My hope and prayer is for this little book to give kids of all ages just a taste of what’s waiting for them in the Bible. Personally, I love reading through the Old Testament more than I do the New Testament. I know the Old Testament was written to the Jews, but the Bible says it was written for our learning as well. In the Old Testament we learn about God almighty, and what he’s like. We learn what he hates, and we learn what he loves. I love to take stories in the Old Testament, and apply them spiritually to my own life. In this book I have not gone into great depths in covering the lives of the prophets, kings, and people from the Old Testament. Time has only allowed me to take just a few little golden nuggets the Lord has given me while studying their lives, and write them down. However, I do plan on adding to this book. There is so much more that I would love to write. I would also like to write a book with New Testament stories in the future.
Outside of Old Testament stories, I have thrown in a few simple devotional stories of my own. These little stories teach valuable lessons. There is so much in God’s word for us. I want kids to know that our God is a personal one, and that they can get just as much out of God’s word as an adult can. God’s word is a gold mine. And how do you get gold? Does it fall out of the sky and hit you on the head? No, I think not! You have to dig for it, right? Once you’ve found it, you take it and polish it up. Then you put it in a safe place, so you can take it out and look at it every once in a while. Or you might even make something out of it.
The nuggets that I find in God’s word, I like to take and polish them. I roll them over, and over, and over in my mind. I hide them in a safe place like my heart. That’s where I won’t lose them, and no one can steal them. You know, someone can take my Bible away, but they can’t take my nuggets out of my heart. And who knows, one day God might even make something real nice out of those nuggets.
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this book first of all to the girls
who I had the privilege of teaching at Bible Baptist Church.
Sarah Butts
Holly Byrer
Elizabeth Deems
Emily Donovan
Erin Gilligan
Emily Laraby
Molly Martin
Jessica Pia
Margaritte Pizzo
Shelly Sudore
Sarah Tober
Hannah Vaughn
Victoria Virginio
Shelby Walker
Delilah Whilps
Hannah Heishman
I would also like to dedicate this book to my three sons,
David, Adam, and Jesse Faunce
And to all my nieces and nephews,
Cory Flag,
Angel and Hayden Faunce.
Anna, Nathan, Timothy, Philip, Leah, and Elisabeth Taylor,
Christopher, and Esther Trosclair
I love you all very much.
In everything that you do and say, and throughout your whole life’s journey,
I would like for you to always remember these two words:
“Do Right!”
Elisha Anointed Prophet
Out of all the stories in this book, you will find that the prophet Elisha is in more of them than any other person. Why Elisha? You might ask. Elijah the Tishbite was some prophet. As we read along in the Old Testament we learn that the prophet Elijah was able to stop the rain and the dew for many days. The great prophet Elijah brought a widow’s son back to life, and through this she found out that the word of the Lord was really true. The prophet Elijah was able to call down fire from heaven to prove that his God was the one true God. Oh yes, the prophet Elijah was a mighty prophet, but Elisha will always be my favorite. Keep reading, and you will find out why.
Here in this story, we find Elijah sitting under a juniper tree way out in the middle of the wilderness. Why was he out there? Well, he had just killed all of Jezebel’s prophets of Baal. When she found out about it, she wasn’t too pleased. In fact, she was so down right furious about it, she threatened to kill Elijah. So he took off running for his life. He left his servant in Beersheba, and then went a day’s journey out into the wilderness. That’s where we find him now.
Let’s take a look at the situation he was in. He was so tired and weary. He had just killed all the prophets of Baal, and no doubt he was up in years now. Then running for his life sure didn’t make matters any better. He was pooped, and slap worn out, as we’d say down south. He finally said to the Lord, “It is enough! I’m weak, I’m tired of fighting, and my flesh is weary. Just go ahead and take my life, for I am no better than my Fathers.” After saying those words to the Lord, he laid himself down under that juniper tree and fell fast asleep.
After a little while, an angel came down from heaven and touched him. He woke up and looked around. He noticed that the angel had baked him a cake on some coals. Also, there sat a cruse of water close to where his head had been laying. The angel said to him, “Arise Elijah, and eat.”
Elijah ate the cake and drank all of the water, and then he laid back down. After a little while, the angel came back a second time. He touched Elijah and said, “Arise and eat Elijah, because the journey is too great for thee.”
The Bible says in 1 Kings 19:8, “And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the Mount of God.”
This reminds me of a time in my life. One of the lowest times I can remember. I was so tired spiritually. I said to God, “ Ya know God, I’m so weary, and I’m so tired. I just can’t go on another step. I want to give up on life spiritually. I quit. “
Then I went to sleep. But do you know what happened in the middle of the night? The Lord came down and woke me up. He touched my heart, and said, “Hey, get up and eat. This journey is too great for you, you need some strength.”
I got up and looked around, and there was my Bible. Do you know that the Lord had a sweet, moist cake already baked for me in that precious book? Not only that, but he had a cruse of water in there waiting for me too. I read, and I ate up that book.. Then I took a nice, long, cool drink. The Bible says in Matthew 4:4, that man can not live by bread alone, but by every word that procedeth out of the mouth of God. God’s got a cake baked especially for you in his word. The water is right there. All you need to do is get up, and eat and drink. All the nourishment is there waiting for you. The word of God is sweet as honey. It’s called the bread of Life. It can also be strong meat, and it can quench a thirsty soul anytime. Maybe you’re young now, but down the road as you go through life’s journey, you will find out that the only thing that will nourish and strengthen you is the Word of God.
Elijah did get strength for his journey. For you see, God wasn’t finished with him yet. God still had three people that he wanted Elijah to anoint. God told Elijah to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, and anoint Jehu to be king over Israel. Last of all, Elijah was to anoint Elisha to be prophet so that he would have someone to take his place.
After anointing Hazael and Jehu, Elijah went off to find Elisha. The Bible says that Elijah found Elisha plowing in a field with twelve yoke of oxen. Elijah cast his mantel on Elisha as he walked passed, and Elisha left his oxen and ran after him. He asked Elijah if he could go back and kiss his Father, and his Mother, and then he would follow him. Elijah told him, “Go back again, for what have I done to thee?”
You know, Elijah didn’t say anything to Elisha, he just cast his mantel on him and there was a spiritual connection between the both of them. Elijah didn’t need to explain anything to Elisha. Elisha was already spiritually aware of what was going on around him. Elisha ran back to the field and killed a yoke of oxen. He boiled the flesh of the oxen, and gave it to the people to eat. Then he ran after Elijah and ministered unto him. The word minister means to serve, to help, or to supply things when needed.
