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Verse- by-Verse Bible Commentary
New American Standard Bible
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary
Miracles of care for the remnant (4:1-44)
The widow of one of the prophets was in desperate trouble. She had hardly any food left and was about to lose her only means of income; for her sons were to be taken from her in payment for a debt. Elisha’s miraculous provision of oil enabled her to pay the debt and so preserve a few of God’s faithful in days of extreme hardship (4:1-7).
Another of Israel’s faithful was the wife of a wealthy landowner. She recognized Elisha as God’s representative and offered him hospitality as often as he needed it. As with the poor widow of the previous story, Elisha provided for the woman’s future, in this case by promising her a son (8-17). Some years later the son died. The woman, still strong in faith, reasoned that seeing the prophet had promised her the son in the first place (even though she had not asked for a son), he had the responsibility to correct what had gone wrong. He was God’s representative and she would speak with no other (18-31). She insisted that Elisha himself go to her house, and again she would accept no other. Her faith was rewarded when Elisha brought her son back to life (32-37).
Elisha moved around the schools of the young prophets to instruct and encourage the faithful. At one school, during a time of famine, food was so scarce that the men had to eat wild plants. In these circumstances they suffered a serious loss when one of their meals was ruined because somebody had mistakenly cooked a poisonous plant. God lovingly provided for them through Elisha (38-41).
On another occasion God’s care for the faithful was shown when a farmer brought an offering of food that was miraculously multiplied to feed Elisha and a hundred of his followers (42-44).
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Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Fleming, Donald C. "Commentary on 2 Kings 4:11". "Fleming's Bridgeway Bible Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bbc/2-kings-4.html. 2005.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
II. THE BIRTH OF A SON TO THE SHUNAMMITE WOMAN
"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 off as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she spake unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, that passeth by us continually. Let us make, I pray thee, a little chamber on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a seat, and a candlestick: and it shall be, that when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. 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. And he said, What then is to be done And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no son, and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, At this season, when the time cometh round, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thy handmaid. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season, when the time came round, as Elisha had said unto her."
Many have praised this narrative as a graphic picture of social life in that period of history. The details are exciting. Note the simple furniture in the room provided by this generous woman and her husband for Elisha and his servant Gehazi (evidently his constant attendant). Do not overlook the care with which all of the characters here avoided placing the Shunammite woman alone with her guest in his room. It is obvious that the woman was wealthy, her house was made of stone or brick; and Elisha's chamber was built on the wall. It should be noted that this very generous couple were not solicited by Elisha for such help as they gave, but that they sought out the opportunity to do such a thing and "constrained" Elisha to accept it.
Elisha passed to Shunem (2 Kings 4:8). "This place was north of Jezreel, about 20 miles from Carmel where Elisha lived;"
"And he said unto him" This shows that the conversation between Elisha and the woman was carried on through the servant Gehazi.
"Wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host" What an amazing offer by Elisha! From this, we learn that he was a frequent visitor in the king's court and that he had free access to the king's attention at all times, the king here being, not Joram, but Jehoshaphat the king of Judah. The contented happiness of this wonderful couple appears in her polite decline of such favors.
"And she answered, I dwell among mine own people" "The eminent place of this great lady in her society is finely presented by this reply."
"And when he called her, she stood in the door" Montgomery translated this last clause, as "She came in. The intermediate agency of Gehazi, standing outside, was good manners, for a lady might not easily speak to a man in his chamber."
"Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no son" In this chapter we have the first appearance in the Bible of this character who eventually was afflicted with the leprosy of Naaman. Some suppose that the woman had confided this implied request to Elisha's servant Gehazi, but the woman herself denied that in her rebuke of Elisha (2 Kings 4:28).
"At this season, when the time cometh round, thou shalt embrace a son" This, of course, is Elisha's prophecy of the birth of a son to the Shunammite and her husband. Calkins preferred the KJV rendition here, "About this season, according to the time of life," and gave the meaning as, "At this season of the year, according to the period of gestation."
"And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season, when the time came round, as Elisha had said unto her" This type of miracle was performed a number of times in God's long history of dealing with his people. "The Bible records a number of these wonder birth narratives in which aged and childless persons became parents."
These are: (1) the birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 18:1-15); (2) the birth of Samson to Manoah and his wife (Judges 13:2 ff); (3) the birth of Samuel to Elkanah and his wife Hannah; (4) the birth of John the Baptist to Zacharias and Elizabeth (Luke l:39ff); and (5) the Most Wonderful Birth of all, that of the Lord Jesus Christ to The Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26 ff).
The great spiritual lesson of this miracle is the proof it brings of God's merciful and provident oversight and love of his people who truly love and serve the Lord. No one who ever did God a favor by honoring and supporting his servants was ever left unrewarded or unblessed. No man ever gave God anything that he did not receive it again, doubled and redoubled. This was particularly evident also in the ministry of Christ. The lad who brought the loaves and the fishes to Jesus was the legitimate owner of the twelve baskets full of fragments that remained after the feast. What a great blessing was the birth of a son and heir to this childless couple of Shunem! Does God still do things like this? Assuredly, YES! "Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). See the teachings of Paul on this question (1 Corinthians 9:8-12).
