A wealthy Texan was in the habit of giving his mom unique gifts on Mother’s Day. One year it was lessons on hang-gliding. the year before that it was the entire record collection of Slim Whitman’s hits. But this past year he felt he had outdone himself. He purchased a rare kind of talking bird that could speak five languages and sing “The Yellow Rose of Texas” while standing on one foot. The talented bird cost ten thousand dollars, but he felt it was worth every penny. This would be a Mother’s Day gift his mom would never forget.
A week after Mother’s Day he called his mother. “Mom, how did you like the bird?” His Mother responded, “It was delicious!”
2 Kings 4:8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
1st ingredient — 1 great woman
Great food needs the best ingredients. Good fruits and vegetables
You don’t produce great moms out of women without character and integrity.
We are not producing women of great character as often as we once did. David Barton p. 30 ff.
2nd ingredient—A generous portion of hospitality
9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
The Bible says a lot about hospitality.
Lev. 19:33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.
34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Romans 12:3
Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue.
2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
1 Peter 4:9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.
One of the major reasons for writing the book of 3 John was to confront a man who wasn’t showing Christian hospitality.
The Scripture gives clear commands in this area. Can I ask you, how many folks have you had in your home so far this year?
Every congregation thinks their church is loving. That’s because the people who think it is unloving aren’t there! Ask typical members, and they will say, “Our church is very friendly and loving.”
∙ What they usually mean is, “We love each other. We are friendly and loving to the people already here.” They love people they feel comfortable with, but that warm fellowship doesn’t automatically translate into love for unbelievers and visitors.
The command to love is the most repeated command in the New Testament, appearing at least 55 times. If we don’t love people, nothing else matters.
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
When asked why people joined a certain church their answer was not: “Because of your theology, your beautiful buildings, your full calendar of activities.” Instead most often it was, “I felt an incredible spirit of love toward me that drew me in.”
Pastors say, “I love to preach!” It may just mean they enjoy the attention or adrenaline rush they feel from being in front of people.
∙ The question ought be, “Do you love the people you preach to?”
1 Cor. 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
Good chefs can perceive the difference between poisonous mushrooms and the edible mushrooms.
Great moms know what kind of ingredients they want in their home.
∙ Notice to whom she was hospitable. It was Elisha the man of God. You must have spiritual perception or discernment to know the difference.
Spiritual perception or discernment starts at salvation. 1 Cor. 2:14
So, a great mom needs to be saved! Kids have a right to a Christian home.
We can use some discerning moms, moms with spiritual perception who know what kind of people and things to be brought into the home. Refer to vs. 9 and 10.
Saturday morning TV, Rock music, Video games, Tinky Winky (Is it gay, who cares its stupid).
On the table side by side,
the Holy Bible and the TV Guide.
One is well worn but cherished with pride;
not the Bible, the TV Guide.
One is used daily to help them decide;
no, it isn’t the Bible, it’s the TV Guide.
As pages are turned, what shall we see?
It doesn’t matter, turn on the TV.
Confusion reigns; they can’t all agree
on what they should watch on the old TV
So, they open the book in which they confide;
no, not the Bible, the TV Guide
The Word of God is seldom read,
maybe a verse as they fall into bed.
Exhausted and sleepy, and as tired as can be,
not from reading the Bible, but from watching TV
So then back to the table, side by side,
the Holy Bible and the TV Guide.
No time for prayer, no time for the Word;
the plan of salvation is seldom heard.
Yet, forgiveness of sins, so full and so free,
is found in the Bible, not on TV.
The Star Wars trilogy “is a grade-school primer of the ancient religion... involves mastering the Force that animates the cosmos, dwells within, and is tapped intuitively through feelings,” (Christianity Today, p. 21).
verse 36.
Hospitality pays the hospital bill:
Dr. Howard Kelly was a renowned physician and surgeon, and, withal, a devout practicing Christian. During the summer holidays when in medical school, Dr. Kelly sold books to help with expenses. Becoming thirsty, he stopped one day at a farmhouse for a glass of water. A girl came to the door. When he asked for a glass of water, she sweetly said, “I will give you a glass of milk if you wish!” He drank the cool, refreshing milk heartily.
The years passed. Dr. Kelly graduated from medical school and became the chief surgeon in John Hopkins Hospital. One day a seriously ill patient was admitted to the great hospital. She was given special care and place in a private room with a private nurse. The skilled chief surgeon spared no effort to make the patient well.
After undergoing surgery, she convalesced rapidly.
