HOW CAN I HELP YOU?

2 Kings 4:1-7

Key Verse 4:2  

“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 little oil."”

We hear, “How can I help you?” many times in life. Where do you hear this the most? Usually when we are being served by a customer service rep.  These days I often hear bank tellers ask me, “How can I provide you excellent service today?” which is the same as “How can I help you?” But customer service people do not always help us. Sometimes they actually create more problems than they solve. Once, missionary Isaac Kim went to the Verizon center to transfer his phone numbers to his new cell phone. But the guy in the service center lost all of his telephone numbers. Instead of transferring them to the new phone he deleted them all. Missionary Isaac Kim got upset but there was nothing he could do.

Our God is different. He is actually able to help us. He never makes a mistake in the course of helping us. He is our Almighty God and nothing is impossible for him. Most of all he wants to help us. 

In view of this, a question arises: Why are we overwhelmed by our problems and live in despair and fatalism? Why do we say, “I don’t know what to do”. What is our real problem? How can we correct it? Today’s passage answers those questions. If we know what is our real problem and how to correct it we can live a victorious life.

How can I help you? (v.1-2a)

Look at verse 1. “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."” 

Elisha was the prophet Elijah’s successor. He was a farmer before God called him through the prophet Elijah. Elisha began to take care of the people of Israel after Elijah went up to heaven by a chariot of fire. In chapter

 3, Elisha helped the three kings to experience victory against the Moabite army. He helped them during their national crisis, but in today’s passage he helps one poor woman in a very personal way.

This woman was a widow of a prophet from the company of the prophets. The company of the prophets were there during the reign of evil king Ahab and evil queen Jezebel. They were probably in the cities of Gilgal, Bethel and Jericho. Elisha must have taken care of these prophets after Elijah’s departure. They were the hope of Israel when the Israelites were immersed in the Baal religion and must have been among the 7,000 people who did not kneel down before Baal. One day one of the prophets died at a young age, leaving his wife and two young sons. We do not know how he died but it must have been a great loss to his wife. She and her boys lost their protector and provider. In addition, this prophet was in heavy debt and his creditor threatened to take her two sons as his slaves for payment. Moses’ law allowed people to pay off their debt by the labor of even their children. The poor widow must have done everything she could do in order to avoid that situation but simply did not have enough money to pay the debt. Now she was going to lose her two sons after already losing her husband. 

So she cried out to Elisha. 2 Kings 4:1b "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."”  Her cry was the cry of a helpless and poor mother with two young sons. Her cry was the cry of a wife who supported her husband and endured poverty together with him as he revered the Lord. So why did such a terrible thing happen to her when God says he never forgets his people? (Isaiah 49:15)

Isaiah 49:15 

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” 

How did Elisha respond to her cry? He replied to her, "How can I help you?” (2Ki 4:2a)  He asked the question because she did not tell him how to help her.  She did not clearly state what she wanted Elisha to do. It appears that she was complaining rather than asking for help.  

We may ask “Why didn’t she ask Elisha’s help?” since the Bible says that he performed so many miracles. However, the Bible does not suggest that

Elisha could perform miracles whenever he wanted. According to scripture, Elisha served the Lord for 60 years, and he performed about 12 miracles in total over that time, which means he performed an average of one miracle every five years.  In addition, probably the woman did not witness his other miracles, so they must not have had much of an impact on her. 

For the woman Elisha was like our spiritual seniors or missionary Isaac Kim. That was the reason why she was just crying out. If she believed Elisha could perform such a miracle as he does in today’s passage, she could smile at him and somehow invite him for a delicious dinner and say to him, “Would you mind helping me? This is my situation.”

We have many problems in life. Financial problems like hers is one of our major concerns. We call it a ‘job’ problem, a ‘work problem,’ ‘business problem’ or ‘economy problem’. We also have other difficulties in life such as raising children. When our children are young they are cute. But as they grow old we find many challenging issues. We need God’s wisdom to help them. We may also have health issues. We may be sick and we may not be able to improve our health easily. Our school studies may be too challenging for us and we don’t understand what our instructors are trying to teach us. In addition, we have a divine obligation to teach the Bible to college students and raise them up as spiritual leaders for our nation and for the world. Our mission comes with many challenges. We try to teach our Bible students for many years but we may not see any visible fruit and we may despair. Consequently, when we get the chance to talk to our co-workers, we end up only sharing our problems as the woman does.