Coffman's Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on 2 Kings 4:11". "Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/2-kings-4.html. Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
Smith's Bible Commentary
Chapter 4
Now there was a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets who came to Elisha, saying, My husband is dead; and his creditors is come to take my two boys as slaves to pay for his debt. And Elisha said, What shall I do for you? what do you have in your house? She said, All I have is a pitcher of oil ( 2 Kings 4:1-2 ).
He said, "Alright, send your sons out and let them borrow every kind of a bucket and container they can find from the neighbor. Get all of the pitchers, everything they can. Not a few. Just get as many as they can. And then when you come into the house, close the door and take the pitcher of oil you have and fill all of the vessels."
So she went from him, and borrowed all the vessels; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when all the vessels were full, that she said, Isn't there any more vessels? They said, Not any more ( 2 Kings 4:5-6 ).
And so the oil sort of multiplied to fill all the vessels. She came to Elisha and said, "What shall I do now?" And he said, "Sell it and pay your debts and live off the rest."
Now it came to pass on a certain day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, and there was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, as often as he passed by there, that he stopped to eat bread at her house. And she said to her husband, I perceive that this man is a prophet. Let's build him a little chamber here so that whenever he comes by, he has a place to lie down and rest and we'll always have provision for him. So they made a little chamber for him there on the wall; and they put a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick. And so it came to pass one day as he came to the chamber and turned in there, he said to Gehazi his servant, Go call the woman to me ( 2 Kings 4:8-12 ).
And so she came and he said, "You know, you've been gracious to me. What do you want me to do for you? Shall I speak to the king for you? You've taken great care of me and all. I like to return a favor." And she said, "I dwell among my own people. I don't have any ambitions to meet the king or the captain of the host. I mean, I'm very content right here." So Gehazi said, "Look, she doesn't have any children, her husband's an old man."
And so he said, Call her. And when she stood there in the door. He said, [You're going to get pregnant,] you're going to have a son about this season. Next year about this time you're going to be holding a little boy. And she said, [Oh,] don't lie to me now ( 2 Kings 4:16 ).
Don't build up my hopes. But yet within a year she was holding her own son.
Now it came to pass as the child grew up that he was out in the field with his dad. And he began to cry, Daddy, my head aches. My head aches. And so the dad ordered the servants to carry him back to his mother and she held him until he died. And so she laid him on Elisha's bed. She shut the door and she called her husband, and she said, Send me, I pray you, one of the young men, and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God, and return home. And he said, Why do you want to go to him? It's not the new moon or the Sabbath day. And she said, It's going to be well ( 2 Kings 4:18-23 ).
Now it's sort of a, "Why do you want to go to church today, it's not Sunday kind of a thing, you know."
And so she saddled the donkey, and she said to the servant, Drive, and go forward; and don't slack thy riding for me, unless I tell you. So when they came to the man of God in mount Carmel. It came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, here comes that Shunammite woman: Run now, I pray, and meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with you? is it well with your husband? is it well with your child? And she answered, It is well. And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: and Gehazi started to push her away. But Elisha said, No, let her alone; her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me ( 2 Kings 4:24-27 ).
Now this is lest the people get hold of the story of Elisha today and his capacities of being able to know things, people's thoughts and so forth. Lest they attribute that to some kind of mental capacities, mind reading or whatever. God inserted this into the stories so that you would know that his was a gift of God and God could withhold that gift. And if God withheld the gift, he didn't know anything just like the rest of us. He only knew as God would reveal. And he was a little surprised that God had hid from him what was wrong with the Shunammite woman. Now, I'm surprised whenever God reveals something to me. But he was surprised that something wasn't revealed. The fact that here she's got real problem and the Lord hasn't revealed to me what it is.
And so she said, Did I ask you for a child? ( 2 Kings 4:28 )
Now you know my heart was bound up in this child.
And he said to Gehazi, Quick, put on your coat and take my staff in your hand, and run: and lay it on the head of the child. [Don't stop and talk to any men on the way, just run.] And the mother of the child said, As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I'm not going to leave you. So he arose, and followed her ( 2 Kings 4:29-30 ).
I see here a mother's love demonstrated. I see here the determination and the power of a mother's love. I mean, she's not going to accept any substitutes. "Don't send a servant. You think you're going to get by with that? I'm not leaving you. I came for you." And her determination that Elijah, or Elisha rather, go with her. And she's not about to just accept Gehazi running with his staff to put it upon her son's head.
