A GREAT WOMAN
2 Kings 4:8-37
May 8, 2016
Who gets the most attention on their special day—moms or dads? Here's a breakdown on the
stats for Mother's Day and Father's Day spending:








Number of people who celebrate Mother's Day—84.5%
Number celebrating Father's Day—76.1%
Overall spending on Mother's Day—$19.9 billion
Overall spending on Father's Day—$12.5 billion
Average spending per person in the U.S. for Mother's Day—$162.94
Average spending on Father's Day—$113.80
People who give a card to Mom—81.3%
People who give a card to Dad—64.1%
So the clear winner is … mom! Although dads come out ahead in at least one category—43%
of dads will get an apparel gift compared to 33% of moms. So, dads, enjoy that tie!
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Spending Gap: Mother's Day vs. Father's Day
On this Mother's Day we continue our study of the Spirit of Elijah by examining a passage of
Scripture that features a strong man, (the prophet Elisha) a great woman, a great joy, a great
grief, and a great relief! From the text I hope we'll be inspired and instructed as we see the
elements of a great mother and the grace of God. Let's begin reading in 2 Kings 4:8...
One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some
food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. And she said to her
husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way.
Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a
lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.”
One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there. And he said to Gehazi his
servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she stood before him. And he said to him,
“Say now to her, ‘See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? Would you
have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She answered,
“I dwell among my own people.” And he said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehazi answered,
“Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.” He said, “Call her.” And when he had called her, she
stood in the doorway. And he said, “At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a
son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your servant.” But the woman
conceived, and she bore a son about that time the following spring, as Elisha had said to her.
"One day Elisha went on to Shunem..." The city of Shunem was about 15 miles southwest of the
southern tip of the Sea of Galilee, 5 miles from Mt. Tabor.
"where a wealthy woman lived..." In the village lived a prominent woman. The ESV translates it
"wealthy" but it literally means "great" in the Hebrew. The word is sometimes used of wealth,
influence or character. It's easy to see that she was a leading lady in the community, with a
good measure of wealth, and wielding considerable influence by her spiritual perception and
godly character. She was a great woman for several reasons - full of faith and good works and
obviously showed a high regard for both the prophet and the teaching of God's Word.
HOSPITALITY
She was hospitable. Whenever he traveled to Shunem, she prevailed upon him to dine with
her and her elderly husband. Throughout the Bible God commands his followers to practice
hospitality. The word “hospitality” comes from the Greek philoxenia. The word philo means
"brotherly love" and xenia = stranger. God wants us to show brotherly love to strangers. So
how do we do that? In his book Outlive Your Life, Max Lucado writes:
“Long before the church had pulpits and baptisteries, she had kitchens and dinner tables. Even a
casual reading of the New Testament unveils the house as the primary tool of the church. The
primary gathering place of the church was the home. The early church (with its varied
backgrounds got along) without the aid of sanctuaries, church buildings, clergy, or seminaries.
They did so through the clearest of messages (the Cross) and the simplest of tools (the home).
Something holy happens around a dinner table that will never happen in a sanctuary. In a
church auditorium you see the backs of heads. Around the table you see the expressions on
faces. Church services are on the clock. Around the table there is time to talk. When you open
your door to someone, you are sending this message: ‘You matter to me and to God.’ You may
think you are saying, ‘Come over for a visit.’ But what your guest hears is, ‘I'm worth the effort.’”
Daniel Meyer tells the story of an elderly woman who heard a sermon in which she felt God
encouraging her to look for ways in which she could use her particular gifts and situation to
minister to the needs of others. She thought about her gifts and realized that she'd been told
by others that she had the gift of hospitality. She lived alone in a small apartment near a large
university and had afternoons free. She pondered the needs around her and the people who
tugged at her heartstrings. To her mind came the students nearby who were so far away from
home. It was then that an idea both strange and simple suddenly arose. She got a stack of 3 X
5 cards and wrote on each one: "Are you homesick? Come to my house at 4:00 p.m. for tea."
She included a phone number and address and then posted the cards all around campus.
After a slow start, homesick students began trickling into her house each week for tea. When
she died ten years later, eighty honorary pallbearers attended her funeral. Each one of them
had been a student who, once upon a time, found a hot cup of tea, a sense of home, and the
gospel of Jesus in the hospitable heart of this faithful servant.
