2 Kings 4:1-37

The Widows Olive Oil

4 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, 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 Elisha replied to her, How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house? Your servant has nothing there at all, she said, except a small jar of olive oil.
3 Elisha

17 But

said, Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Dont ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side. 5 She left him and 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. 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.

The Shunammites Son Restored to Life

8 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. 9 She said to her husband, I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10 Lets make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us. 11 One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, Call the Shunammite. So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 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.
14 What

the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. 18 The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. 19 He said to his father, My head! My head! His father told a servant, Carry him to his mother. 20 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. 21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out. 22 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 . 23 Why go to him today? he asked. Its not the New Moon or the Sabbath. Thats all right, she said. 24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, Lead on; dont slow down for me unless I tell you. 25 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! Theres the Shunammite! 26 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. 27 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. 28 Did I ask you for a son, my lord? she said. Didnt I tell you, Dont raise my hopes? 29 Elisha said to Gehazi, Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. Dont greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boys face. 30 But the childs mother said, As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you. So he got up and followed her. 31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boys face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, The boy has not awakened. 32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34 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 boys body grew warm. 35 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. 36 Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, Call the Shunammite. And he did. When she came, he said, Take your son. 37 She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.

can be done for her? Elisha asked. Gehazi said, She has no son, and her husband is old. 15 Then Elisha said, Call her. So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 About this time next year, Elisha said, you will hold a son in your arms. No, my lord! she objected. Please, man of God, dont mislead your servant!

2 Kings 4:1-37
This study is based on a simulcast by Beth Moore, Girl A to Z: A Call Back to Faith in Redding, PA in 2012. The chart on the right gives a recap of the kings and prophets of Israel and Judah. The color coding indicates the righteous (green) to evil (red) kings. This story takes place when Elisha was a prophet in Israel. These passages contains stories of two different women. To introduce the two: One person read 2 Kings 4:1-2 Another person read 2 Kings 4:8-13

Compare the two women, noting any similarities or differences.

To recap some of the initial differences we notice from the descriptions in the passages: Widow Dirt poor Has almost nothing In a season of loss Knows she needs a miracle Shunammite Great means, wealth Has almost everything Has no idea she needs a miracle (Im fine)

In the simulcast, Beth Moore called them Girl A (the widow) and Girl Z (the Shunammite)., noting that we can all find ourselves somewhere in between.

From what you know of these two characters, where do you see yourself (desperate need of miracle to Im fine)?

God wants to work something wonderful in our lives, but it requires faith and us entering into itotherwise we are just witnessing someone elses miracle.

http://kspark.kaist.ac.kr/Old%20Testament/Jewish%20History.htm

The Widow
Read the first story all the way through (2 Kings 4:1-7)
This first woman had almost nothing. Her husband had died and the debt collectors were coming to take her sons in order to pay off the debt that was owed, which was common practice during this time period. She has already lost her husband and now she is about to lose her sons. Imagine her fear and grief. The first point Beth Moore made from this story was:

This women was in need of a miracle and God sent His prophet Elisha to her.

Look back at verse 2. What was all she had? What did Elisha tell her to do (v. 3)?
Elisha instructions were that she gathered not too few. We need to be just as bold in our prayers.

Personal desperation can jar us out of second-hand stories.

How hard is it for you to admit you are in need and ask your neighbors for help?
It is not easy to admit to others that we are in need. It takes both faith and humility to do this. Yet, it is important not to hide our need from others. God will use our very weaknesses and struggles to minister to others, as we share how He has met our need. This is one way Christ becomes visible to others.

What do you think she meant by this?

It was believed among early Jewish tradition that this womans husband was Obadiah.

Read 1 Kings 18:1-13. Who was Obadiah?

He housed the prophets in a cave at his own expense, which may have explained why he was in debt when he died. For years, she had witnessed God move powerfully in the life of her husband. However, after his death, she was in the spotlight. She would no longer be living in the shadow of someone elses story. It was her time. Beth Moore asked:

We need to embrace our need. Our need is our invitation to experience the miraculous. Look again at verse 4 and 5, do you think there is any significance to the instructions to shut the door?
Beth Moore suggested that there are some seasons in life where we need to shut ourselves in with faith. To shut ourselves out from naysayers or others who may cause us to doubt. To soak in the Word and believe God.

Can you recount Gods faithfulness to YOU? Your life should be marked by a dramatic, climactic, radical show of Gods faithfulness. Its time to reclaim YOUR firsthand story. We were never meant to onlyu watch Gods faithfulness to others; we were meant to experience Him ourselves. God wants to reveal Himself to each and every one of His own!

What do you think the significance is in the idea of pouring out and the jars being filled?
Because she obeyed Gods plan, she and her sons were miraculously delivered. There is truly NOTHING that is impossible with our God. He can take our little and make it overflow into abundant provisions. He sees our plight and He ALWAYS has a plan!

The Shunammite
Read the second story all the way through (2 Kings 4:8-37)
This lady and her husband were very wealthy and they were also generous. They added a room onto their home for Elisha, so that when he was visiting the area, he would have a place to stay.

What was her response when Elisha told her she would have a son (v. 16)? Why do you think she responded like this?
She basically told him , Dont mess with me! This was obviously a very tender area in her heart. How many years had she yearned for a child? She was in need of something her wealth couldnt buy. People in this situation tend to live like this:

What was her response when Elisha asked her what he could do for her (v. 13)?