And so Gehazi ran on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. And so he came back to meet them, and he told Elisha, The child did not wake up. When Elisha was come to the house, behold, the child was dead, and laying there on Elisha's bed. And he went in, and he shut the door upon the two of them, and he prayed unto the LORD. And he laid upon the child, put his mouth upon his mouth, eyes upon his eyes, his hands upon his hands: stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child began to warm. Then he returned, and walked around in the house; and then he went back and stretched himself on the child again: and the child sneezed seven times, and opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi, and said, Call the Shunammite. And they called her. And when she was come in, he said, Take up your son. And she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out. So Elisha then came down again to Gilgal [coming south and west]: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said, Set up a big boiling pot on the fire there and boil up some pottage for the sons of the prophets. And so these guys went out and gathered the wild herbs, [wild vegetables, and all the greens in the field, and some guy got hold of some wild gourds, not knowing any better]. And he shred them into this great bowl of pottage that they were cooking up for the prophets. So when they started to dish it out and these guys started eating, oh, it was horrible and they began to cry, There's death in the pot. And so Elisha said, Bring me some meal. And he poured the meal in, stirred it, cooked it, and then they poured it out again and the noxious pottage was palatable. Then there came a man from Baalshalisha, and he brought Elisha some bread and some ears of corn. [And there were a hundred prophets there.] And Elisha said, Ah, we're going to have a feast. They said, You can't feed a hundred men with that little bit of bread and corn. And he said, Give to the people that they may eat: for thus saith the Lord, They shall all eat, and they will have some leftover. So he set it before them, and they did eat, according to the word of the Lord ( 2 Kings 4:31-44 ).
And we are reminded of the miracles in the New Testament of Christ feeding the five thousand men, besides women and children with the five loaves and two fish. That same kind of a miracle, the same type happened here where the hundred men all ate and there was food left over from the bread and the ears of corn that this man has brought. "
Copyright © 2014, Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, Ca.
Smith, Charles Ward. "Commentary on 2 Kings 4:11". "Smith's Bible Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/csc/2-kings-4.html. 2014.
Dr. Constable's Expository Notes
God’s blessing of those who honor Him 4:8-37
In contrast to the incident above, this one shows God’s blessing on a wealthy woman. She was not the marriage partner of a prophet but a simple faithful believer in Yahweh (cf. 2 Kings 4:8-10; 2 Kings 4:16; 2 Kings 4:21-22; 2 Kings 4:24-25; 2 Kings 4:27; 2 Kings 4:30; 2 Kings 4:37). She was living among unbelievers in Israel (cf. Rahab, Ruth, et al.). Her husband appears to have been only a formal participant in Yahweh worship rather than thoroughly dedicated to Him (2 Kings 4:19; 2 Kings 4:23). His words may imply that he expected Elisha to be available only on holy days, but he showed genuine concern for his son’s health. [Note: Patterson and Austel, p. 186.]
The story illustrates the great blessing (fertility) that God will bring on those who award Him the place He deserves (cf. Hannah). He went as far as giving this infertile woman (2 Kings 4:14) a son and then restoring him to life when he died. Her respect for Yahweh is clear from her respect for His prophet (2 Kings 4:9-10; 2 Kings 4:13; 2 Kings 4:30; 2 Kings 4:37).
Shunem stood in the Jezreel Valley. Gehazi (2 Kings 4:12) had become Elisha’s servant as Elisha had been Elijah’s. As such he was the potential successor to his ministry. "I live among my own people" (2 Kings 4:13) translates an idiom that meant, "I am content." At first the woman found it hard to believe that God would reward her with a child (2 Kings 4:16; cf. Sarah).
Evidently the woman concluded that it was better if her husband did not know about their son’s death for some reason that the writer did not state (2 Kings 4:22-23). Though she had respect for Gehazi (2 Kings 4:26), she had much more confidence in Elisha’s ability to help her.
"Disciples can be an obstacle to the needy reaching the master (Matthew 19:13-14)." [Note: Wiseman, p. 204.]
Grasping his feet (2 Kings 4:27) showed her desperate dependence on his power, her humility, and her veneration for Elisha (cf. Matthew 28:9). Perhaps Elisha told Gehazi to go and heal the lad to test the woman’s faith (2 Kings 4:29). The staff was a symbol of his power. However, she said in the strongest terms that her confidence was in Yahweh and in Elisha (2 Kings 4:30). The phrase "As the Lord lives" occurs seven times in 1 Kings and seven times in 2 Kings. It is always the testimony of true faith in Yahweh. Elisha probably intended that Gehazi’s failure would teach him this lesson: God works in response to fervent, dependent prayer, not in response to some fetish or some formal act (2 Kings 4:31; cf. Matthew 7:14-21).
Only God’s power made active by petition could restore the boy’s life (2 Kings 4:33). Elisha’s physical contact with him connected the power of God through the prophet and the miracle unmistakably (2 Kings 4:34; cf. 1 Kings 17:21-23). Seven sneezes, not more or less, would have signified an act of God to ancient Near Easterners (cf. Genesis 1; 2 Kings 5:14).
