Overlooked Miracles
2 Kings 4 – 8
Elisha and the Widow’s Oil
1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” 2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”
Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son
8 Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. 9 And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. 10 Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.” 11 And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. 12 Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” 14 So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!” 17 But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her. 18 And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. 21 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. 22 Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back.” 23 So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.” And she said, “It is well.” 24 Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 And so she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, the Shunammite woman! 26 Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’” And she answered, “It is well.” 27 Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told me.” 28 So she said, “Did I ask a son of my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?” 29 Then he said to Gehazi, “Get yourself ready, and take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but lay my staff on the face of the child.” 30 And the mother of the child said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her. 31 Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child has not awakened.” 32 When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. 33 He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. 34 And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. 35 He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 36 And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” 37 So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she picked up her son and went out.
Elisha Purifies the Pot of Stew
38 And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39 So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. 40 Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.41 So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
Elisha Feeds One Hundred Men
42 Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.” 43 But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?” He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’” 44 So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.
The word of the Lord is exciting to me and I hope equally to you. I would like to share with you some findings from the word that I just discovered. In the book of Acts chapter 17 verse 11 we read about how people from Berea would check out the Scriptures to check and see what the apostle Paul taught was true. So, if the faithful disciple of our Precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would be scrutinized thoroughly, please in more earnestness check out this meager writer’s findings.
You will note from verses one through 7 that there is a certain widow who comes to Elisha who is facing very serious financial hardship. In those days if you owed money you would go to jail or your children would be sold into slavery to cover the costs. In this case this woman’s sons were going to be sold into slavery and the widow would also lose her home.
Please note the significant remark that the woman said to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD.”. So, who is this woman and why is this remark so significant.’ Well, let us go back to the book of 1 Kings Chapter 18 and read this, “1 And it came to pass after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. 3 And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly. 4 For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock.” 6 So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 7 Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?” 8 And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’” 9 So he said, “How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10 As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. 11 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here”’! 12 And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth. 13 Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD’s prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here.”’ He will kill me!” 15 Then Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today.” 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” 18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals. 19 Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
One thing that I have learned in life is that there is no such thing as a ‘coincidence’. Ahab had his entire army and all citizens within his kingdom looking for Elijah. The one secret faithful godly man who took it upon himself under the punishment of death if found that he was hiding God’s prophets, was the one who found Elijah. It was a benefit for both men. For one thing you can just picture how Ahab would look more favorably upon Obadiah. No one else found the most wanted criminal of Israel. And secondly, Elijah needed to meet Obadiah and store in his memory this faithfully servants testimony.
You see from this man’s faithful act 100 prophets were spared. Elijah recorded this incident and passed on this information to his disciple, Elisha. Jewish history reports that this widow was the former wife of Obadiah. That is why she reminded Elisha about how he knew about her husband’s life. I cannot say for sure that this was Obadiah’s widow, but I am keenly moved when I see our Precious Holy Spirit teach Elisha about what it was like feeding 100 men as we read in verses 38 through 44. Please note how difficult it was to gather food also during a famine, just as Obadiah had to do during the famine during his lifetime. I can just picture Elisha thinking how he had the power of the Lord to purify poison herbs so others could eat. This Obadiah had to really go through tough hardship to provide for food and water for the 100 prophets.
Do you see the miracles here? Not only what is the obvious, but what is also going on behind the scenes.
We now run into another segment regarding a hospitable woman. This woman took it upon herself to do a kind act. She spoke to her husband regarding sharing shelter and food for Elisha and his servant Gehazi. Every time they would be in the area she wanted to let these men know that their home was always open to them.
Because of her act of kindness we see the first miracle bestowed upon this woman – a miraculous birth of a child.
Now we see another significant event which is overlooked. Please note the situation where the child dies and the woman sets out to fetch Elijah. First of all there is an immense display of faith coming from the woman. She responds to the questions, ‘It is well’ even though her son is dead. She knew that God was in the mix of this action. For another thing, Elisha should have understood the ‘red flag’ our Lord was trying to point out to him regarding Gehazi. Notice, the prophets significant confusion about not knowing the reason of the woman’s arrival, “But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”
Elisha gives his servant his staff, which to all intent was also his power. Remember, Moses life and his use of his staff?. He was given this instrument by God to display God’s power. Remember, the incidents with Pharaoh. How about the parting of the Red Sea? The list goes on and on. So, here we see Elijah hand his staff over to Gehazi. So what happens? Nothing! This should have meant something very significantly to Elisha, but it was overlooked with the prophets concern for the child.
Remember Elisha asked for a double portion of our Precious Holy Spirits’ anointing. We read in the book of 1 Kings Chapter 17 that Elisha’s master Elijah had come upon the same situation regarding a dead boy. Elisha does the same thing that Elijah did.
