THE WIDOW S OIL THE SHUNAMMITE S SON RESTORED TO LIFE DEATH IN THE POT FEEDING OF A HUNDRED 2 KINGS 4:1-44

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 THE WIDOW S OIL THE SHUNAMMITE S SON RESTORED TO LIFE DEATH IN THE POT FEEDING OF A HUNDRED 2 KINGS 4:1-44

2 The Widow s Oil The Shunammite s Son Restored to Life Death in the Pot Feeding of a Hundred Text: 2 Kings 4:1-44, 1. The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves. 2. Elisha replied to her, How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house? Your servant has nothing there at all, she said, except a small jar of olive oil. 3. Elisha said, Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don t ask for just a few. 4. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side. 5. She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, Bring me another one. But he replied, There is not a jar left. Then the oil stopped flowing. 7. She went and told the man of God, and he said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.

3 8. One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. 9. She said to her husband, I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10. Let s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us. 11. One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. 12. He said to his servant Gehazi, Call the Shunammite. So he called her, and she stood before him. 13. Elisha said to him, Tell her, You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army? She replied, I have a home among my own people. 14. What can be done for her? Elisha asked. Gehazi said, She has no son, and her husband is old. 15. Then Elisha said, Call her. So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16. About this time next year, Elisha said, you will hold a son in your arms. No, my lord! she objected. Please, man of God, don t mislead your servant! 17. But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. 18. The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. 19. He said to his father, My head! My head! His father told a servant, Carry him to his mother. 20. After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. 21. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.

4 22. She called her husband and said, Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return. 23. Why go to him today? he asked. It s not the New Moon or the Sabbath. That s all right, she said. 24. She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, Lead on; don t slow down for me unless I tell you. 25. So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, Look! There s the Shunammite! 26. Run to meet her and ask her, Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right? Everything is all right, she said. 27. When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me why. 28. Did I ask you for a son, my lord? she said. Didn t I tell you, Don t raise my hopes? 29. Elisha said to Gehazi, Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. Don t greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy s face. 30. But the child s mother said, As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you. So he got up and followed her. 31. Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy s face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, The boy has not awakened. 32. When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD.

5 34. Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy s body grew warm. 35. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 36. Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, Call the Shunammite. And he did. When she came, he said, Take your son. 37. She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out. 38. Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets. 39. One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. 40. The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, Man of God, there is death in the pot! And they could not eat it. 41. Elisha said, Get some flour. He put it into the pot and said, Serve it to the people to eat. And there was nothing harmful in the pot. 42. A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. Give it to the people to eat, Elisha said. 43. How can I set this before a hundred men? his servant asked. But Elisha answered, Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: They will eat and have some left over. 44. Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD. (NIV)

6 Introduction: I. For approximately fifty (50) years Elisha was the leader of the sons of the prophets in Israel during which time Baalism was defeated in the Northern Kingdom. (See Smith.) II. Long well wrote that the four (4) episodes discussed in 2 Kings 4 demonstrate that Elisha has the spirit of Elijah and is a man of God who speaks for Yahweh. A. 2 Kings 2:9, When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you? Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit, Elisha replied. (NIV) B. 1 Kings 17:16, 24, For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah. Then the woman said to Elijah, Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth. (NIV) III. Long observed that there are similarities between Elisha s miracles reported in 2 Kings 4 and Elijah s work on behalf of the widow of Zarephath in 1 Kings 17. A. Elisha, however, more than Elijah, reached out to those on the periphery of society; viz., a poor widow, a bereaved mother, poor prophets and the people. (Long) B. Jesus ministry often focused on the outcasts of society as well.

7 1. Luke 4:16-19, He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord s favor. (NIV) IV. All of the miracles of this chapter are miracles of mercy, Coffman quoting The Pulpit Commentary wrote, and consist of increasing oil, food, raising the dead and making poison food wholesome. V. Coffman wrote that 2 Kings 4:1-8:6 reports events that are not arranged in chronological order but arranged so as to show how Elisha continued the work of Elijah in proving to Israelites the superiority and excellence of the God of Israel as contrasted with all the Canaanite gods... Note: All of the miracles in this section occurred during the reign of Joram/Jehoram. (The Pulpit Commentary) VI. These marvelous wonders were miracles, direct interventions of God. A. These were not simply shrewd accomplishments of Elisha. B. It is absurd for us humans to try to determine, figure out how God did these things!