"In our pericope Elisha acts as a sort of intermediary for childbirth, analogous to Baal’s role in the Ugaritic tablets. YHWH, not Baal, not Elisha for that matter, grants the Shunammite a child. The child dies, bringing to mind the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 17. Prayer raises the child to life, illustrating not only that YHWH gives children, but that he can take them to himself or restore them to life." [Note: Battenfield, p. 28.]
If God could create new life and then revive it, as He did here, He could also give Israel life (at the Exodus) and revive it (in Elisha’s day). This story, as many others in Kings, is another powerful polemic against Baal and for Yahweh.
"This scene also shows that prophets not only are preachers of sin and repentance; they also are agents of God’s healing mercy and kind compassion." [Note: House, p. 268.]
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentary on 2 Kings 4:11". "Dr. Constable's Expository Notes". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/2-kings-4.html. 2012.
Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
And it fell on a day that he came thither,.... As he had been wont to do:
and he turned into the chamber; built for him, and to which he was directed:
and lay there; all night, and which no doubt was frequently repeated by him, he accepting of the kindness of his host.
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernised and adapted for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rights Reserved, Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Gill, John. "Commentary on 2 Kings 4:11". "Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/2-kings-4.html. 1999.
Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible
| The Shunammite's Hospitality. | B. C. 893. |
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. 9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. 10 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. 11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. 12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. 13 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. 14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old. 15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. 16 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. 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 giving of a son to such as were old, and had been long childless, was an ancient instance of the divine power and favour, in the case of Abraham, and Isaac, and Manoah, and Elkanah; we find it here among the wonders wrought by Elisha. This was wrought in recompence for the kind entertainment which a good woman gave him, as the promise of a son was given to Abraham when he entertained angels. Observe here,
I. The kindness of the Shunammite woman to Elisha. Things are bad enough in Israel, yet not so bad but that God's prophet finds friends, wherever he goes. Shunem was a city in the tribe of Issachar, that lay in the road between Samaria and Carmel, a road that Elisha often travelled, as we find 2 Kings 2:25; 2 Kings 2:25. There lived a great woman, who kept a good house, and was very hospitable, her husband having a good estate, and his heart safely trusting in her, and in her discreet management, Proverbs 31:11. So famous a man as Elisha could not pass and repass unobserved. Probably he had been accustomed to take some private obscure lodgings in the town; but this pious matron, having notice once of his being there, pressed him with great importunity, and, with much difficulty, constrained him to dine with her, 2 Kings 4:8; 2 Kings 4:8. He was modest and loth to be troublesome, humble and affected not to associate with those of the first rank; so that it was not without some difficulty that he was first drawn into an acquaintance there; but afterwards, whenever he went that way in his circuit, he constantly called there. So well pleased was she with her guest, and so desirous of his company, that she would not only bid him welcome to her table, but provide a lodging-room for him in her house, that he might make the longer stay, not doubting but her house would be blessed for his sake, and all under her roof edified by his pious instructions and example--a good design, yet she would not do it without acquainting her husband, would neither lay out his money nor invite strangers to his house without his consent asked and obtained, 2 Kings 4:9; 2 Kings 4:10. She suggests to him, 1. That the stranger she would invite was a holy man of God, who therefore would do good to their family, and God would recompense the kindness done to him; perhaps she had heard how well paid the widow of Sarepta was for entertaining Elijah. 2. That the kindness she intended him would be no great charge to them; she would build him only a little chamber. Perhaps she had no spare room in the house, or none private and retired enough for him, who spent much of his time in contemplation, and cared not for being disturbed with the noise of the family. The furniture shall be very plain; no costly hangings, no stands, no couches, no looking-glasses, but a bed, and a table, a stool, and a candlestick, all that was needful for his convenience, not only for his repose, but for his study, his reading and writing. Elisha seemed highly pleased with these accommodations, for he turned in and lay there (2 Kings 4:11; 2 Kings 4:11), and, as it should seem, his man in the same chamber, for he was far from taking state.
