2 Kings 4 1 7
déjà vu, part 1 2 Kings 4:1-7 Have you ever had déjà vu? In my life, there have been times where, all of a sudden, something would happen, and I could have sworn that I dreamt that situation or that a certain in my life had happened before. As we approach the biblical text this morning, and begin reading 2 Kings 4:1-7, you might begin to think, “Hey, I’ve heard this before!” It’s hard to believe, but it was ten weeks ago when we studied a very similar story in the beginning stages of Elijah’s ministry. Remember? Elijah told the nation of Israel that there was going to be a drought in the land, and then he eventually left Israel to visit a widow’s home in the land of Sidon – one of the centers of Baal worship. In that place, the Lord revealed that He is God over and above Baal, but He also gave a clear picture to the widow that He is a God who saves. In coming to the story this week, we have to wonder, why is there such a strikingly similar situation. I mean, while there are some variations, it is intriguing that there are commonalities in this entire chapter between Elijah and Elisha. One reason I believe there are such great similarities is because I think that this reminds us again of the continuing work of the Lord through His prophets. Elisha does have a double portion of Elijah’s spirit; so, it would make sense that Elisha would do the same, and more, than Elijah. Another thing to highlight in this story, is the obvious nature of the Lord’s power and also the Lord’s salvation! But, one thing we must admit in this story is that it is quite sparse with details. Let’s just take a moment to read these seven verses. What is the point of this story? Sometimes when you get to a text like this, you might be tempted to overly spiritualize something. After all, there must be something wrong if you can’t find much in a text, right? First, let’s remember that everything is in the Scriptures for a reason, but we may not find as many truths in these seven verses as we would find in seven verses in Romans. That said, there really are sufficient enough truths to walk away from in this text that we do not need to make up meanings in this text that do not exist.
For example, this past week, I read a story about a pastor who once preached on this text, trying to reveal how the oil symbolized the Holy Spirit, and how we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, like the vessels were filled and overflowing. While that is true, I do not believe you can walk away from this text thinking that. Even church-goers walked away from the message, joking about the implications, because they looked at verse 7 and simply were communicating that “if oil always connotes the Holy Spirit, then in verse 7 the woman was told to go out and sell the Holy Spirit and pay her debts” (p. 53, Davis). To over-spiritualize is dangerous, but to underspiritualize is dangerous, too. Some people try to minimize the miracles and the heart of God in this text as well. And, in doing so, we negate the glorious nature of the LORD who saves. So, what is the overarching point in these verses? While we know that the overarching message of Elisha is, “God saves,” I believe that the specific message of these few verses reveals that God’s saving strength is made perfect in our weakness.
1|Page
Think about where these verses fall in 2 Kings. We just got done studying chapter three, where the idolatry of Israel is being chipped away at slowly. When you first read the situation of this widow, in contrast to chapter three, you might start to get the feeling that God is unjust. God blesses wicked Jehoram in battle – a King. But, does God care for a lowly, unnamed widow? This reminds me of so many of us at various points in our lives. In the times that we perceive are particularly good, we have no problem with the verse, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). But, what happens when “all these things” seem to be taken away. What about the wife who has faithfully served God and then was told that her spouse was diagnosed with fatal cancer? What about the husband who just accepted Christ and then found out that he was going to lose his job? What about the person who seems to be a bastion of the Christian faith, but their life has been filled with internal spiritual battles and they want to give up, but the Lord won’t let them. What about the farmer who is going to lose his crops the second year in a row? What about the person who is being verbally accused of things he has never done? Where is God in these things? We begin to question Him and wonder, “Does God really keep His promises? He said that ‘all these things’ will be added, but instead they’re being taken away.” I think we can all relate to this story more than we might have originally thought. And, I think that this story is, again, a helpful reminder that God’s saving strength is made perfect in weakness. Again, throughout this message, we will be pointed to the glories of Jesus, remembering Jesus’ teaching – that all the Scriptures point to Him. So, let’s read verse 1 to start. 1. The widow cries out in faith-filled desperation (v. 1). It is understandable why this woman cries out for help. She’s a widow. In the ancient cultures, widows were not well taken care of. They would have difficulty living, and so it is no wonder that ancient Israelite laws and even the New Testament Scriptures make a point of helping the widows. They were easily forgotten and easily taken advantage of because they had no one to really speak up for them. God even writes in Deuteronomy 10:18, “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow.”1 Again we have a confusing situation. God has made a promise that He executes justice for widows, but here’s a widow who is in dire need. It is not only the fact that she has lost her husband that has caused desperation. It is that she has accumulated debt, and she must pay that debt or she is not only going to lose every possession she owns, but she is going to lose her two sons to slavery. There are few things that could be worse than this. Anyone in a good marriage will say that the loss of a spouse is almost unbearably difficult. And we can understand. God has granted a very deep relationship to the two people. They, in a very real sense, had their lives intertwined. But, then we also have this woman’s sons being threatened with slavery. I’ve heard a mother once say that she would rather be crucified than see her child going through great suffering. This is a mother’s heart for her children. That’s why we may jokingly say that a mother is like a “mama bear.” You don’t mess with a mama bear because they will do whatever it takes to care for their young. What happens when a mother can do nothing but watch as her children are taken away from her? Well, it does not take much imagining, does it? There’s nothing quite like a mother’s love. Deep sadness must have taken over this woman’s heart.