I would like for you to notice something about Elisha. He was working when Elijah found him. I think when God looks around for someone to use, he likes to pick the ones who he finds working. God doesn’t like to use lazy people. I’m not saying that he won’t use a lazy person, but I do believe with all my heart that he loves to use hard working people much more. If you were a boss, which would you rather hire, a lazy person, or a hard working person? When God looks down from heaven, does he see you working hard for daddy and mommy? Or does he see you slouching around and complaining about your chores? How you do your work now will determine your future for the Lord. When God looks down, he notices when you are obedient toward daddy, and mommy. I betcha he says to himself, “I think I’ll use that girl or boy when they get older, I have a mighty special job for them.” Wouldn’t it be great if God picked you out, and used you in a mighty way like he did Elisha?
I haven’t told you yet why Elisha is my favorite prophet. Keep on reading, and you will find out in the next story.
Here in this story, we find Elijah sitting under a juniper tree way out in the middle of the wilderness. Why was he out there? Well, he had just killed all of Jezebel’s prophets of Baal. When she found out about it, she wasn’t too pleased. In fact, she was so down right furious about it, she threatened to kill Elijah. So he took off running for his life. He left his servant in Beersheba, and then went a day’s journey out into the wilderness. That’s where we find him now.
Let’s take a look at the situation he was in. He was so tired and weary. He had just killed all the prophets of Baal, and no doubt he was up in years now. Then running for his life sure didn’t make matters any better. He was pooped, and slap worn out, as we’d say down south. He finally said to the Lord, “It is enough! I’m weak, I’m tired of fighting, and my flesh is weary. Just go ahead and take my life, for I am no better than my Fathers.” After saying those words to the Lord, he laid himself down under that juniper tree and fell fast asleep.
After a little while, an angel came down from heaven and touched him. He woke up and looked around. He noticed that the angel had baked him a cake on some coals. Also, there sat a cruse of water close to where his head had been laying. The angel said to him, “Arise Elijah, and eat.”
Elijah ate the cake and drank all of the water, and then he laid back down. After a little while, the angel came back a second time. He touched Elijah and said, “Arise and eat Elijah, because the journey is too great for thee.”
The Bible says in 1 Kings 19:8, “And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the Mount of God.”
This reminds me of a time in my life. One of the lowest times I can remember. I was so tired spiritually. I said to God, “ Ya know God, I’m so weary, and I’m so tired. I just can’t go on another step. I want to give up on life spiritually. I quit. “
Then I went to sleep. But do you know what happened in the middle of the night? The Lord came down and woke me up. He touched my heart, and said, “Hey, get up and eat. This journey is too great for you, you need some strength.”
I got up and looked around, and there was my Bible. Do you know that the Lord had a sweet, moist cake already baked for me in that precious book? Not only that, but he had a cruse of water in there waiting for me too. I read, and I ate up that book.. Then I took a nice, long, cool drink. The Bible says in Matthew 4:4, that man can not live by bread alone, but by every word that procedeth out of the mouth of God. God’s got a cake baked especially for you in his word. The water is right there. All you need to do is get up, and eat and drink. All the nourishment is there waiting for you. The word of God is sweet as honey. It’s called the bread of Life. It can also be strong meat, and it can quench a thirsty soul anytime. Maybe you’re young now, but down the road as you go through life’s journey, you will find out that the only thing that will nourish and strengthen you is the Word of God.
Elijah did get strength for his journey. For you see, God wasn’t finished with him yet. God still had three people that he wanted Elijah to anoint. God told Elijah to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, and anoint Jehu to be king over Israel. Last of all, Elijah was to anoint Elisha to be prophet so that he would have someone to take his place.
After anointing Hazael and Jehu, Elijah went off to find Elisha. The Bible says that Elijah found Elisha plowing in a field with twelve yoke of oxen. Elijah cast his mantel on Elisha as he walked passed, and Elisha left his oxen and ran after him. He asked Elijah if he could go back and kiss his Father, and his Mother, and then he would follow him. Elijah told him, “Go back again, for what have I done to thee?”
You know, Elijah didn’t say anything to Elisha, he just cast his mantel on him and there was a spiritual connection between the both of them. Elijah didn’t need to explain anything to Elisha. Elisha was already spiritually aware of what was going on around him. Elisha ran back to the field and killed a yoke of oxen. He boiled the flesh of the oxen, and gave it to the people to eat. Then he ran after Elijah and ministered unto him. The word minister means to serve, to help, or to supply things when needed.
I would like for you to notice something about Elisha. He was working when Elijah found him. I think when God looks around for someone to use, he likes to pick the ones who he finds working. God doesn’t like to use lazy people. I’m not saying that he won’t use a lazy person, but I do believe with all my heart that he loves to use hard working people much more. If you were a boss, which would you rather hire, a lazy person, or a hard working person? When God looks down from heaven, does he see you working hard for daddy and mommy? Or does he see you slouching around and complaining about your chores? How you do your work now will determine your future for the Lord. When God looks down, he notices when you are obedient toward daddy, and mommy. I betcha he says to himself, “I think I’ll use that girl or boy when they get older, I have a mighty special job for them.” Wouldn’t it be great if God picked you out, and used you in a mighty way like he did Elisha?
I haven’t told you yet why Elisha is my favorite prophet. Keep on reading, and you will find out in the next story.
Elisha at Jericho
2 Kings Chapter 2
The Bible says in 2 Kings 2:1 “And it came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.”
Elisha and Elijah were traveling together from Gilgal that day, and deep down Elisha knew that Elijah was going to be taken from him. He just had that gut feeling. It’s the kind of gut feeling that you don’t want to have. No one wants a great person whom they love, and respect taken away from them. That’s exactly how it was with Elisha. He knew he was about to loose someone very special to him.
Along the way, Elijah turned to Elisha and said. “I want you to wait here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha told him, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth I will not leave thee.” So together they went down to Bethel.
As they came into Bethel, the sons of the prophets ran to meet them. They said to Elisha, “Don’t you know that today the Lord is going to take your master away?”
And he answered, “Yes, I know it, but hold your peace.” In other words, hold your tongue. It made him upset to be reminded of loosing someone he loved so dearly. He didn’t want to be reminded of it at all.
Then a second time, Elijah told Elisha, “Wait here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”
But again Elisha said, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.”
