2Ki 4:1 And a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets had cried to Elisha, saying, My husband, your servant, is dead. And you know that your servant has seen Jehovah. And the lender has come to take my two children to himself for slaves.
2Ki 4:2 And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me. What do you have in the house? And she said, Your handmaid has nothing in the house except a pot of oil.
2Ki 4:3 And he said, Go, beg vessels for yourself from outside, from your neighbors, empty vessels. Do not let them be few.
2Ki 4:4 And you shall go in and shut the door on you, and on your sons, and shall pour out into all these vessels. And you shall set aside the full ones.
2Ki 4:5 And she left him, and shut the door on her and on her sons. They carried to her, and she poured out.
2Ki 4:6 And it happened when the vessels were full, she said to her son, Bring another vessel to me. And he said to her, There is no other vessel; and the oil stopped.
2Ki 4:7 And she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and repay your loan. And you and your sons shall live from the rest.
2Ki 4:8 And the day came that Elisha crossed over to Shunem. And a great woman was there. And she lay hold on him to eat bread. And it happened, as often as he passed by, he turned aside there to eat bread.
2Ki 4:9 And she said to her husband, Behold now, I know that he is a holy man of God who passes by us continually.
2Ki 4:10 Now let us make a little walled roof room, and let us set a bed for him there, and a table, and a chair, and a lampstand. And it shall be, when he comes to us, he shall turn in there.
2Ki 4:11 And the day came when he came in there and turned into the roof room, and lay there.
2Ki 4:12 And he said to his young man Gehazi, Call this Shunammite. And he called her, and she stood before him.
2Ki 4:13 And he said to him, Now say to her, Behold, you have trembled with all this care for us. What shall I do for you? Shall I speak to the king for you, or to the army commander? And she said, I live among my people.
2Ki 4:14 And he said, What then shall I do for her? And Gehazi said, Truly there is no son to her. And her husband is old.
2Ki 4:15 And he said, Call for her. And he called for her. And she stood at the door.
2Ki 4:16 And he said, At this season, according to the time of life you shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, O man of God, do not lie to your handmaid.
2Ki 4:17 And the woman conceived and bore a son, at this season, according to the time of life that Elisha spoke of to her.
2Ki 4:18 And the boy grew, and the day came that he went out to his father, to the reapers.
2Ki 4:19 And he said to his father, My head! My head! And he said to the young man, Carry him to his mother.
2Ki 4:20 And he carried him, and brought him to his mother. And he sat on her knees until noon, and died.
2Ki 4:21 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door on him, and went out.
2Ki 4:22 And she called to her husband, and said, Please send to me one of the young men, and one of the asses, and I shall run to the man of God, and return.
2Ki 4:23 And he said, Why are you going to him today; it is neither new moon nor sabbath? And she said, Peace.
2Ki 4:24 And she saddled the ass and said to her young man, Lead on, and go. Do not hold back riding for me except I speak to you.
2Ki 4:25 And she went, and came to the man of God, to Mount Carmel. And it happened, when the man of God saw her from afar, he said to his young man Gehazi, Behold, The Shunammite!
2Ki 4:26 Now please run to meet her, and say to her, Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the boy? And she said, Well.
2Ki 4:27 And she came to the mountain to the man of God, and lay hold on his feet. And Gehazi came near to thrust her away. But the man of God said, Let her alone, for her soul is bitter in her, and Jehovah has hidden it from me, and has not told me.
2Ki 4:28 And she said, Did I ask a son from my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?
2Ki 4:29 And he said to Gehazi, Gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand, and go. When you meet a man, you shall not greet him. And when a man shall greet you, you shall not answer him. And you shall lay my staff on the face of the boy.
2Ki 4:30 And the mother of the boy said, As Jehovah lives, and your soul lives, I will not leave you. And he rose up and went after her.
2Ki 4:31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the boy. But there was no voice, and there was no hearing. And he turned back to meet him, and told him, saying, The boy has not awakened.
2Ki 4:32 And Elisha came into the house. And, behold, the boy was dead, laid out on his bed.
2Ki 4:33 And he went in and shut the door on both of them, and prayed to Jehovah.
2Ki 4:34 And he went up and lay down on the boy, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands, and stretched himself on him. And the flesh of the boy became warm.
2Ki 4:35 And he returned, and walked in the house, once here and once there. And he went up and stretched himself on him. And the boy sneezed seven times, and the boy opened his eyes.
2Ki 4:36 And he called Gehazi and said, Call this Shunammite. And he called her, and she came in to him. And he said, Take up your son.
2Ki 4:37 And she went in and fell at his feet, and bowed to the earth, and took up her son, and went out.
2Ki 4:38 And Elisha returned to Gilgal. And the famine was in the land. And the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. And he said to his young man, Set on the big pot and boil soup for the sons of the prophets.
2Ki 4:39 And one went out to the field to gather herbs, and found a vine of the field, and gathered gourds from it in the field. And with the lap of his garment full, he came in and shredded them into the pot of soup; for they did not know.
2Ki 4:40 And they poured out for the men to eat. And it happened, when they were eating the soup, they cried out and said, Death is in the pot O man of God! And they were not able to eat.