1
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Dt 10:18). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. 2|Page
Think for a moment about the phraseology the writer of 2 Kings uses: “A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets.” Then we hear the woman’s cry: “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming. . . .” Her husband was part of the sons of the prophets. He was the servant of Elisha (mentioned twice) and he feared the LORD. The phrase “son of the prophets” means that her husband was a prophet under the leadership, at least, of Elisha. He could have also been a part of the prophetic group that was saved by Obadiah and fed in a cave while Jezebel was massacring the prophets of the Lord. We are not sure, but we are sure that he was a prophet under the leadership of Elisha, and he was faithful to the Lord. This is no small miracle in those days. Remember how bleak the days of Elisha are? Why else is the title of this entire series called, “Faith in the Face of Apostacy?” These are bleak, apostate days in Israel, and this woman’s husband had withstood wickedness. He had spoken on behalf of the Lord and he had submitted to the Lord. What type of care does this woman receive as a result of her husband’s (and even her own) pursuit of God’s Kingdom? This question should come to our mind because it does seem to be the idea that’s communicated in the wording of the text. “[And] you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming. . . .” At this point of the story, I would say that we would all have to agree that life often does not make sense if we look at it only with fleshly eyes and not eyes of faith. I think we could all agree that after reading chapter 3, this situation makes no sense. Elisha even told Jehoram that the only reason he would do anything good for him is because he valued Jehoshaphat. Jehoram was only slightly less wicked than his daddy, and gets a blessing from God. Yet, we have this woman whose family is serving the Lord, have probably experienced difficulties even when her husband was alive, and they get more difficulty. The difficulty is enhanced when we realize that this widow has basically “fallen through the cracks” of the justice system in Israel. As one commentary writes, “God in his wisdom had provided laws and customs for Israel so that families were responsible to provide care during old age or indigence. Particularly the laws pertaining to the kinsman redeemer, the Jubilee and sabbatical years (Lev. 25:25-55), gleaning (Deut. 24:19-22), levirate marriage (Deut. 25:5-10; Ruth), and the strict regulation of lending practices (Ex. 22:25; Lev. 25:36-37; Deut. 23:19-20; Ps. 15:5; Ezek. 18;8) were designed to keep Israelite men and woman out of debt bondage and within the care of a family unit (cf. 1 Tim. 5:3-4; James 1:27). . . . Yet this text is silent about these provisions” (Dillard, p. 94). Is the God who saves in an unnamed town in an unnamed widow’s life whose unnamed prophet-husband dies and whose unnamed sons are going to go into oblivion as slaves? Now, after having said all of this, I want to make another point clear about the widow. While we can all understand the difficulty that she is facing, I do not believe that this widow is angry or faithless. There are other situations in the Scripture, where we can read of saints who seem more bothered at God Himself for ordaining events as they are. But, in this situation, this widow actually communicates faith here. It would be incorrect for people to make application saying, “Well, she needs to trust the Lord and receive blessing. She can’t just depend on her husband’s faith as a prophet to her blessing.” I don’t believe we can infer that from this text. After all, who does she turn to in her need? She turns to God’s appointed prophet, Elisha. She cries out to him. If she had no faith in God, she would have been long gone, running to Baal. After all, she could have thought, “Look what God has given me. I’m just going to turn to the idols of this world since God has given me nothing either.” But, she doesn’t do that. She clings all the more to God in the midst of this time. She believes that God will hear her. That is why she pleads to Elisha. This woman also has the privilege of knowing that the Lord will hear her cries. Psalm 142:2 says: I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. 2 Then the end of the psalm says: The righteous will surround me, for you will deal
2
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Ps 142:2). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. 3|Page
bountifully with me. 3 Those who trust in Him will not be put to shame. And, the same is true for us today. The Lord hears the prayer of those who cry out to Him. Oh how I wish that all of us would be faithful in following the testimony of this widow. But, we don’t have to go to another earthly prophet for help. Instead, the Bible tells us that we can go straight to the throne of grace on the basis of our prophet, Jesus. He is the one mediator between God and man. He intercedes on our behalf. We are told that if we call on His name, we will be saved. We can cry out to Him and know that He sympathizes with our weaknesses, and will give us help in our time of need. And, when we suffer in this life (because Jesus promises suffering), we have grace to cling to Him more and we are told to not give up because we truly will reap a harvest if we do not give up! These are the promises that we have in the Scriptures. You might say, “Oh, but I’ve been struggling for so long. I don’t think I can handle it!” I would love to say that, I understand, but I cannot. I have struggles that are unique for me, and you have struggles that are unique for you. But, I can say this. Because of Jesus taking away our sins before God and giving us a righteous standing before Him – granting us salvation and forgiveness of sins. Because of Jesus raising again and promising to strengthen us in this life – we have assurance that in comparison to what is to come, the trials we face are light and momentary. Adoniram Judson, a missionary to India, experienced great suffering and even a period of intense darkness. His first wife married him on February 5, 1812 and went with him on a boat on February 19. She bore him three children, and all those children died. Their first child, who was unnamed, died as they sailed from India to Burma. Their second child lived to be 17 months old. Their third child lived to be two. She outlived her mother by six months. Adoniram’s wife, Ann, wrote the following, “Our hearts were bound up with this child; we felt he was our earthly all, our only source of innocent recreation in this heathen land. But God saw it was necessary to remind us of our error, and to strip us of our only little all. O, may it not be vain that he has done it. May we so improve it that he will stay his hand and say ‘It is enough.’” At one point in Judson’s life, he also wrote the following about his life’s suffering: “If I had not felt certain that every additional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated sufferings.” Interesting word choice there, isn’t it? Infinite love and mercy brought about accumulated sufferings? And he was convinced of this! Therefore, even through the valley of the shadow of death where, at one point he said, “God is to me the Great Unknown. I believe in him, but I find him not,” Judson was given grace to persevere because he knew that while he could not see God, he knew God. And, it was even the grace of God that enabled him to not give up, but to turn back to Him! Listen, wherever you are at, cling to the Lord! Cling to Him. Find grace to help in time of need. And, when life around you falls apart and you can look around and say, “But look at their life! Maybe I’ll just turn away from God,” remind yourself of the infinite love and mercy of God. Remind yourself of God’s promises. He cannot lie! Remind yourself of Hebrews 11 which states: These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.4 The believers of old believed the promises and lived their lives knowing that they weren’t living for the here-and-now, but they were living for a true home where there will be ultimate rest! This type of attitude seems to be communicated in this woman. While there is confusion as to God’s ways in not seemingly providing for His children, she clings and cries out to the Lord through Elisha – her only hope. And the Lord responds through Elisha. Look at Elisha’s willingness to rescue, as noted in verse 2: “What shall I do for you?” This isn’t an antagonistic question. This is a genuine response. He wants to help. He desires to help. 3