So they traveled on to Jericho together. As soon as they got into Jericho, the sons of the prophets that were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Hey, don’t you know that the Lord is going to take away your master today?”
Elisha answered once more, “Yes I know, but hold your peace.”
Then again Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, because the Lord has called me to Jordan now.”
And, you guessed it, Elisha said, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” As they went on down the road together, fifty of the sons of the prophets stood, and watched from afar off. When they reached the Jordan River, Elijah took his mantel, wrapped it together, and smote the waters with it. All of a sudden the waters began to part, just like they did for Moses when he stretch forth his rod over the Red sea. So as the children of Israel went over to the other side on dry ground, so did Elijah and Elisha.
When they reached the other side, Elijah asked Elisha, ”What shall I do for thee, before I am taken away from thee?”
Gee willikers! Look at the answer Elisha gave! He couldn’t have asked for a better thing. His mind was not on him self. His mind wasn’t on material things. His reply was not a selfish one at all. His reply was one that would make him be a better prophet for the Lord and for others. Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.
You know, we as Christians should have our minds set on spiritual things as Elisha did. Oh, let me tell you kids, when you ask God for spiritual things, he dumps it on you a hundred fold. He’s already provided for you physically, hasn’t he? The Bible says with food and clothes to be content. Right? Well, those are physical needs. Now it’s time to ask him for spiritual needs such as: “Lord help me to honor and obey my Father and Mother. Lord help me to be a good testimony for you at school. Lord show me someone that needs a friend today. Lord, send me a lost soul today. Lord, give me some spiritual wisdom. Lord send me the right kind of friends.”
There are all kinds of spiritual needs. When you hand out tracts, pray that if the person is not saved, God will deal with their hearts. As I have told you kids before, God will hear the prayer of a child quicker than you can blink an eye. Take advantage of that while you’re still young and pray for spiritual things. God thinks so much of a child’s prayer, and will hear them above most adults.
Well, getting back to our story, in verse 10, Elijah said to Elisha, “Thou hast asked a hard thing, but nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.”
So, the both of them went on down the road walking and talking together. All of a sudden, there came down a chariot of fire, and it had horses of fire. Now I can try to imagine a chariot of fire. But horses of fire, Wow! That is something else. What a sight to behold! Horses of fire! Try to imagine them! That chariot and those horses came right in between Elijah and Elisha, and the Bible says it parted them both asunder. I reckon when that hot chariot got close, and started to come in between them, Elisha just stepped back out of the way and watched.
Then the wind started to pick up. That means it started getting a bit windy. Then all of a sudden a whirlwind came down out of heaven, and just sucked that chariot, and those horses right up in to the clouds. Elisha stood there and watched as his friend waved to him out of the chariot. Elisha fell down to his knees and cried, ”My Father, My Father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.”
The heavens opened up and the chariot, the horses, and Elijah, were swallowed up into the clouds. The sky, the wind, and the clouds all became calm again. Elisha took a hold of his clothes and tore them into two pieces. He was upset because his master and his friend was gone. Elisha ran over and picked up the mantle that fell from Elijah. He held the mantle close to him as he started on his way. Elisha began shaking his head, and saying under his breath, “Bless God! A double portion!, I’ve got a double portion, praise God!” Elisha’s face began to glow as he started walking back to the Jordan River.
When he reached the bank of the Jordan River, he took Elijah’s mantel and smote the waters just as he’d seen Elijah do. As that mantel came down over the waters of Jordan, Elisha cried out,” Where is the Lord God of Elijah?!”
And ya know what? It didn’t take Elisha long to get the answer to his question. God answered his question by parting the waters of Jordan, so that he could walk safely over on dry ground. It was like God saying, “Hey Elisha, you want to know where I am? Well, I’m right here next to you. I’m as close to you as this river is.”
God showed him that he was right there with him, just like he was for Elijah. Elisha wasn’t the one who parted those waters. It was all God. You know, there might come a time in your life when you will ask. “ Where is the God of my Father? Where is the God of my Mother?”
I’m here to tell you that the Lord will show you quickly that he’s right there with you. He’ll say, “I’ve been here all along, I’ve been this close to you.” Praise God he promised that he would never leave me nor forsake me. He has been true to his promises over the years for me, and he’ll do the same for you. The God of your Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, Pastor, or best friend is right there just as close to you as he was for them. And to the saved person who never had any of the family and friends just mentioned, the God of the Bible is just as close to that person as he is anyone else. The Lord showed this to Elisha that day. What a blessed day.
When Elisha neared Jericho, the sons of the prophet saw him coming up the road. They said to themselves, “Wow! The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha!” They could see a spiritual glow about Elisha they had never seen before. They ran up to Elisha and bowed their selves to the ground before him.
They told Elisha that there were fifty men waiting to go and search for Elijah. They said, “Maybe the spirit of the Lord lifted him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or dropped him in a valley somewhere. Let us go and search for your master.”
Elisha told them, “No , don’t worry about it, you don’t need to send any men out searching.” But they kept on bothering Elisha until he finally said, “All right, go ahead and send out the men.”
The men searched and searched for three days, and couldn’t find a trace of Elijah anywhere. Now , I don’t know about you, but I think these men were rather nuts. First they told Elisha that the Lord was going to take Elijah from him that day. Then when the Lord takes Elijah, and they want to go out and search for him. They must not have thought that God was capable of taking Elijah safely home. Maybe they thought the Lord dropped Elijah’s dead corps on a mountaintop or in a valley somewhere. They must not have had much confidence in God. Or maybe they were just out in the sun too long, and it scorched their brains a bit.
After three days they returned to Elisha shaking their heads, and shrugging their shoulders. Elisha said, “Did I not say unto you, go not?” Elisha knew they wouldn’t find Elijah. But for some people, you just can’t tell them anything. They have to find out for themselves.
While Elisha was in Jericho, the men of the city came up to him and said. “Elisha, we have a pretty nice city here, everything is pleasant as you can see, but our waters are polluted. We can not drink the water without getting sick, and some have even died from it. And not only that, our ground is so barren.”
Elisha told the men to bring him a new cruise, and put some salt in it. A cruise is a vessel. Elisha took the new cruise and went to the spring of the waters. As he cast the salt into the water, he said, “Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.”
And the Bible says in chapter 2, verse 22, “So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.”
Do you know that salt is good for healing? My Mother always told me when I had a sore throat to gargle with warm, salt water three to four times a day. And do you know that it really works! After my Mother had surgery, she began swimming in the ocean, and the salt water helped her wound to heal up.