II. Elisha's gratitude for this kindness. Being exceedingly pleased with the quietness of his apartment, and the friendliness of his entertainment, he began to consider with himself what recompence he should make her. Those that receive courtesies should study to return them; it ill becomes men of God to be ungrateful, or to sponge upon those that are generous. 1. He offered to use his interest for her in the king's court (2 Kings 4:13; 2 Kings 4:13): Thou hast been careful for us with all this care (thus did he magnify the kindness he received, as those that are humble are accustomed to do, though in the purse of one so rich, and in the breast of one so free, it was as nothing); now what shall be done for thee? As the liberal devise liberal things, so the grateful devise grateful things. "Wouldst thou be spoken for to the king, or the captain of the host, for an office for thy husband, civil or military? Hast thou any complaint to make, any petition to present, any suit at law depending, that needs the countenance of the high powers? Wherein can I serve thee?" It seems Elisha had got such an interest by his late services that, though he chose not to prefer himself by it, yet he was capable of preferring his friends. A good man can take as much pleasure in serving others as in raising himself. But she needs not any good offices of this kind to be done for her: I dwell (says she) among my own people, that is, "We are well off as we are, and do not aim at preferment." It is a happiness to dwell among our own people, that love and respect us, and to whom we are in a capacity of doing good; and a greater happiness to be content to do so, to be easy, and to know when we are well off. Why should those that live comfortably among their own people covet to live delicately in kings' palaces? It would be well with many if they did but know when they were well off. Some years after this we find this Shunammite had occasion to be spoken for to the king, though now she needed it not, 2 Kings 8:3; 2 Kings 8:4. Those that dwell among their own people must not think their mountain stands so strong as that it cannot be moved; they may be driven, as this good woman was, to sojourn among strangers. Our continuing city is above. 2. He did use his interest for her in the court of heaven, which was far better. Elisha consulted with his servant what kindness he should do for her, to such a freedom did this great prophet admit even his servant. Gehazi reminded him that she was childless, had a great estate, but no son to leave it to, and was past hopes of having any, her husband being old. If Elisha could obtain this favour from God for her, it would be the removal of that which at present was her only grievance. Those are the most welcome kindnesses which are most suited to our necessities. He sent for her immediately. She very humbly and respectfully stood in the door (2 Kings 4:15; 2 Kings 4:15), according to her accustomed modesty, and then he assured her that within a year she should bring forth a son, 2 Kings 4:16; 2 Kings 4:16. She had received this prophet in the name of a prophet, and now she had not a courtier's reward, in being spoken for to the king, but a prophet's reward, a signal mercy given by prophets and in answer to prayer: the promise was a surprise to her, and she begged that she might not be flattered by it: "Nay, my lord, thou are a man of God, and therefore I hope speakest seriously, and doth not jest with me, nor lie unto thy handmaid." The event, within the time limited, confirmed the truth of the promise: She bore a son at the season that Elisha spoke of, 2 Kings 4:17; 2 Kings 4:17. God built up her house, in reward to her kindness in building the prophet a chamber. We may well imagine what joy this brought to the family. Sing, O barren! thou that didst not bear.
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that is available on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library Website.
Henry, Matthew. "Complete Commentary on 2 Kings 4:11". "Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mhm/2-kings-4.html. 1706.
Kelly Commentary on Books of the Bible
However, the next chapter (2 Kings 3:1-27) brings us at once into earthly circumstances. "Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah." There was no doubt a painful state of things most offensive to God. Not that the king of Judah was not pious, but that his testimony was ruined by his alliance with the kingdom of Israel. Accordingly, then, we find there is great weakness here, though God deals in nothing but tender mercy and goodness. The king of Moab provokes a rebellion against the king of Israel, and Jehoram goes to put it down. He calls upon Jehoshaphat to fulfil his treaty obligations, and, with the king of Edom, goes against the refractory king of Moab. But they come into difficulties. They are in danger of being themselves overthrown.
"Alas!" said the king of Moab, after they had been for some time without water and food for the cattle "alas! that Jehovah hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab." Jehoshaphat knew better. "Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah," says he, "that we may enquire of Jehovah by him?" And one of them tells him of Elisha. Jehoshaphat at once recognized him. He knows that the word of Jehovah is with him. So they go down to him; and Elisha says to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with thee? Get thee to the prophets of thy father and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay; for Jehovah hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab." False confidence soon yields to real despair, but faith can be calm and wait upon God. "And Elisha said, As Jehovah liveth before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee."
There is no doubt in this a rebuke, and a stern one, but we shall find that the action of the prophet is full of grace. "But now bring me a minstrel." He felt, as it were, that he was out of tune with his proper ministry. The presence of the wicked king had disturbed the heavenly tone of his soul. "Bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of Jehovah came upon him. And he said, Thus saith Jehovah, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith Jehovah, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye and your cattle and your beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of Jehovah; he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand." Thus an answer of mercy comes instead of judgment. "And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that behold there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water." This very thing misleads the Moabites, for they fancy it is blood. "And they rose up early in the morning and the sun shone upon the waters, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood" for God was pleased that so it should appear. "And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another; now therefore Moab to the spoil." They were caught in their own trap. "But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rode up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them; but they went forward smiting the Moabites even in their country. And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about and smote it. And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom; but they could not." The defeat not only was immediate but hopeless, so much so that the king was guilty of an act that filled the people of Edom with indignation against Israel. "For he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel, and they departed from him." This then was another signal manifestation of the mercy that God had caused to shine through Elisha.