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Ps 142:7). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Heb 11:13–14). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. 4|Page 4
Oh how clearly this speaks of God’s desire to help us as well. As Philippians 4:19 says: And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.5 And, what a great privilege this woman had (and we have) in crying out to the Lord. But, this story isn’t over yet. Most of us would love it if we simply heard, “And the Lord showed that debt collector what he had coming to him and the woman didn’t have to pay him a cent. Then the woman somehow won the lottery and lived a posh life until she died in her sleep.” But, this isn’t how God seems to work. Maybe certain preachers and maybe even our own minds wants to deceive us into thinking that this is how life ought to be. But, if we live for that type of “American dream” then our dream isn’t focused on God. Let’s read verses 2-7 together again. As we move forward in this story, we see a clear lesson about God’s salvation as we look to the widow. 2. God used the widow’s weakness to reveal His saving strength (vv. 2-7). “And Elisha said to her, ‘What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?’ And she said, ‘Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.’”6 Let’s not misunderstand the importance of this verse. Some people may make an application that would sound like God needed something in order to provide for her. Maybe a little, “God helps those who help themselves” type of application. In other words, the only way God will help this widow is if the widow is willing to provide a little for herself and contribute to her own needs. Maybe Elisha is seeing how willing she is to work? This story seems to mirror, in some ways the story of the five loaves and two fish. The people are growing hungry and Jesus has compassion on the crowd, desiring to feed them. So, he asks if anyone has food. Only a little boy has food to offer – bread and fish. Then Jesus takes the bread and fish, prays for the meal, breaks the food and dispenses it with much more to come back in return. I remember reading a children’s Bible story book on this story once and it concluded the story with the point that we should always share what God has given to us. As I was reading, I got angry and tried to think of a way to clearly communicate the real meaning of the story while my boys were listening to me read the rhyming storybook. So, what are the points of these stories? Isn’t it greater than merely saying, “Try order” or “Do something nice for others?” Aren’t these stories ultimately revealing the glory of God? While I’m not against people working for their livelihood and Christians sacrificing for what God has called them to do, these truths are clearly not the implications of this verse. This woman has basically nothing. And, in prophet-like fashion, Elisha is simply giving a visible manifestation to the woman that God is working. The oil then carries two important meanings: a visible sign of God working and it is a sign of the woman’s helplessness. While studying through this text this past week, I was amazed at how much this story seems to mirror the truth of 2 Corinthians 12:9: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 7 God’s grace is sufficient. How often do we spend our days worrying about tomorrow or even the next hour when we are not living in those moments? We are living right now. God doesn’t give me the grace right now for what is going to happen tomorrow. No, He is more loving than that. He gives me the grace for right now, right 5
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Php 4:19). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (2 Ki 4:2). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. 7 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (2 Co 12:9). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. 5|Page 6
now! I may want to say, “But, I don’t have any more food. My kids are going to be sold into slavery,” but what I ought to do is cling to the Lord and call out to Him, and I can trust that He is the God who provides always. But, the next line is where we get very confused. We may begin to understand that God’s grace is sufficient, but how is it that God’s grace can be sufficient in and through my weakness? In all honesty, I don’t have this figured out. I actually don’t know how God is glorified through my weakness. I hate my weakness. I want my weakness gone. And, I am told someday that my weaknesses, my sins, my failings, shortcomings, ailments will all be taken away in the life to come. But in this life, I’m actually told that God will work all these things together for good. I can’t figure it out, but I can say that I have seen the affects of God’s grace working through my weakness. I don’t know how so many things have happened for good in my life. I honestly don’t. But I praise God for it. He will see to it that He is glorified in the midst of my weakness. And His glory is His children’s greatest good. So, let’s seek for His glory. Do you feel weak today? Join with me and let’s not morbidly focus our attention on our inabilities. But instead, let’s glory in our inability because God promises to glorify Himself precisely through our weaknesses. Now, in talking about our weakness, that doesn’t mean that God wants us to just sit back and be a spectator of His goodness. God does desire for us to participate in His miracle. But again, how often do we simply desire that God would give us a quick fix. Some people sulk in a corner and complain that God hasn’t done anything yet. But, God, while working miracles always desires to grow our dependence on Him and our love for Him. Listen, does God need the widow’s oil? No. Can God not pour out oil into a jar? He can absolutely pour out oil if He desired. Is God incapable of finding jars? Of course He could find jars. But God wants the widow to actively participate in the miracle. He wants her to see first-hand how He is bringing everything about. Have you ever watched a sporting event where you have the team out on the field or on the court and it’s the last few seconds of the game and one team has the ball. They’re only one shot away from winning. One person has the ball and they shoot and they make it. The crowd goes wild, and the people on the court are going almost insane with excitement. Why is there excitement? Some people may say to those who were simply on the court, “Why are you so excited? You weren’t the one to shoot the basket. It was the other guy.” But, the reality is that those people are on the team with