Well, I decided to blog again about the divided kingdom. We tackled Elijah’s ascension and Elisha as his successor. 2 Kings 4:8-37 talks about Elisha and the Shunnamite woman. Some say that being wealthy is a curse. It’s a curse if you let your wealth control you. In this case, we have a godly woman whose name isn’t mentioned for a reason. There’s a reason that God decided not to have their names written down in the Bible. We had Elisha with the unnamed widow and now this wealthy woman. I guess God decided not to have her name recorded for a reason.
Unlike the people of her day, this woman used her wealth and influence to help a man of God. The late J. Vernon McGee calls this place prepared for Elisha a prophet’s chamber. Elisha’s job was never easy. This is where we also meet Gehazi, his servant who would later be cursed with leprosy. I bet a lot of wealthy people would be willing to pay for his head. However, this wealthy couple without a child was here. The couple may have been childless for a reason. There was no one to succeed in the household as her husband was old. I think they were like Sarah and Abraham. What happened next would be a miracle.
I don’t blame the Shunammite woman for doubting Elisha. It’s very easy to turn down any news that is very fantastic. Elisha prophesied that the woman would embrace a son. I believe this woman knew of Sarah and Abraham but felt that the miracle of Isaac was reserved only for them. I bet this woman had been content to serve God even in her childlessness. The unexpected happened which might be that she conceived a son. I bet this unnamed woman never expected that she, like Sarah, would conceive a miracle child.
I can’t exactly determine the type of writing used in 2 Kings. It seems that Elisha was doing some things before the next miracle. This unnamed miracle child soon went out to be his aged father. However, the child soon felt dizzy and when he was brought back, he died on his mother’s lap. The woman soon lost faith. It’s very typical to lose faith even for a believer. Elisha was going to do another miracle similar to Elijah. This was proof that Elisha was indeed a prophet of God. A prophet of God can never lie. When Elisha said the boy would return, the boy did indeed return to life.
The restoration took some time. It was also a lesson in patience. One thing worth noting is that any dead person restored to physical life, in the Bible, was that a believer in God. This miracle reminds me of Elijah restoring the widow’s son in Zarepath. This is a picture of the resurrection of the righteous. Believers in God saw these miracles, not the pagan idolaters. Why would God permits the soul of this boy to leave Paradise and back to this fallen world is hard to understand. Yet, we know that God has a purpose in all that will happen.
Later, the story continues in 2 Kings 8:1-6. In between, we also read of Elisha’s other miracles such as purifying a deadly stew, Naaman’s leprosy healed, the recovered axe head, and the Syrians. Though, it’s best that this post ends on the topic of Elisha and the Shunammite woman’s promised son.
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