But we find further in the next chapter (2 Kings 4:1-44), and in a very beautiful way not in these outward events that the world calls great, but in that which in my judgment is a still more blessed pledge, a witness of the real greatness of God. The greatness of God is far more shown in His care for souls, for individuals and in his ability to think of the least want and of the least necessity of His people. "Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear Jehovah; and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons as bondmen." Elisha asked her what she wished him to do, and what she had in the house. "And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil." Now it is according to what we can receive that God loves to bless us. "Go, borrow thee," says he, "vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And 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." It is only so that the blessing stays. There never can be a stay to the blessing as long as there is a heart ready to receive it. What a remarkable illustration! "Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt."
But this is not all. There is no doubt the rich supply of that which is the well-known type too, of what is essential of the Spirit. But further, "It fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman" that is, a person of consequence "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" for Elisha was not as Elijah. Elijah was more after the pattern of John the Baptist who repelled the advances of men; who rebuked, if he came across those who were in exalted station but living to dishonour God. Elisha, on the contrary, was a witness of grace, and he therefore does not turn away from the habitations of men into the desert, but could, as we see, pass in to eat bread with this Shunammite. "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."
So on one day that he was there, he bethought him of a return of love for the love that was shown to him. And he called the Shunammite, and when she stood before him, he said unto her, "Behold thou hast been careful for us with all this care what is to be done for thee? Wouldst thou be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the host?" We can hardly conceive such an enquiry from Elijah; it was perfectly in keeping with Elisha; and I am anxious to bring out strongly the contrast between this twofold ministry. "And she answered, I dwell among mine own people"; she was right, she was content; and godliness with contentment is great gain. "He said to Gehazi, 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" but so it was according to the word of the prophet.
Yet in this world, even the mercies and the gifts of God are not without deep trial, and so it was that the Shunammite's son for the more that he was loved and valued as the gift of God, most especially by his mother, sorrow was her portion was taken sick, comes home to his mother and dies. "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." The husband little knowing what was the matter, wonders, but the point is yielded, and she sets out and comes in full haste to mount Carmel. And the man of God seeing her afar off, remarks upon it to his servant Gehazi. And when she came to him she caught him by the feet, so that the servant wished to repel her. But the prophet knew right well that there was some worthy cause for an action so peculiar. "Her soul is vexed within her," said he most surely, "and Jehovah hath hid it from me" even the one that was the witness of grace none the less. "Then she said, Did I desire a son, O my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?"
He understands. He says to Gehazi, "Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand and go thy way." He was to go peremptorily, heeding no one, saluting no one. He had his mission to lay the prophet's staff upon the face of the child. This would not satisfy the faith of the mother. The staff would not do. The prophet, and nothing else than the prophet, must go. She said, "As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose and followed her."
So here again was another test of faith, and she was right. "And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the, child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Yes, she was right. "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. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto Jehovah. 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."
All the world might have done it in vain. God was pleased so to draw out the mind and heart of the prophet. It was not merely to be a cold request or even an earnest one. It showed in the most vivid manner that God had an interest in the prophet and answers faith. "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. 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."
Here then was not merely the gracious reply of what was good, but the power that was superior to evil, in its form most terrible to man upon the earth, superior to death. And this too in perfect grace. It was not that the Shunammite had asked him for the blessing, for it was he who had sought to give the blessing. But at the same time God wrought in her heart to expect another, and she was not disappointed.
Yet it was not merely in this way; for now we find a dearth in the land. And the sons of the prophets were there. "And as they were seething pottage, one of them put in some wild gourds, which were poisonous. 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. 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." It is the same character of gracious power.
Further, another thing it was unselfishly gracious; for when the prophet was presented with twenty loaves of barley and full ears of corn in the husks thereof, he says again, "Give unto the people that they may eat." We remember the remarkable difference in the case of Elijah, who tested the faith of the poor widow by asking first for himself. Not but what he knew the power that would meet her need, but still he tested her after so severe a sort. But in this case, thoroughly characteristic of Elisha's ministry, what is sent to him, he gives to others. And his servant, astonished, asked him, "What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people that they may eat, for thus saith Jehovah, 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 Jehovah." There is no stinting with God. But it is not merely in the midst of the distressed, and the mourning, and the needy, and the dying, or dead, of God's people. The grace of God, when once it begins to flow, breaks over all boundaries.
And this is what we learn in the chapter that now follows (2 Kings 5:1-27) and that we have authority from God to interpret it so, can be easily shown. Our Lord Himself shows that the very essence of the teaching of this chapter is the grace that went out sovereignly to visit the Gentiles. There were many lepers in Israel, but it was not there that grace worked. If grace works it will prove its own character, it will prove its own sovereignty, it will prove its own wisdom. God was looking for the neediest where He could be least expected where there was evidently no claim upon Him. Naaman the Syrian, commander in chief of the most powerful Gentile army opposed to Israel, was the one that God was pleased to visit with His mercy and in a manner altogether peculiar, and most encouraging. A little maid of Israel, a little captive maid, becomes the instrument of making it known. But the king of Israel's own powerlessness comes out, for he knew right well that it was not in man to cure leprosy; it was one of the things that God kept in His own power. However, here was exactly the opportunity of the prophet.
