It’s going to happen if it hasn’t already. You will, one day, have to stand beside a hospital bed on which lies your lifeless son, or daughter, or father, or mother, or grandparent. Their cheeks will be the color of spilled milk. Their fingers will no longer have the strength to grasp yours. And their eyes may be open but they won’t be able to see anything, least of all you.
Well that’s a cheerful way to start a sermon! No, death is not a cheerful subject but it’s something that touches us all. Are you ready for it? You can be. Listen to this passage from the psalms. “[A righteous person] will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD” (Psalm 112:7). Today’s sermon about Elisha, that bald ‘n’ bold prophet, will illustrate why a believer does not need to fear bad news, not even if it’s news about a loved one’s death.
Elisha was not the kind of prophet to stay in any one location for a very long time. He had many people to visit and encourage and so was always on the move. One day when he passed through Shunem, which was north of the capital city of Samaria, a believer invited Elisha home for dinner. This Shunammite woman, as she is simply called, insisted that whenever Elisha was in the area he should stop for a bite to eat. Elisha did so and as the visits became more frequent, the Shunammite woman convinced her husband to build a spare room for the prophet so that he had a private place to rest when he came to town.
I have met many believers like this Shunammite woman - believers who are eager to support and encourage God’s ministers. On behalf of God’s prophets I thank you. When you drop off something delicious to eat, or make time to fix and clean something in church, or write a thank you note for a Bible class or sermon that was particularly meaningful to you, it makes me marvel at how God’s Word does not return empty. These acts of service are a testimony of your love for Jesus and the salvation that he has given to you. Keep looking for opportunities to serve in this way because it encourages my faith!
But be careful that you don’t do these acts of service for what you might get out of them. That’s the world’s business model: take care of your customers because then they will take care of you by bringing you a lot of business and money. Believers don’t serve so they can get something in return even if it’s only a word of thanks. Look at the Shunammite woman. When Elisha asked what he could do for her in return – perhaps get the king or the local army commander to help her in some way – she replied that she had all she needed.
And we too have all we need, don’t we? We have God’s love. We have his promise of forgiveness. We have his assurance that he will provide our daily bread. And so even if we should never be repaid or even thanked for our service to others, we have good reasons to continue serving without grumbling and complaining. But we won’t remember that if we don’t continue to hear about all that our Lord has done and keeps doing for us. That’s perhaps why the Shunammite appreciated Elisha’s visits so much. That bald ‘n’ bold prophet must have shared a devotion whenever he dropped in and reminded the Shunammite of God’s blessings.
The Shunammite woman insisted that she didn’t need anything in return for her kindness, but Elisha was determined to honor this faithful woman. When he found out that she did not have any children, he announced that in a year’s time she would have a son. Apparently this was a blessing that the Shunammite woman had been praying for, but she greeted Elisha’s announcement with apprehension. It’s how your wife might feel if after a particularly good meal, you announce in a moment of euphoria: “Great meal, honey. To show my appreciation I’m going to get us a babysitter next weekend so we can fly to Vegas!” Do you suppose your wife would start packing right away? Don’t you think she would first want to see the airline reservation? Sure, it was nice that Elisha had promised the Shunammite an end to her childlessness, but did he really have the power to promise such a thing? The woman thought that it was better not to get her hopes up. And yet just as Elisha had said, in a year’s time the Shunammite woman had a son.
And all was well for a number of years. Elisha continued his visits and the Shunammite’s son grew until he was big enough to accompany his father into the fields. But then one day he complained that his head hurt. This was more than a mere headache, for the father ordered a servant to rush the boy to his mother. There the boy sat on her lap but grew steadily worse until he died.
The mother took the lifeless boy into the room she and her husband had built for Elisha and laid him on the bed there. She then asked her husband for a servant and a donkey so she could go see the prophet. The husband’s response is curious to say the least. He said: “Why go to him today? It’s not the New Moon or the Sabbath” (2 Kings 4:23). Why didn’t the father inquire of the boy? He had been in the field when his son started complaining about his head and had been concerned enough to send him to his mother. Why didn’t he put two and two together and realize that something drastic had happened and that this is why his wife suddenly wanted to go see Elisha who was 30 km away? Was this husband really that clueless? Was he that absorbed in his work that he didn’t seem to care about anyone else?
