13. Surely Goodness and Mercy

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Hymns: 394 Deeper and Deeper 344 The Lord is My Shepherd 349 Surely Goodness and Mercy

Life of Elisha

(Serving Our Faithful God)

– Surely Goodness and Mercy

2 Kings 8:1-6

1 Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years. 2 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. 3 And it came to pass at the seven years’ end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land. 4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done. 5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life. 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.

 

OUTLINE

  • The LORD Is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want

INTRODUCTION

When you have the LORD as your Shepherd, you shall have no lack. He shall take care of all your needs. He directs you to green pastures and still waters that you may be fed. Not just physically but spiritually, emotionally, relationally…He takes are of you fully, wholly and gently. The way God directs our lives would surpass our finite mind, our limited wisdom and our little faith.

 The psalmist David understood this as he was tasked to look after His father’s sheep. He learned the skills of shepherding. He saw the vulnerability of the sheep in a predatory environment where the shepherd’s care means oftentimes between life and death for the sheep.

 As he reflected on his shepherding work, David was led to understand better the care that His Lord has for him. It was a visual picture that he penned beautifully in Psalm 23.

Psalm 23:1-6 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

One late pastor making a background study into the times when David lived observed well, “When David wrote this, the Egyptians had 360 primary gods—one for every day of the week. The Canaanites, in whose land the Israelites came to live—they had many gods. But, David knew: there is but one God, the Lord. We could put the emphasis on the word Lord: the great Sovereignty, eternal God, the King that we’ve been singing about, the One who rules over all.”[1]

David knew who His God is. He understood that this LORD, His shepherd, will take care of all His needs and he shall have no lack. God’s care for His people is total. We can rely upon at all times. As this pastor puts it, “He is your security, your sufficiency, and your serenity.” With Him indeed, we find peace, prosperity and progress in our earthly life. And this care of God, His goodness and mercy shall be with him all the days of his life and forevermore! He cares for you not just for your physical well-being but more importantly your eternal well-being.

This is the faithful God whom Elisha served. This was the God, who took care of His servant. And our story today brings us back to the story of a woman living in Shunem; this was the story back in 2Kings 4.

There is a woman living in Shunem[2] 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. And she discussed with her husband to build an accommodation in their house so that each time Elisha would pass their place; he may rest and find refreshing there.

You recall that in return, Elisha prayed that she and her husband might have a child. But when the child grew, suddenly he died. Elisha was sought for help, and God raised the boy from the dead.

We can observe that the couple became labourers with God together with Elisha in the course of his ministry to the Northern Kingdom, providing hospitality to the prophet. It was a tough time to serve God in Israel because idolators overrun the kingdom.

This couples’ life can be summarized a happy journey of walking with God. This blessed walk is summarized well by the psalmist’s testimony in our earlier message “She Hath No Child” 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 this actions is 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.

God blesses this couple with His protection through the calamities of life. A long famine is going to come that will last seven years, and we observe how God used the prophet Elisha to guide the couple to find green pastures and still waters albeit in Philistine territory experiencing God’s goodness and mercy in the time of severe famine.

 

  • The LORD Is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want (v1-6)

1 Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years. 2 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.

There are famines that are recorded in the Bible befalling many of God’s people. Up to now the famines have been severe but not as severe as this. During Elijah’s day the famine came for 3 ½ years. Now, it is twice the length. You recall there was one other instance when there is 7 years of famine in Palestine? It was during the time of Joseph. God revealed this to him so that he may with that knowledge save his family by bringing them to the incubating land of Goshen where the family will multiply in that fertile land to become a great multitude. This famine was made known by God to Elisha and therefore advance warning was given to this family. They acted according to God’s will.

You recall during the time when Abraham or Abram first went to Canaan, God sent a famine. Abram head straight for Egypt. Should Abram have gone to Egypt? Did God instruct Abram to go to Egypt?

In the history of the Jews, you would find God’s people seeking refuge in Egypt twice – Jacob’s family was provided with food through his son Joseph in Gen. 46 and Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus in Matt. 2 to escape king Herod’s ruthless decree to kill baby Jesus. Egypt was to be the place of refuge on each of these occasions. But God’s Word also tells us to stay away from Egypt because it stands for the world and a wrong alliance (Boice):

Isaiah 31:1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!

To reply upon Egypt for help is likened to putting our trust on our own understanding rather following God’s will:

Proverbs 3:5-7 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

 It is shifting our trust or security in God to trusting in human strength and wisdom or simply human resources.

What was the problem with Abram going with Egypt? It was that God did not instruct him to go to Egypt. He took matters into his own hands.

We are told in Genesis 12:10 that the famine was grievous! Imagine the desperation of Abram and his family with him in hunger, what to do? The thought in his mind might have been like this, “Let us cross this hazardous terrain through the wilderness across a desert place and go to Egypt. Otherwise, we would all die of starvation.” There was no mention of Abram seeking the counsel of God whether he should do so.

But for this woman, it was the Lord who showed them the way of escape from the famine. In obedience to God’s guidance, they left for Philistine territory.

3 And it came to pass at the seven years’ end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land.

Indeed, her family was protected with sustenance during the long famine in Philistia. Because she had prior knowledge she could prepare her family to move before there was any sign of any famines. They could properly settle down in safety before trouble arose. Indeed, God takes care of His own.

After 7 years when the famine was over, the family returned to the land. It was probably entrusted to the care of a neighbour or someone whom during the time of their absence. They found their neighbour usurped their property and they could not get back the land and their home. Land in Israel came as an inheritance. They are not to sell the land, and it belongs to the family. Of course, there are times when men like King Ahab took the law into their own hands to steal his neigbour’s land. The family could not get back their land.

4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done. 5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life. 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now. 

The only recourse she had was to go to the king to plead for what belonged to her. God was with her. The situation was such that Gehazi, the leper was there with the king relating the story of how Elisha raised her son from the dead.

She found favour with the king and was restored all that belonged to the family. God was with her. The Lord made the situation such that she found favour with the king. We know this was not a godly king.

CONCLUSION

Indeed, when the LORD is our Shepherd, we shall have no lack! Amen.

 

[1] The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection – The Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection – Sermons.

[2] 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).