Do you know what the Bible says about salt? Let’s look in three places. First, look in Luke 14:34. The Bible says that, “Salt is good. But if the salt has lost his savour, where with shall it be seasoned?” You know, this verse reminds me of a worldly Christian. The Bible says in the next verse that salt that has lost it’s savor, is not good for anything. It’s not good for land, nor even a dung hill. A dung hill, is a big pile of poo poo. My, what a thing to say about a person. But ya know what? God even says that a luke warm Christian makes him sick enough to puke. What good are you to God if you have lost your savor? What good are you to others if you have lost your savor? Do you know that lost people need Christians with salt to help mend their broken hearts and to help heal their wounds? They need that salt in you, because that flavor and that savor will lead them to the great physician. If I were a lost soul on my way to hell, I sure wouldn’t want to go to a worldly Christian for help. Worldly Christians aren’t even good for dung hills. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Here’s another place that talks about salt is in Colossians 4:6. It says, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
What would food taste like with out the flavor of salt? Yuk! That’s what I’d say. Can you imagine food without salt? Food would be dull, and bland. Well, that’s exactly what you’re like if your speech is not seasoned with salt. Yuk, dull, and bland.
Look at another place is in Matthew 5:13, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost it’s savour, where with shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world, A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
I guess that says it all. Now you can see how important salt is.
Back to our story, Elisha decided to travel on to Bethel. While on his way to Bethel, there came little children from out of the city, and they began to tease Elisha. They had obviously heard about Elijah taken up into heaven by a whirlwind. They knew the story had to come from Elisha, since he was the only one with Elijah at that time. They decided to make fun of the new Prophet, so they mocked him, and yelled, “Go up, thou bald head, go up, thou bald head!”
Boy, was that ever a big mistake. Elisha turned and looked at those children, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. As soon as he did that, there came two she bears out of the woods and ripped forty-two of those children to shreds and killed them deader than a doornail. What a big mistake to laugh and make fun of God’s man.
You know, the winds and the seas obey God. The animals and all of nature obey the voice of God. When God says “Sick em,” they don’t question the master, they do as their told. I’d sure be careful of what I say about God’s men. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Those children weren’t too wise, were they?
Now I’ll tell you why Elisha is my favorite prophet. It’s because he asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Because he asked for something spiritual, God gave it to him. Elisha asked for something spiritual so that he could help others. What do we want from God? Is it spiritual things, or is it things that we want so that we can consume them upon our own selves and our own lust? If you want to be used by God in a mighty way, you’ll have to set your mind on spiritual things and not on things of the world.
Elijah was a mighty prophet. That’s for sure, but Elisha was double the prophet.
The Bible says in 2 Kings 2:1 “And it came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.”
Elisha and Elijah were traveling together from Gilgal that day, and deep down Elisha knew that Elijah was going to be taken from him. He just had that gut feeling. It’s the kind of gut feeling that you don’t want to have. No one wants a great person whom they love, and respect taken away from them. That’s exactly how it was with Elisha. He knew he was about to loose someone very special to him.
Along the way, Elijah turned to Elisha and said. “I want you to wait here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha told him, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth I will not leave thee.” So together they went down to Bethel.
As they came into Bethel, the sons of the prophets ran to meet them. They said to Elisha, “Don’t you know that today the Lord is going to take your master away?”
And he answered, “Yes, I know it, but hold your peace.” In other words, hold your tongue. It made him upset to be reminded of loosing someone he loved so dearly. He didn’t want to be reminded of it at all.
Then a second time, Elijah told Elisha, “Wait here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”
But again Elisha said, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.”
So they traveled on to Jericho together. As soon as they got into Jericho, the sons of the prophets that were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Hey, don’t you know that the Lord is going to take away your master today?”
Elisha answered once more, “Yes I know, but hold your peace.”
Then again Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, because the Lord has called me to Jordan now.”
And, you guessed it, Elisha said, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” As they went on down the road together, fifty of the sons of the prophets stood, and watched from afar off. When they reached the Jordan River, Elijah took his mantel, wrapped it together, and smote the waters with it. All of a sudden the waters began to part, just like they did for Moses when he stretch forth his rod over the Red sea. So as the children of Israel went over to the other side on dry ground, so did Elijah and Elisha.
When they reached the other side, Elijah asked Elisha, ”What shall I do for thee, before I am taken away from thee?”
Gee willikers! Look at the answer Elisha gave! He couldn’t have asked for a better thing. His mind was not on him self. His mind wasn’t on material things. His reply was not a selfish one at all. His reply was one that would make him be a better prophet for the Lord and for others. Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.
You know, we as Christians should have our minds set on spiritual things as Elisha did. Oh, let me tell you kids, when you ask God for spiritual things, he dumps it on you a hundred fold. He’s already provided for you physically, hasn’t he? The Bible says with food and clothes to be content. Right? Well, those are physical needs. Now it’s time to ask him for spiritual needs such as: “Lord help me to honor and obey my Father and Mother. Lord help me to be a good testimony for you at school. Lord show me someone that needs a friend today. Lord, send me a lost soul today. Lord, give me some spiritual wisdom. Lord send me the right kind of friends.”
There are all kinds of spiritual needs. When you hand out tracts, pray that if the person is not saved, God will deal with their hearts. As I have told you kids before, God will hear the prayer of a child quicker than you can blink an eye. Take advantage of that while you’re still young and pray for spiritual things. God thinks so much of a child’s prayer, and will hear them above most adults.
Well, getting back to our story, in verse 10, Elijah said to Elisha, “Thou hast asked a hard thing, but nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.”
So, the both of them went on down the road walking and talking together. All of a sudden, there came down a chariot of fire, and it had horses of fire. Now I can try to imagine a chariot of fire. But horses of fire, Wow! That is something else. What a sight to behold! Horses of fire! Try to imagine them! That chariot and those horses came right in between Elijah and Elisha, and the Bible says it parted them both asunder. I reckon when that hot chariot got close, and started to come in between them, Elisha just stepped back out of the way and watched.
Then the wind started to pick up. That means it started getting a bit windy. Then all of a sudden a whirlwind came down out of heaven, and just sucked that chariot, and those horses right up in to the clouds. Elisha stood there and watched as his friend waved to him out of the chariot. Elisha fell down to his knees and cried, ”My Father, My Father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.”
