CHAPTER 4

(895 B.C.)

THE MIRACLE OF THE INCREASE OF THE WIDOWS OIL

¹Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the Prophets unto Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. (There is some intimation that this womans husband, one of the sons of the Prophets, was known to Elisha. Many a Christian is like this widow. There are depression, poverty, and bondage in the life, instead of joy, wealth, and liberty. The truth is: the plight of this home was not Gods Will. It is Gods Will that we be in health and prosper, even as our soul does prosper [III Jn., Vs. 2]. Satan never ceases in his efforts to deprive the Child of God of his rightful inheritance in Christ Jesus.)

²And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for you? tell me, what have you in the house? And she said, Your handmaid has not anything in the house, save a pot of oil (for the Christian, the house is our physical body [I Cor. 3:16]; the Holy Spirit, represented by the pot of oil, is supposed to fill the house; this woman had a small pot of oil, but nothing else).

³Then he said, Go, borrow you vessels abroad of all your neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few (far too many are satisfied to subsist on meager spiritual rations, when, if we could provide more empty vessels, God would fill them up borrow not a few).

⁴And when you are come in, you shall shut the door upon you and upon your sons, and shall pour out into all those vessels, and you shall set aside that which is full (the Holy Spirit, represented by the oil, is inexhaustible; as long as there are empty vessels, it will continue to pour out).

⁵So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.

⁶And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed (our problem is that we gather too few vessels).

⁷Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt, and you and your children live of the rest (the Lord always gives enough and more!).

HOSPITALITY OF THE GREAT WOMAN OF SHUNEM

⁸And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread (this woman was wealthy, yet she did not allow her riches to lift her up in pride, as happens to so many, but rather allowed it to draw her closer to God).

⁹And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passes by us continually.

¹⁰Let us make a little chamber (room), I pray you, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he shall turn in thither (she was wise; to bless the man of God, she, in effect, would bless herself, and greatly).

¹¹And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there (used the room, as they requested).

THE SHUNAMMITE WOMAN IS PROMISED A SON

¹²And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.

¹³And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, you have been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for you? would you be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among my own people.

¹⁴And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she has no child, and her husband is old (if the woman will suggest nothing herself, can Gehazi suggest anything?).

¹⁵And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.

¹⁶And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, you shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie unto your handmaid (like Sarah of old, the woman was incredulous; she could not believe the good tidings, and thought the Prophet was only raising hopes to disappoint them; but she would find out that the Lord never deceives anyone).

¹⁷And the woman conceived, and bore a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life (a miracle!).

THE DEATH OF THE SON

¹⁸And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.

¹⁹And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.

²⁰And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died (evidently died of a sunstroke).

²¹And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out (she evidently reasoned that if the Lord through Elisha could give her the child, through Elisha the child could be raised from the dead).

THE MIRACLE OF THE BOY BEING RAISED FROM THE DEAD

²²And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray you, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.

²³And he said, Wherefore will you go to him today? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well (evidently, the father didnt know the child had died; the wife not telling him shows that she believed the child would be raised from the dead).

²⁴Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not your riding for me, except I bid you (she would herself go to the Prophet).

²⁵So she went and came unto the man of God to Mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite (the Prophet evidently knew her at a distance):

²⁶Run now, I pray you, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with you? is it well with your husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well (Elisha suspected that something was wrong; only Faith could answer, It is well!).

²⁷And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD has hid it from me, and has not told me. (He knew something was wrong, but he didnt know exactly what. Gehazi, who represents religion, thrust her away, as religion must! But Elisha, who represents Grace, says, Let her alone. Oh, that somehow we would turn from Gehazi to Elisha!)

²⁸Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me? (In other words, her son was given to her by the Lord, and she did not expect the Lord to take him away.)

²⁹Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go your way: if you meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute you, answer him not again (the object of all these injunctions is haste): and lay my staff upon the face of the child.

³⁰And the mother of the child said, As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. And he arose, and followed her (she would not be satisfied with whatever the servant was to do; she wanted Elisha to go to where the child was; and so he did!).

³¹And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked. (What purpose Elisha had in mind regarding the staff upon the child, we arent told. Perhaps we could say that it represented ceremony, which means that a dead staff laid upon a dead face cannot give life. Religious ceremonies, however scriptural, are paralyzed in the presence of death. Religion has never set anyone free; ceremonies have never set anyone free. It is only the Power of Jesus Christ, made available to us through the Cross, and given by the Holy Spirit, that can bring life [Jn. 7:37-39].)

³²And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.

³³He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain (that he may not be disturbed), and prayed unto the LORD.

³⁴And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm (evidently, the Lord told him to do this).

³⁵Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes (perhaps Elisha conducting himself as he did toward the dead child was meant to symbolize the fact that Jesus could not save mankind by passing a decree; He saved man by becoming one with man [Isa. 7:14]).

³⁶And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up your son (one can only imagine the joy that filled this womans heart at this time).

³⁷Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.

THE POISONOUS POTTAGE

³⁸And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets (Elisha offers Gods provision, for surely the Gospel occupies a great container).

³⁹And one went into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not. (One man was not satisfied with that which the Lord had provided, so he went out in the field to gather herbs, and the herbs were from a wild vine. These herbs of the wild vine represent all false doctrine. Men are ever trying to add to the Word of the God; it will only bring death.)

⁴⁰So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O you man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. (The herbs were poison all false doctrine brings death. Sadly, much, if not most, doctrine in the Church presently is unscriptural. In fact, if every doctrine is not built exclusively upon the Cross of Christ, then, in some way, it is spurious [I Pet. 1:18-20].)

⁴¹But he (Elisha) said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot. (The meal is a Type of the Word of God, which was, and is, the only answer for the death in the pot. When will we quit trying to take away or add to the Word of God? Every time, it brings death.)

A HUNDRED MEN FED MIRACULOUSLY

⁴²And there came a man from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he (Elisha) said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.

⁴³And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus says the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.

⁴⁴So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the Word of the LORD. (The same power that multiplied this food multiplied the loaves and fish regarding Christ. Men judge our Lord the same as the Prophets servant judged the barley cakes. They do not believe that He can satisfy the hunger of their hearts; however, all that the world offers can never satisfy mans hunger. Jesus Alone can satisfy and give even more. So, there was plenty, and there was even some left.)