. We've all been born with an enormous debt hanging over our head which we can never pay. Only the Holy Spirit can cancel that debt. That day the believing, obedient widow went from rags to riches. But Jesus paid that debt completely for all who believe. The moment you receive Him, you become rich in His righteousness. You possess eternal life. Your sins are all forgiven. Some day the creditor is going to knock on your door. Receive Jesus as your Savior and He will take care of your eternal debt. In the mean time, follow Him today and believe His word, and His Spirit will give you the strength and resources to deal with the issues we face down here.