The heavens opened up and the chariot, the horses, and Elijah, were swallowed up into the clouds. The sky, the wind, and the clouds all became calm again. Elisha took a hold of his clothes and tore them into two pieces. He was upset because his master and his friend was gone. Elisha ran over and picked up the mantle that fell from Elijah. He held the mantle close to him as he started on his way. Elisha began shaking his head, and saying under his breath, “Bless God! A double portion!, I’ve got a double portion, praise God!” Elisha’s face began to glow as he started walking back to the Jordan River.
When he reached the bank of the Jordan River, he took Elijah’s mantel and smote the waters just as he’d seen Elijah do. As that mantel came down over the waters of Jordan, Elisha cried out,” Where is the Lord God of Elijah?!”
And ya know what? It didn’t take Elisha long to get the answer to his question. God answered his question by parting the waters of Jordan, so that he could walk safely over on dry ground. It was like God saying, “Hey Elisha, you want to know where I am? Well, I’m right here next to you. I’m as close to you as this river is.”
God showed him that he was right there with him, just like he was for Elijah. Elisha wasn’t the one who parted those waters. It was all God. You know, there might come a time in your life when you will ask. “ Where is the God of my Father? Where is the God of my Mother?”
I’m here to tell you that the Lord will show you quickly that he’s right there with you. He’ll say, “I’ve been here all along, I’ve been this close to you.” Praise God he promised that he would never leave me nor forsake me. He has been true to his promises over the years for me, and he’ll do the same for you. The God of your Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, Pastor, or best friend is right there just as close to you as he was for them. And to the saved person who never had any of the family and friends just mentioned, the God of the Bible is just as close to that person as he is anyone else. The Lord showed this to Elisha that day. What a blessed day.
When Elisha neared Jericho, the sons of the prophet saw him coming up the road. They said to themselves, “Wow! The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha!” They could see a spiritual glow about Elisha they had never seen before. They ran up to Elisha and bowed their selves to the ground before him.
They told Elisha that there were fifty men waiting to go and search for Elijah. They said, “Maybe the spirit of the Lord lifted him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or dropped him in a valley somewhere. Let us go and search for your master.”
Elisha told them, “No , don’t worry about it, you don’t need to send any men out searching.” But they kept on bothering Elisha until he finally said, “All right, go ahead and send out the men.”
The men searched and searched for three days, and couldn’t find a trace of Elijah anywhere. Now , I don’t know about you, but I think these men were rather nuts. First they told Elisha that the Lord was going to take Elijah from him that day. Then when the Lord takes Elijah, and they want to go out and search for him. They must not have thought that God was capable of taking Elijah safely home. Maybe they thought the Lord dropped Elijah’s dead corps on a mountaintop or in a valley somewhere. They must not have had much confidence in God. Or maybe they were just out in the sun too long, and it scorched their brains a bit.
After three days they returned to Elisha shaking their heads, and shrugging their shoulders. Elisha said, “Did I not say unto you, go not?” Elisha knew they wouldn’t find Elijah. But for some people, you just can’t tell them anything. They have to find out for themselves.
While Elisha was in Jericho, the men of the city came up to him and said. “Elisha, we have a pretty nice city here, everything is pleasant as you can see, but our waters are polluted. We can not drink the water without getting sick, and some have even died from it. And not only that, our ground is so barren.”
Elisha told the men to bring him a new cruise, and put some salt in it. A cruise is a vessel. Elisha took the new cruise and went to the spring of the waters. As he cast the salt into the water, he said, “Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.”
And the Bible says in chapter 2, verse 22, “So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.”
Do you know that salt is good for healing? My Mother always told me when I had a sore throat to gargle with warm, salt water three to four times a day. And do you know that it really works! After my Mother had surgery, she began swimming in the ocean, and the salt water helped her wound to heal up.
Do you know what the Bible says about salt? Let’s look in three places. First, look in Luke 14:34. The Bible says that, “Salt is good. But if the salt has lost his savour, where with shall it be seasoned?” You know, this verse reminds me of a worldly Christian. The Bible says in the next verse that salt that has lost it’s savor, is not good for anything. It’s not good for land, nor even a dung hill. A dung hill, is a big pile of poo poo. My, what a thing to say about a person. But ya know what? God even says that a luke warm Christian makes him sick enough to puke. What good are you to God if you have lost your savor? What good are you to others if you have lost your savor? Do you know that lost people need Christians with salt to help mend their broken hearts and to help heal their wounds? They need that salt in you, because that flavor and that savor will lead them to the great physician. If I were a lost soul on my way to hell, I sure wouldn’t want to go to a worldly Christian for help. Worldly Christians aren’t even good for dung hills. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Here’s another place that talks about salt is in Colossians 4:6. It says, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
What would food taste like with out the flavor of salt? Yuk! That’s what I’d say. Can you imagine food without salt? Food would be dull, and bland. Well, that’s exactly what you’re like if your speech is not seasoned with salt. Yuk, dull, and bland.
Look at another place is in Matthew 5:13, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost it’s savour, where with shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world, A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
I guess that says it all. Now you can see how important salt is.
Back to our story, Elisha decided to travel on to Bethel. While on his way to Bethel, there came little children from out of the city, and they began to tease Elisha. They had obviously heard about Elijah taken up into heaven by a whirlwind. They knew the story had to come from Elisha, since he was the only one with Elijah at that time. They decided to make fun of the new Prophet, so they mocked him, and yelled, “Go up, thou bald head, go up, thou bald head!”
Boy, was that ever a big mistake. Elisha turned and looked at those children, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. As soon as he did that, there came two she bears out of the woods and ripped forty-two of those children to shreds and killed them deader than a doornail. What a big mistake to laugh and make fun of God’s man.
You know, the winds and the seas obey God. The animals and all of nature obey the voice of God. When God says “Sick em,” they don’t question the master, they do as their told. I’d sure be careful of what I say about God’s men. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Those children weren’t too wise, were they?
Now I’ll tell you why Elisha is my favorite prophet. It’s because he asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Because he asked for something spiritual, God gave it to him. Elisha asked for something spiritual so that he could help others. What do we want from God? Is it spiritual things, or is it things that we want so that we can consume them upon our own selves and our own lust? If you want to be used by God in a mighty way, you’ll have to set your mind on spiritual things and not on things of the world.
Elijah was a mighty prophet. That’s for sure, but Elisha was double the prophet.
The Defeat of Moab
2 Kings Chapter 3
The Bible says in 2 Kings, 3:1, “Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.”