What did Elijah and Elisha both do? It seems a little bit strange. I do not know for sure their methods but I do know this one thing and this is, by doing this act, they became unclean as servants of God. They became disqualified as God’s servant because they touched a dead body completely. God had to do something about this situation. He brought the young men back to life and therefore Satan can’t charge Elijah or Elisha as being unclean. Our Lord says to Satan, “so, show me the dead body and I will disqualify my servant.”
Faith calls on us to do the unthinkable so that we might receive the impossible. Chalk up another miracle for the woman – a resurrected son. We are not finished with this woman, we will see her show up again shortly. But for now let us see how our Precious Holy Spirit leads us.
Naaman’s Leprosy Healed
1 Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” 4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.”5 Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy. 7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.”8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ 12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.” 16 But he said, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. 17 So Naaman said, “Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD. 18 Yet in this thing may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD please pardon your servant in this thing.” 19 Then he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him a short distance.
Gehazi’s Greed
20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” 21 So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?” 22 And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’” 23 So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him. 24 When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed. 25 Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.” 26 Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? 27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.
There are a couple of golden nuggets from our Lord’s Holy Word that I want to point out to you. First of all, what were the things that Gehazi had set his heart on? The answer is silver, gold and clothes. After receiving the money and clothes? What did he do with them? He went and hid them. Now remember this fact for we will see its significance later.
Please note also this last verse [ 27 ]. It says that the leprosy would be passed onto Gehazi’s descendents. Now, think with me for awhile. Since he was fully overcome with leprosy it would be rational to think that he would not have any more children. So, therefore, the leprosy would also fall on his kids. Would you agree? So, remember this point as we read on. Please skip to chapter 7.
2 Kings 7
1 Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’”2 So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
The Syrians Flee
3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.” 5 And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. 6 For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!” 7 Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact—their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives. 8 And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it. 9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.” 10 So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, “We went to the Syrian camp, and surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound—only horses and donkeys tied, and the tents intact.” 11 And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king’s household inside. 12 So the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.’” 13 And one of his servants answered and said, “Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; or indeed, I say, they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed; so let us send them and see.” 14 Therefore they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying, “Go and see.” 15 And they went after them to the Jordan; and indeed all the road was full of garments and weapons which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the king. 16 Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD. 17 Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. 18 So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.” 19 Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, “Now look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” 20 And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.
Our Great Teacher has slipped into this story four lepers. Hymm…, who are they? They come into the Syrian camp and eat until they are stuffed then they find gold, silver and valuable clothes. What do they do with this material? They hide them away. Hymm...! But do you see a remarkable statement they make. They feel guilty for hiding the material and not sharing the good news about the resources. They feel that bad circumstances might come upon them if they do not do what is right? My question to this is why would they feel this way? Remember they are lepers. How much more badly could it get for them? They were outcasts from society suffering with a deadly disease. So, would you agree with me something else is at play here?
I will not keep you in suspense. I want to share with you some more miracles many people overlook. I believe that these four lepers were Gehazi and his three sons. You might say to yourselves, ‘Now how do you come up with that point.’ Stay with me as we continue this great story in chapter 8.
1 Then Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the LORD has called for a famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years.3 It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land. 4 Then the king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me, please, all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealing 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 a certain officer for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, and all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the land until now.”
So, look at these keen developments. Who is back in the story – the widow. Look at the next miracle – God’s timing and who is the king talking to? It is Gehazi. Now wait a minute. The last time we read about him, he was stricken with leprosy. If this was so, how is he now in the presence of the king? Almost all commentators have stated that the scribes wrote this chapter out of order. I do not believe this to be true. I have not found any manuscripts that put chapter 8 before chapter 5. I believe that our Precious Holy Spirit put this chapter exactly where it belongs.
I would like to put forth a thought that our Holy Master healed Gehazi and his sons because of their obedience. Remember that they were lepers. I believe that it was Gehazi and his three sons who were the 4 lepers. When they picked up the silver and expensive clothes and hid them like Gehazi had done in the past, he was cut to the heart and remembered how he had come to his condition of leprosy. He told his sons that they needed to do what was right and I believe because of this action our Lord healed him. How do I come to this conclusion. Well, in chapter 8 Gehazi is not with Elisha anymore. He is in the presence of the king. A leper would not be allowed in public. And our Mighty Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High has put him in a position to help the widow.
Elisha had informed the woman to go with her family and live with the enemy. He told her that they would take care of her and her household. That in case you missed it was another miracle. Now our Lord conveniently puts everything in order when she returns to the land. If you abandon your property for over 7 years you forfeit your land. Our Lord arranges perfectly the discussion of Elisha’s life and gets on the subject of the widow and her interaction with the prophet. Then low and behold she just happens to show up to plead to the king to get her property back. The kings heart was moved for her benefit and she gets her request granted. What an Awesome God we have. Amen.