Do the safe thing. Dont ask for anything so you will not be disappointed. Dont risk loss. Dont risk getting out there where it is tough.
Here response was in essence saying Im fine. The second point Beth Moore made in the simulcast was:

Can you relate to this? What is the result of living our lives like this?
We end up living a little life because we ask little and risk little. The woman is almost asking to just stay in her safe way of living. How long she must have hoped and prayed for a child and perhaps had finally gotten over it and was at peace with how things were. Now it is being brought up again and she is scared to even go there again. God has not called any of us to a little life. We are called to an astonishing life! Risk! Then experience a dramatic story and supernatural provision!

God didnt call us to fine. He called us to FAITH.

Fine isnt the point!

Do you wan to live in the supernatural provision of God where you experience the miraculous or do you just want to live a humanly explainable life? If you have everything you need, you need to get a bigger life! Do you agree with this?
We dont want to get to the end of our lives and be able to explain it all. Where is the glory of God in that? A stronghold for us could be to resolve ourselves to just get by until we die.

FAITHFULNESS
We want to find a way to be faithful without the faith. Then all we have left is fullness, which creates a vacuum that we try to fill with various things (doing good deeds, being good, posessions, etc.) We are to live in abundance. to be abounding in Christ.

What did it turn out was lacking in her life (v. 14)?

The third point Beth Moore made in the simulcast was:

Fear is the crippler of a walking, talking miracle.

What does the woman say to her husband (v. 23) and Gehazi (v. 26)? Why does she say this?
Depending on the translation , she is saying everything is fine, all is well

Do you see this as a true statement? How has fear crippled you? On a scale of 1 to 10, how big is the issue of fear in your life?
We all deal with fear to some extent. Beth Moore indicted that this was a huge issue for her. She wrote out 7 pages of fear nots in the Bible and read one page a day (you can get a copy from her blog). After doing this every single day, she found that faith began replacing her fear. She asks:

What does the woman say to Elisha when she gets to him (v. 28)?
It is like she is saying if you werent going to give me something to keep, why did you give me something at all? or why did you even give him to me?

What is Elishas initial response (v. 29)? Why do you think he was going to send Gehazi?

Are you still accepting the lie, This is how its always going to be? Are you still drawing breath? Change is always possible! What could God begin to do TODAY that in 3 months you could ask, Who is this you are making me?
The fourth point Beth Moore made in the simulcast was:

Perhaps he was getting older and knew Gehazi could get there faster. He had likely seen the staff he touched perform so many miracles in the past.

How does the mother respond (v. 30)?

Read 2 Kings 2 verse 2, 4 and 6. What do you think about the significance of these similar responses?
It is pretty powerful when your own words come back at you. He knew the urgency in his words to Elijah and recognized the urgency and persistence in the womans words to him.

Faith trusts that every call to forsake is a call to take.

What do you think this means? What can you add to the list?
Forsake Fear Being our own god Life of destruction ______________ Take Courage The one, true powerful God Everlasting life ________________

What happens at their first attempt to revive the boy (v. 31)? What do you think they are thinking at this point?

The fifth point Beth Moore made in the simulcast was:

What does Elisha do (v. 32-35)?

Elisha shut the door and prayed first (v. 33), then got to work. Miraculously, God raised the womans son from the dead. This is another preview of Christ, who would one day rise from the dead on our behalf. The sixth point Beth Moore made in the simulcast was:

Faith faces the fact that there is no formula.

What are your initial thoughts to this statement?

Elishas original approach failed. Something that has worked in the past, maybe many, many times, isnt working this time.

What do you do when your tried and true approach to something doesnt work.when you have seen God come through time and time again in a certain way under similar circumstances, but it doesnt seem to be working now?
We cant allow our failures to turn to faithlessness. Faithlessness results in someone who is coldhearted, unforgiving, cynical, a hater, a bully (even among believers they can be the most harsh toward one another).

Faith rests its case on the resurrection of the dead.

What are your initial thoughts to this statement?

If Jesus died and rose from the dead, is there ANYTHING THING He cannot do? Within you is the same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead? Ask Him to fill you up to overflowing and do what only He can do!

The bottom line is that we want to control GodWe want a list of things to do so we can do those things and have some control. But Jesus says NO! Get out there in the wind and the waves and find yourself some fiery faith!

Why do you think we dont see people raised from the dead in our day like we did in stories in the Bible?
Beth Moore suggests the primary difference between the old covenant and the new covenant is that the wonders of God under the established Old Covenant were primarily external and secondarily internal, where the wonders of God in the established New Covenant were primarily internal and secondarily external.

If there was a formula, we would go for the results rather than the Redeemer. Pray with expectation! We may not get exactly what we are asking for, but He WILL be faithful!
We live with mystery. He is God and we have to trust Him. If what we asked for in believing faith doesnt come down, that means something is up. He never says no to us without a good reason. His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55).

Read 2 Cor. 3.
Old Covenant Prim external, Second. Internal Law written on stone Dwelt with them Law to obey Saints see glory New Covenant Prim internal, Second external Law within our heart Wants to dwell in us Heart to obey We see surpassing glory

Today the biggest wonder God wants to perform is IN human hearts. WE become the miracle! We were all spiritually dead and raised from the dead.