The Bible goes on to tell us that King Jehoram did evil in the sight of the Lord. He put away the image of baal that his father and mother had set up, but the Bible tells us that he hung onto the sins of Jeroboam.
What were the sins of Jeroboam? First of all, to learn about the sin of Jeroboam we must go back in time a little bit. The First king of Israel was King Saul. The second king was King David, who was called a man after God’s own heart. Next on the throne was King Solomon, the son of David. King Solomon was the wisest king to ever rule. After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam began to reign as king. The children of Israel came to Rehoboam and asked if he could lighten the load which his father had put on them, and make their yoke a little easier. But Rehoboam refused. Not only did he refuse, but he made their yoke even heavier. This caused a division within the children of Israel, and they left Rehoboam, and made Jeroboam their king instead. All that remained with Rehoboam was the tribe of Judah, and Benjamin.
King Jeroboam thought if the people started going back to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices in the temple, that their hearts would turn once again to Rehoboam. So Jeroboam made two golden calves and set them up for all Israel to worship. He said to them in chapter 12, and verse 28, “ I know it’s too much for you to travel all the way to Jerusalem. So I thought I’d help you out and create for you some god’s right here in your own home town. Behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
Don’t you think that made God jealous? God was the one who brought them out of Egypt, not some golden cows that were made from the hands of a man. God was the one who loved them and cared for them. God was the one who gave them victories over their battles. Yet they wanted to worship a god who couldn’t feed them, who couldn’t care for them, and who couldn’t win battles for them. They would much rather worship a god who couldn’t see them or watch over them. They wanted to worship a god who couldn’t hear them when they cried for help. This hunk of gold had no eyes, ears, nor even a heart. But their God had a big heart that could be touched for them, if they would only have done right. So we learn that the sin of Jeroboam was a very hurtful sin to God.
Now, back to our story. After the death of wicked king Ahab, Mesha, the king of Moab, began to rebel against the king of Israel. So Jehoram, king of Israel, sent word to Jehoshephat, king of Judah, saying: “The king of Moab, has rebelled against me. Will you go to battle with me against Moab?”
And Jehoshaphat answered, “I will go with thee to battle against Moab.”
So the two kings got together to discuss which way they should go up to battle. They ended up getting together with the King of Edom, and he went with them to battle also. So the three kings took off on their seven-day journey to Moab. Along the way they ran out of water. The three kings, and the men that were with them were parched with thirst. They had no water for their horses nor for the cattle that followed them.
At last the King of Israel said,” I betcha this is God’s plan to get the three of us together, so that he can deliver us into the hands of the Moabites.”
But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord around here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” King Jehoshaphat may have had a lot of faults, but he sure knew where to go when there was trouble.
One of the kings servants said, “Hey, Elisha is here, the one who poured water on the hands of Elijah.
Jehoshaphat said, “ Surely,the word of the Lord is with him.” So all three kings went to see Elisha.
When Elisha saw the king of Israel, he said, “What have I to do with thee. Why don’t you go to the prophets of your father and mother, and let them help you out.” For you see, their prophets were the prophets of Baal.
And the king of Israel said, “No way, I can’t go to them. But tell me this much. The Lord has brought us three kings together to deliver us into the hand of Moab, hasn’t he?”
Elisha said, “ As the Lord liveth, were it not that I regard the presence of King Jehoshsaphat, I wouldn’t even look at you, or give you the time of day.” Elisha respected Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, because Jehoshaphat had a continuous habit of wanting to inquire from the prophet of the Lord. He wanted to find out what the Lord had to say about things. That was a real good habit if you ask me. I’m also glad that out of respect for his Son, God looks upon me and hears my cry.
Elisha told the king of Israel to bring him a minstrel. A minstrel was a person who entertained in music. The Bible says in verse 15, that when the minstrel played his music, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha, and Elisha said, “Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. Now, your not going to see any wind or rain, but guess what? This valley is going to be filled with water. There’s going to be plenty enough water for you, and your cattle, and your beast. But this is only a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will also deliver the Moabites into your hands.”
Boy howdy! What a mighty God we serve. Can you imagine a dry valley being filled with water and the Lord doesn’t even use rain? There wasn’t even any wind, or clouds around either. It was just a dry, and dusty valley. The Lord didn’t tell them to dig wells. He just told them to dig some ditches. The Lord performed a miracle that day right in front of their eyes, and he called it just a small thing. Wow! What a God! I’m glad he’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. I’m so glad he doesn’t grow weak, or burn out through the ages. What a privilege to know him personally.
You know, God also used that water in the valley as a trap for the Moabites. The next morning the sun shone down upon the water in the valley, and to the Moabites it looked like puddles of blood. So they thought that there had already been a battle in the valley, and that the kings had slain each other. They were all excited, and said, “Lets go down there and gather all the spoil for ourselves.” But when they went into the valley, the kings were ready and waiting for them. They won the battle that day, just as Elisha told them they would.
The Bible says in 2 Kings, 3:1, “Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.”
The Bible goes on to tell us that King Jehoram did evil in the sight of the Lord. He put away the image of baal that his father and mother had set up, but the Bible tells us that he hung onto the sins of Jeroboam.
What were the sins of Jeroboam? First of all, to learn about the sin of Jeroboam we must go back in time a little bit. The First king of Israel was King Saul. The second king was King David, who was called a man after God’s own heart. Next on the throne was King Solomon, the son of David. King Solomon was the wisest king to ever rule. After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam began to reign as king. The children of Israel came to Rehoboam and asked if he could lighten the load which his father had put on them, and make their yoke a little easier. But Rehoboam refused. Not only did he refuse, but he made their yoke even heavier. This caused a division within the children of Israel, and they left Rehoboam, and made Jeroboam their king instead. All that remained with Rehoboam was the tribe of Judah, and Benjamin.
King Jeroboam thought if the people started going back to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices in the temple, that their hearts would turn once again to Rehoboam. So Jeroboam made two golden calves and set them up for all Israel to worship. He said to them in chapter 12, and verse 28, “ I know it’s too much for you to travel all the way to Jerusalem. So I thought I’d help you out and create for you some god’s right here in your own home town. Behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
Don’t you think that made God jealous? God was the one who brought them out of Egypt, not some golden cows that were made from the hands of a man. God was the one who loved them and cared for them. God was the one who gave them victories over their battles. Yet they wanted to worship a god who couldn’t feed them, who couldn’t care for them, and who couldn’t win battles for them. They would much rather worship a god who couldn’t see them or watch over them. They wanted to worship a god who couldn’t hear them when they cried for help. This hunk of gold had no eyes, ears, nor even a heart. But their God had a big heart that could be touched for them, if they would only have done right. So we learn that the sin of Jeroboam was a very hurtful sin to God.
