Series Elijah and Elisha This Message #7 God s Response to Faith Scripture II Kings 4:8-37 The miracles of Elisha were mostly for the benefit of individuals and small groups of people. Elisha occasionally had contact with kings and commanders of armies during his years of ministry, but he often demonstrated a sensitivity for individuals and their personal concerns. The previous lesson and the one for this week describe miracles for women, but women of very different circumstances. In the previous lesson an impoverished widow needed financial help to keep away the creditors who were threatening to take away her two young sons. In the passage today a wealthy married woman needed help because, first, she didn t have a child and later, after her son was born, he died. In each episode, God through the prophet Elisha graciously provided help in a supernatural way which brought relief and joy to the women. The episode today can be divided into two parts. Read II Kings 4:8-17 Elisha had an itinerant ministry. Scripture mentions his presence in several of the cities of Israel. Sometimes he was with the companies of prophets which were located in several of the cities and, on more than one occasion, he accompanied the kings and armies of Israel on their journeys and military campaigns outside the nation. Verse 8 mentions a trip to Shunem. Apparently Elisha passed through this small community regularly as he traveled throughout the nation. Whenever he came by, he stopped to eat at the home of a wealthy lady. This lady wanted to be a blessing to Elisha so she proposed to her husband that a guest room be built on the roof of their house. Houses throughout the Middle East have flat roofs, and many of them have small rooms which are used for special purposes. In fact, many families sleep on the roof in the hot summer months because it is cooler at night, so these rooms are not unusual. 1
On one of the occasions when Elisha and his servant were staying in the guesthouse, Elisha inquired how he could repay the Shunammite woman for her kindness and hospitality. From the description in verses 12 and 13, it seems that Elisha communicated with the woman through his servant. The questions from Elisha may have been a test of the woman s ambitions. What can be done for you? What do you want? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army? Favors granted by these high level people would have been material wealth or a prestigious position. The woman s reply expressed contentment with the physical circumstances in her life. I have a home among my own people, she said. The woman did not want more wealth or fame. Dwelling among her own people was all the security and protection she required. Besides, neither the king nor the commander of the army could provide her with what she really wanted, and that was revealed as Elisha and Gehazi discussed her situation. Gehazi pointed out the one significant thing that was missing in her life; she had no son and probably never would have one since her husband was old. It is not unusual in the Middle East for there to be a wide age difference between husbands and wives. The lack of an heir would be a major disappointment because it would mean that the family s name would cease and upon the death of the husband, his possessions would pass on to individuals outside the family. Widows could not inherit property, and a widow without children would be without a provider or protector. Although this lady was well aware of her situation, she did not speak of it in response to Elisha s question. She simply did not have the faith and confidence to ask Elisha for a child, although this was the deep desire of her heart. This Shunammite woman was aware that Elisha was a holy man of God, but it is also obvious in these verses that she had a very limited understanding of the power of God. In this way she was like Sarah, Abraham s wife, when God said that the son of promise would come from her body. The Shunammite woman had been unwilling to share her great desire, to pour out her heart to Elisha, because she could not imagine that God would satisfy the longing of her heart and take care of her future. Her lack of faith and confidence and her desire were revealed in her response to Elisha s statement that she would have a son within a year. No, my lord. Don t mislead your servant. Elisha s statement to her seemed like a shocking impossibility, but verse 17 informs us that the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. 2
Now we are set up for the next part of the story, and in verses 18 through 37 we will recognize how much this Shunammite woman grew in her faith in Elisha and God. Read II Kings 4:18-37 The desires and expectations of this woman went from low to high to low again. A son was the greatest gift she could have hoped for, and this desire was granted. The death of her son was the last thing she wanted, and yet it happened. Fortunately, in this part of the story, the woman was not willing to accept the fact that the death of her son was final. Her thoughts immediately focused on the man of God who had promised her the son and, with faith that Elisha could do something, she proceeded with a course of action to inform him of what had happened. She laid her son on Elisha s bed and shut the door to the guestroom. In this way the child s death was concealed from the other members of her household. Then she went to her husband and requested a donkey and a servant to accompany her to the place where she would find Elisha. The husband was perplexed by his wife s request, but he granted her what she wanted. The woman hid the death of the child from her husband; instead she reassured him that everything was all right. Then she set off toward Mount Carmel and the dwelling of Elisha. From her home this was a journey of about 15 miles, of 5-6 hours duration. From his location on the slopes of Mount Carmel, Elisha could see the woman coming toward him. While she was still on her way, he sent his servant Gehazi out to meet her. Elisha sensed that something was wrong, but he did not know what it was. The Shunammite woman did not stop to explain the situation to the servant. She only said, Everything is all right. The only person to whom she was willing to reveal the truth was Elisha. Her confidence was in Elisha s ability as the man of God to do something about her son. She had faith that somehow Elisha would once again do the impossible. He had previously given to her a son when she had no hope of having one; perhaps he could restore life to the son who had been taken from her. 3
