II Kings 4:8- And 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.
Elisha would often go to a town called Shunem. In this town was a woman that the Bible calls "great". When the Bible mentions someone as being wicked, mighty, great, etc, it is always wise to find out what made that person that way in the Lord's eyes.
This woman always invited Elisha to come eat dinner with her and her husband. She was very hospitable- that means that she would kindly take care of visitors.
II Kings 4:9-10- And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, 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 cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
This woman was intuitive. She noticed that there was something different about Elisha. She realized that he was a prophet of the Lord.
She was also very generous. She asked her husband to help her make up a place for Elisha to stay every time he came through town. She made him a small room that had everything he needed. A bed for sleeping. A table and chair for eating or studying. And a candle so that he could have light in the darkness when he needed it.
II Kings 4:11-13- And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.
Another thing about this woman was that she was humble. Elisha appreciated everything that she went through to make him feel welcome and comfortable. He asked her if she wanted him to mention her to the people in charge, but she didn't want the recognition.
II Kings 4:14-16- And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
Elisha wanted to bless this great woman for all that she had done to bless him. Elisha's servant noticed that her husband was old, and she had no children. Back then, children were considered a blessing from the Lord, and woman usually felt badly when they couldn't have any.
So, Elisha called the woman and told her that the Lord would bless her with a child. I'm sure the woman believed that Elisha was a prophet of the Lord, and she probably worshiped the Lord. But, I think she had a hard time believing what Elisha said because she had probably prayed and asked God for children before. She was afraid to get her hopes up and then not be blessed with a child.
But, the Lord was going to bless this great woman!
II Kings 4:17- And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.
The Shunamite woman had a little boy just like Elisha had told her she would.
The child grew up to be a young boy who started to go out to the field and work with his father on the crops.
II Kings 4:18-20- And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
Something happened to the boy while he was out in the field. A servant carried him back to his mother, who held him and tried to help him feel better. But, whatever was wrong with him took his life.
II Kings 4:21-23- And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
The woman took the little boy's body and laid it on the bed in the room that she had made for Elisha. Then she asked her husband to send a servant and a donkey for her to go see the Prophet.
The husband didn't know that the boy had died. He was wondering why she wanted to go see the Prophet when it wasn't a holiday. But, here is another reason that the Bible calls this woman great- she knew that everything was going to be okay.
II Kings 4:24-26- Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. So 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: Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.
The woman told the servant to go as quickly as they could. She didn't want him to stop for anything unless she asked him to.
Elisha saw the Shunamite woman coming, and her sent his servant to see why she was coming to him.
This great woman wasn't going to complain about her problems to anyone and everyone. There was only one person that could help her, and he was the one she was going to talk to.
II Kings 4:27- And 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 hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
The woman caught the Prophet by the feet. This, again, shows how humble she was. She was down on the ground. The servant didn't know what was going on, but Elisha realized that something was wrong.
II Kings 4:28-30- Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me? Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child. And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.
Elisha sent his servant with his staff. He thought that the servant could use his staff to make the child better. But, the Shunamite woman wasn't going to take any chances. It was the prophet, Elisha, that had told her about the miracle that God performed in giving her a son, and it was the prophet, Elisha, that she wanted to come heal her child.
This woman is great because she was determined to do whatever was needed to get the blessing from God that she so desperately needed and wanted.
II Kings 4:31-32- And 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. And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
Elisha's servant did what his master commanded, but the Lord didn't work a miracle through the servant. God had promised Elisha that he would get a double portion of Elijah's spirit. It had to be Elisha that worked the miracle.
II Kings 4:33-35- He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. And 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. Then 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.
Elisha prayed that the Lord would bring the child back to life. He warmed up the child's body, and then prayed and asked God again to bring the child back to life. Then, he warmed up the child's body again. This time, the boy opened his eyes and sneezed seven times.
I don't know why the boy sneezed seven times, but this must be important to the Lord because he mentions it. The number seven is important to God. There were 7 days of creation. There are 7 years in the tribulation. The Bible mentions 7 specific churches, and many other groups of things that come in sevens.
II Kings 4:36-37- And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.
The woman came to get her son. She had been granted the miracle that she sought. And, now we see another reason that she was great- She was thankful!
Elisha not only brought someone back to life, but he also performed a miracle that kept people from dying.
II Kings 4:38- And 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.
A dearth is like a small famine. There is some food, but not much. Elisha went to a place where a bunch of prophets were gathered together. These men were known as the sons of the prophets.
Elisha told his servant to prepare a meal for these men.
II Kings 4:39- And one went out 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 of the men went out and found a gourd, kind of like a squash plant, and picked some for the soup. He didn't know what type of veggie this was- and we should never eat anything growing in the wild that we don't know what it is! But, this man didn't know that.
He took the gourd and shredded it. He didn't chop it so that it would be easy to pick out of the soup. He cut it into a lot of teeny tiny pieces and then put it in the soup.
II Kings 4:40- So 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 thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.
As the sons of the prophets sat down and started eating, something happened. They noticed that they weren't feeling well. Perhaps, some of them started to have an allergic reaction to the wild gourds. They cried to Elisha that the soup was poisoned!
II Kings 4:41- But he 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.
Elisha used some course ground flour and threw it into the soup. God used it to work a miracle and it removed the poison. Everyone could eat without getting sick. It probably healed the ones who were already sick.
But, that wasn't the only miracle Elisha did for the sons of the prophets.
II Kings 4:42-44- And there came a man from Baalshalisha, 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 said, Give unto the people, that they may eat. And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.
Elisha performed a miracle that the Lord Jesus Christ also performed. Someone brought some food for the men. Elisha told his servant to pass the food out and let everyone eat.
The servant looked at what was brought, and looked at all the people, and he didn't think there would be enough.
But, Elisha knew that God could use a little to take care of many. He told the servant that there would be enough, and there would be leftovers. Do you remember a story about Jesus performing this miracle?
These are just a few examples of the double spirit of Elijah.