8 Commentary: The Widow s Oil 2 Kings 4:1, The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves. (NIV) I. The wife of a man from the company (sons, disciples) of the prophets cried out to Elisha,... A. The widow of one of the sons of the prophets was in destitute circumstances. 1. Without hesitation the widow approached Elisha for help. a. Elisha was interested in helping the poor and needy. (Long) b. Elisha was interested in justice. (Long) 2. Without a male patron, in that ancient society, a woman was virtually powerless. (Long) 3. Justice was of major importance in God s will for his people. (See Long.) a. Isaiah 1:17, Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. (NIV)

9 b. James 1:27, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (NIV) c. Psalm 72:4, May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor. (NIV) d. 1 Kings 3:28, When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice. (NIV) 4. Due to Elisha s close connection with sons of the prophets groups, he may have known this woman s husband in previous years. (McGee) Note: Traditionally this Shunammite woman has been identified as the wife of Obadiah. (Clarke) 1 Kings 18:1-19, After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land. So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD. While Jezebel was killing off the LORD s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) Ahab had said to Obadiah, Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals. So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another. As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah

10 recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, Is it really you, my lord Elijah? Yes, he replied. Go tell your master, Elijah is here. What have I done wrong, asked Obadiah, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. But now you tell me to go to my master and say, Elijah is here. I don t know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the LORD since my youth. Haven t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred of the LORD s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. And now you tell me to go to my master and say, Elijah is here. He will kill me! Elijah said, As the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he said to him, Is that you, you troubler of Israel? I have not made trouble for Israel, Elijah replied. But you and your father s family have. You have abandoned the LORD s commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel s table. (NIV) II. Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. A. The widow s husband had lived an honorable life, one that clearly revered the Lord and others like Elisha.

11 1. This son of the prophets had been willing to serve and Elisha is now asked to serve his family. (The Pulpit Commentary) B. It was on this basis that the widow appealed to Elisha for assistance. 1. Elisha was well aware of his responsibility to help widows and orphans. C. Elisha like Jesus was concerned with the needs of the poor and oppressed. 1. Luke 4:18-19, The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord s favor. (NIV) D. Elisha is said here to have personally known this widow s husband and knew he was a God fearing man. III. But now his creditor is coming to take my two (2) boys as slaves. A. The problem was a family debt that, if not paid, would lead to the enslavement of this couple s two sons. 1. Forced labor was a common means of debt satisfaction in that era, but originally this is not the way God had ordained that his people treat one another. (See Long.)

12 a. Exodus 21:2-11, If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. But if the servant declares, I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free, then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life. If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money. (NIV) b. Deuteronomy 15:12-18, If any of your people Hebrew men or women sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free. And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed. Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your

13 winepress. Give to them as the LORD your God has blessed you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today. But if your servant says to you, I do not want to leave you, because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant. Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because their service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do. (NIV) c. Leviticus 25:39-46, If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves. They are to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property of their ancestors. Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God. Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You can bequeath them to your children as inherited

14 property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly. (NIV) d. Exodus 22:3, Anyone who steals must certainly make restitution, but if they have nothing, they must be sold to pay for their theft. (NIV) 2. Long observed that by the time of the return from exile, almost twenty (20%) percent of the people were indentured servants due to debt and that this practice had become the object of prophetic condemnation. a. Amos 2:6, This is what the LORD says: For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent. They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. (NIV) b. Amos 8:6, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat. (NIV) c. Nehemiah 5:1-13, Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. Some were saying, We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain. Others were saying, We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine. Still others were saying, We have had to borrow money to pay the king s tax on our fields and vineyards. Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as

15 good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others. When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, You are charging your own people interest! So I called together a large meeting to deal with them and said: As far as possible, we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us! They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say. So I continued, What you are doing is not right. Shouldn t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil. We will give it back, they said. And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say. Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise. So may such a person be shaken out and emptied! At this the whole

16 assembly said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised. (NIV) d. Matthew 18:25, Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. (NIV) 3. In the Old Testament era, people would pledge their personal labor and that of their families as collateral if they otherwise were unable to repay a loan. 2 Kings 4:2, Elisha replied to her, How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house? Your servant has nothing there at all, she said, except a small jar of olive oil. (NIV) I. Elisha replied to her, How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house? A. Without hesitation Elisha set about to help this destitute family. 1. He did not postpone his help, make some excuse for not helping. 2. The Lord s people are to care for widows and orphans. a. Exodus 22:22-24, Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you

17 with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. (NIV) b. Deuteronomy 14:29, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. (NIV) c. Deuteronomy 24:17, 19, Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. (NIV) d. Deuteronomy 26:12, When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. (NIV) e. Deuteronomy 27:19, Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow. Then all the people shall say, Amen!