I have already referred to the fact, and it is even more remarkable in Elisha's case than in Elijah's, that it is more in deed than in word that we find these two prophets manifesting God. Acts may be as prophetic as words, and their acts were so. We are entitled therefore to give them the fullest meaning they can bear a meaning, of course, guided by scripture elsewhere; for we must bear in mind that symbolic language is just as precise as the ordinary language of every day, and I should say rather more so. It is not everyone that can understand it so easily, but when the heart gets accustomed to the language of the book of God, it is not found so very difficult. There must, of course, be the hearing ear and the attentive heart; but I say again that the symbols of scripture are as fixed in their meaning as the plain language of it.
Now, in this case, we have the Gentile coming to the prophet, and he comes as Gentiles will do, very full of their own thoughts and their own expectations. But the heart must prove its own utter ignorance and folly; it is only so that the full blessing may come. However, to Jordan he must go. His own rivers would not suit just because they were his own. The river of God that is the river for the leper. And there he goes down into the waters of death, for such is the meaning of Jordan not merely for the Jew to enter in, but for the Gentile by grace to receive the full blessing of God. And this, too, when Israel had utterly departed from the living God, and was under a cloud. This chapter puts it very strongly, for I have no doubt that guilty, covetous and unbelieving, is as rightly descriptive of the state of Israel now as then.
Naaman was of the Gentile race; but, alas! the Jew is accursed with the leprosy from which the Gentile is delivered. And such was the state, not merely without a blessing, but under a judicial curse from God. The Gentile then is delivered, and we see the beautiful picture of a man not only set free, but with conscience active because he was set free. I do not say that he was all right; it is in vain to expect that all at once, but he was on the right road. And beautiful it is, beloved friends, to learn the lesson I think we all need it sometimes not to hurry souls, and not to be anxious to form them according to our own mould or our own measure.
Thus we see, though the prophet could have answered at once as to the difficulty that Naaman presented, he leaves him in the hands of God. He had done that which ought well to awaken and exercise the conscience of the Gentile. He would rather leave him than give him premature knowledge. There is nothing that often more stifles the divine life. When people want to use their little well they should be disciplined in the right use of the little they know already. This was the case then with Naaman. Gehazi, alas! Disappears: he has gone out from the presence of God as Israel is now, as it were, gone out from God's presence.
In the next scene (2 Kings 6:1-33) we have Elisha still in the same career of grace. The sons of the prophets find the place where they dwell is too strait for them, and they say, "Let us go to Jordan," and there they take beams, and so on, for the construction of their large dwellings. "But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water. And he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed."
Now here again we see the same thing. It is not reprimand. No doubt there was carelessness, but it is the grace that can meet every need, the little just as much as the great. And I do not hesitate to say that true greatness shows itself in its capacity to take in the little. "And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick and cast it in thither, and the iron did swim. Therefore, said he, Take it up to thee; and he put out his hand and took it."
In what follows we have what is on a totally different scale, that is, the deliverance that appears from the enemy. Elisha's servant was alarmed, but the prophet prays for him. The film is removed from his eyes, and he sees how true is the word that more were on their side than on that of their adversaries. Elisha's prayer then is answered by the Lord and the mountain was seen to be full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. "And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto Jehovah and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness." But then there is all the difference even between this act and Elijah's. Where Elijah sends anything of the sort, he leaves them to it. When Elisha seems to depart for a season from grace, it is only to show the fuller grace in the end just like our Lord, who, when appearing to be deaf to the Syro-Phenician's request, only meant to send her away with a greater blessing, and a deeper sense of the Lord's goodness.
So now, Elisha leads these very, blinded, men into Samaria, into the city which least of all they would have wished so to enter. They were helpless prisoners so much so that the king of Israel wants to smite them; but the prophet stays his hand. "My father, shall I smite them?" "Thou shalt not smite them. Wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them that they may eat and drink and go to their master." And what was the effect? "The bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. To have smitten them would have only provoked another campaign. To have smitten them with blindness and to have restored their sight, and then to have fed them with bread and water in the very heart of the enemy's land, brought the immediate surrounding of the power of God so impressively before their eyes that the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. It was no doubt a most effectual blow, but it was a blow of mercy and not of judgment.
What next follows I may be brief upon. We are all more or less familiar, no doubt, with the great famine in Samaria, and how the Lord changed everything, and changed so surprisingly, and by such simple means. The distress was excessive. The king of Israel was most helpless, and all was in confusion. "And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him saying, Help, my lord, O king. And he said, If Jehovah do not help thee whence shall I help thee?" "And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son and did eat him; and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son that we may eat him, and she hath hid her son." No wonder that the king rent his clothes, and wore sackcloth; but there was no fear of God on the contrary, there was a murderous intent against the prophet of God.
