We now come to perhaps some of the best-known events in this book regarding Elisha. A widow of one of the sons of the prophets came to Elisha (v1-7) and said, “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.” The death of her husband had left her with debts which she was unable to pay. In Israel it was not permitted for her to be declared bankrupt. Her sons would have to be taken as slaves in payment for the debt. It was permissible for a creditor to take persons in payment as slaves after which they would be released at the year of Jubilee. Elisha asked her what she wanted him to do. He then asked her what she had in the house. She said that all she had was a jar of oil. The word used was apparently a small jar of anointing oil, not oil for household duties.
Elisha told her to go and borrow as many vessels as she could from everywhere, and not just a few. Seemed a strange instruction and she was to expect something big as indicated by the words – ‘and gather not just a few’.
She was then to return to her house with her sons and shut the door behind them; then pour out the oil into all those vessels and set aside the full ones. She had to act in faith and keep filling until all the vessels they had borrowed were filled. When they had filled the last vessel, the oil ceased. She returned to Elisha and told him what had taken place, and he told her to sell the oil to pay her debt, and to live on the rest. Elisha could have done it for her, but she had to exercise faith by doing the work. He could have performed a miracle without her help, but she needed to act in faith to receive God’s miraculous answer.
The vessels had to be empty to start with, just we need to empty ourselves to be filled with the Lord. He doesn’t just top us up. It was the same principle as digging the ditches to receive God’s outpouring. We also see this principle in Luke 5 where Jesus asked the disciples who been fishing all night and caught nothing, to go into deep water and let down their nets and prepare for a large catch.
Elisha moved on to Shunem, further north, a town belonging to the tribe of Issachar (See Joshua 19:18) where he met a notable woman. We are not told what she was noted for nor even are we told her name. She is simply referred to as a Shunamite woman (v8-17). She was a very hospitable woman as she persuaded Elisha to eat some food, and it became a regular stop-off on his journeys. So much so that she discussed with her husband about adding a room for the ‘holy man of God’ which she recognised in Elisha. They put a bed, a chair, a table and a lamp in there for Elisha so that whenever he passed by, he could stay there.
One day he was passing and stayed there with Gehazi his servant. He called the woman and asked what he could do for her in return for her kindness. Gehazi said that they had no son and her husband is old. So, Elisha asked Gehazi to call her and when she stood in the doorway, Elisha told her that this time next year you will have a son. She couldn’t believe it and thought he wasn’t telling her the truth. However, she did bear a son at the said time. She had evidently been barren, and barrenness was a stigma in those days. It must have come as a surprise beyond her wildest dreams.
What a wonderful experience for this couple, however, the boy had grown and went out to his father and to the reapers, complaining of a pain in his head which was probably sun stroke (v18-37). His father instructed a servant to carry him to the boy’s mother where he sat on her knee until noon, when he died. She took him and laid him on Elisha’s bed and closed the door. It is suggested that she displayed her faith in that she wasn’t preparing him for burial but resurrection. Maybe she had heard about him raising the widow of Zarephath’s son to life. She asked her husband to give her one of his men and a donkey and she would run to the man of God.
Her husband queried why she was going to Elisha seeing that it wasn’t a holy day. Maybe he thought you only seek a man of God on a special day. Do we think that we only seek God on holy days, or is every day special?
She saddled the donkey and told the servant to “Drive and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” I suggest thateither there was some sort of cart attached, or he was running beside the donkey and driving it forward. The went to Elisha who was at Mount Carmel. This would be a journey of around 10 miles. Elisha saw her away off and told Gehazi to run and meet her and ask if all was well, with herself, her husband and the boy. Her answer was quite amazing, “it is well”. What follows is very much like when we say we are fine. It is often just a figure of speech, particularly when we may think that the person asking couldn’t do anything about it.
Maybe she wanted to speak to Elisha personally about the situation rather than Gehazi. When she reached Elisha, it was evident that all was anything but well. She fell at his feet and held them. Gehazi tried to push her away, but Elisha realised that she was in deep distress, and he truthfully said that the LORD had not informed him what it was.
How often are we honest enough to say we don’t know the answer, when confronted with a situation?
She is clearly in turmoil as she stated that she never asked for a child in the first place. She was confused. Why give me a son and then take him away from me, I asked you not to deceive me?
Elisha told Gehazi to get ready, to take Elisha’s staff and go to the woman’s house. He was not to speak to anyone on the way , and to lay Elisha’s staff on the boy’s face. He sent his servant ahead, which seemed to follow Elisha’s pattern. He asked people to do things, like digging ditches and getting as many vessels as possible to prepare for the LORD’s miracles. (See chapters 3 and 4)
The woman was really not satisfied with Elisha sending Gehazi. She really wanted Elisha so she said that she would not leave him. Evidently, they went on behind. Maybe Gehazi could go more quickly as time may be of the essence.
Gehazi laid the staff on the boy’s face without success, so, he went back for Elisha to inform him that the boy was still dead. Elisha arrived and went to his room to the dead child and shut the door behind him. Elisha prayed to the LORD.
This was not mouth to mouth resuscitation which brought warmth to the boy’s body, but the answer to Elisha’s prayer. He had great faith in God. He went down and walked up and down the house and then returned and lay on the boy a second time. The child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. Elisha called Gehazi and told him to call the boy’s mother and when she came in, he told her to pick up her son. This she did, fell at Elisha’s fee, bowed to the ground and took her son.
Miracles were often instantaneous, but this was in stages like the healing of the blind man in Mark 8, and sometimes they required acts of faith and obedience like the blind man who was told to go and was in the pool of Siloam in John 9.
Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in the land (v38-41). He met with the sons of the prophets and and asked his servant for some food for them. One went to gather herbs and found a wild vine, from which he got some wild gourds. He sliced them and put them into the pot. It was all mixed together. No-one knew what they were, and it was served out as a stew. As they were eating, they cried out “Man of God, there is death in the pot!”
I have read thatit was probably wild cucumber which still grows near the Dead Sea, the dried pulp can be used as a medicine, but too much could be fatal.
Elisha called for some flour, and he put a handful in the pot, and they served it out again and it was harmless. There was nothing miraculous about the flour, it was a miracle of God, which, when the flour was mixed with the poison, it was made whole.
As Christians we need to be careful that we don’t feed on or try to mix the world with spiritual food. It will ‘poison’ our minds. It may seem harmless, but it will seek to kill and destroy. We need to call out to God and concentrate on the pure Word of God for our sustenance. Keep away from false doctrine, which many peddle today.
A man from Baal Shalisha brought Elisha some of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain (v42). According to Leviticus 23:20 the firstfruits were for God and the priests (Numbers 18 and Deuteronomy 18), but the religion of the Northern Territory was pagan (perhaps the Baal reference, gives a clue), Shalisha was the are where Saul was searching for his father’s donkeys (1 Samuel 9:4) and so the man thought that giving it to Elisha, the Man of God was sufficient. The servant was told to give it to the people to eat. He asked if he should give it to the one hundred men, and Elisha said, yes, so that they may eat, and he added, “Thus says the LORD; they shall eat and have some left over.” (v43,44)
This reminds us of the miracle of The Lord Jesus feeding the five thousand with five barley loaves and two fishes and there being leftovers.
He fed the one hundred and according to the word of the LORD, there was some leftover. God prosed to provide and there was more than enough. God is able to multiply in is provision for us whether physical or spiritual. Paul said writing to the Ephesians, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (3:20,21).