Now, back to our story. After the death of wicked king Ahab, Mesha, the king of Moab, began to rebel against the king of Israel. So Jehoram, king of Israel, sent word to Jehoshephat, king of Judah, saying: “The king of Moab, has rebelled against me. Will you go to battle with me against Moab?”
And Jehoshaphat answered, “I will go with thee to battle against Moab.”
So the two kings got together to discuss which way they should go up to battle. They ended up getting together with the King of Edom, and he went with them to battle also. So the three kings took off on their seven-day journey to Moab. Along the way they ran out of water. The three kings, and the men that were with them were parched with thirst. They had no water for their horses nor for the cattle that followed them.
At last the King of Israel said,” I betcha this is God’s plan to get the three of us together, so that he can deliver us into the hands of the Moabites.”
But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord around here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” King Jehoshaphat may have had a lot of faults, but he sure knew where to go when there was trouble.
One of the kings servants said, “Hey, Elisha is here, the one who poured water on the hands of Elijah.
Jehoshaphat said, “ Surely,the word of the Lord is with him.” So all three kings went to see Elisha.
When Elisha saw the king of Israel, he said, “What have I to do with thee. Why don’t you go to the prophets of your father and mother, and let them help you out.” For you see, their prophets were the prophets of Baal.
And the king of Israel said, “No way, I can’t go to them. But tell me this much. The Lord has brought us three kings together to deliver us into the hand of Moab, hasn’t he?”
Elisha said, “ As the Lord liveth, were it not that I regard the presence of King Jehoshsaphat, I wouldn’t even look at you, or give you the time of day.” Elisha respected Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, because Jehoshaphat had a continuous habit of wanting to inquire from the prophet of the Lord. He wanted to find out what the Lord had to say about things. That was a real good habit if you ask me. I’m also glad that out of respect for his Son, God looks upon me and hears my cry.
Elisha told the king of Israel to bring him a minstrel. A minstrel was a person who entertained in music. The Bible says in verse 15, that when the minstrel played his music, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha, and Elisha said, “Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. Now, your not going to see any wind or rain, but guess what? This valley is going to be filled with water. There’s going to be plenty enough water for you, and your cattle, and your beast. But this is only a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will also deliver the Moabites into your hands.”
Boy howdy! What a mighty God we serve. Can you imagine a dry valley being filled with water and the Lord doesn’t even use rain? There wasn’t even any wind, or clouds around either. It was just a dry, and dusty valley. The Lord didn’t tell them to dig wells. He just told them to dig some ditches. The Lord performed a miracle that day right in front of their eyes, and he called it just a small thing. Wow! What a God! I’m glad he’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. I’m so glad he doesn’t grow weak, or burn out through the ages. What a privilege to know him personally.
You know, God also used that water in the valley as a trap for the Moabites. The next morning the sun shone down upon the water in the valley, and to the Moabites it looked like puddles of blood. So they thought that there had already been a battle in the valley, and that the kings had slain each other. They were all excited, and said, “Lets go down there and gather all the spoil for ourselves.” But when they went into the valley, the kings were ready and waiting for them. They won the battle that day, just as Elisha told them they would.
Miracle of the Oil
2 KINGS 4: 1-7
In this story, we will look at Elisha as a type of Christ. We will also picture the woman in this story as a type of a Christian today. This woman was a widow. Her husband used to be one of Elisha’s servants who greatly feared the Lord. Her husband died however, and it became very hard for her to pay her bills.
One day the creditors came to her house. In the Bible, creditors were the people who come to your house to collect money that you owed for debts. Well, these creditors who gave the widow woman a visit that day were very wicked. Since the woman could not pay them anything, they told her that they would come and take her two young sons to be bondmen instead. Now, a bondman is a slave, someone who works without pay. Can you imagine the grief of the widow? First, she lost her husband, then she couldn’t pay her bills, and now the creditors wanted to take her young sons away to be slaves. Well, she knew who to go to when she was in trouble. She didn’t waste any time at all, she ran to find Elisha.
Elisha asked the woman what she had in her house. She ran in and came out with a little pot of oil. It was the only thing she had left in her house which had any value. Elisha told her and her sons to gather up all the vessels they could find. He even told them to borrow vessels from all the neighbors. Elisha told them not to borrow just a few, but get as many as they could.
Then Elisha said to her, “I want you and your sons to gather up all these vessels, go into your house and shut the door behind you. Then take the little pot of oil and start pouring the oil out into all the other vessels.”
She did exactly what the prophet told her, and do you know what happened? The oil never ran out! After she was finished filling the last vessel, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”
And He said “Mom, there are no more vessels to bring, they’re all filled up.”
I’m sure they had vessels stacked up to the roof. If they would have had more vessels, they could have filled them as well. You know what the Bible says? It says that the oil stayed. I, personally, think that means she had enough to last her the rest of her life.
Now it’s time to look at the woman as a type of a Christian today and Elisha as a type of Christ. She came to Elisha with a real need, something that bothered her, a prayer that needed an answer. Elisha could have worked a miracle right then and there and gave her enough money to pay her debt. But instead, he asked her a question. He asked, "What do you want me to do about it?" 4:1-2.
He wanted to communicate with her. He wanted to hear from her. Of course, he knew what to do about it. You know, the Lord wants to hear from us as well. He wants to communicate with us. And do you know what? He even knows what we need before we ask him. He just wants to hear from us.
Also, Elisha asked the woman what she had in her house. You know, the Lord asks us the same question. He asks, “What is in your house, that you can give me to work with?”
Elisha could have worked a miracle out of nothing, but he wanted something to work with. The woman brought out something small, just a little bottle of oil. That’s all she had, but that was enough for Elisha to work with. Maybe we don't think we have much to offer God. Maybe it’s just a little talent that's hidden away somewhere in this little house of clay. We need to bring it out and let the Lord work with it, and he'll multiply it. The oil didn’t multiply until she poured it out.
Also, Elisha encouraged her to pay her debt. He didn't give her a hand out. He told her something to do that would help her pay her debt. God supplied her need, but she had to do her part.
Now, why did the Lord choose oil? What is so significant about oil?