Daniel Meyer, Witness Essentials (InterVarsity Press, 2012), p. 186
SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT
She recognized Elisha as an authentic man of God. There were fakes and charlatans in that day
just as there are phony, incompetent pastors these days. She knew the difference. In fact,
there's evidence she recognizes a substandard prophet-in-training in this story - and I don't
mean Elisha!
1. Watch out. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly
are ravenous wolves." (Matt. 7:15) Jesus affirms that they exist and warns us to watch out.
2. Know the real and you’ll know the fake too. “You will recognize them by their fruits…”
(Matt. 7:16) We will know them, not by how much money they have, or how many
followers they have, or how many books they've written or the great things they have
done. We'll know them by what fruit exists in their lives. Is there love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control? Are they
sharing the gospel of Christ, and pointing others to the forgiveness and freedom that He
alone can bring? What do they say about who Jesus is? What do they believe about the
authority of God’s Word?
3. Know God’s word and you’ll know when it’s being twisted. “For even Satan disguises
himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as
servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” (2 Cor. 11:14-15) Satan
disguises himself as light. If we don’t know God's truth, we'll never know when we’re
being deceived. Study it. Meditate on His words. Guard them in your heart.
4. Surround yourself with other believers you trust. Be cautious about to whom you
listen and from whom you take guidance. “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but
in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” (Prov. 11:14)
Because she recognized him as a "holy man" she convinced her husband to approve the
addition of another bedroom - upstairs - for when the prophet was in town. They built
what has become known as a prophet's chamber. Some churches have designed
apartments on their campuses for visiting speakers and missionaries on furlough. They
sometimes refer to those apartment rooms as "prophet's chambers."
THE EXTRAORDINARILY GOOD GIFT
Naturally the prophet wanted to reward this woman for her provisions. But because of her
wealth and influence, there was nothing she really needed. What do you do for the woman
who has everything? She declined Elisha's offer to put in a good word for her with the king.
When Elisha asked his servant for suggestions, Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her
husband is old.” So Elisha promised the woman that "next year" at that time, she'd be a
mother! She replied, “Don’t lie to me!” She was very direct, saying exactly what was on her
mind. Elisha used a Hebrew phrase found in only one other place in the Bible - when the
postmenopausal Sarah was promised a son "next year." It's a deliberate cue to prompt the
reader to remember God's great grace and faithfulness to His promise.
And it highlights a major biblical motif - the barren woman who gives birth. We read of
Abraham and Sarah who became parents miraculously when both were past that time of life.
Their daughter-in-law Rebekah was childless through 20 years of marriage with Isaac, when
the twins Jacob and Esau were born. Then, Jacob's favorite wife Rachel was childless until
finally birthing Joseph and Benjamin. Samson's mother was childless for many years until God
opened her womb. And do you remember Hannah? After years of barrenness and fervent
prayer, the prophet Samuel was born. Then comes this woman of Shunem. In the New
Testament there is the story of Elizabeth, childless until John the Baptist was born.
But this instance of the Shunammite woman's pregnancy is different than all the other
examples of the "barren woman" pattern. In all the other cases, the birth of children was
necessary for the continuation of the covenant people or for the emergence of a strong leader
for Israel in crisis. All of the "miracle babies" grew up to be famous people in Israel. But
nothing of great importance hinges on this miracle birth for the Shunammite woman. We
don't even learn the child's name! So what's up with that? Here's what it is: "Sometimes
Yahweh gives such a gift not because he will fulfill some grand redemptive-historical function,
but simply because he wants to make a woman happy with a child. Sometimes it's far simpler
than we imagine." (Dale Ralph Davis, 2 Kings: The Power and the Fury, p. 63)
That's the way God works sometimes - He enjoys giving you a good gift - not because you're so
important, or because of your great contribution to His Kingdom, but simply because that's the
kind of God He is. He's a God "who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy" (1 Tim. 6:17b).
THE INSCRUTABLE, UNPREDICTABLE WAYS OF GOD
But it appears that God gave this gift only to take it away. For, reading on in the text: When
the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. And he said to his
father, “Oh, my head, my head!” The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” And
when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then
he died. (vs. 18-20)
This “great” woman had no needs when the story began. It was God’s gift that made her
needy! Now she’s just as needy as the widow with 2 sons earlier in the chapter. The creditor
threatened to take the widow’s sons, but death had already taken the Shunammite’s son.