II. What do you have in your house? (v.2b-7)

This part shows how God helped the woman. Elisha did not wait for the woman to answer his question, “How can I help you?” because he knew she wanted help. So he asked her, “Tell me, what do you have in your house?” Then she replied, "Your servant has nothing there at all except a little oil."

    

In her house there was no dining table, no chairs, no sofa, no bed; she said she had nothing, but a little oil. The creditor took everything away except the oil because it did not have any value. Before Elisha asked her what she had, it is likely that the woman was not even aware of the little oil she had. 

Then Elisha said

2 Kings 4:3-4

“Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't 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."” 

In order to follow Elisha’s instructions she needed to believe his word as the Lord’s word. His request required her to visit her neighbors many times because she was going to have to ask all her neighbors for empty jars. She might have had to explain again and again why she needed the jars.

The next command was to go inside of a room with the door shut. God wanted her and her sons to experience him personally in a private environment. God wanted to reveal himself to them first through his miracle. Symbolically, staying in a room with the door shut is like making a personal prayer. 

The final instruction was to pour oil into all the empty jars and when each one was filled, to put it to one side of the room.

How did she respond?

2 Kings 4:5-6

“She left him and afterward 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.” 

She obeyed Elisha’s instruction. Through her faith and obedience a spiritual environment was created. Inside the room with the shut door is a beautiful picture of co-working between the woman and her two sons. As she poured oil each of her two sons would bring an empty jar in turn. When they saw the little oil flowing and that it filled the first empty jar their eyes must have popped out! They must have been speechless and dumbstruck. Or the sons might have shouted “Mom! Look at the oil. It doesn’t run out!” As time went on they may have wondered “Will the oil ever stop?  Will it fill even the next jar?” For them, each time an empty jar was filled was like a new miracle. One miracle after another continued with jar after jar.

The room with the door shut became the place of joy and wonder. It became a place of amazement and awe. It was like heaven on earth because the power of God was working amidst them; their joy and amazement was overflowing just as much as the oil was overflowing. Finally, when she told her son, “Bring me another one.” He replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing. It was like the oil stopped flowing after hearing “There is not a jar left.” God helped the two sons to learn faith in him so that they could depend on their heavenly Father for their future provision.

What did she do afterwards? 

2 Kings 4:7

    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." 

God had mercy on her by not only resolving her current emergency but by solving her future problems. 

This story illustrates for us how God helped the woman. God helped her by planting faith in his almighty power. God helped her by opening her eyes to see what she had. 

We have many problems because we focus on what we do not have rather than what we have. I see that we as a community have a lot of relationship problems with each other because we see what others do not have rather than what they have. I also complained about one person who is 52 years old. He has been complaining about me for the last 26 years and he still does to this day.  I thought he had stopped, but I was wrong. Just recently I heard him complain about me again and falsely accuse me. I in turn complained about him to someone else.  But then I repented because I only saw his flaws and weaknesses, rather than his many good points. It is true that he has many shortcomings, but he also has many great points. I just focused on what he did not have and my relationship with him was broken.

Not only in relationships but also in doing many things we pay attention to what we do not have. I still vividly remember what happened when we moved from Long Beach to Downey. About 10 years ago our church was in Long Beach. When we lived there we complained about it by saying such things as “Oh, Long Beach has a high crime rate, there are many sex offenders there or it has terrible flooding.” But strangely, when we finally decided to move to Downey the same people suddenly began to talk about how good Long Beach is. “Wow, Long Beach is so cool whereas Downey is so hot!” “Oh, Long Beach has many jobs and many Vietnamese Pho noodle restaurants nearby our church.” What shocked me the most was that these words came out of the same people who had complained about Long Beach just a few days ago! When they had to leave Long Beach on a permanent basis, they could see good things of the city. In a few days their words became the exact opposite. Indeed we focus on what we do not have. 

But Elisha asked the woman in today’s passage, “Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

Some people may say “Oh, I really do not have anything.” But that person forgets one thing he or she has. Do you know what it is? Himself or herself! 