that other person. They’ve invested much of their own time into this game. Isn’t this, in some ways, like what God is doing with the widow. Her life is wrapped up under the control of God. Her life has been invested to glorifying Him. She’s not shooting the winning basket here. God is. He always does. But God still wants her to participate. And He does this for her greater joy. Ventura, God calls us to this type of growth in obedience as well. You may feel like locking yourself up in a room and closing the door on faith. But God is calling you out for a reason. He wants your joy to increase! He wants to grow your obedience. Cling to Christ. Getting back to this story, the widow and her sons close the door behind her. This is a miracle that only she and her sons will witness. Now, I don’t know if I’m reading too much into this story or not, so I want to make it clear that I’m not sure you can draw this from the text or not, but I do believe this is a biblical truth. It is made clear that she is to begin pouring when the doors are shut, and the text makes it clear that she did shut the door. Maybe that is again simply a ritual to reveal that God is working. But, it could also signal something about the nature of God and our relationship to Him. Just like Jesus, in the beginning of his ministry did not want those being healed to spread the news to everyone so that they wouldn’t misconstrue what was taking place, Elisha, at the beginning of his ministry is keeping the message of salvation “hushed” so that people won’t misconstrue what is taking place. Another thing I wonder if the shutting of the door implies is that this is a miracle especially for the prophet’s family. This is something they will share and treasure with the Lord that is unique for them. While neighbors will have an awareness of what is taking place, they won’t have front-row seat viewing of this miracle. I think this should remind us of the things that God has done for us at various points in our lives? There are unique 6|Page
stories that we could tell about the Lord and they are especially ours. It’s as if God shut the door behind us and said, “I’m sharing this with just you.” What a glorious truth to know that God shares things with each of His children – individually. Even as we studied in our “Remember Jesus” series in the first three chapters of Revelation, we learned that overcomers receive a special name from the Lord. That name is a name that is special between us and the Lord – a name that no one else knows. Oh how intimate of a relationship we have with the Lord. The Lord cares for each of His own. And, even when life doesn’t make sense to us, He cares and He’s growing our trust and obedience. Now, at this point of great weakness and faith-filled obedience, the widow is obeying and pouring out the oil. I hope you are growing in amazement at what is taking place. At this point, I want to be careful to address a point that people have made about this woman and her sons. Some people might read into this and say, “The woman asked for another vessel, but they didn’t have enough faith that it was going to work so that’s why they ran out. They should have believed and got even more vessels.” While that can make for some pretty good guilt-ridden sermons, this text speaks contrary to that idea. The clear sequence in this text is that the woman cries out for help, the Lord hears her cry, and she grows in her faith and obedience. And, the sequence continues with this final point. 3. God will always supply our needs with exceeding abundance (vv. 6-7). The oil keeps going and going and going into vessel after vessel after vessel. We don’t know how many vessels they found, but we know that there was great abundance. By the way, can you imagine what it would have been like to have been one of the neighbors who lent them the oil? You know the situation of the widow, and they go in the barren house and come out with jar after jar after jar filled with oil. I might have wanted to go into the house to investigate. It is clear that the Lord who saves has visited that place, that widow, those sons. We are not told how much oil she has, but we are told that she has enough oil to sell and pay back her debts and also to live on that oil. I’m not sure if that phrase means that she can live the rest of her life on that oil or if it simply means that she can live for a time period on it. But, either way, we should walk away celebrating that God’s saving strength is truly made perfect in weakness and also that the saving God still works in unnamed towns with unnamed widow’s whose unnamed prophet-husband dies and whose unnamed sons are threatened to go into oblivion as slaves? We ought to be praising God for this because we, too, are practical nobody’s in this world. Listen, almost every human being wants to be known. We want to be loved and cared for. We want people to say good things about us. While most humans want to find that satisfaction in other people, I believe that God placed that desire within us for Him to fill. Where this widow could have turned away from God and turned to something else, she found that God really does care for her, and He works through weakness. What about you? Do you desire to be known? Do you feel weak? Do you need to be reminded that the God says that those who trust in the Lord are known by God? 1 Corinthians 8:3 says, “But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” But, how do get to a point of loving God? We actually love Him because He first loved us. When you truly meditate and ponder more on His love, you will grow in His love. So, where do we find that love? His love was displayed through Jesus laying down His life for His friends! Greater love has no man than that he lay down his life for his friends. Now, you may be able to dismiss that phrase, but think about who we were as his “friends.” The Bible says that we were his enemies. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We were friends who weren’t only under 7|Page
threat of being enslaved, but friends who were enslaved. Therefore, the Scriptures say that Jesus is our ransom. His death paid the ransom for our enslaved souls so that we could be set free. Then the Bible says that we not only experience a payment of the debt so that we could be forgiven before the Father. We now experience grace upon grace. We experience a Father who gives us all good gifts in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! We experience the blessings of eternal life, the Kingdom, relationship with the Triune God, spiritual abundance. We have all riches in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! Oh, let this story point you to the fullness of Christ. Do you feel weak? Look to Jesus who became weak for us so that we might become strong in His strength. And, if you feel like God has forgotten you, remember a Savior who also can sympathize with those weaknesses and who said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God works through weakness. While he cared for Israel and the Kings in 2 Kings 3, He never forgets the widows, orphans, weak and frail. I’m reminded of 1 Corinthians 1, which says, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.”8 What are those foolish and weak things? The message of the cross and those who find hope in it. That’s what Paul says in that same chapter: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”9 If you’re trusted in Christ, you’re weak. And, you need to hear that in Christ, all things are provided for you and His grace is sufficient. And, we need to gloriously confess that we are weak. And, in that confession, we say, “Our God is strong!”