Wealth and social prominence are no protection against calamity.
“There is simply no mention of the woman’s sufferings, hint of her groaning, or even a murmur
of any kind throughout the story. Although her beloved and only son suddenly died in her lap,
she conducted herself in perfect calmness. It reminds us of Daniel’s three friends who were
thrown into a fiery furnace that was intensified seven times. When they came out, there was
not so much as the smell of smoke on them. Many of us cringe at the slightest hint of God’s
dealing. We miss many golden opportunities to allow the Lord to deepen us from within. The
greatest blessings are often, if not always, hidden under rough disguises.” (Charles Spurgeon)
She placed the cold body of her son on the prophet’s bed, closed the door, and told her
husband to order a servant and a donkey. She didn’t panic or scream or wail. She was going to
find the man of God Elisha who lived 15 miles away - on Mt. Carmel. She didn’t even mention
the son’s death to her husband, brushing his questions aside with shalom - “All is well.” He
couldn’t understand why she needed to see the prophet when it wasn’t a regularly scheduled
day of worship and instruction. With her dead son locked up in Elisha’s room, she knew no
one would see him. Only she knew of his death.
When Elisha saw her coming in the distance, he sent Gehazi see what was up. She brushed him
aside too, with the same “Shalom” she gave her husband. But all was not well - God had
crushed her! In bitter distress she fell at the prophet’s feet, grasping his ankles.
Gehazi was as clueless as Jesus’ disciples had been when trying to protect their Master from
children and needy people – for he attempted to push her away, but Elisha stopped him. The
prophet could see that she was emotionally distraught, yet didn’t know why.
Critics argue that these Elijah/Elisha stories are legends – writers enhancing the record to
make the prophets look super human. If that’s true, then the writers did a poor job here,
because it portrays Elisha as scratching his head, admitting “I’m stumped – God hasn’t shown
it to me.” He sends his servant Gehazi to the woman’s home with instructions to place Elisha’s
staff (the symbol of his office and power) and the boy’s face. But that doesn’t work!
THE LIMITS OF MAN
The truth is, these stories are true! Elisha is exposed as limited in both knowledge and power.
Among the many important lessons taught is that God purposely reminds his people that “the
best of men are men at best.” The prophet’s only remaining option is to pray earnestly for the
boy. The emphasis is not on Elisha’s power, but his utter dependence on God’s power.
In Elisha we see our own limitations when adversity strikes. And ironically, that gives us
freedom – freedom to say “I don’t know why!” We don’t always need to give an answer for
the ways of God. When someone comes to us with a pressing problem we can offer counsel
from the Word of God, like Elisha, we can say: “God has hidden it from me.”
The Shunammite woman cried out to Elisha: “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not
deceive me?’” When he sent his servant Gehazi on ahead, she promised: “As the LORD lives and
as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” This woman was believing God, yet bold, determined,
and very persistent. Jesus said in Matthew 11:12 that the violent take the kingdom of heaven.
Heaven is seized by eager, impetuous, zealous people. This woman fits that description!
Elisha went to the boy, closed the door, laid down upon him and the boy’s body began to
warm. Then the prophet paced the floor and prayed earnestly. At length, the boy sneezed 7
times and his eyes popped open. Then he summoned Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.”
So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” She came and fell at his
feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out. (vs. 36-37)
Centuries later, just 2 miles from Shunem, in a village called Nain, when seeing a widow’s great
sorrow after losing her son – her only hope for a future – Jesus of Nazareth entered the realm
of death and plundered its prey, returning the boy to life. Unlike Elisha, Jesus merely spoke to
the young dead man and he sat up (Luke 7:14-15). And there we learn that not even death
can put you beyond the reach of Jesus’ power or beyond the sound of his voice. How we need
to hear that message today!
This story is here to:




reveal a God who delights to astound his ordinary people with extraordinarily good gifts;
reveal a God who sometimes baffles us with the mysterious sorrow he brings;
reveal a God who places limits on his servants so we don’t esteem them too highly;
reveal a God who gives a sneak preview in 850 BC that not even death will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Dale Ralph Davis)