INTRODUCTION

‘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. She said to her husband, ‘I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.’ One day, when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, ‘Call the Shunammite.’ So he called her, and she stood before him. 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.’ ‘What can be done for her?’ Elisha asked. Gehazi said, ‘She has no son, and her husband is old.’ Then Elisha said, ‘Call her.’ So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. ‘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!’ 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.’ 2 Kings 4:8-17

Elisha went to Shunem, and what I love about the woman he met is her faith. She could have easily reaped some benefits from Elijah, who was travelling around, but instead, she used it as an opportunity to glorify God and serve him.

She begged Elisha to eat a meal with her, and so, whenever Elisha was in the area, he would sit down and have a meal with her, 2 Kings 4:8. She knows that Elijah is a holy man of God, 2 Kings 4:9, and she offers him hospitality, food and a room fitted out with everything he needs but she never asks for anything in return, 2 Kings 4:10.

One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there and he asks his servant Gehazi to call the woman and he did and she came to him, 2 Kings 4:11-12. With all this kindness, Elisha wanted to do something nice for her. He wants to know if he wants him to speak to the king or the commander of the army, 2 Kings 4:13.

Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Elisha must have had considerable influence with the king, from the part he took in the late war with the Moabites. Jehoram had reason to believe that the prophet, under God, was the sole cause of his success, and therefore he could have no doubt that the king would grant him any reasonable request.’

When he finds out she didn’t have any children because her husband was old, 2 Kings 4:14, and she was probably past the age of giving birth. Remember, being without children in Bible times was seen as being out of favour with God. People would often look down on you and treat you as an outcast if you had no children.

Elisha tells her she will have a son, but she thinks that she is being misled, 2 Kings 4:15-16. 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, 2 Kings 4:17.

Don’t miss the miracle, she was a woman, probably of older age, who couldn’t have children. The miracle which happened here was seen in the fact that God gave her bodily strength to conceive and give birth to a son. This type of miracle has happened many times throughout the Scriptures.

1. The birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah, Genesis 18:1-15.

2. The birth of Samson to Manoah and his wife, Judges 13:2-25.

3. The birth of Samuel to Elkanah and his wife Hannah, 1 Samuel 1:1-28.

4. The birth of John the Baptist to Zacharias and Elizabeth, Luke l:39-57.

5. The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Virgin Mary, Luke 1:26-45.

‘The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. He said to his father, ‘My head! My head!’ His father told a servant, ‘Carry him to his mother.’ 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. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out. 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.’ ‘Why go to him today?’ he asked. ‘It’s not the New Moon or the Sabbath.’ ‘That’s all right,’ she said. She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, ‘Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.’ 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! 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. 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.’ ‘Did I ask you for a son, my lord?’ she said. ‘Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?’ 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.’ 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. 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.’ 2 Kings 4:18-31

We must take note that when the child grew, 2 Kings 4:18, it doesn’t mean he was an adult, but he was a small boy, we know because the servant easily carried him to Elisha’s private room, 2 Kings 4:23.

He was out in the fields and complained about his head, 2 Kings 4:18-19. We don’t know exactly what the ailment was; it could possibly have been sunstroke, Psalms 121:6 / Isaiah 49:10, but whatever his ailment was, it resulted in his dying, 2 Kings 4:20.

We can only imagine the devastation they are both feeling right now. Their son, their one and only son, was now gone; the grief must have been too much. She went up and laid the child on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out, 2 Kings 4:21.

Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.

‘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 from God for her could obtain his restoration to life.’

She asks her husband to send her one of the servants and a donkey so she can go to the man of God quickly and return, 2 Kings 4:22. Her husband asks why they should go today because it’s not the New Moon or the Sabbath, but she said that’s alright, 2 Kings 4:23.

Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.

‘By the Law, the first day of each month was to be kept holy. Offerings were appointed for such occasions, Numbers 28:11-15, and they were among the days on which the silver trumpets were to be blown, Numbers 10:10 / Psalms 81:3. Hence, ‘new moons’ are frequently joined with ‘sabbaths’, Isaiah 1:13 / Ezekiel 45:17 / Hosea 2:11 / 1 Chronicles 23:31.’

She saddled the donkey and told her servant not to slow down unless she said so, 2 Kings 4:24. Both parents knew that their child was dead, but we’re not told what kind of help the Shunammite woman expected from Elisha. The dead child’s mother was absolutely unwilling to admit the child’s death to anyone until she had accomplished her appeal to Elisha.

When she reached Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her from a distance, and his servant Gehazi said, ‘Look! There’s the Shunammite, 2 Kings 4:25. Gehazi runs to meet her and asks her if she’s alright, if her husband is alright, if your child is alright, and she tells him, and everything is all right, 2 Kings 4:26.

She took hold of Elisha’s feet, Matthew 18:29 / John 11:32, but Gehazi pushed her away, but Elisha told him to leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me why, 2 Kings 4:27. She tells Elisha that she didn’t ask for a son, and she told him that he shouldn’t have raised her hopes, 2 Kings 4:28.

Elisha tells Gehazi to tuck his cloak into his belt, take Elisha’s staff in his hand and run. He isn’t to greet anyone he meets, and if anyone greets him, don’t answer. He is to lay Elisha’s staff on the boy’s face, 2 Kings 4:29. The child’s mother says she will not leave Elisha and so he got up and followed her, 2 Kings 4:30.

Sadly, Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, did as Elisha told him to do, but the boy remained dead and so he goes back to inform Elisha, 2 Kings 4:31.

