4. She Hath No Child

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Hymns: 203 He Lives 453 I Love to Tell the Story 311 Does Jesus Care?

 

Life of Elisha

(Serving Our Faithful God)

– She Hath No Child

2 Kings 4:8-17

 

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 an 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.

 

OUTLINE

  • Trusting God, Doing Good and Delighting in God (v8-10)
  • Heart’s Desire Granted (v11-17)

 

INTRODUCTION

The Christian life is a happy journey walking with God. This blessed walk is summarized well by the psalmist’s testimony in definable actions in Psalm 37:3-5 (KJV) that brings honour and glory to God, “3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”

There are 5 actionable commands – trust, do good, delight, commit and trust. The subject of the verb is the psalmist himself. Notice that it begins with faith and continues and ends in faith in God. The object of these actions can be traced to God. “Doing good works” in the name of God is the challenge to the benefit of others and with God’s assurance of His sustenance of the psalmist’s needs. As Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. Giving is an act of sacrifice, an act enacted by faith.

 When we are willing to take a delight in God, to cheerfully obey His commandments and do His will, He blesses us with the desires of our hearts. Our will is so intertwined with God’s will that His goodness overflows in our lives. As the psalmist says, “My cup overfloweth.”

The prophet Elisha continues his ministry to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He meets a woman who loved God and fits the description of Psalm 37:3-5.

The place is called Shunem. Bible dictionary tells us that it was a town inherited by Issachar (Josh. 19:18). It is mentioned as a city near which the Philistines encamped (1 Sam. 28:4). Abishag, a wise person, came from here, and Elisha received help from a lady of Shunem (2 Kgs. 4:8).

 

(1) Trusting God, Doing Good and Delighting in God (v8-10)

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 an 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.

 

There is a woman living in Shunem[1] described here as great. Possibly she was greatly endowed with material wealth. But I believe this is a spiritual attribute that is accorded to her. She provided hospitality in her home for God’s prophet Elisha. She invited Elisha to her home provided needful food for the travelling prophet. Elisha obliged. She can see that Elisha was a holy man of God.

She discussed with her husband to make an extra room in the house to provide shelter to Elisha whenever he would pass by their way.

Erwin W. Lutzer (Moody Church’s pastor) said well, “Hospitality is a test for godliness because those who are selfish do not like strangers (especially needy ones) to intrude upon their private lives. They prefer their own friends who share their life-style. Only the humble have the necessary resources to give of themselves to those who could never give of themselves in return.”[2]

The Apostle Paul described providing hospitality and helping the needy as a spiritual grace in the lives of godly Christians – Romans 12:13 (KJV) 13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

You recall when the disciples of Jesus were sent to minister to the people, and they were hungry, and it was the Sabbath day, the Pharisees rebuked them for “working” when they took the corn from the field and removing the husk and eat the corn. The disciples were accused of doing work violating the Sabbath law. Jesus taught from the incident that there are works of necessity that are permitted in God’s laws. Jesus cited the example of the high priest at Nob giving David the bread taken from the table of shewbread that was for the tabernacle because he was hungry and nothing to eat. It was food reserved for the priests only but David was not condemned for taking the sacred bread to quell his hunger, or he would be starved! There was a desperate need.

 Matthew 12:3-8 (KJV) 3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

There were those who are hostile to God’s servants and persecuted them. Pauls says in Hebrews 13:1-3 (KJV) 1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

Strangers possibly are believers who were fleeing from persecution and were hard-pressed to find food and lodging; to entertain them was to expose the host and hostess to danger. The verse may also be understood as a general encouragement to show hospitality to any believers who need it. There is always the thrilling possibility that in doing this, we may unwittingly entertain angels! This, of course, looks back to Abraham’s experience with three men who were angelic beings (Gen. 18:1–15). Even if we never have real angels in our homes, we may have men and women whose very presence is a benediction and whose godly influence on our family may have results that reach on into eternity. The third exhortation concerns care for imprisoned believers. This almost certainly means those who were jailed because of their testimony for Christ. They would need food, warm clothing, reading matter, and encouragement. The temptation would be for other believers to shield themselves from association with prisoners and thus from the danger of guilt by association. They should remember that in visiting prisoners, they were visiting Christ. Compassion should also be shown for the mistreated; again this doubtless means persecuted Christians. The readers should resist any tendency to shield themselves from the danger that such compassion might involve. For ourselves, we can broaden the application of the verse to include sympathy for all suffering saints. We should remember that we are in the body also and therefore subject to similar afflictions.[3]

For the prophet Elisha who often faced hostile enemies in Israel welcomed the hospitality when he was physically wearied to have a kind soul providing him warmth and shelter.

Both the woman and Elisha are good examples of lives of faith that bring honour and glory to God. As the psalmist testified, they did good works of kindness to bless others.

 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the LORD…

For this woman, Elisha surely was not the first person she helped. The Lord prospered her ways. She experienced the blessing of giving. She delighted herself in the Lord by being observant and lending a helping hand to the needy, fulfilling God’s law, honouring His name.

God blessed her.

 

(2) Heart’s Desire Granted (v11-17)

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.

 

Elisha was much blessed by the hospitality of this lady. A prophet’s life is fraught with dangers and often weariness.

You recall in 1 Kings 19 when Elijah heard the threat of Jezebel; he simply became so overwhelmed with the threat became so fearful that he ran for his life. He did not consult the Lord, but he simply ran away. Beersheba was the southernmost tip of the Promised Land. He reached there, and he was feeling still very afraid, he left his servant and went alone into the wilderness by another full day’s journey.

He fell in exhaustion under the shade of a solitary tree, alone, overwhelmed. He despaired even of his very life. He did not want to live anymore. How did God refresh his servant? We saw how the Lord provided for him food and provided him time for rest and refreshing. The Lord did not chide him but nourished him strengthening him. It reminded him of how he was nourished at the brook Cherith and by the widow!

And the Lord asked him what was the cause of his depression?

1 Kings 19:10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

He told the Lord of his desperate situation. The Lord took him out of the cave and showed him the wind, an earthquake, and fire. God showed to Elijah His power and shook him out of his self-pity.

Then God showed him how He still has a work for Elijah. The Lord told Elijah that he was not alone in the battle.

1 Kings 19:18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

The Lord enabled this lady and her family to minister to Elisha that God’s work is advanced.

We see how God blesses her by opening her womb to give her a son. In the fullness of time God blessed her with a son according to Elisha’s prayer for her.

Psalm 127:3-5 (KJV) 3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

 Indeed, children are the best help and support to aged parents. Elisha through his servant Gehazi saw that having a child is the best way she can be rewarded for loving the Lord and indeed, she must have felt an acute need to have a child. Elisha interceded, and God blessed her with a child.

God answered Elisha’s prayer because it was a prayer of faith according to God’s will.

 

CONCLUSION

  • Trusting God, Doing Good and Delighting in God (v8-10)
  • Heart’s Desire Granted (v11-17)

 

Amen.

 

[1] Shunem was a town inherited by Issachar (Josh. 19:18). It is mentioned as a city near which the Philistines encamped (1 Sam. 28:4). Abishag, a wise person, came from here, and Elisha received help from a lady of Shunem (2 Kgs. 4:8).

[2] Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World

[3] William MacDonald, Believers’ Bible.