18 f. Isaiah 10:2, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. (NIV) g. Jeremiah 6:6, This is what the LORD Almighty says: Cut down the trees and build siege ramps against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; it is filled with oppression. (NIV) h. Jeremiah 22:3, This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. (NIV) i. Zechariah 7:10, Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other. (NIV) j. Malachi 3:5, So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me, says the LORD Almighty. (NIV) k. Deuteronomy 10:18, He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. (NIV)

19 l. Psalm 68:5, A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. (NIV) II. Your servant has nothing there at all, she said, except a (pot) little oil. A. A miracle would be the means by which the debt would be paid. 1. Both this woman and her husband were God fearing people. B. The only thing of value the widow possessed was a little oil, only enough to anoint one person. 1. Coffman identified this oil as special and expensive oil, not cooking oil, perhaps oil the widow had kept for her burial. a. Matthew 26:12, When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. (NIV) 2 Kings 4:3, Elisha said, Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don t ask for just a few. (NIV) I. Elisha said, Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don t ask for just a few. A. The widow was to secure from her neighbors as many empty jars as she could possibly get. 1. God is not stingy with his gifts!

20 a. Isaiah 55:1, Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. (NIV) B. The widow s response would: 1. indicate her willingness to obey. 2. indicate the strength of her faith. 3. show that God helps those who help themselves. 4. demonstrate that God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. 2 Kings 4:4, Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side. (NIV) I. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. A. The multiplying of the oil was to occur in privacy. B. If the oil had been multiplied in public, hoards of people would have looked to Elisha to multiply their oil also. 1. Christ also performed many miracles in private. II. Pour oil into all the jars and as each is filled, put it to one side. A. The widow was to begin pouring the little oil she had into the empty vessels until they were all full.

21 B. This reminds us of Elijah s increasing the meal and the oil of the widow of Sarepto/Zarephath. 1. 1 Kings 17:10-16, So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink? As she was going to get it, he called, And bring me, please, a piece of bread. As surely as the LORD your God lives, she replied, I don t have any bread only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die. Elijah said to her, Don t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land. She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah. (NIV) 2 Kings 4:5, She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. (NIV) I. She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons.

22 A. This obedient woman of faith unquestioningly obeyed. 1. She did exactly what Elisha told her to do! B. She certainly did not understand how the little oil was turned into a great amount of oil, but she obeyed Elisha anyway. II. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. A. The sons brought the jars to their mother who kept pouring until all the jars were full. 2 Kings 4:6, When all the jars were full, she said to her son, Bring me another one. But he replied, There is not a jar left. Then the oil stopped flowing. (NIV) I. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, Bring me another one. A. About this time, this godly woman may have wished she had borrowed more jars. II. But he replied, There is not a jar left. A. At this point, the widow must have wished she had been able to borrow more jars. III. Then the oil stopped flowing. A. The Lord does not waste and neither should we! B. Clarke suggested this reminds us of the fact that as long as there are sincere, longing hearts, God s grace will flow. Only

23 when there are no more hearts longing for salvation will grace stop flowing. 2 Kings 4:7, She went and told the man of God, and he said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left. (NIV) I. She went and told the man of God, and he said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. A. Elisha was not present when the oil increased, Smith wrote, because he didn t want great lines of people coming for the same type of help. 1. News of such a wonder would literally spread far and wide faster than the speed of light. B. The family debt was to be paid by proceeds from the sale of the oil. C. Elisha, by his life and deeds, had come to be clearly seen as a man of God. 1. How do people who know you best see you, as a person of God or as something less? D. Elisha addressed the suffering family, but he did not address the overall problem involving laws of indebtedness and rules of servitude for debt. E. When the widow had completed obeying the instructions given her by Elisha, she did not guess what she should do next.

24 1. She asked Elisha for further instructions which she then fully obeyed. II. You and your sons can live on what is left. A. The oil left after the satisfaction of the debt was to be used to pay living expenses, for family support. B. Matthew Henry wrote via Coffman, The greatest kindness one can do for poor people is, if possible, to help them into a way of providing for themselves by their own industry and ingenuity. The Shunammite s Son Restored to Life 2 Kings 4:8, One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. (NIV) I. One day (the day came when) Elisha went to Shunem. A. Youngblood identified Shunem as a village of Galilee, a border city allotted to the tribe of Issachar located about three (3) miles north of Jezreel, near Mount Gilboa, about twenty (20) miles from Carmel. B. Clarke added that Shunem was located south of the brook Kishon, and at the foot of Mount Tabor. C. Elisha frequently passed through Shunem on his way to visit the various schools of the prophets. 1. Joshua 19:18, Their territory included: Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, (NIV)