‘When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 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. 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. Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, ‘Call the Shunammite.’ And he did. When she came, he said, ‘Take your son.’ She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.’ 2 Kings 4:32-37

When Elisha reaches the house and finds the boy dead, he enters the room, shuts the door, and prays, 2 Kings 4:32-33 / James 5:16. He then lays upon the child in a strange manner, 2 Kings 4:34.

It’s difficult to know if he was trying to raise the boy back to life at this point or if he simply showing remorse over the death of the mother’s son. One thing is for sure: God has in mind to bring him back from the dead. He stretched himself out on him, and the boy’s body grew warm, 2 Kings 4:34.

Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Warmth may have been actually communicated from the living body to the dead one, and Elisha’s persistence, Hebrews 11:35, may have been a condition of the child’s return to life.’

Elisha turns away and walks back and forth in the room, gets on the bed, and stretches out on him once more, and it’s then the boy sneezes seven times and opens his eyes, 2 Kings 4:35.

Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.

‘That is, it sneezed abundantly. When the nervous influence began to act on the muscular system, before the circulation could be in every part restored, particular muscles, if not the whole body, would be thrown into strong contractions and shivering’s, and sternutation or sneezing would be a natural consequence; particularly as obstructions must have taken place in the head and its vessels, because of the disorder of which the child died.’

We can only imagine the joy in the boy’s mother’s heart as Elisha tells her to take her son, 2 Kings 4:36 / Luke 7:15. Notice that she ‘took her son and went out’, 2 Kings 4:37. I’m sure this was a time of celebration, where she wanted to share the wonderful news about her son with her friends and neighbours.

I’m also sure that she would have given credit and glory to God as she tells them about what Elisha had done. This, in turn, would let everyone know that Elisha was a true prophet of God and that God was working through him. There are only three resurrection stories recorded in the Old Testament.

1. This one.

2. The raising of the son of the widow of Zarephath by Elijah, 1 Kings 17:17-23.

3. The resurrection of the man who was being buried, and who, when the burial party was threatened by looters, was hastily cast into the tomb of Elisha and was restored to life by his contact with the bones of that prophet, 2 Kings 13:20-21.

In the New Testament, we have a few more resurrection stories recorded.

1. The raising of the daughter of Jairus, Matthew 9:18-26.

2. The raising of the son of the widow of Nain, Luke 7:12-18.

3. The raising of Lazarus, John 11:1-44.

4. The raising of Dorcas, Acts 9:36-41.

5. The raising of Eutychus, Acts 20:10-12.

6. The resurrection of the saints who came out of their graves after the resurrection of Christ, Matthew 27:53.

7. The resurrection of Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 15:5-8.

So, what lessons can we learn from this event?

1. Use what you have.

The Shunammite woman used what she had to be a blessing. What started out as a simple meal invitation turned into her opening up her home as a hotel, 2 Kings 4:8-10.

Yes, she was a ‘well-to-do’ woman, which basically means she was financially secure. But just like the widow who was poor and had only one small jar of oil, she did everything she could and used what she had to bless Elisha.

As God’s children, we too should practice hospitality, Romans 12:13, and use what we have to bless others. You might not be able to offer someone accommodation, but you can certainly invite them to your home for a meal.

You might not be able to offer a homeless person a meal at your home, but you can certainly go out of your way to buy them a sandwich and a drink. Jesus says even if you offer someone a cup of water in His Name, you will be blessed at a later time, Matthew 10:42. Every day you live is a gift of grace from God to be used to invest in people.

2. Be content with what you have.

The Shunammite woman was content with what she had. Notice Elisha asked her what he could do for her, 2 Kings 4:13. Elisha thought she wanted him to speak to the king or the commander of the king’s army on her behalf. It’s not every day a prophet comes to your home and asks if they can do something for you.

But she didn’t ask for anything. Why? She was content with what she had; she recognised how blessed she already was. She was blessed to be financially secure enough to offer Elisha a meal. She was blessed to have a house big enough to make a room for Elisha. She and her husband had no children, but she never asked for a child.

Even though she could have asked for a child, she didn’t, but it’s clear from her reaction to Elisha’s words that this was something her heart desired, 2 Kings 4:15-16. And like many women today, it appears that they may have been trying to have a child for years, but just accepted that this wasn’t going to happen.

How content are you with what God has blessed you with? One of the great disgraces of our day is the huge number of ungrateful Christians. We can spend our entire lives striving for more, and as a result, we miss the joy of being satisfied with what we have today.

3. Evaluate what is important.

The story of the Shunammite woman doesn’t finish here. In 2 Kings 8:1-2, we find Elisha warning the Shunammite woman to leave her home and homeland because there was going to be a seven-year-long famine.

And notice that once again, she didn’t hesitate to do what Elisha told her to do; she and her family left everything behind. We can only imagine what it is like to leave everything behind.

We see it happening before our very eyes, where people are fleeing from their homes and country because of war. We see it happening when people have to leave everything behind because of an earthquake or flooding. She had to evaluate what was more important in her life. What good is a home if you have no food to eat in it? What good is a family if you can’t feed them?

If you invest all your time in building a nice house, saving up for a new car, or protesting about the state the world is in, you’ll be in for a shock when Christ returns. Because all of that stuff is going to be incinerated when Jesus comes back. I think it would be better to invest your life in something eternal.

The Shunammite woman didn’t treasure her house and land, and we shouldn’t treasure worldly things either, Matthew 6:21. If we hold on tight to our worldly things, it could cost us our life, Luke 17:33. Use what you have to bless others with. Be content with the blessings God has already given you. Evaluate what is important in your life and invest in things which are eternal.