There is a missionary called Gladys Aylward in England. Gladys Aylward, a poorly-educated 28-year old parlor maid, read about China and the need for missionaries there. From that moment, China became her life and passion.  She applied to Inland China Mission (ICM) only to be turned down because she did not know the Chinese language and ICM thought that she was too old and uneducated to learn it.  Crushed with disappointment, she returned to her small servant’s room and turned her pocketbook upside down.  Two pennies fell on top of her Bible. “O God,” she prayed, “Here’s my Bible! Here’s my money! Here’s me!” That’s all she had. She learned Chinese on her own through books.  No one taught her, she studied on her own. She went to China on her own; no one financed or supported her. She saved most of her meager maid’s earnings and went on her own. Her mission’s career was so extraordinary that the world finally took notice.  Her biography was made into a movie starring Ingrid Bergman who in turn was so moved by Aylward’s life of faith that the actress is said to have become a Christian. Aylward dined with such dignitaries as Queen Elizabeth and spoke in great churches. She even became the subject of the television program “This is Your Life.”

Surely when we give ourselves fully to the Lord what we have is not little at all. We can fill all the empty jars of our neighbors. 

The Bible reveals one more thing all Christians have. It is the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor. 6:19a

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”

We have the Holy Spirit. But many times we may feel that the Holy Spirit is like ‘little oil’ because we do not experience him much. In theory we know that he is almighty God. But in reality we do not know him in that way. So if someone asks you, “Tell me, what do you have in your house, in other words, your body?” You may answer, “I don’t have anything. Well, come to think of it the Bible says I have the Holy Spirit but he did not make much difference in my life. He is like little oil in the woman’s house.”

But the Holy Spirit is the Almighty God and he is the one who bears good fruit for us.

Let me tell you a story that demonstrates how the Holy Spirit bears fruit for a woman I know about, we’ll call her Woman A. Woman A was an evangelist, started her life as a missionary with her husband and traveled the world for Christ.  Then one day she ran terribly low in stamina, patience, and the inner resources for the job.  A senior missionary’s wife lived nearby, who we’ll call Woman B, so Woman A went to see Woman B and poured out all her frustration. She told Woman B about her husband’s many extended travels, about his long absences from home, about her worries for the children, about the difficulties of juggling the roles of missionary, wife, and mother.  She felt a certain amount of resentment as well as confusion and emptiness. 

 

The senior missionary’s wife listened kindly and patiently, and then she firmly directed Woman A’s attention to the little oil within her.  “You have all that you need within you,” said the friend, “the Holy Spirit. You have heavenly help a heartbeat away.”

 

“How does it work?” asked Woman A. “It works as you begin to apply what you have,” replied Woman B.  “Go home, shut the door, and spend time with the Lord.  Then begin to pour out whatever you have into the empty vessels of your neighbors.”

 

Well, that wasn’t exactly what Woman A expected to hear.  She was already exhausted; how could she empty herself further?  She felt she had nothing; how could she give what little she already had given away?  But she decided to try it.  She went home, shut the door, prayed, and asked God to show her where to begin pouring out.  “Give me an idea, Lord,” she prayed.  Then she got up from her knees, called in a babysitter, and took off to the town center of their town.  She had always had a very engaging way with young people so she went to one of the trouble spots where teenagers like to hang out and  started talking to kids.  She began to connect with high-risk young people. Later she said, “As I began to talk to these beautiful kids, I was able to draw on the limitless power of the Holy Spirit, and as I poured out, He poured in.  It was one of the most incredible evenings of my life.” She and her children begin to minister to troubled young people, and they saw kids come off drugs, sign up for Bible studies, and have their lives transformed. Since then her years have been just one moment after another of pouring herself out for the needs of others, and seeing God multiply the oil until the vessels are filled. 

As we see in the above story, God has already given us all we need. He has already provided us with the unlimited power to have a victorious life. But we live in despair and say, “I don’t know what to do.” What is our real problem and how can we correct it? Our real problem is that we fail to recognize the Holy Spirit. How do we correct it? By acknowledging him. To acknowledge him means to make a willful decision to depend on him. To make a decision is very important because God does not force anything against our will. But, if we give our consent to him and decide to depend on him, he will help us. Then all of his power is ours. All of his wisdom is ours. All of his love and peace is ours. All of his joy is ours. All he has is ours. Even he himself is ours. What do we need more? If God is for us who can be against us?

One word: The little oil is all you need.

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