The cluster of miracles of Elijah and Elisha serve several purposes. One is to show Israel that Yahweh remains faithful to Israel even after her exile to Babylon. The other is to show Israel that despite the godlessness of her kings, Yahweh remains gracious and merciful in difficult times. The bottom line is the glory of Yahweh in Israel.
At this point, the author introduces us to the Shunnamite woman. She lives in Shunem (hence, Shunammite), a village about twenty-five miles (forty kilometers) southeast of Mt. Carmel where Elisha lived. The narrative is about the faith of the Shunnamite woman. It describes the faith journey of Israel and of ours as well.
Warren W. Wiersbe has rightly said that when you trust Christ as your Savior, God automatically enrolls you in a school—the school of faith. In the school of faith, the Bible is your textbook. The troubles in life are the exams. In school, we study the lessons and still fail the exams! However, in the school of faith, after we fail the exams, then we know the lessons.1
That is what happened to the Shunnamite woman. God rewarded her faith by the gift of a son, but her son died. She went through a difficult time of anguish. Yet in her anguish, she expected the mercy of God.
That is how Israel should trust Yahweh, her covenant God. That is also how we should also trust the same God today.
We note eight marks of the faith of the Shunnamite woman.
A Giving Faith
The woman is described as “prominent” (2 Ki. 4:8, NASB). The word (Heb. gadol) signifies greatness in importance2 or “significance.”3 She was prominent, important, and influential in her village.
She was wealthy. She can afford to build an extra room for Elisha. She had many servants and donkeys (vv. 18, 22). Yet the writer is not so much concerned about her wealth as in how she used her wealth. She used her riches to support the ministry of the prophet. She prepared food for Elisha, not just one time, but every time he passed by Shunem. She built a small room on the roof for Elisha. She said, “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” (v. 10). Hers was a board and lodging ministry.
In like manner, years ago, I was invited to lecture in Davao City. A Christian family received me into their home. On the second night, they put lots of durian and a bottle of Coke on the table. We ate it all. On the third night, they put durian and coke again on the table. I felt like we were in a durian eating session. We ate. Alas, I could not eat one more durian. I had a great time there because of the kindness of that family.
Why did this woman go through all this trouble for the prophet? The reason is that she served the living God. “And she said to her husband, ‘Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God’” (v. 9). She is supportive of Elisha, the man of God. She believes in God, in the word of God, and in the preaching ministry of this man of God.
If you believe in the Lord, you should be supporting the work of the Lord. You should open your homes to God’s workers. You should invite them to have a meal with you. You should invite visiting pastors and missionaries. I call my house a “Pastors Pension Haus,” because many pastors have stayed in my home.
Blessed are you when you open your home for Bible study, for small group, and for the workers of God. By doing so, you are promoting the work of God!
It is not the will of God to starve your pastors. Neither is it the will of God to spoil your pastors also. Paul wrote, "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,’ and, ‘The laborer deserves his wages.’" (1 Tim. 5:17).
Paul speaks of “double honor” in the context of “wages.” The word “honor” then refers to honor in terms of compensation or honorarium.4 “Double honor” therefore refers to generous compensation or plentiful provision for your pastor.
If you have faith in God, your faith will be a giving faith.
A Contented Faith
The prophet Elisha appreciated the woman’s generosity. He wanted to return the favor. She is childless. Her husband is old. Childlessness means no provider for her in the future. Children are the only “pension” of widows in ancient times (2 Ki. 8:1-6).
Elisha offered to speak to the king for her (v. 13). Elisha was no politician. Yet he exerted some spiritual influence on national leaders (2 Ki. 3:13-19; 6:32). Her husband was old already and she was childless. Maybe she needed some government protection.
However, she declined, saying that she dwells among her people (v. 13). She lives with the care and protection of her people. She has no quarrel with anyone. She lives peaceably with her people.5 She could grab the chance to live under royal privileges. Yet she is contented with her status and situation in life.6 Hers is a contented faith.
Some people are discontented with the gifts of God. They want more money, more power, and more things. I remember the late President Marcos. After winning his second term in 1971, he declared martial law in 1972. It was good at first. Many surrendered their arms. People became disciplined. We would all stop on the road when we saw the raising of the flag on pain of punishment. They trained us in punctuality and teamwork in Citizens Army Traning in high school and Citizen Military Training in college. The police were disciplined because they were afraid of the military.
