Her character: Generous and hospitable, she was a wealthy
and capable woman who showed great kindness to one of God's
prophets.
Her sorrow: To lose the son that had been promised
her.
Her joy: To experience just how deep God's faithfulness
goes.
Key Scriptures: 2 Kings 4:8-37; 8:1-6
Her Story
Just a few miles north of Jezreel, where Jezebel's story had drawn to its
grim conclusion, lived a wealthy Israelite woman whose sharp eye kept track of
travelers from Nazareth to Jerusalem. One of the more colorful characters who
frequented the road outside her house was Elisha, the prophet who succeeded
Elijah.
One day the Shunammite woman invited Elisha to linger for a meal. Afterward,
she said to her husband, "Let's make a small room on the roof and put in it a
bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he
comes to us."
Moved by her kindness, Elisha inquired, through his servant, Gehazi, whether
he could use his influence with Israel's king on her behalf. But the woman
wasn't looking for favors at court, so Elisha pressed his servant, saying,
"What, then, can be done for her?"
Gehazi merely pointed out the obvious: the woman and her aging husband were
childless, without an heir to carry on the family name. So Elisha summoned the
woman and made an incredible promise: "About this time next year you will hold a
son in your arms."
"No, my lord," she objected. "Don't mislead your servant, O man of God!"
Yet, a year later, just as Elisha had foretold, the woman held a squalling
infant in her arms, laughing as she told others the story of God's surprising
gift. Unlike so many of her female forebears—Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Tamar,
Hannah—the Shunammite woman seemed content without children. Elisha's promise,
however, was an arrow homing straight to its target, fulfilling the unspoken
desire of her heart.
One morning, a few years later, a servant entered the house with the little
boy in his arms, explaining that the child had complained of a headache while
visiting his father in the fields. Perhaps he had lingered too long in the
sun.
The boy's face was flushed, his forehead hot as his mother caressed it,
hushing him with soothing sounds and songs. But despite murmured words of
reassurance, she felt her own fear spreading. The tighter she held him, the more
his spirit seemed to retreat. His breathing was labored, his eyes listless. At
about noon he died.
Without a word, she carried his small body to the prophet's room, laying it
tenderly on Elisha's bed. Closing the door, she summoned a servant and left
immediately for Mount Carmel, where she hoped to find Elisha.
Spotting her in the distance, the prophet wondered aloud what could prompt
her to make the twenty-five-mile journey north. "Run to meet her," he urged
Gehazi, "and ask, 'Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child
all right?' "
But the woman merely brushed Gehazi aside with polite words and rushed
straight to Elisha, exclaiming: "Did I ask you for a son, my lord? Didn't I tell
you, 'Don't raise my hopes'?"
Immediately the prophet instructed Gehazi: "Tuck your cloak into your belt,
take my staff in your hand, and run. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and
if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy's face."
The woman, however, wasn't about to settle for a stand-in. So the prophet
hurried to Shunem just behind Gehazi, who had gone on ahead to carry out his
master's orders. When Elisha arrived, he found the boy lying quiet and cold on
his couch. Elisha closed the door behind him. Praying, he stretched his body
across the boy's so that hands, mouth, and eyes touched. As he lay there, he
could feel the chilled body warming beneath him. He got up and paced the room
for a while. At last he stretched himself across the lifeless body again and
prayed. The boy's chest lifted. Then he sneezed! Then sneezed again.
The Shunammite woman may, in fact, have heard the story of how Elijah had
raised the son of the widow of Zarephath in similar circumstances. If so, that
miracle would certainly have fueled her hope, giving her the courage to seek her
own miracle rather than collapse under so great a weight of grief. Now, as she
saw for herself the irrefutable sign of God's loving-kindness, she fell at
Elisha's feet and bowed to the ground. God had been true to his word, fulfilling
his promise to her and then preserving it in the face of impossible
circumstances.
Her Promise
The Shunammite woman knew there was hope even in the most devastating of
circumstances. She had been promised a son when she was barren, and now she
tenaciously held on to that promise even though her little son lay dead on
Elisha's couch. "It's all right," she said to her husband, knowing full well
that their boy was gone. The God who had given her the promise wasn't gone. She
knew he wouldn't forsake her.
"It's all right." Can you express that sentiment even when your world is
crashing in on you? Perhaps not. Remember, however, that even in the most
agonizing of circumstances, even when you feel abandoned, even when tragedy
strikes—God is there. Trust his word and gain assurance from the Shunammite
woman who, in the midst of appalling circumstances, could say, "It's all
right."
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