2 Kings 4:1-7 Introduction In 2 Kings 4:1 we are simply told, 1 the wife of a man from company of the prophets cried out to Elisha (for help). Then her read her statement to the prophet, 1 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 Kings 4:1) There are a number of principles to glean from these verses: I. The Widow Cries Out for Help (2 Kings 4:1). A. Though she is not identified in the text, she was not unknown to God. 1. Each one of us is personally known and loved by God.
2 2. We are the personal objects of His love. 3. Of course, given her situation, she d be wanting to know if the LORD really loved her or not. 4. To have her sons sold off as slaves because of a debt she couldn t pay and her had husband just died. 5. So she might lose her boys while she was grieving over her husband. B. So the widow appeals to the LORD, but through Elisha. C. Her appeal was based on two facts: 1. As one of the sons of the prophets, her husband had been a servant and student of Elisha, and 2. Her husband had been faithful to the Lord. a. I appreciate her demeanor and her candor. b. Look at the relationship between revering the LORD and her life situation.
3 c. They aren t divorced as if we believed in LORD only to be saved at the end of time but for now we re on our on. d. This widow revealed to the prophet her belief that faith shapes the way we look at a situation and the way in which the LORD is in control of it. e. She insisted, in the way in which she framed her question, that the dynamics of any given situation grow out of a relationship to the LORD. f. We learned a similar principle back when studying the book of Joshua. g. That history is relational. h. Let s remember that! i. She certainly did and it saved her life and the lives of her sons. j. And it can save yours as well.
4 3. One last note before we move on a. God usually meets the needs of His people through people, especially believers ministering to other believers. b. Where would she have been without Elisha! II. Elisha Responds to the Widow s Need (2 Kings 4:2-4). A. How can I help you? 2. As a man of God, Elisha was as available to a poor widow woman as he was with kings, so he was quick to come to her aid. 3. God shows no favoritism. a. He treats all men alike if they will come to Him in faith. b. That s why the people of God should not show favoritism and be just as available to minister to the poor as to the rich and the powerful.
5 D. Elisha was no ordinary prophet. 1. He represented the person, power, and care of God. 2. God had acted powerfully first in Elijah and then in Elisha. 3. When Elisha asked, How can I help you?, he was in essence saying, What do you want God to do for you through me? 4. That s why James 2 says, 2 you do not have, because you do not ask God. (James 4:2b) 5. There is no question that one of our great failures is our failure in prayer. 6. We are still commanded to take our needs to the Lord, to pray for others, and to have others to pray for us. E. Elisha did not wait for an answer. Why?
6 1. Because her needs were obvious. 2. And the LORD had sent him to do such things. 3. God knows our needs before we ask. 8 your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matt 6:8) 4. In fact, He has known them from all eternity. 5. Then why do we need to ask? a. It causes us to be dependent on Him. b. It demonstrates our faith. c. It demonstrates that it is He who ultimately meets our needs. F. In verse 2 Elisha says, 2 Tell me, what do you have in your house? (2 Kings 4:2) She answers,
7 2 Your servant has nothing there at all, she said, except a little oil. (2 Kings 4:2) a. Oil was a very important commodity; it was like money or gold. b. She was destitute, the only thing she had was this oil. c. What does this teach us about the way God generally meets our needs? d. He usually takes what we have and multiplies it as we turn our lives over to Him and obey the principles of His Word. e. This is true of our talents, gifts, finances, or physical assets. 2. We need to investigate what we have in all areas and then, using those blessings as good stewards of God s grace, however small they may seem, surrender them to the Lord and trust the Lord to bless and provide as He sees fit.
8 3. But what do many do today? a. Play lottery rather trust God with whatever He has allotted them. 4. Sometimes God does supply from places unknown and in ways beyond our imagination. 5. But our responsibility is to take what we have --no matter how small or large-- and turn it over to Him. G. In verse 3 Elisha said, 3 Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don t ask for just a few. (2 Kings 4:3) 1. As long as there were empty jars there was God s supply to fill them with the oil. 2. The oil only stopped flowing when there were no more empty jars to fill. H. Some important lessons for us here:
9 1. First, the number of empty jars brought into the house showed the woman s faith, obedience, and her submission to God. 2. If we find that the supply of God stops, then either the need has been supplied according to His will, or there are no more empty jars. 3. If she had brought only a few, that would suggest there was insufficient faith, obedience or submission to God as her sovereign Lord and supplier of her need. 4. Second, Elisha didn t tell her how many jars to collect; God wanted her to act in faith. a. That s why Jesus says, 29 According to your faith it will be done to you (Matt 9:29) 5. Third, God s supply would be (and was) as large as her faith and obedience, without greediness.
10 b. The moment we become greedy and selfish, we stop the flow of God s provision. c. We see that in the Israelite s desert experience with the manna. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:3) III.The Widow s Obedience and God s supply (2 Kings 4:5-7). 5 She left him and afterward 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. (2 Kings 4:5-6) 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. (2 Kings 4:6)
11 A.These verses draw our attention to the nature of God s person as powerful, loving, gracious, merciful, and like a Father to His children. 1. They display the goodness of the Lord. 2. He s the Father of the orphan, the friend of the widow, the Shepherd of the sheep, and the Protector of His own. Conclusion Elisha was a man Who had a heart for serving others whether wealthy or poor. He did not minister to people based on how they might promote him or provide for him. He was only concerned that people might know and experience God s grace and power in their lives.
12 Like the poor widow, we all have certain needs --spiritual, emotional, and physical, but God knows those needs completely and He cares about them personally. Our most fundamental need is to come to him in faith, trusting Him to meet our needs. Invitation