25 II. And a well-to-do (great) woman was there, who urged (constrained) him to stay for a meal. A. This lady was a person of means, righteous in life and benevolent in spirit. B. Notice that Elisha did not ask this generous woman for help. 1. She voluntarily provided assistance for Elisha. C. There is some traditional basis for thinking this Shunammite woman may have been the sister of Abishag, the Shunammite well known in the life of David. 1. 1 Kings 1:1-4, 15, When King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. So his attendants said to him, Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm. Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The woman was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no sexual relations with her. So Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag the Shunammite was attending him. (NIV) D. Well-to-do woman has been translated a woman fearing sin and a woman eminent in piety. (Clarke) III. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat.

26 A. In regard to Elisha, man of God, she was hospitable. B. Evidently Elisha frequently traveled a circuit as he did God s work, Shunem being a likely stop on this route or circuit. 2 Kings 4:9, She said to her husband, I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. (NIV) I. She said to her husband, I know (perceive) that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God (a prophet). A. She came, by association with Elisha, to know that he was indeed a holy man of God. B. This lady and her husband evidently lived on Elisha s customary route as he made his way from one school of the prophets to another. C. This Shunammite came to realize that Elisha was not a pretender, a wolf in sheep s clothing, a hypocrite, but a genuine holy man of God. (The Pulpit Commentary) 2 Kings 4:10, Let s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us. (NIV) I. Let s make a small room (little chamber) on the roof (wall) and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. A. This scribe, early in his ministry, had such a room reserved for him and his wife in the home of a righteous and godly family.

27 1. This kindness, after all these last fifty-seven (57) years, remains a truly precious memory. B. This upper room was designed for rest/sleep and study. (Smith) 1. Long mentioned that the furnishings were modest, but more than adequate consisting of a bed, a table, a chair, and a lampstand. 2. The Shunemmite woman was a lead character, her husband being supportive of her activities. 3. The Shunammite was kind and generous, but also understood the needs of a man of God as he moved from one place to another. a. The room and its furnishings make her understanding of the prophet s needs clear. II. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us. A. This room was evidently exclusively reserved for Elisha who would in this room have privacy for rest and study. B. Both the Shunammite woman and her husband agreed that this was a good and right thing to do. 1. How wonderful it is when a man and his wife serve the Lord together as a team. 2 Kings 4:11, One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. (NIV)

28 I. One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there (slept there, passed the night there). A. Elisha appreciated the hospitality shown him by this woman and her husband. 1. He now considered how he might show his gratitude for their kindnesses. (See McGee.) 2 Kings 4:12, He said to his servant Gehazi, Call the Shunammite. So he called her, and she stood before him. (NIV) I. He said to his servant Gehazi, Call the Shunammite. So he called her, and she stood before him (Gehazi). A. This is the first Scriptural reference to Elisha s servant, Gehazi. (Smith) 1. 2 Kings 8:4-5, The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done. Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land. Gehazi said, This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life. (NIV) 2. As we will see in our 2 kings 5 study, Gehazi was not all he should have been. B. The Shunammite woman responded graciously and obediently.

29 C. The conversation between Elisha and the Shunammite woman was conducted through Gehazi, Elisha s servant. (Coffman) 2 Kings 4:13, Elisha said to him, Tell her, You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army? She replied, I have a home among my own people. (NIV) I. Elisha said to him (Gehazi), Tell her, You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? A. This question is similar to the question he had asked of the widow previously in this chapter. 1. 2 Kings 4:2, Elisha replied to her, How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house? Your servant has nothing there at all, she said, except a small jar of olive oil. (NIV) B. Elisha spoke to the woman through and/or in the presence of Gehazi to avoid all suspicion of impropriety. II. Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army? A. Elisha had remarkable influence in the highest levels of power. 1. Long suggests Elisha may have gained some political clout during the campaign against Moab. 2. 2 Kings 6:9-12, 21-23, The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: Beware of passing that place,

30 because the Arameans are going down there. So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel? None of us, my lord the king, said one of his officers, but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom. When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them? Do not kill them, he answered. Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master. So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel s territory. (NIV) 3. 2 Kings 8:4-6, The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done. Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land. Gehazi said, This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life. The king asked the woman about it, and she told him. Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the

31 income from her land from the day she left the country until now. (NIV) B. Coffman suggested the king to whom Elisha had ready access was Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, while Clarke suggested Jehoram, king of Israel, had reason to believe that the prophet, under God, was the sole cause of his success in the Moabite war. 1. Elisha, Clarke wrote, may have been asking if this Shunammite husband and wife, either for themselves or other family members, would be interested in a place at the king s court or in the army. III. She replied, I have a home among my own people. A. The Shunammite had no special needs the king or a military commander could provide. 1. This contentment is a beautiful thing to consider. 2. How few are there like this woman on the earth! 3. Who does not want more or better? 4. Too many would trade peace, family comfort, friends, conscience, and even God for money, honors, and grandeur? B. She was living very comfortably, contentedly among her neighbors and relatives. 1. However, later she appealed to the king for the return of her property.