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. 2.
ESV Study Bible (2008). Wheaton, IL: Crossway. Davis, Dale Ralph (2005). 2 Kings: The Power and the Fury. Geanies House, Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd.
3.
Dillard, Raymond B (1999). Faith in the Face of Apostasy: The Gospel According to Elijah & Elisha. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing. House, Paul R (1995). The New American Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings. Broadman & Holman Publishers
4.
8
The New King James Version. 1982 (1 Co 1:26–27). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. The New King James Version. 1982 (1 Co 1:18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 8|Page 9
For example, this past week, I read a story about a pastor who once preached on this text, trying to reveal how the oil symbolized the Holy Spirit, and how we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, like the vessels were filled and overflowing. While that is true, I do not believe you can walk away from this text thinking that. Even church-goers walked away from the message, joking about the implications, because they looked at verse 7 and simply were communicating that “if oil always connotes the Holy Spirit, then in verse 7 the woman was told to go out and sell the Holy Spirit and pay her debts” (p. 53, Davis). To over-spiritualize is dangerous, but to underspiritualize is dangerous, too. Some people try to minimize the miracles and the heart of God in this text as well. And, in doing so, we negate the glorious nature of the LORD who saves. So, what is the overarching point in these verses? While we know that the overarching message of Elisha is, “God saves,” I believe that the specific message of these few verses reveals that God’s saving strength is made perfect in our weakness.
1|Page
Think about where these verses fall in 2 Kings. We just got done studying chapter three, where the idolatry of Israel is being chipped away at slowly. When you first read the situation of this widow, in contrast to chapter three, you might start to get the feeling that God is unjust. God blesses wicked Jehoram in battle – a King. But, does God care for a lowly, unnamed widow? This reminds me of so many of us at various points in our lives. In the times that we perceive are particularly good, we have no problem with the verse, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). But, what happens when “all these things” seem to be taken away. What about the wife who has faithfully served God and then was told that her spouse was diagnosed with fatal cancer? What about the husband who just accepted Christ and then found out that he was going to lose his job? What about the person who seems to be a bastion of the Christian faith, but their life has been filled with internal spiritual battles and they want to give up, but the Lord won’t let them. What about the farmer who is going to lose his crops the second year in a row? What about the person who is being verbally accused of things he has never done? Where is God in these things? We begin to question Him and wonder, “Does God really keep His promises? He said that ‘all these things’ will be added, but instead they’re being taken away.” I think we can all relate to this story more than we might have originally thought. And, I think that this story is, again, a helpful reminder that God’s saving strength is made perfect in weakness. Again, throughout this message, we will be pointed to the glories of Jesus, remembering Jesus’ teaching – that all the Scriptures point to Him. So, let’s read verse 1 to start. 1. The widow cries out in faith-filled desperation (v. 1). It is understandable why this woman cries out for help. She’s a widow. In the ancient cultures, widows were not well taken care of. They would have difficulty living, and so it is no wonder that ancient Israelite laws and even the New Testament Scriptures make a point of helping the widows. They were easily forgotten and easily taken advantage of because they had no one to really speak up for them. God even writes in Deuteronomy 10:18, “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow.”1 Again we have a confusing situation. God has made a promise that He executes justice for widows, but here’s a widow who is in dire need. It is not only the fact that she has lost her husband that has caused desperation. It is that she has accumulated debt, and she must pay that debt or she is not only going to lose every possession she owns, but she is going to lose her two sons to slavery. There are few things that could be worse than this. Anyone in a good marriage will say that the loss of a spouse is almost unbearably difficult. And we can understand. God has granted a very deep relationship to the two people. They, in a very real sense, had their lives intertwined. But, then we also have this woman’s sons being threatened with slavery. I’ve heard a mother once say that she would rather be crucified than see her child going through great suffering. This is a mother’s heart for her children. That’s why we may jokingly say that a mother is like a “mama bear.” You don’t mess with a mama bear because they will do whatever it takes to care for their young. What happens when a mother can do nothing but watch as her children are taken away from her? Well, it does not take much imagining, does it? There’s nothing quite like a mother’s love. Deep sadness must have taken over this woman’s heart.
