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| 1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. |
A certain woman – Josephus claims that this woman was the widow of Obadiah. R3430:6
Of the wives – Indicating that the school of the prophets was not a monastic order. R3430:3
Sons of the prophets – See comments on 2 Kings 2:3.
Unto Elisha – Her cry to the prophet of the Lord was a cry to the Lord himself. R3431:3
Fear the LORD – That is, he reverenced, worshipped and sought to serve the Lord. R3430:6
To be bondmen – According to the terms of the law her sons must serve the creditor until the debt was paid or until the Jubilee year. R2345:3
Represents how the whole world of Adam's family was sold under sin and obligated to pay the wages of sin, death. R3430:3
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| 2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. |
Elisha – Elisha may also typify the Ancient Worthies (See 2 Kings 2:14). R5780:1, R4758:2; B265; R3417:2
What shall I do – Showing the Lord's willingness to help us to pay our honest debts; and our responsibility to pay them. R2345:5
What hast thou – During the Millennium the Lord will bless what people may have according to their faith. R5780:4
We should look to see what we have in our possession. R5419:3, R5780:4
God can use our humblest talent to his praise. R5419:2
Hath not any thing – The woman did not appeal for divine aid until she was in extremities, and neither should we. R3431:3
A pot of oil – God is pleased to bless the use of things which we have rather than to send us other things. R2345:5
Olive oil was used for light, cooking, and as butter in those days; a household necessity and an article of ready sale. R3431:2
The Lord used what she had on hand. R5419:4
Olive oil is used in the Scriptures as a symbol of the holy Spirit. R3431:4
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| 3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. |
Even empty vessels – It is for us to see that we are emptied vessels; empty that he may fill us with his Spirit. R3431:5
Borrow not a few – Her faith was tested and developed by the prophet's requirement that she and her sons should cooperate in the borrowing of vessels. R3431:4, R2345:5
The fact that she was able to borrow from her neighbors implies a good reputation. R3431:2
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| 4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. |
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| 5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. |
She poured out – Reminding us that during the Millennial age his Spirit shall be poured upon all flesh. (Joel 2:28) R3431:4, R558:4
A beautiful picture of restitution blessings. R4758:5, R2345:5
Thus, as we acknowledge divine mercies and render thanks, the blessing is only increased. F687
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| 6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. |
The vessels were full – Illustrating the blessed rewards of faith that the Lord will grant during the Millennium. R5780:4
Representing how the antitypical Elisha will help the poor to secure the oil of joy for the spirit of heaviness in the Millennium. B266
Every vessel fitted for its reception shall be filled with the Spirit to its full. R3431:4, R558:4
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| 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest. |
Pay thy debt – Justice was not to be violated. R5780:4, R2345:5
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| 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. |
A great woman – Evidently widely known as a good and wise woman, and probably possessed of a large estate. R3431:3, R2345:6
The kind of greatness, too, which recognizes goodness and reverences the Lord and those who are his. R2345:6
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| 9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. |
Unto her husband – Manifesting a commendable wifely deference to his wishes. R2346:1
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| 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. |
A little chamber – Every home, if possible, should have such a guest chamber for the Lord's servants. R2346:1, R3432:1
Present day arrangements for public hotels are calculated to hinder the development of the spirit of hospitality. R3432:1
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| 11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. |
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| 12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. |
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| 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. |
What is to be done – Those who accept the favors of others and lack the desire to do as much in return are lacking the Lord's spirit. R2346:2
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| 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. |
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| 15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. |
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| 16 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. |
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| 17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life. |
The woman conceived – The miraculous interposition of divine power quickening the dormant and inoperative forces. R560:6*
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| 18 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. |
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| 19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. |
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| 20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
To the man of God – Her faith in the prophet corresponds very well to our faith in the Lord Jesus. R3432:4
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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: |
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| 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. |
It is well – Avoiding the questions of Elisha's servant. R3432:3
An answer of faith having full confidence in the power of God, through the prophet, to awaken her son from the dead. R2346:2
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| 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. |
Hid it from me – It was not by any power that the prophet himself possessed that he had any special knowledge, but by revelations from the Lord. R2349:6
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| 28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me? |
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| 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. |
Take my staff – Much after the same style that the Apostle Paul sent napkins and handkerchiefs to the sick. R3432:3
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| 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. |
I will not leave thee – Possibly realizing that the servant was not such a man as his master. R3432:3
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| 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. |
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| 32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. |
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| 33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
Then he returned – The Lord is pleased to exercise his power, either slowly or quickly, according to circumstances and conditions. R2346:5
Walked ... to and fro – Apparently the prophet was perplexed by this case. R2346:4
Child opened his eyes – This restoration of life was a foreshadowing of the great Times of Restitution. HG336:1
Picturing coming restitution work of the Millennium, when all the sleeping dead will be awakened. R5781:2; B266; R4758:5
Was merely awakened, not "resurrected," not "raised to life again." F703, F704; R2346:5
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| 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. |
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| 37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out. |
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| 38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. |
There was a dearth – Representing a lack of spiritual food. B266
Sons of the prophets – Representing theologians. B266; R558:4.
See comments on 2 Kings 2:3.
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| 39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.
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| 40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. |
Death in the pot – Deadly doctrines, error and superstition, combined with Satan's great falsehood. R4758:4, R558:4
This will be effectually offset by the blessings of the Lord through his glorified Kingdom. R4758:4
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| 41 But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot. |
That they may eat – May represent a healing of the food of theologians by the putting of an antidote into their poisonous mess. R558:4
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| 42 And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat. |
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| 43 And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. |
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| 44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD. |
And they did eat – Representing that spiritual food shall be made wholesome and plentiful. B266; R558:4
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