32 a. 2 Kings 8:1-6, Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the LORD has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years. The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years. At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done. Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land. Gehazi said, This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life. The king asked the woman about it, and she told him. Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now. (NIV) 2 Kings 4:14, What can be done for her? Elisha asked. Gehazi said, She has no son, and her husband is old. (NIV) I. What can be done for her? Elisha asked. A. In view of her satisfaction with her present circumstances, Elisha was at a loss to know what he could give her to show his appreciation for her hospitality.

33 II. Gehazi said, Well, she has no son and her husband is old. A. Gehazi noted that the Shunammite had no son and few prospects of having a son. 1. This reminds us somewhat of Abraham and Sarah. a. Genesis 17:1-22, When Abram was ninetynine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers. Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God. Then God said to Abraham, As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be

34 circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant. God also said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her. Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety? And Abraham said to God, If only Ishmael might live under your blessing! Then God said, Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this

35 time next year. When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. (NIV) b. Genesis 18:10-15, Then one of them said, I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son. Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure? Then the LORD said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh and say, Will I really have a child, now that I am old? Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son. Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, I did not laugh. But he said, Yes, you did laugh. (NIV) c. Genesis 21:1-7, Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. And she added, Who would have

36 said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age. (NIV) 2. Bear in mind that this Shunammite woman had not asked Elisha for a son and evidently was happy without a son. a. If the Shunammite woman had any feelings of deprivation because of having no son, there is no indication of it here. i. 1 Samuel 1:6-7, Because the LORD had closed Hannah s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. (NIV) 2 Kings 4:15, Then Elisha said, Call her. So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. (NIV) I. Then Elisha said, Call her. So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. A. Coffman mentioned that the conduct of this woman was always one of decorum, good manners, that she stood in the doorway and was never alone with Elisha which might have given rise to gossip. 1. The woman s response was immediate, but she, acting out of modesty and respect, did not advance beyond the entrance to Elisha s quarters. (The Pulpit Commentary)

37 2 Kings 4:16, About this time next year, Elisha said, you will hold a son in your arms. No, my lord! she objected. Please, man of God, don t mislead your servant! (NIV) I. About this time next year, Elisha said, you will hold a son in your arms. A. This was a surprising and shocking statement to the woman. 1. Remember Sarah who laughed when she heard a similar promise from the Lord? II. No, my lord, she objected. Don t mislead your servant, O man of God! A. The word mislead carries the idea of deceit. (Long) The KJV reads, Do not lie unto thine handmaid. Do not mock me, the rabbins have understood this to mean. (See Clarke.) B. The woman was incredulous; she could not believe the good tidings, and thought the prophet was only raising hopes to disappoint them. (The Pulpit Commentary) 2 Kings 4:17, But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. (NIV) I. But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. A. The word of God as spoken by Elisha was exactly fulfilled.

38 B. The Bible records a number of these wonder birth narratives in which aged and/or childless couples became parents, Coffman wrote quoting the Broadman Bible Commentary. 1. Isaac born to Abraham and Sarah. a. Genesis 18:1-15, The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said, If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way now that you have come to your servant. Very well, they answered, do as you say. So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. Quick, he said, get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread. Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. Where is your wife Sarah? they asked him. There, in the tent, he said. Then one of them said, I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son. Now Sarah

39 was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure? Then the LORD said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh and say, Will I really have a child, now that I am old? Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son. Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, I did not laugh. But he said, Yes, you did laugh. (NIV) 2. Samson born to Manoah and his wife. a. Judges 13:2-25, A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines. Then the woman went to her husband and told him, A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn t ask him where he came from, and he didn t tell me his

40 name. But he said to me, You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death. Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born. God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. The woman hurried to tell her husband, He s here! The man who appeared to me the other day! Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, Are you the man who talked to my wife? I am, he said. So Manoah asked him, When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy s life and work? The angel of the LORD answered, Your wife must do all that I have told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her. Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you. The angel of the LORD replied, Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD. (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.) Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, What is your name, so that we may honor you