1
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Dt 10:18). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. 2|Page
Think for a moment about the phraseology the writer of 2 Kings uses: “A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets.” Then we hear the woman’s cry: “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming. . . .” Her husband was part of the sons of the prophets. He was the servant of Elisha (mentioned twice) and he feared the LORD. The phrase “son of the prophets” means that her husband was a prophet under the leadership, at least, of Elisha. He could have also been a part of the prophetic group that was saved by Obadiah and fed in a cave while Jezebel was massacring the prophets of the Lord. We are not sure, but we are sure that he was a prophet under the leadership of Elisha, and he was faithful to the Lord. This is no small miracle in those days. Remember how bleak the days of Elisha are? Why else is the title of this entire series called, “Faith in the Face of Apostacy?” These are bleak, apostate days in Israel, and this woman’s husband had withstood wickedness. He had spoken on behalf of the Lord and he had submitted to the Lord. What type of care does this woman receive as a result of her husband’s (and even her own) pursuit of God’s Kingdom? This question should come to our mind because it does seem to be the idea that’s communicated in the wording of the text. “[And] you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming. . . .” At this point of the story, I would say that we would all have to agree that life often does not make sense if we look at it only with fleshly eyes and not eyes of faith. I think we could all agree that after reading chapter 3, this situation makes no sense. Elisha even told Jehoram that the only reason he would do anything good for him is because he valued Jehoshaphat. Jehoram was only slightly less wicked than his daddy, and gets a blessing from God. Yet, we have this woman whose family is serving the Lord, have probably experienced difficulties even when her husband was alive, and they get more difficulty. The difficulty is enhanced when we realize that this widow has basically “fallen through the cracks” of the justice system in Israel. As one commentary writes, “God in his wisdom had provided laws and customs for Israel so that families were responsible to provide care during old age or indigence. Particularly the laws pertaining to the kinsman redeemer, the Jubilee and sabbatical years (Lev. 25:25-55), gleaning (Deut. 24:19-22), levirate marriage (Deut. 25:5-10; Ruth), and the strict regulation of lending practices (Ex. 22:25; Lev. 25:36-37; Deut. 23:19-20; Ps. 15:5; Ezek. 18;8) were designed to keep Israelite men and woman out of debt bondage and within the care of a family unit (cf. 1 Tim. 5:3-4; James 1:27). . . . Yet this text is silent about these provisions” (Dillard, p. 94). Is the God who saves in an unnamed town in an unnamed widow’s life whose unnamed prophet-husband dies and whose unnamed sons are going to go into oblivion as slaves? Now, after having said all of this, I want to make another point clear about the widow. While we can all understand the difficulty that she is facing, I do not believe that this widow is angry or faithless. There are other situations in the Scripture, where we can read of saints who seem more bothered at God Himself for ordaining events as they are. But, in this situation, this widow actually communicates faith here. It would be incorrect for people to make application saying, “Well, she needs to trust the Lord and receive blessing. She can’t just depend on her husband’s faith as a prophet to her blessing.” I don’t believe we can infer that from this text. After all, who does she turn to in her need? She turns to God’s appointed prophet, Elisha. She cries out to him. If she had no faith in God, she would have been long gone, running to Baal. After all, she could have thought, “Look what God has given me. I’m just going to turn to the idols of this world since God has given me nothing either.” But, she doesn’t do that. She clings all the more to God in the midst of this time. She believes that God will hear her. That is why she pleads to Elisha. This woman also has the privilege of knowing that the Lord will hear her cries. Psalm 142:2 says: I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. 2 Then the end of the psalm says: The righteous will surround me, for you will deal
2
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Ps 142:2). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. 3|Page
bountifully with me. 3 Those who trust in Him will not be put to shame. And, the same is true for us today. The Lord hears the prayer of those who cry out to Him. Oh how I wish that all of us would be faithful in following the testimony of this widow. But, we don’t have to go to another earthly prophet for help. Instead, the Bible tells us that we can go straight to the throne of grace on the basis of our prophet, Jesus. He is the one mediator between God and man. He intercedes on our behalf. We are told that if we call on His name, we will be saved. We can cry out to Him and know that He sympathizes with our weaknesses, and will give us help in our time of need. And, when we suffer in this life (because Jesus promises suffering), we have grace to cling to Him more and we are told to not give up because we truly will reap a harvest if we do not give up! These are the promises that we have in the Scriptures. You might say, “Oh, but I’ve been struggling for so long. I don’t think I can handle it!” I would love to say that, I understand, but I cannot. I have struggles that are unique for me, and you have struggles that are unique for you. But, I can say this. Because of Jesus taking away our sins before God and giving us a righteous standing before Him – granting us salvation and forgiveness of sins. Because of Jesus raising again and promising to strengthen us in this life – we have assurance that in comparison to what is to come, the trials we face are light and momentary. Adoniram Judson, a missionary to India, experienced great suffering and even a period of intense darkness. His first wife married him on February 5, 1812 and went with him on a boat on February 19. She bore him three children, and all those children died. Their first child, who was unnamed, died as they sailed from India to Burma. Their second child lived to be 17 months old. Their third child lived to be two. She outlived her mother by six months. Adoniram’s wife, Ann, wrote the following, “Our hearts were bound up with this child; we felt he was our earthly all, our only source of innocent recreation in this heathen land. But God saw it was necessary to remind us of our error, and to strip us of our only little all. O, may it not be vain that he has done it. May we so improve it that he will stay his hand and say ‘It is enough.’” At one point in Judson’s life, he also wrote the following about his life’s suffering: “If I had not felt certain that every additional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated sufferings.” Interesting word choice there, isn’t it? Infinite love and mercy brought about accumulated sufferings? And he was convinced of this! Therefore, even through the valley of the shadow of death where, at one point he said, “God is to me the Great Unknown. I believe in him, but I find him not,” Judson was given grace to persevere because he knew that while he could not see God, he knew God. And, it was even the grace of God that enabled him to not give up, but to turn back to Him! Listen, wherever you are at, cling to the Lord! Cling to Him. Find grace to help in time of need. And, when life around you falls apart and you can look around and say, “But look at their life! Maybe I’ll just turn away from God,” remind yourself of the infinite love and mercy of God. Remind yourself of God’s promises. He cannot lie! Remind yourself of Hebrews 11 which states: These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.4 The believers of old believed the promises and lived their lives knowing that they weren’t living for the here-and-now, but they were living for a true home where there will be ultimate rest! This type of attitude seems to be communicated in this woman. While there is confusion as to God’s ways in not seemingly providing for His children, she clings and cries out to the Lord through Elisha – her only hope. And the Lord responds through Elisha. Look at Elisha’s willingness to rescue, as noted in verse 2: “What shall I do for you?” This isn’t an antagonistic question. This is a genuine response. He wants to help. He desires to help. 3