One day she was told by the head nurse, “Tomorrow you will go home!” Her joy was somewhat lessened by the thought of the large bill she must owe the hospital and surgeon. When she asked for it, the nurse brought the itemized bill. With a heavy heart, the patient began to read the different items from the top downward. She sighed. But as her eyes lowered, she saw the following notation at the bottom of the large bill:
Paid in full with one glass of milk!
It was signed: Howard A. Kelly, M.D..
Recipe:
1 Great Woman
generous portion of discerning hospitality
A pinch of Godly contentment
13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. (expressed contentment with her lot in life: she was at peace and felt no special needs.)
Contentment makes a difference between a good mom and a great mom.
Why important:
1. You can’t show hospitality without contentment. One that covets won’t give anything away.
1 Tim. 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Contrast between the contented and the covetous:
17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
2. Without contentment a woman may not want children. Many women chose a career over children. Children are a choice!
13b
14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.
Putting 13b with verse 14!! She would never have been given a child had she been willing to accept a financial alternative in response to Elisha’s question.
Many women would have asked for a career or for money.
Eliza Paschall, National secretary for NOW, “Those poor housewives don’t even know how unhappy they are.”
NO! Those poor women with “successful” careers don’t know what they’re missing.
Recipe:
1 Great Woman
A generous portion of hospitality
A pinch of Godly Contentment
A husband who could safely trust her: (Proverbs 31)
∙ verse 10—he trusted her about the chamber
∙ verse 19—he trusted her about children
∙ verse 23—he trusted her about church
some think bible believers are anti-women (“don’t let your wife handle the finances.”)
With a great wife and mother he doesn’t have much to worry about. All are well because of a great mom (verse 36).
The 5th ingredient is indispensable to be a great mom. You can be a great woman without it but not a great mom. Its like Chicken Cacciatore without the chicken, its just Cacciatore.
5th A little child, (14, 17a)
14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.
17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son. . . .”
Recipe:
1 Great Woman
A discerning amount of hospitality
A pinch of Godly Contentment
A Trusting Husband
A little Child
Let rise raise until the child is grown. Verse 18.
The passage doesn’t say anything about the intervening years so you just assume they just let him rise. But thats not Biblical. No! Raise him/her don’t let them rise. Good children are not an accident.
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Heat at extreme temperature until done
18 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.
19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.
20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
Hebrews 11:35 “Women received their dead raised to life again:”
However, the New Testament does tell us that this woman was a believer who lived by faith. In Hebrews 11 the author speaks of the testimonies of Old Testament saints who lived by faith. Among these he speaks of the “women who received back their dead by resurrection” (Heb. 11:35) showing us that all the events of this chapter in 2 Kings 4 were the result of this woman’s faith in the Lord.
∙ Our faith needs to grow! God wants us to grow in our trust and relationship with Him.
∙ He wants to teach us how to turn our entire lives over to Him—all our fears, hopes, dreams, or problems, whatever they might be.
But we are often happy and comfortable with the status quo, with our religious routines and the comfort of our lives. The Lord, however, wants to stretch our faith and
∙ He often tests us in some area where we not only need it, but where we are the most sensitive and vulnerable—a physical weakness, personality trait, our spouse or children, our job, our pocketbook—God knows us and works accordingly.
And so it was with this Shunammite woman. She had a special need in her life, and this need was in an area of great vulnerability for her. In ancient times, being without a child was a great burden for a couple, but especially for the woman. Children are blessings from God. They are the result of the direct blessing of God for it is the Lord who opens or closes the womb. Deuteronomy 7:13, 14; 28:4, 18 and Psalm 127:3-5 draw our attention to this fact. In God’s covenant with Israel as spelled out in Deuteronomy, children were a blessing of God for obedience and the absence of children was a curse for disobedience. Yet, sometimes God closed the womb for other reasons. Sometimes it was to develop faith and to magnify His name, as was the case not only with this woman but with Sarah in Genesis and Hannah in 1 Samuel.
So here was a godly woman who for years had undoubtedly longed for a child yet she had been barren. And may I suggest she had become vulnerable in this area because of the many years she had gone without a child.
This wonderful son was a reward for her faithful service and ministry to Elisha. Her husband was old, so this meant a regenerating miracle of God as with Abraham and Sarah. Remember, that at the announcement of this promise she said, “No my lord, O man of God, do not lie to your maid servant” (vs. 16). This expressed her anxiety about setting her hopes on a son and then have them dashed to pieces if the promise was not fulfilled.
