2 Kings 4:18-37 Believed!

 “And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back.” So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.” And she said, “It is well.” Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” And so she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, the Shunammite woman! Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’ ” And she answered, “It is well.” Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.” So she said, “Did I ask a son of my Lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?” Then he said to Gehazi, “Get yourself ready, and take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but lay my staff on the face of the child.” And the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her. Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child has not awakened.” When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she picked up her son and went out.” II Kings‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬-‭37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. He sat on her knees till noon, and then died: This was the son granted by miraculous promise, in reward to the faithful service of the Shunammite woman. The boy tragically died on the lap of his mother after a brief but severe affliction.

i. “His head was grievously pained; which possibly came from the heat of the harvest season, to which he was exposed in the field.” (Poole)

ii. “Probably affected by the coup de soleil, or sun stroke, which might, in so young a subject, soon occasion death, especially in that hot country.” (Clarke)

b. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out: This shows the faith of the woman. She prepared for the resurrection of the boy, not his burial.

i. “She had no doubt heard that Elijah had raised the widow’s son of Zarephath to life; and she believed that he who had obtained this gift of God for her, could obtain his restoration to life.” (Clarke)

c. And she answered, “It is well”: The Shunammite woman didn’t want Elisha to learn of her grief through his assistant Gehazi. She wanted the man of God to hear it from her own lips and sense her own grief.

i. “Nothing makes grief dumb so surely as prying and yet indifferent intrusion. A tenderer hand than Gehazi’s is needed to unlock the sad secret of that burdened breast.” (Maclaren)

d. Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told me: Elisha seemed mystified that this woman (whom he presumably often prayed for) was in a crisis that was hidden from Elisha. In this circumstance Elisha was more surprised that God didn’t speak to him than if God hadspoken to him.

i. “How much better would it have been for the Church if its teachers had been more willing to copy his modesty, and said about a great many things, ‘The Lord hath hid it from me’!” (Maclaren)

e. Lay my staff on the face of the child: Instead of going directly himself, Elisha sent his servant Gehazi with his staff. This seems to follow the previous pattern in Elisha’s ministry: He did not do things for people directly but gave them the opportunity to work with God and to trust Him for themselves. God told the alliance of kings to have ditches dug (2 Kings 3:16). God told the widow to gather vessels and pour the oil herself (2 Kings 4:1-7).

i. It may be that the Shunammite woman failed under this test, because she thought that the power to heal was more connected with Elisha himself and she refused to leave his presence (I will not leave you). The child was not healed by the laying on of the staff, though (hypothetically) the child may have been healed with only the staff if the Shunammite would have embraced this promise with full faith.

f. He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD: God did heal the Shunammite woman’s son in response to Elisha’s prayer. He prayed after the pattern shown by his mentor Elijah (1 Kings 17:20-23).

i. Elisha prayed with great faith because he knew God worked this way in the life of his mentor Elijah. He also prayed with great faith because he sensed that God wanted to raise this boy from the dead.

ii. “Although some ceremonial uncleanness might seem to be contracted by the touch of this dead body, yet that was justly to give place to a moral duty, and to an action of so great piety and charity as this was, especially when done by a prophet, and by the instinct of God’s Spirit, who can dispense with his own laws.” (Poole)

iii. There is a significant contrast between the stretched-out supplication of Elijah and Elisha and the authoritative command of Jesus in raising the dead (as in John 11:43). Elijah and Elisha rightly begged God to raise the dead. Jesus commanded the dead to be raised.

iv. “This staff of his – whatever became of the other - was long enough, he knew, to reach up to heaven, to know at those gates, yea, to wrench them open.” (Trapp)

g. The flesh of the child became warm… then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes: “Although miracles were for the most part done in an instant, yet sometimes they were done by degrees, as here, and 1 Kings 18:44-45; Mark 8:24-25.” (Poole)

i. “Of course, there is a profound and beautiful use to be made of the prophet’s action in laying himself upon the dead child, mouth to mouth, and hand to hand, if we regard it as symbolic of that closeness of approach to our nature, dead in sins, which the Lord of life makes in His incarnation and in His continual drawing near.” (Maclaren)

(Guzik)

Believed!