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Ps 142:7). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Heb 11:13–14). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. 4|Page 4
Oh how clearly this speaks of God’s desire to help us as well. As Philippians 4:19 says: And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.5 And, what a great privilege this woman had (and we have) in crying out to the Lord. But, this story isn’t over yet. Most of us would love it if we simply heard, “And the Lord showed that debt collector what he had coming to him and the woman didn’t have to pay him a cent. Then the woman somehow won the lottery and lived a posh life until she died in her sleep.” But, this isn’t how God seems to work. Maybe certain preachers and maybe even our own minds wants to deceive us into thinking that this is how life ought to be. But, if we live for that type of “American dream” then our dream isn’t focused on God. Let’s read verses 2-7 together again. As we move forward in this story, we see a clear lesson about God’s salvation as we look to the widow. 2. God used the widow’s weakness to reveal His saving strength (vv. 2-7). “And Elisha said to her, ‘What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?’ And she said, ‘Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.’”6 Let’s not misunderstand the importance of this verse. Some people may make an application that would sound like God needed something in order to provide for her. Maybe a little, “God helps those who help themselves” type of application. In other words, the only way God will help this widow is if the widow is willing to provide a little for herself and contribute to her own needs. Maybe Elisha is seeing how willing she is to work? This story seems to mirror, in some ways the story of the five loaves and two fish. The people are growing hungry and Jesus has compassion on the crowd, desiring to feed them. So, he asks if anyone has food. Only a little boy has food to offer – bread and fish. Then Jesus takes the bread and fish, prays for the meal, breaks the food and dispenses it with much more to come back in return. I remember reading a children’s Bible story book on this story once and it concluded the story with the point that we should always share what God has given to us. As I was reading, I got angry and tried to think of a way to clearly communicate the real meaning of the story while my boys were listening to me read the rhyming storybook. So, what are the points of these stories? Isn’t it greater than merely saying, “Try order” or “Do something nice for others?” Aren’t these stories ultimately revealing the glory of God? While I’m not against people working for their livelihood and Christians sacrificing for what God has called them to do, these truths are clearly not the implications of this verse. This woman has basically nothing. And, in prophet-like fashion, Elisha is simply giving a visible manifestation to the woman that God is working. The oil then carries two important meanings: a visible sign of God working and it is a sign of the woman’s helplessness. While studying through this text this past week, I was amazed at how much this story seems to mirror the truth of 2 Corinthians 12:9: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 7 God’s grace is sufficient. How often do we spend our days worrying about tomorrow or even the next hour when we are not living in those moments? We are living right now. God doesn’t give me the grace right now for what is going to happen tomorrow. No, He is more loving than that. He gives me the grace for right now, right 5
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Php 4:19). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (2 Ki 4:2). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. 7 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (2 Co 12:9). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. 5|Page 6
now! I may want to say, “But, I don’t have any more food. My kids are going to be sold into slavery,” but what I ought to do is cling to the Lord and call out to Him, and I can trust that He is the God who provides always. But, the next line is where we get very confused. We may begin to understand that God’s grace is sufficient, but how is it that God’s grace can be sufficient in and through my weakness? In all honesty, I don’t have this figured out. I actually don’t know how God is glorified through my weakness. I hate my weakness. I want my weakness gone. And, I am told someday that my weaknesses, my sins, my failings, shortcomings, ailments will all be taken away in the life to come. But in this life, I’m actually told that God will work all these things together for good. I can’t figure it out, but I can say that I have seen the affects of God’s grace working through my weakness. I don’t know how so many things have happened for good in my life. I honestly don’t. But I praise God for it. He will see to it that He is glorified in the midst of my weakness. And His glory is His children’s greatest good. So, let’s seek for His glory. Do you feel weak today? Join with me and let’s not morbidly focus our attention on our inabilities. But instead, let’s glory in our inability because God promises to glorify Himself precisely through our weaknesses. Now, in talking about our weakness, that doesn’t mean that God wants us to just sit back and be a spectator of His goodness. God does desire for us to participate in His miracle. But again, how often do we simply desire that God would give us a quick fix. Some people sulk in a corner and complain that God hasn’t done anything yet. But, God, while working miracles always desires to grow our dependence on Him and our love for Him. Listen, does God need the widow’s oil? No. Can God not pour out oil into a jar? He can absolutely pour out oil if He desired. Is God incapable of finding jars? Of course He could find jars. But God wants the widow to actively participate in the miracle. He wants her to see first-hand how He is bringing everything about. Have you ever watched a sporting event where you have the team out on the field or on the court and it’s the last few seconds of the game and one team has the ball. They’re only one shot away from winning. One person has the ball and they shoot and they make it. The crowd goes wild, and the people on the court are going almost insane with excitement. Why is there excitement? Some people may say to those who were simply on the court, “Why are you so excited? You weren’t the one to shoot the basket. It was the other guy.” But, the reality is that those people are on the team with that other person. They’ve invested much of their own time into this game. Isn’t this, in some ways, like what God is doing with the widow. Her life is wrapped up under the control of God. Her life has been invested to glorifying Him. She’s not shooting the winning basket here. God is. He always does. But God still wants her to participate. And He does this for her greater joy. Ventura, God calls us to this type of growth in obedience as well. You may feel like locking yourself up in a