Another thing these two men have in common is that they both stayed in rooftop guest rooms for a time. During a drought in Israel the Lord instructed Elijah to go to Sidon and dwell with a widow woman and her son. In today's study we will find Elisha being made welcome in the rooftop guest room of a childless woman and her husband. In gratitude for her kindness toward him, Elisha will grant this woman her heart's desire: a son. And in tomorrow's study we'll find yet another similarity between the life of Elisha and the life of Elijah. Just as Elijah brought back to the life the son of the woman in whose home he was a guest, Elisha will do the same.
"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." (2 Kings 4:8) It would have been necessary for Elisha to pass through Shunem when visiting some of the schools of the prophets. The unnamed woman wanted to do something good for him to refresh him on his journeys to and fro, so she invited him to eat at her home. This became a regular thing, with Elisha having a standing invitation to stop by for a meal.
Elisha and the woman are not dining alone at her house. Nothing improper is going on here, for she is a married woman and her husband is present and approving of her generosity toward the prophet. "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 it it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.'" (2 Kings 4:9-10)
The author does not provide us with her husband's answer but it's clear that he agreed with his wife's wishes because next we find Elisha using the room on his travels. I want to point out that while it's true that women had few rights in many ancient cultures, this does not mean they were all treated poorly by their husbands. The Shunammite woman and her husband respect each other. She is not afraid to suggest making Elisha a regular guest at their home and her husband is pleased to agree to something she wants. I believe this was a happy marriage and that there were many happy marriages in ancient times. A lot of societies were patriarchal in nature but there were plenty of godly men who loved and respected and protected their wives. In the New Testament we find husbands being commanded to love their wives: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for it." (Ephesians 5:25) The Apostle Paul is speaking of a sacrificial, unselfish love. I think the Shunammite's husband loved her with a sacrificial, unselfish love.
This is a happy marriage but the couple is lacking something they feel would make their life together complete. Elisha doesn't know what their heart's desire is but he wants to do something for them in return for the wife's hospitality, so he instructs his servant to find out what he can do. "One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, 'Call the Shunammite.' So he called her, and she stood before him. 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 behalf to the king or the commander of the army?' She replied, 'I have a home among my own people.'" (2 Kings 4:11-13)
Elisha comes to lodge at her house and rest from his travels and as he lies on the bed he begins thinking about how grateful he is to her for her kindness. He instructs his servant to speak with her at the doorway to the room; it wouldn't be appropriate for her to enter his bedchamber while he is in it. The servant passes Elisha's questions on to the woman. Does she have any legal matters that the king (probably King Jehoshaphat of Judah, not King Joram of Israel) can settle for her? Elisha offers to get her an audience with the king. Or would she like her husband appointed to some political or military office? Elisha evidently has a great deal of influence with the commander of the army and can secure a well-salaried position for her husband. But the woman replies that she has all she needs, materially speaking. Then she withdraws to her own portion of the house.
Elisha is still mulling the matter over in his mind. He very much desires to do something good for her. Out of the kindness of her heart she has gone out of her way to make sure he's comfortable as he travels through her town. She did not do anything in the hope that she might gain something from him. She made him welcome because she loves the Lord and appreciates the work of the prophets of the Lord. While Elisha discusses this matter with his servant, the servant points out one thing he has noticed that this prosperous woman does not have. "'What can be done for her?' Elisha asked. 'Gehazi said, 'She has no son, and her husband is old.'" (2 Kings 4:14) We don't know the age of this woman but her husband is getting up in years. He is not too old to oversee the work in his fields, as we will learn tomorrow, but he is past middle age and if he dies without a son he will be leaving his wife with no one to manage the estate and take care of her for the rest of her life. In calling upon the Lord to grant this woman a son, Elisha will be securing the future of the woman who has been so kind to him.
"Then Elisha said, 'Call her.' So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 'About this time next year,' Elisha said, 'you will hold a son in your arms.' 'No, my lord!' she objected. 'Please, man of God, do not mislead your servant!'" (2 Kings 4:15-16) She isn't rejecting his offer or accusing him of being a liar. I think she's just been disappointed so many times that she can't bear to get her hopes up again. She may have already tried many "cures" provided by midwives and physicians only to have month after month and year after year go by with no conception. We don't know how long she's been married but it's long enough to have given up on ever having a child. I imagine she and her husband spent many years praying for a son. Their relatives probably prayed in agreement with them. But nothing ever happened and now she thinks nothing ever will. It's not that she believes Elisha would purposely try to deceive her. It's not that she believes anything is impossible for the Lord. It's that she had finally come to a place of painfully accepting that she would never be a mother. If she allows herself to feel a small glimmer of hope again she doesn't think she can stand it if her hopes are dashed.
But the promise comes true. "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." (2 Kings 4:17) This is a miracle. Either this woman or her husband is infertile, or perhaps both of them are infertile. But the One who created the human body is able to cause the body to do something He designed it to do: reproduce. If the Shunammite woman had never loved the Lord or cared about one of His prophets, this miracle would not have been done for her, because it is in return for her kindness to Elisha that the most important desire of her heart is granted. We have a worldly saying, which is, "No good deed goes unpunished," because there are so many unscrupulous people who will take advantage of our kindness. But the Lord doesn't use this worldly expression. Instead He says through the Apostle Paul: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9)
I think the reason the Lord tells us not to become weary in doing good is because He knows how easy it would be to become weary in doing good. Doing good exposes us to being lied to and taken advantage of because we live in a fallen world where people do dishonest things. But it's important to note that the Lord doesn't say that the world will reward us for well doing. Our reward comes from Him. The woman in the text we've studied today did nice things for Elisha without asking for or expecting anything in return. In fact, she owns more worldly goods than he does and the only thing he was able to offer her in gratitude was to speak to the king or the army commander to obtain favor for her and her husband. It's not within Elisha's power to do much for her on his own but it's within the Lord's power to do anything, even a thing that seems impossible. This woman did not grow weary in well doing even though life had not turned out for her exactly the way she'd hoped and she reaped a harvest---the son she'd always longed for.
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