2Ki 4:41 And he said, Then bring meal. And he threw into the pot, and said, Pour out for the people and they shall eat. And there was no evil thing in the pot.
2Ki 4:42 And a man came from Baal-shalisha and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and ripe ears of grain in his sack. And he said, Give to the people, and they may eat.
2Ki 4:43 And his servant said, What? Should I set this before a hundred men? And he said, Give to the people, and they shall eat. For so says Jehovah, Eat and have some left.
2Ki 4:44 And he set before them, and they ate, and left some of it, according to the Word of Jehovah.
Verses 1-7 Summary: A widow comes to Elisha asking for help. Her husband has died with debt owed. The man who lent to her husband is calling in the loan and she has nothing to pay. The lender is going to take her sons as slaves as payment. Elisha tells her to "beg" as many as many pots as possible, shut herself in her home and pour out what little oil she has into the pots. She performs this and fills all the pots, then reports this to Elisha. Elisha advises her to sell some of the oil to pay off her debt, then live off the rest.
NOTES:
The King James version terms "beg" as "borrow." Interesting since borrowing is how she ended up in this conundrum.
King James also differentiates between how much oil she had - אָסוּךְ 'âsûk aw-sook'From H5480; anointed, that is, an oil flask: - pot
Elisha's directive required: כְּלִי kelı̂y kel-ee' From H3615; something prepared, that is, any apparatus (as an implement, utensil, dress, vessel or weapon): - armour ([-bearer]), artillery, bag, carriage, + furnish, furniture, instrument, jewel, that is made of, X one from another, that which pertaineth, pot, + psaltery, sack, stuff, thing, tool, vessel
It is likely she had a flask of oil only. Elisha's orders would include just about anything that could hold this oil including larger pots. Along with "borrow not a few" we see that Elisha is fully aware of what the miracle is to produce. The final implementation of the gain is not revealed until AFTER she does what he asks.
What does this say about her faith, or faith in general? Trusting in God's word takes faith (belief). We may not always understand some of it when we practice it. God has provided us a system founded in proofs, but still will requires our trust, even though we might not understand it all.
Verses 8-37 Summary: During Elisha's travels he would pass by a house with a "great" Shunamite woman living there. She would accommodate Elisha during his travels. She convinced her husband to reserve a room for Elisha where he could stay when he passed through. Elisha asks what he can do for her. She essentially says she needs nothing. Gehazi informs Elisha that she is without a son. Elisha tells her by this time next year you will have a son. She does not believe him (her husband is old). She bears a son. The son dies. She goes to Elisha for help. Gehazi goes ahead of them to use Elisha's staff to revive the by (as directed by Elisha). It does not work. Elisha covers the boy with his body, and the boy is revived.
Notes: We can't ignore that the last two miracles are a parallel to miracles Elijah had performed. There are differences but do they reveal Elisha's "double portion of spirit?"
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Elijah |
Elisha |
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1Kings 17:9-24 The woman was a widow and destitute (due to a famine), and a non-believer. The miracle was a pitcher of flour and a jar of oil that did not run out. It lasted until rains came and more could be made available. |
2Kings 4:9-37 Elisha helps a woman (believer) who is in great distress because her husband died and left her with debt. The miracle provides her with enough oil to pay off the debt and sustain her family (she has sons). The assumption is that she made a living on the surplus (enough until her sons could make provisions, and they were spared becoming slaves. |
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The woman’s only son dies. Elijah covers him with his body three times and the son is revived. This second miracle prompts the woman to declare Elijah as a “man of God.” |
The Shunammite woman (believer)was not in distress, she was “great.” Likely she was rich. She makes decisions and implements them, though she does inform her husband. She perceives Elisha as a “holy” man of God. This woman has no children and her husband is old, beyond child-bearing age. The hospitality of the woman prompts Elisha to promise her a son. She does not believe it. When the son dies Elisha seems to think Gehazi can perform the revival, but the woman insists that Elisha come. Gehazi’s attempts fail. Elisha covers the lad and the boy is revived. |
Verses 38-41 Summary: Elisha returns to Gilgal. While there he asks Gehazi to make a soup for the sons of the prophets. One of them gathers gourds and puts it into the soup. Unknown to them they are poisonous. When they taste the soup, they realize it is poisonous. Elisha has them put in some flour and the soup is made edible.
Note: This is why I make the comment about shear numbers of miracles as the "double portion." Through chapter nine we will see either miracles or prophecies of Elisha. The narrative is quite different than from Elijah. Elijah's narrative would come and go as he was needed by God. Elisha's tenure narrates a little more linear. (no breaks)
Verses 42-44 Summary (Though Israel was extremely wicked, what does this text remind us about the condition of the nation?): A man brings a sacrifice to Elisha. Elisha tells Gehazi to distribute the food. Gehazi pushes back, like the job was too great. Elisha tells him to do it and there will be left-overs. He does it as directed.
It is unclear whether or not this sacrifice was of the remnant-seven-thousand. Remember, there was a famine, and this was a provision of sacrifice to help. Jehovah in some ways was still respected, just not as He prescribed. What is more interesting to me is Gehazi's attitude.
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