room and closing the door on faith. But God is calling you out for a reason. He wants your joy to increase! He wants to grow your obedience. Cling to Christ. Getting back to this story, the widow and her sons close the door behind her. This is a miracle that only she and her sons will witness. Now, I don’t know if I’m reading too much into this story or not, so I want to make it clear that I’m not sure you can draw this from the text or not, but I do believe this is a biblical truth. It is made clear that she is to begin pouring when the doors are shut, and the text makes it clear that she did shut the door. Maybe that is again simply a ritual to reveal that God is working. But, it could also signal something about the nature of God and our relationship to Him. Just like Jesus, in the beginning of his ministry did not want those being healed to spread the news to everyone so that they wouldn’t misconstrue what was taking place, Elisha, at the beginning of his ministry is keeping the message of salvation “hushed” so that people won’t misconstrue what is taking place. Another thing I wonder if the shutting of the door implies is that this is a miracle especially for the prophet’s family. This is something they will share and treasure with the Lord that is unique for them. While neighbors will have an awareness of what is taking place, they won’t have front-row seat viewing of this miracle. I think this should remind us of the things that God has done for us at various points in our lives? There are unique 6|Page
stories that we could tell about the Lord and they are especially ours. It’s as if God shut the door behind us and said, “I’m sharing this with just you.” What a glorious truth to know that God shares things with each of His children – individually. Even as we studied in our “Remember Jesus” series in the first three chapters of Revelation, we learned that overcomers receive a special name from the Lord. That name is a name that is special between us and the Lord – a name that no one else knows. Oh how intimate of a relationship we have with the Lord. The Lord cares for each of His own. And, even when life doesn’t make sense to us, He cares and He’s growing our trust and obedience. Now, at this point of great weakness and faith-filled obedience, the widow is obeying and pouring out the oil. I hope you are growing in amazement at what is taking place. At this point, I want to be careful to address a point that people have made about this woman and her sons. Some people might read into this and say, “The woman asked for another vessel, but they didn’t have enough faith that it was going to work so that’s why they ran out. They should have believed and got even more vessels.” While that can make for some pretty good guilt-ridden sermons, this text speaks contrary to that idea. The clear sequence in this text is that the woman cries out for help, the Lord hears her cry, and she grows in her faith and obedience. And, the sequence continues with this final point. 3. God will always supply our needs with exceeding abundance (vv. 6-7). The oil keeps going and going and going into vessel after vessel after vessel. We don’t know how many vessels they found, but we know that there was great abundance. By the way, can you imagine what it would have been like to have been one of the neighbors who lent them the oil? You know the situation of the widow, and they go in the barren house and come out with jar after jar after jar filled with oil. I might have wanted to go into the house to investigate. It is clear that the Lord who saves has visited that place, that widow, those sons. We are not told how much oil she has, but we are told that she has enough oil to sell and pay back her debts and also to live on that oil. I’m not sure if that phrase means that she can live the rest of her life on that oil or if it simply means that she can live for a time period on it. But, either way, we should walk away celebrating that God’s saving strength is truly made perfect in weakness and also that the saving God still works in unnamed towns with unnamed widow’s whose unnamed prophet-husband dies and whose unnamed sons are threatened to go into oblivion as slaves? We ought to be praising God for this because we, too, are practical nobody’s in this world. Listen, almost every human being wants to be known. We want to be loved and cared for. We want people to say good things about us. While most humans want to find that satisfaction in other people, I believe that God placed that desire within us for Him to fill. Where this widow could have turned away from God and turned to something else, she found that God really does care for her, and He works through weakness. What about you? Do you desire to be known? Do you feel weak? Do you need to be reminded that the God says that those who trust in the Lord are known by God? 1 Corinthians 8:3 says, “But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” But, how do get to a point of loving God? We actually love Him because He first loved us. When you truly meditate and ponder more on His love, you will grow in His love. So, where do we find that love? His love was displayed through Jesus laying down His life for His friends! Greater love has no man than that he lay down his life for his friends. Now, you may be able to dismiss that phrase, but think about who we were as his “friends.” The Bible says that we were his enemies. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We were friends who weren’t only under 7|Page
threat of being enslaved, but friends who were enslaved. Therefore, the Scriptures say that Jesus is our ransom. His death paid the ransom for our enslaved souls so that we could be set free. Then the Bible says that we not only experience a payment of the debt so that we could be forgiven before the Father. We now experience grace upon grace. We experience a Father who gives us all good gifts in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! We experience the blessings of eternal life, the Kingdom, relationship with the Triune God, spiritual abundance. We have all riches in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! Oh, let this story point you to the fullness of Christ. Do you feel weak? Look to Jesus who became weak for us so that we might become strong in His strength. And, if you feel like God has forgotten you, remember a Savior who also can sympathize with those weaknesses and who said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God works through weakness. While he cared for Israel and the Kings in 2 Kings 3, He never forgets the widows, orphans, weak and frail. I’m reminded of 1 Corinthians 1, which says, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.”8 What are those foolish and weak things? The message of the cross and those who find hope in it. That’s what Paul says in that same chapter: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”9 If you’re trusted in Christ, you’re weak. And, you need to hear that in Christ, all things are provided for you and His grace is sufficient. And, we need to gloriously confess that we are weak. And, in that confession, we say, “Our God is strong!”
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. 2.
ESV Study Bible (2008). Wheaton, IL: Crossway. Davis, Dale Ralph (2005). 2 Kings: The Power and the Fury. Geanies House, Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd.
3.
Dillard, Raymond B (1999). Faith in the Face of Apostasy: The Gospel According to Elijah & Elisha. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing. House, Paul R (1995). The New American Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings. Broadman & Holman Publishers
4.
8
The New King James Version. 1982 (1 Co 1:26–27). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. The New King James Version. 1982 (1 Co 1:18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 8|Page 9