Sometimes the devotionals are long because of the story conveyed and context can only be studied with the full story. I felt the emotion and tears of the Shunammite mother in these verses!

There are different commentators with these verses and the one that strikes my soul is this one: 

“This staff of his – whatever became of the other - was long enough, he knew, to reach up to heaven, to know at those gates, yea, to wrench them open.” (Trapp)

Elisha’s staff didn’t work because the faith of Shunammite woman only believed that Elisha himself could raise her son from the dead!

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?””

‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭51‬-‭55‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Do you believe?

Blessings 

2 Kings 4:8-17 Blessed by God!

 “Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.” And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’ ” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.” So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my Lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!” But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.” II Kings‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬-‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. A notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food: This remarkable relationship between Elisha and the Shunammite woman began when the woman sought to do something for the prophet. Elisha didn’t seek anything from this woman; she eventually persuaded him to eat some food as the guest of her hospitality.

b. Let us make a small upper room on the wall: The Shunammite woman then sought to do more for the prophet. With the approval of her husband, they made a room for Elisha to stay in on his frequent travels through the area.

c. About this time next year you shall embrace a son: To this barren woman this promise seemed too good to be true. The stigma associated with barrenness was harsh in the ancient world, and this promised son would answer the longing of her heart and remove the stigma of barrenness.

d. The woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her: The woman who so generously provided material things for the prophet of God was now blessed by the God of the prophet, blessed beyondmaterial things. (Guzik)

Blessed by God!

“in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

‭‭I Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Material blessings, a roof over your head, clothing, food, health etc.

Spiritual blessings, accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Adopted as a child of God!

I try to thank God daily for His protection, our home, food and that others in our family are drawn to Him and accept His free gift of salvation.

Do you consider yourself blessed?

Blessings 

2 Kings 4:1-7 Spiritual Blessings!

“A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”” ‭‭

II Kings‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. The creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves: This woman, the widowed wife of one of the sons of the prophets, had debts and no means to pay them. The legal system in Israel would not allow her to declare bankruptcy; she had to give her sons as indentured servants to her creditor as payment for the debts.

i. “However inhumane this might seem, the creditor was within his rights; for Mosaic Law allowed him to enslave the debtor and his children as far as the Year of Jubilee in order to work off a debt.” (Patterson and Austel)

b. Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil: There is some evidence that this jar of oil was not a larger supply held for cooking, but a smaller vessel that held only oil for anointing.

i. “A unique word here, possibly for a small anointing flask.” (Wiseman)

c. Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors: Elisha made this woman commit herself in faith to God’s provision. To borrow vessels in this manner invited awkward questions, but she did as the word of God through His prophet commanded her.

i. “She did what she was commanded to do: she did it in faith; and the result answered the end. God takes care to deliver his servants in ways that exercise their faith. He would not have them be little in faith, for faith is the wealth of the heavenly life.” (Spurgeon)

ii. “You have God in the measure in which you desire Him. Only remember that the desire that brings God must be more than a feeble, fleeting wish. Wishing is one thing; willing is quite another. Lazily wishing and strenuously desiring are two entirely different postures of mind; the former gets nothing and the latter gets everything, gets God, and with God all that God can bring.” (Maclaren)

d. Pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones: Elisha told the woman to take what she had – one jar of oil (all that she had) – and pour that out in faith into the borrowed vessels. As she did this, the oil miraculously kept pouring from the original vessel until all the borrowed vessels were filled. At the end of it, she had a lot of oil.

i. We notice that Elisha made her do this. Perhaps Elisha was tempted to gather the vessels and pour the oil himself, but he knew that she had to trust God herself.

ii. The original vessel of oil – the one the woman had in her house – was a smaller vessel that held only oil for anointing. This means that the distribution of the oil into the other vessels required constant pouring and allowing the oil to supernaturally fill the small vessel again.

iii. The vessels also had to be empty before they could be filled with oil. It did no good to bring the widow full vessels. “A full Christ is for empty sinners, and for empty sinners only, and as long as there is a really empty soul in a congregation, so long will a blessing go forth with the word, and no longer. It is not our emptiness, but our fullness which can hinder the outgoings of free grace.” (Spurgeon)

e. So the oil ceased: The miracle was given according to the measure of her previous faith in borrowing vessels. She borrowed enough so the excess oil was sold and provided money to pay the debt to the creditor and to provide for the future. Had she borrowed more, more would have been provided; had she gathered less, less would have been provided.