It is so easy for people to get wrapped up in their children that they actually seek their own happiness and sense of worth in their children’s accomplishments rather than in the Lord. They become wrapped up in their children’s lives—their growth, changes, talents, accomplishments, problems, pursuits, and successes. Naturally, this is normal to a point, and a legitimate means of joy, but nothing is to take God’s place in our lives as the source of our security, significance, satisfaction, and the means of stability, nothing not even our children.
This woman had accepted her lot in life and was involved in serving the Lord, her husband and her community. Now suddenly, after many years, she is faced with the promise of a child with all the joy, responsibility and change that would bring.
Scripture does not describe her response, but I think we can begin to grasp what immediately went through her mind; the joy and hope as well as the fear of disappointment. The issue of children had been settled long ago; she had accepted it or resigned herself to life without a child, but once again it becomes an issue and a hope, but also a fear, a vulnerability.
With the prospects of this there was a short lapse in her faith—probably in two areas—both of which were a test of her faith which the Lord wanted to develop.
∙ First, this would require a sexual regenerating miracle in her husband. But then she probably remembered Abraham and Sarah and was able to rest this in God’s hands.
∙ But there was another test here. We must learn by faith to overcome and handle all of our fears as we trust in the good hand of God. We all tend to become settled and comfortable in our lives as they are. Any real change means becoming more vulnerable and susceptible to pain, pressure, and the things which can bring sorrow and suffering.
∙ Or it can even mean a test of our allegiance to our Lord because as He gives us our desires, it is so easy for us to cling to them rather than to the Lord. God gives us all things to enjoy, but we need to have a light grip on these things (1 Tim. 6:17-19). Its easier to give material things than your own kids.
A strong faith and one that is growing is one that learns to trust God with the whole of our lives. This means we must learn to step out in faith, to be vulnerable, to leave the future in the Lord’s hands, trusting Him daily and enjoying each day as the Lord gives it while obeying His Word.
The Hebrew words used in this passage may suggest this. The Hebrew word in verse 16 for “lie” is (kazab), which means “to lie or deceive by lies.” But it goes beyond that to mean “to disappoint,” to get one’s hopes up because of what is promised and then to become disappointed.
∙ Believing God for this promise not only included faith that He would do this, but faith beyond, faith that God would be sufficient for whatever might come later. She was afraid of getting her hopes up and then being disappointed.
But later in this chapter, when her child died, she reminded Elisha of her words, only there, she changed the verb to shala. This word means “to be quiet, at ease,” and then, “be prosperous, secure,” but in the hiphil stem as it used here, it means “to be deceived, misled.” In Psalm 30:6 the noun form, shalu, “prosperity,” is used. But there the context suggests the idea of being misled by the delusion that prosperity guarantees stability or security. Perhaps we can see in this choice of words the element of her fear of vulnerability. She was afraid that in this blessing and prosperity of having a child she might be deceived and find instead pain and sorrow; she had become comfortable and secure in her present life and she was afraid of her vulnerability.
But God is in the business of developing our faith, of stretching our lives, of broadening our vision or our horizons of His grace, love, and His ability to meet our needs no matter what life may bring.
21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.
22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.
23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.
25 So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:
26 Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.
27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?
29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
30 And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.
31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.
32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.
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.
Mr. Horatio G. Spafford was a successful lawyer in Chicago and a member of the Fullerton Avenue Presbyterian Church in that city. In the financial crisis of 1873, he lost most of his property. In the stress and strain of the times, he prevailed on his wife and four daughters to take a trip to France—to get as far away from the scene of worry as possible. He booked passage for them on the Ville de Havre. They set sail November 15, 1873.
The trip was uneventful, and its hundreds of passengers were enjoying the indescribable uplift of an ocean voyage. That is, until the night of November 22.
Shortly after midnight the Loch Earn, bound for New York, collided with the Ville de Havre. In a few minutes, the French ocean liner sank beneath the waves. The Loch Earn, which was not damaged by the collision, rescued as many survivors as they could find. Of the 226 passengers on the Ville de Havre, only 87 survived.
Mrs. Spafford was among the survivors, but the four daughters perished. As soon as Mrs. Spafford reached land, she telegraphed from France to her husband: “Saved alone Children lost. What shall I do?”
The Chicago attorney left immediately to join his wife and bring her back to Chicago. It was in the depths of their bereavement that he wrote his one and only hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.” The grief of his terrible loss and the peace he experienced as he and his wife submitted their lives to God’s providential dealings, he describes in the four stanzas of the hymn.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrow like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well with my soul.”
Though Satan should buffet, though trials
should come,
Let this blest assurance control;
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought,
My sin not in part, but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul!
And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall
descend,
“Even so,” it is well with my soul.
—How to Win Over Worry, John Haggai