The blame was laid upon him. "But Elisha sat in his house and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him; but ere the messengers came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer" (for indeed he was) "hath sent to take away mine head." But there is no fire that comes down from heaven to consume him quite the contrary. He said, "Behold this evil is of Jehovah; what should I wait for Jehovah any longer." There was no fear of God before the king's eyes. There was no confidence in God; and the fear of, and confidence in, God go together.
Now what does Elisha say? "Hear ye the word of Jehovah. Thus saith Jehovah, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria." There was to be then the utmost abundance, and that, too, the very next day, where there was this most excessive famine even to the eating of poor little children. We can understand how that unbelieving lord should challenge the word of the prophet and say, "Behold, if Jehovah would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?" He did not expect that God was listening, and that God was answering, for his prophet instantly replies, "Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof." And so it was.
Then we have details of the four lepers brought before us, and the fleeing away of the Syrians, and the abundance that was left behind, and the way in which they themselves had found the mercy of God meeting them in their distress. They became the heralds of it to others that were only less distressed than themselves. Thus was the word accomplished, and there was abundance of food for the people. The word was fulfilled to the letter, but not yet was the ministry of Elisha exhausted.
For in the next chapter (2 Kings 8:1-29) he goes and says to the woman whose son he had restored to life, "Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn." What was he going to do? To inflict a famine upon the land? Nay. We do not hear that it was he that prayed for it, but we do hear that it was he that warned this Shunammite, so that she should be preserved from the bitter consequences of the famine. It was an intervention of grace and not an execution of judgment. The Shunammite woman is told to go where she can. "It shall come upon the land," says he, "for seven years. And the woman arose and did after the saying of the man of God. And she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years." And when the full time of dearth was passed, this woman returned.
Can one doubt that as Gehazi represents Israel in their unbelief, and the solemn judgment of God upon them, because of it, and that too when the Gentile receives the blessing (for nothing more irritated Israel, as we see in the New Testament, than the Gentile receiving such a blessing of God), so here we find this woman is the sign of the return of Israel after the long period. The full term of famine has passed over the land once favoured of God, but now given up to the miserable curse. She returns again, then, out of the land of the Philistines, and she comes and cries to the king for her house and land. And the king was talking at that very moment with Gehazi (or what remained of this miserable man) of the wonders he had once seen, but no longer had an active personal interest in. And this is all that poor Israel can do. This is all that Gehazi does in the courts of the king.
So the Jew may talk of his traditional glory, but he has got none now. All that he can have now is to his shame. He is a wanderer and a vagabond on the face of the earth. No matter what he may be, such is an Israelite now. He is under the very badge of shame. He carries on his brow his sentence as a wanderer and a leper before God. But there are bright hopes for Israel, and to Israel they will surely come. Not to this generation the generation that cast out the Lord and has continued in its unbelief it will still come under the desperate judgments of God. But there is a generation to come. I believe therefore that as Gehazi is the type of this generation, the woman now returning after the seven years is the type of the generation to come. And she has all restored to her, and the fruits of the field. She not merely enters upon her land intact, but all that she should have had during the long seven years is all given back; for the Lord will repay with interest all that is due to Israel. And what will He not count due when He is pleased to take up the cause of His ancient people? Thus, then, we have Elisha still in the activity of grace.
And he comes to Damascus, and there he acts more strictly as a prophet than we have usually seen him, though I do not doubt that all was prophetic. All his actions were prophetic, as I have been endeavouring a little to show you here. And Elisha tells Hazael, in answer to the request of the king of Syria, that his master was to die, but that there was no necessity that he should die. Alas! he was to die by the treacherous hand of man; and the man was there. It was none other than this Hazael. Elisha said to him, "Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover; howbeit Jehovah hath showed me that he shall surely die." This was a riddle. "And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed." For deep thoughts passed in the prophet's mind as he looked upon the face of the murderer the murderer in prospect. "And the man of God wept." Well he might as he thought of such ways upon earth. "And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel. And Hazael said, But what! is thy servant a dog that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, Jehovah hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria." And so it came to pass. And the chapter pursues the public events of the kingdom, on which I need not dwell more than just to finish the story of Elisha.
But in 2 Kings 9:1-37, Elisha again is found. "He called one of the children of the prophets and said unto him, Gird up thy loins and take this box of oil in thine hand and go to Ramoth Gilead. And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi and go in and make him arise up from among his brethren." And so it was done. The young man went and anointed him for his work. He gives him his terrible commission, and Jehu does not fail of accomplishing it the commission of destroying, cutting off from Ahab every male. "And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel," the portion of sin, of covetousness and blood. But here I must close for the present.
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Kelly, William. "Commentary on 2 Kings 4:11". Kelly Commentary on Books of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wkc/2-kings-4.html. 1860-1890.