i. “If she borrowed few vessels, she would have but little oil; if she borrowed many vessels they should all be filled, and she should have much oil. She was herself to measure out what she should have; and I believe that you and I, in the matter of spiritual blessings from God, have more to do with the measurement of our mercies than we think. We make our blessings little, because our prayers are little.” (Spurgeon)

ii. The oil did not pour out on the ground or simply flow about. It was intended for a prepared vessel. Each vessel had to be prepared by being gathered, by being assembled, by being emptied, by being put in the right position and by staying in the right position. When there was no more prepared vessel, the oil stopped.

iii. The principle of this miracle was the same as the principle of the ditches dug in the previous chapter. The amount of man’s work with the miracle determined the amount of blessing and provision actually received. God’s powerful provision invites our hard work and never excuses laziness.

iv. “Men must likewise see to it, that their ministers’ widows and children have a comfortable subsistence.” (Trapp)

(Guzik)

Spiritual Blessings!

Don’t miss this important correlation!

“spiritual blessings from God, have more to do with the measurement of our mercies than we think. We make our blessings little, because our prayers are little.” (Spurgeon)

How is your prayer life?

Blessings 

spiritual-blessings

2 Kings 3:26-27 Human Sacrifice

 “And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. Then he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great indignation against Israel. So they departed from him and returned to their own land.” II Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. He took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall: This shows how desperate the king of Moab was following his defeat on the field of battle. He did this to honor his pagan gods and to show his own people his determination to prevent defeat.

b. So they departed from him and returned to their own land: The radical determination of the king of Moab convinced the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom that they could not completely defeat Moab. They left content with their near-complete victory.

i. “Sickened by the maddened spectacle of senseless human sacrifice, the allies lifted the siege and returned to their homes.” (Patterson and Austel)

(Guzik)

Human Sacrifice 

You could say Jesus was our human sacrifice on the cross when actually He was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and Isaiah 53 prophesies about it years before Jesus was born.

“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭1‬-‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Have you accepted His sacrifice for your sins?

Blessings 

2 Kings 3:21-25 Christian Leadership

 “And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to bear arms and older were gathered; and they stood at the border. Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood. And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!” So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they entered their land, killing the Moabites. Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the stones of Kir Haraseth intact. However the slingers surrounded and attacked it.” II Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬-‭25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. The Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood: The ditches caught the water and saved the armies of these three kings from dehydration. They were also the means of confusion and defeat to the enemies of the people of God. When they saw the sun shining on the water collected in the ditches, they thought it was blood, from the three kings fighting each other.

b. So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them: God used the ditches in a completely unexpected way to supply the need andto defeat the enemy.

i. The whole account of God’s provision in the desert gives many principles that apply to Christian leadership.

· Like digging ditches, leadership is hard work.

· Like digging ditches, leadership is done with faith in the future.

· Like digging ditches, leadership is blessed beyond reasonable expectation.

· Like digging ditches, leadership must use delegation.

· Like digging ditches, leadership matters nothing without a miracle.

· Like digging ditches, the work of leadership often feels like work without reward.

· Like digging ditches, the work of leadership comes from God’s revelation.

· Like digging ditches, the work of leadership will be criticized or doubted.

· Like digging ditches, leadership means not accepting the present state of dryness.

· Like digging ditches, the work of leadership often seems unimpressive or unspectacular.

· Like digging ditches, the work of leadership is purposely used and relied on by God.

c. And cut down all the good trees: “But surely fruit trees are not intended here; for this was positively against the law of God, Deuteronomy 20:19-20.” (Clarke)

(Guzik)

Christian Leadership 

The Christian leadership at our church has made the youth a priority for Jesus Christ and the future His church.

Yesterday we were blessed with the youth group pastor leading our church service and explaining what the youth group has been doing this summer. They have been traveling to different cities in our state and praying for the city and people on the streets. The video of their journey was impressive along with seeing the revival of the youth on fire for Jesus. 

Are you praying for the Christian leadership at your church? 

Blessings