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2Ki4b-2021N.docx

GOD BLESSES A SHUNAMMITE'S WOMAN

2 Kings 4:8-37

Key verse 9, 10

“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 and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.””

Introduction

Daily we should remember all that God has done for us and give thanks to Him. Elisha and the Shunammite woman in this passage had this beautiful service to one another, and they both served out of their love and reverence of the Lord God. If the Lord has paid our debts of sin, and has granted us life to the full in Jesus Christ. Then Romans 13:8 & 10 reads, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. As the Lord has served you and gave his life for you, he will also give you strength to serve.” May the Lord help us to have ample strength to serve and love others in the Lord!

Read verses 8-17. What did a well-to-do woman in Shunem do for Elisha? (8-10) What did he do for her? (11-17) What can we learn from both her sacrificial service and God’s blessing?

1-1, Read verses 8-17.

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 Let’s 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 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, don’t mislead your servant!”

17 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.

1-2, What did a well-to-do woman in Shunem do for Elisha? (8-10)

Shunem was a city in the region of Galilee, in the northern part of Israel. This woman was a well-to-do woman, meaning, she was rich. She had a heart to serve the man of God, for she must have revered the Lord. Elisha, as a prophet, travelled around Israel, and may have passed by Shunem often to and from his home base at Mt. Carmel.
Now, every time he passes through Shunem, he can expect a home-made meal thanks to this woman.
This beautiful relationship with Elisha and the Shunammite woman began when the woman took an initiative to serve him.
“Let us make a small upper room on the wall” She went extra miles for him by providing a room for him to stay while he served God’s ministry. Of course it was possible by the approval of her husband. Thank God for their hospitality for him!

1-3, What did he do for her? (11-17)

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 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, don’t mislead your servant!”17 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.

One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. He said to Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him.
“Elisha said to him” - Elisha was not speaking directly to the woman, but asked her through Gehazi. She might feel more comfortable talking to him first.
“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?’”
Elisha says again, “Now what can be done for you?” Elisha really wants to serve this woman, but she did not ask him for anything.
Elisha wanted to show thanks and appreciation for what she had done. This is the natural response to receiving a favor from somebody.
We are serving the Lord and his servant out of great thanks, not from our obligation. We serve thankfully because we want to.
Elisha even wanted to speak to the king or commander of the army on her behalf. He had some credibility with the king and his commander, for he helped them.
She replied, ‘I have a home among my own people.’ She was basically saying, no. I really don’t need anything. She served him purely.
Elisha really wanted to do something for her, so he consulted with his servant Gehazi. “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked.
Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.” This was a great suggestion! In this society in Israel, it was shameful not to have any children.
If Elisha could promise a child, this would surely be a blessing for them. Gehazi called the Shunammite, and she came and stood in the doorway.
She kept her distance from Elisha, standing at the doorway, but this time Elisha spoke directly to her. “About this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.”
“No my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!” This showed that perhaps in the past, she really wanted a child and tried enough.
But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about the same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.
Perhaps it was through Elisha’s prayer that he petitioned the King of heaven to grant this woman a child.

1-4, What can we learn from both her sacrificial service and God’s blessing?

She respected and served God, and His servants, Elisha and Gehazi. Then God richly blessed her more than she could possibly imagine.
God’s blessing was beyond the material things. She received a new son just as Abraham and Sarah received Isaac(meaning “laugh”) when they showed hospitality to three visitors.
When we serve the Lord and His servant sacrificially using our resources, God is never forgetting what we have done. At God’s time God blesses us richly.

Read verses 18-30. What happened to her son? (18-19) What can we learn from what she did in such a desperate situation? (20-25a) What did he do to help her? (25b-30)

2-1, Read verses 18-30.

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. “It’s not the New Moon or the Sabbath.”

“That’s all right,” she said.

24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t 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! There’s 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. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”

29 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.”

30 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.

2-2, What happened to her son? (18-19)

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!”

The child went out to watch his father work. Shunem was situated near cornfields, and it was harvest time, so the reapers were harvesting corn.
During harvest season, the sun was especially hot, and on this day the boy got a heatstroke, caused by the sun.
Heatstroke is a condition where the body overheats when it is too hot, and can cause severe illness, and even death. Children can die of heatstroke when their internal body temperature reaches 107 degrees

2-3, What can we learn from what she did in such a desperate situation? (20-25a)

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. “It’s not the New Moon or the Sabbath.”

“That’s all right,” she said.

24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.

She could have complained and cursed God’s name due to her pain and agony when he died. But she laid him in Elisha’s room, shut the door and went out.
She called her husband and asked for one of the servants and a donkey to go to the man of God quickly and return.
She did not tell her husband about the son’s death, because she first wanted to see what the man of God could do about it. This is actually great faith on her part.
Her husband asked, “Why go to him today? It’s not the New Moon or Sabbath.” The woman told her husband, “That’s all right.”
There was no further discussion, and no question about the son, he seemed to have trusted her, and brought her a servant and a donkey.
She saddled the donkey, and said to the servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” So she set out and came to the man at Mount Carmel. Shunem to Mount Carmel was about 15 miles.

2-4, What did he do to help her? (25b-30)

His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s 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.

28 “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”

30 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.

Elisha saw the woman in the distance and sent Gehazi to meet her. He might have wondered why she was coming.
Instead of waiting for her to arrive, he sent Gehazi running over to her to meet her. When Gehazi asked, she said “Everything is alright,” not wanting to tell anyone about the situation until after she told the man of God.
When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. She was desperate for help and pleading with Elisha this time.
Gehazi tried to push her away, but Elisha 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’?” The woman had been content without a son.
But she was blessed when she received the son, but now she feels worse for having a son, and having him taken away.
She did not ask for a son, but it was given to her, so she is distressed that he was taken away from her like this.
Elisha might not have known that the boy was really dead, and sent Gehazi first to try and heal the boy with the staff.
But the woman said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So Elisha got up and followed her back to Shunem.

Read verses 31-37. What did Elisha do as Gehazi failed to raise the son? (31-35) What might a Shunammite woman and Gehazi have learned from this event? (36-37)

3-1, Read verses 31-37.

31 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.”

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 boy’s 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.

3-2, What did Elisha do as Gehazi failed to raise the son? (31-35)

31 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.” 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 boy’s 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.

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.”
Gehazi could not revive the boy, and the staff did not work. 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. Elisha could pray without interruption. This time it was Elisha behind the closed door.
The first thing he did was pray to the Lord. Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands.
This may have been how God instructed Elisha to prepare the body to be revived with body temperature to be transferred on to the boy.
Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room. He may have been expecting the Lord to answer his prayer.
Then he got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. He’s alive!!!
This was a great accomplishment and achievement for Elisha. Like Elijah, he did copy and paste God’s great works such as dividing the Jordan river and raising him from the dead.

3-3, What might a Shunammite woman and Gehazi have learned from this event? (36-37)

Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” When she came, he said, “Take your son.”
Unlike the first time, where she stood at the doorway, she came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. This was reverence and adoration for Elisha.

Conclusion

Elisha helped her, by praying for her to receive a son. Elisha then helped her again by praying for her to receive her son again. She witnessed the power of God over life and death in front of her eyes. God came closer to her than ever before, and what she saw was the king of heaven and earth, and his amazing grace. We trust in Jesus to meet all our needs. Christ has risen, and sits at God’s right hand. Remember when Elisha asked the Shunammite, “Can we speak to the king on your behalf?” Well, Jesus can speak(intercessory prayer) to God, the King on your behalf! Praise Him!

One word: I(Jesus) am the life and the resurrection!