We don’t know of course but I bet you’ve been in the Shunammite woman’s sandals. You too have had to carry heavy burdens in your heart while no one seemed to notice or care – not even those who were closest to you! That’s hard isn’t it? But the Shunammite was not alone. She knew that the Lord’s prophet would care and so she set out to see Elisha.
Elisha saw the Shunammite while she was still a ways off and sensed something was wrong. So he sent his servant Gehazi to enquire what the matter was. When Gehazi asked if she, her husband, and the boy were alright, the Shunammite simply replied: “All is well.” Some commentators have noted that this response was evidence of the woman’s great faith – that even though her son was dead, she knew that all would be well. I don’t buy that interpretation because of how she poured out her sorrow and her angst moments later at Elisha’s feet. It seems that the Shunammite had simply placated Gehazi with a quick answer so she could get to Elisha more quickly.
And yet all was well. Her son was dead yes, but God would work a powerful miracle. What God was doing by letting the Shunammite suffer through this experience was to dim the lights of her world so that she would be able to see all the more clearly God’s power and love. It’s like how the Milky Way is only visible in all its glory once you’ve arrived at a dark place out in the middle of nowhere.
But relief would not come right away. God was about to exercise Elisha’s faith too. Elisha sent Gehazi ahead with instructions to lay his staff across the boy. But this did nothing. The boy remained dead. So Elisha himself continued to the house and went up to the room where the boy lay. He closed the door and prayed. Had Elisha failed to pray when he had sent Gehazi ahead of him? We don’t know of course, but we are reminded that in time of crisis, the first thing that we should do is pray, and seek the Lord’s help and blessing.
After Elisha prayed he positioned himself on top of the boy so that his eyes looked directly into the boy’s eyes and his mouth was on the boy’s mouth and his hands were in line with the boy’s hands. The boy’s body began to warm, but did not revive. So Elisha got up, paced around, and then positioned himself on the boy again in the same way as before. This time the boy sneezed, seven times (!) and then opened his eyes. He was alive!
I don’t quite know what to make of Elisha’s technique for bringing the boy back to life. This isn’t of course an ancient form of CPR that we ought to still practice today. But it does remind us how Jesus has put his hands in our hands, his lips on our lips, and his life-giving breath into our spiritually dead bodies bringing us to eternal life when he brought us to faith in him. Picturing what Elisha did for that little boy is not a bad way to think of what happened at your baptism since the Apostle Paul said that through that sacrament we were clothed with Christ! (Galatians 3:27)
It’s a picture worth holding on to when you’re looking down at the lifeless body of a believer. You can’t bring that person back to life, but Jesus will some day. That’s his promise and the Bible has shown time and time again how God has power over death. It’s no wonder the psalmist said: “[A righteous person] will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD” (Psalm 112:7). Like the Shunammite we can say, “All is well,” and really mean it even when we’re in the midst of a terrible crisis that no one else seems to know or care about. God knows and God cares. And should the crisis end in what many would say is the worst possible outcome – death, we still will confess: “All is well. My Jesus will raise that believer on Judgment Day and I will see him, I will see her again.” So if you’re in the midst of a crisis right now and God is seemingly dimming the lights in your life, don’t panic. What God is doing is helping you see his love and his power all the more clearly. Keep immersing yourself in his Word and in his promises and you will never fear bad news. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
The Shunammite woman displayed Christian love when she cared for the prophet Elisha. Take a moment to think about a person you could show such love to this week. For whom could you make a meal? To whom could you send an encouraging card?
While God wants us eager to serve others, what’s often the sinful motivation for doing so that we must guard against?
How did God dim the lights of the Shunnamite’s world so that she would be able to see all the more clearly God’s power and love? How has God done the same for you?
How did Elisha bring the boy back to life? How does this technique remind you of what happened at your baptism?
The following passage served as our theme for the sermon. Commit the passage to memory this week. “[A righteous person] will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD” (Psalm 112:7).