But with much power came much abuse. The military became abusive. Marcos imprisoned many political prisoners without due process. Many suspected communists disappeared. The new “cronies” close to Marcos replaced the old “oligarchs.” Marcos’ wife became powerful. After the people power revolution of 1986, we came to know of the millions of dollars of Marcos’ hidden wealth abroad. We saw Imelda’s diamonds and countless shoes. Today, the Philippine government is still trying to recover the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses through lawsuits. That is what happens when you crave for more.
It is dangerous to crave for more money and more things. Why crave for an expensive cell phone when you have one? So what if your neighbor has a new car? Why buy more clothes when you have enough?
Jesus said, “Be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Lk. 12:15). “You cannot serve God and money” (Lk. 16:13).
Paul wrote,
"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs" (1 Tim. 6:6-10).
God’s Word warns us against an unhealthy craving to become rich in this world. It is more blessed to be content than to crave for more.
A Rewarded Faith
Elisha said, “At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son” (2 Ki. 4:16). Contented people are rewarded people. God rewards a giving faith and a contented faith. God spoke to Elisha. Elisha prophesied that the woman shall embrace a son about this same time next year.
Yet she reacted saying, “No, my lord, O man of God, do not lie to your servant” (v. 16). She is not being disrespectful of the prophet. The verb “lie” (Heb. kazab) means, “to speak that which is untrue and therefore false to reality.”7 She seems to be saying, “No, sir, do not say things that are untrue and false to reality, for I am old and my husband is old.”
It is like telling a sixty-year old woman today, “You will have a baby.” The sixty-year old woman would say, “No, don’t tell me things that are far from reality, for I am old already.”
She sounds like Sarah. She could not believe the promise of a son. The angel said, “Abraham, your wife Sarah, shall bear a son.” When Sarah heard it, she laughed. She could not believe it, because it was far from fact. She believed God, but she was unbelieving in His promises.
Is that possible? Can true faith believe, but at the same time, disbelieve?
The Shunnamite woman is like the father who brought his son to Jesus. His son was demon-possessed from childhood. The demon made him mute, throwing him down, and making him foam and grind his teeth. It threw him into fire and into water, to kill him.
The desperate father said, “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” But Jesus replied, “If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.” The father cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mk. 9:22-24).
We believe in God’s promises. However, we find ourselves unbelieving, for it is far from reality. We are used to reality. Reality tells us that it is unreal. It is so unreal, so untrue, and therefore, hard to believe. We believe, but we are unbelieving.
Yet God converts your unfaith to faith. He adds more faith to your little faith. He stretches your faith to bring you to the next level.
Are you used to living on the level of reality? Do you find it hard to believe in unreal things? Then you need God’s power to bring you to the next level of faith—the faith to believe the impossible!
In the case of the Shunnamite woman, she needed to rise to the next level of faith—the faith to believe that she shall hold a son. The writer tells us that the woman conceived and gave birth to a son about the same time the following year, as Elisha prophesied (2 Ki. 4:17).
You need to grow to the next level of your faith in God—the level of the impossible!
Conclusion
The faith journey of the Shunnamite woman is also our faith journey. Is your faith a giving faith? The faith that gives is the faith that receives.
Is your faith a contented faith? The faith that rests content in Christ is the faith that resists the craving for more. God blesses the faith that is contented in Christ.
God rewards a giving and contented faith. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6, NKJV).
Do you believe yet disbelieve sometimes? Expect God to stretch your faith and bring you to the next level—the faith to believe the impossible.
ENDNOTES
1 Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Satisfied (Ecclesiastes): Looking for the Answer to the Meaning of Life (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2010), 155.
2 Harris, Archer, and Waltke, ?????, TWOT 1:315.
3 Holladay, ??????? , Holladay 1428.
4 Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich, and Danker, t?µ?, ??, ?, BDAG 1005.
5 Dilday, 1, 2 Kings, 278.
6 Spence and Exell, The Second, 65.
7 Harris, Archer, and Waltke, ??????, TWOT 1:970b.
