Don’t Bury It Just Yet

35 Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.

37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.

There are times in our lives that we have to prepare for funerals. I know this coming week our family is preparing for one, as one of our uncles has died. I hate them, I despise going by the graveyard where my dad is buried, I cry nearly every time. It’s upsetting. I don’t like going to my sisters because I have to drive by the graveyard. As a pastor and preacher, I hate doing funerals, because your expected to say the right things, or preach the right thing before the family buries their loved one. I’ll do it, and I will cry with the family, I will laugh with the family when someone shares a funny memory of the deceased, but inside of me, I am a wreck, and hurting because someone has just went from this life to a memory.

In Biblical times there were no Holiday Inns, Super 8, Motel 6 light hadn’t even come on yet. Those who traveled were dependent upon the gracious hospitality of the people in the land, especially the prophets in their ministries as they traveled about from place to place. So whenever a preacher traveled to share the Word of God, they depended upon the hospitality of others to take care of them. They usually didn’t have a full time secular job, they shared the Word of God and people took care of them.

The Bible says there was a great woman, in other words, she was well known in her community, she was looked up too, she wasn’t the town gossiper, she wasn’t the town preacher hater, she wasn’t the town liar, she wasn’t the town drunk, she wasn’t the town beggar, she wasn’t the town trouble maker, she was someone that people looked up too, and admired and all the young ladies said, I want to be like her one day.

So she saw the man of God and his servant always coming through the town and she knew he was different, and she told the man of God, come in here and eat and she took care of him and the servant every time they came through they were taken care of. She told her husband, that she wanted to build a room for the man of God, and to take care of him and give him a place to sleep and a place he could read and study, and put a light in there and he will have food, shelter, light and water. It impressed the man of God so much he asked her what do you need? Want me to speak to the King on your behalf? Want me to speak to the captain? What do you need? He could use his influence to introduce them to the king & to mingle w/ the nobility of the land. Here was her opportunity to have her ministry to the prophet recognized in the leading circles of the country.

Don’t you love her response – v.13b, “I live among my own people.”

Thanks, but no thanks. She had no desire for worldly advancement; she was not wanting to climb the social ladder of success. She was content w/ what God had provided her & w/ her place of service & ministry in the community. She was content w/ her home, her position, her friends, & her ministry. What a rare attitude! She said nothing, I am good.