When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of Elisha s feet and said, Did I ask you for a son, my Lord? The answer, of course, was no. Her pregnancy and the birth of her son was an unexpected gift to her. Her other question described the pain she felt from having her hopes dashed. We know that a hope which is taken away creates within a person a greater heartache than a hope which never existed. The woman had not asked for a son; it was Elisha who had promised her one. Was her great gift from God to be taken away from her and so leave her in a worst state than before? From her standpoint, it would have been better never to have had a son than to have experienced the level of joy that was now taken away. Elisha quickly sent Gehazi ahead with instructions to lay the prophet s staff on the dead boy. It seems that Elisha expected God to restore the boy s life when the staff, which was a symbol of prophetic presence and of divine power, was placed on him. The woman was not convinced that Gehazi s mission would be successful and insisted that Elisha himself must return with her to her home. Her faith and concern for her son s resuscitation were exclusively centered on Elisha, not on objects that he used in ministry. Elisha got up and followed her. It was indeed beneficial that Elisha went to Shunem. Even though Gehazi followed the prophet s instructions, the boy did not awaken to life. Another kind of action was needed. Verse 32 explains that Elisha went into the room where the boy was lying dead on the couch, shut the door, and prayed to the LORD. I think there is a lesson about faith in this passage that we need to learn. It concerns the object of our faith, the source on which we base our expectations. The woman s faith was centered on Elisha. He was the only one with whom she shared her concerns. Elisha s faith was initially centered on the symbol of his presence, his staff, and on the actions of his servant, Gehazi, but this was without result. The resuscitation of the boy did not come until after Elisha focused on prayer. Ultimately, everyone s attention needed to be completely focused on the LORD because He is the Source of all miracles. Certainly the woman is an example of faith. Her quiet actions in regard to placing the body of her son in the prophet s guestroom without informing anyone, in not explaining her purposes of her journey to her husband and Gehazi, and in her intention to unburden her heart only to Elisha, are all indicative of a great degree of faith. However, that faith was primarily centered on the man of God, not exclusively on the LORD. Gehazi probably expected something extraordinary to happen as the result of his action with the staff, but the boy was not restored to life through the mechanical placement of the staff. 4
Elisha invested time and energy in prayer to the LORD. His actions were similar to those of Elijah which we read about in I Kings 17. At that time Elijah had carried the dead son of the woman in Zarephath to his upper room, laid the body on his bed, and cried out to the LORD. Then he had stretched himself out on the boy, and cried out O LORD my God, let this boy s life return to him! I Kings 17 states that The LORD heard Elijah s cry and the boy s life returned to him. Elisha followed this same pattern of prayer and behavior, and the boy s body became warm and then later the boy sneezed and opened his eyes. After Elisha called for the Shunammite woman, She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out. Her son had been restored, her hopes had been restored, her life would continue on as before. However, I think she had learned a valuable lesson about faith and dependence on God. I hope you recognize the similarities of this episode to the experience of the widow of Zarephath. The faith of both women was tested and stretched. Their most precious possessions, their sons, had died of unknown causes, and their hopes for the future were destroyed. Their lives had become wrapped up in their children and their sense of security and significance was in their children rather than on the Lord. To some extent, this was normal and acceptable; after all, sons were a source of joy to parents and a legitimate means of security for the future, but in God s purposes, nothing must usurp God as the source of security, significance, and satisfaction in the lives of His followers. Abraham also had to learn a lesson about his relationship to his son. All of his hopes and expectations about the future were centered on Isaac. God had to help Abraham understand the priorities of spiritual life, so God commanded Abraham to offer his son as a sacrificial offering. Abraham had to decide whether his love for his son or his love for God was the most important. In similar fashion, God is in the business of developing our faith, of stretching our lives, of broadening our vision and helping us experience His grace, love, and ability to meet our needs no matter what life may bring, and He teaches that lesson to His people for their benefit and spiritual growth, and sometimes He does this in dramatic ways. All believers must learn to trust God and depend on Him. All too often we put our values on people and things and favorable conditions in our efforts to make our lives settled and comfortable. God wants us to get our eyes off of the physical and material aspects of this life, and He leads us through a process of challenges that stretch our faith and cause us to become more and more dependent on Him. 5
At the beginning of this episode, the orientation of the Shunnamite woman was good and proper; she was hospitable and helpful to God s prophet, and an aid to his ministry. She was not proud and arrogant over her wealth, and she used her wealth for the benefit of others. She was not ambitious with hidden selfish motives. However, God wanted her to grow spiritually, to develop a more mature faith, to put first things first. Living by faith means to be thankful for God s gifts, and to not worship the gift more than the LORD. Some things to take away: Negative circumstances are opportunities for spiritual growth Our security must always be in the LORD, not in people, things, and favorable conditions We must focus on God, not His gifts The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16) 6