Whoever Receives You Receives Me1
2 Kings 4:1-14
1Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”
This was the severe practice of that time. A man’s sons were forced to serve his creditor until his debts were paid, even though their father was dead. The sorrows of this poor woman piled on. Her husband was dead, he left her in debt and her children were going to be taken from her to serve someone else.
2And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” (She would be forced to turn over anything of value to pay toward the debts) And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” (She was extremely poor. She was a prophet’s wife, but the people were too fond of their idols to give much to the Lord’s servants.) 3Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. 4Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” 5So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. 6When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
If we have faith in God, his grace will fill up all our emptiness. When we are unable to receive more, the blessing will be put on hold. This is not because the Lord has used up his power, but because we are not able to hold any more. “According to your faith be it done to you.”2 Great faith shall have great supplies. If we do not have enough, the fault lies completely with us.
7She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”
She must pay her debts first and then the remainder will be hers. She had no right to any of the oil until the creditors were satisfied. It was not a sin for her not to pay her husband’s debts when she had no way of paying them. But the moment it was in her power to pay them, she was obligated to do so. It would be good if all Christian people remember this. We are told to, “Pay to all what is owed to them,”3 but the shame is that debt is all too common among Christians.
8One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. 9And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. 10Let 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.”
11One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there.
We read how Elisha had helped a poor woman. Now he is entertained by a rich woman. God repays those who show mercy. It was a great honor to this Shunammite woman to be allowed to show kindness to the Lord’s servant. She showed her true godliness by doing this without being asked. She provided the good man with everything necessary and, even more, a quiet room all to himself where he would be undisturbed by the business of the household.
12And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” (That is, she was content with her life. She did not wish for a special favor from the king.) 14And he said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”
Gehazi suggested to the prophet that the birth of a child would fill the house with joy and the Lord granted the generous woman her desire. Those who serve the Lord and are kind to his people will be honored by their Lord. May our house always be open to the ministers of Christ, as our way of showing appreciation for their Lord.
1 Matthew 10:40
2 Matthew 9:29
3 Romans 13:7
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