The dictionary defines oil as one of several kinds of light, viscous liquids obtained from various plants, animal substances, and minerals. It's used as lubricants, illuminants, fuel, and medicines.
Illuminate, means to enlighten, to light up, to throw light upon, to embellish. Illumination means the act of giving light.
Wow!! You know what? The Bible says that the WORD of God is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Lamps need oil or they couldn't give light. Oil is the main source for getting the light out.
Look at Matthew 25:3, The foolish took no oil for their lamps, but the wise took oil. If you’re a wise Christian, you will make sure that you have oil in your lamp. Without oil in your lamp, you couldn’t give out any light. Oil is vital to a Christian. We need to make sure our lamps are filled up every morning with that precious oil from Gods word. We can't be of much help to people if our lamps are dim, and not giving out much light. If we don't daily refuel our lamps they'll go out all together. What good is a lamp with no light??
Ps.147:3, Oil is good for healing. You can't bind up a wound without putting some kind of ointment on it, or else the wound would stick to the dressing. Ouch!! Luke 10:34 tells us that the good Samaritan poured oil, and wine on the travelers wounds. Mothers use Vaseline on diaper rashes. Creams and ointments are made from oil. Oil is good for wounds, and good for healing.
Here are some other good uses for oil. It’s good for cooking. I like my eggs fried. I wouldn’t be able to eat fried eggs without oil. I don’t like to eat dry eggs. Yuk! Oil is good for baking breads. Breads wouldn’t be light and fluffy if you didn’t use a little oil. Oil can keep things from sticking together. It’s good for rusty things. It’s also good for keeping things running such as cars, airplanes, tractors, lawn mowers, weed eaters, ships, trains, motorcycles, etc. They all need oil to run.
Can you think of any foods that give us oil? I can name a few, like peanuts, corn, olives, safflower, sunflower, and soybean. There are many more besides these. All of them provide oil.
God even gave some animals built in oil ducts. Ducks and geese can float on top of the water because they have oil on their feathers. Baby ducks, and geese do not need any swimming lessons to stay afloat. They can bob and float in the water because of the oil all over their downy feathers. Without this oil, they would drown. They use their bills to stimulate the oil ducts that God placed on the underside of their bodies. The oil ducts release the oil, and the duck can rub it on his feathers. Next time you see a duck itch himself underneath with his bill, and then start rubbing his head around all over his body, you’ll know that he’s spreading oil all over his feathers. Oil floats on top of the water. Oil is essential for these birds. Try this little experiment at home. Take a see through glass of water, and a tablespoon of any kind of oil. Put the oil into the glass of water. The oil will float on top of the water every time.
Gen. 28:18, Jacob rose early in the morning, and poured oil on the stones that he used as his pillows, and called the place ,Bethel. Bethel means, “The house of God,” or the dwelling place of the Lord. That oil must have been pretty important.
Ps. 23:5 says, Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Isaiah 61:3 talks about the oil of joy. In 1 Kings 1:39, Solomon is anointed with oil. Exod. 30:25 talks about Holy anointing oil.
Matt. 26:7 tells us about the woman with the alabaster box of precious ointment. She gave it to Jesus. We need to give our best to God. Even if it’s our most precious substance, something that is very costly and dear to us. We need to give him our oil, just as this woman did. In Mark 14: 3, the Bible says, that she had to break the box of ointment. Sometimes we won't give him our best until we are broken.
This woman is also mentioned in the Bible in Luke 7:37. In this passage the Bible clearly states that she was a sinner, just like you and me. In verse 46, the Lord gets all over the Pharisees for condemning the woman, when they themselves did nothing to anoint the Lord’s head with oil. The Lord is very concerned about that little bottle of oil that we as sinners need to break and pour at his feet. That means more to him than all the good works and self-righteousness of all the religious people in the world. You can also read about this in John 12:3, and 11:2. This must have been very important for the Lord to record it so many times. God is so very concerned about that little bottle of oil.
I bet you didn’t know that there was so much we could learn from this little three-letter word, OIL. Huh?
In this story, we will look at Elisha as a type of Christ. We will also picture the woman in this story as a type of a Christian today. This woman was a widow. Her husband used to be one of Elisha’s servants who greatly feared the Lord. Her husband died however, and it became very hard for her to pay her bills.
One day the creditors came to her house. In the Bible, creditors were the people who come to your house to collect money that you owed for debts. Well, these creditors who gave the widow woman a visit that day were very wicked. Since the woman could not pay them anything, they told her that they would come and take her two young sons to be bondmen instead. Now, a bondman is a slave, someone who works without pay. Can you imagine the grief of the widow? First, she lost her husband, then she couldn’t pay her bills, and now the creditors wanted to take her young sons away to be slaves. Well, she knew who to go to when she was in trouble. She didn’t waste any time at all, she ran to find Elisha.
Elisha asked the woman what she had in her house. She ran in and came out with a little pot of oil. It was the only thing she had left in her house which had any value. Elisha told her and her sons to gather up all the vessels they could find. He even told them to borrow vessels from all the neighbors. Elisha told them not to borrow just a few, but get as many as they could.
Then Elisha said to her, “I want you and your sons to gather up all these vessels, go into your house and shut the door behind you. Then take the little pot of oil and start pouring the oil out into all the other vessels.”
She did exactly what the prophet told her, and do you know what happened? The oil never ran out! After she was finished filling the last vessel, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”
And He said “Mom, there are no more vessels to bring, they’re all filled up.”
I’m sure they had vessels stacked up to the roof. If they would have had more vessels, they could have filled them as well. You know what the Bible says? It says that the oil stayed. I, personally, think that means she had enough to last her the rest of her life.
Now it’s time to look at the woman as a type of a Christian today and Elisha as a type of Christ. She came to Elisha with a real need, something that bothered her, a prayer that needed an answer. Elisha could have worked a miracle right then and there and gave her enough money to pay her debt. But instead, he asked her a question. He asked, "What do you want me to do about it?" 4:1-2.
He wanted to communicate with her. He wanted to hear from her. Of course, he knew what to do about it. You know, the Lord wants to hear from us as well. He wants to communicate with us. And do you know what? He even knows what we need before we ask him. He just wants to hear from us.
Also, Elisha asked the woman what she had in her house. You know, the Lord asks us the same question. He asks, “What is in your house, that you can give me to work with?”
Elisha could have worked a miracle out of nothing, but he wanted something to work with. The woman brought out something small, just a little bottle of oil. That’s all she had, but that was enough for Elisha to work with. Maybe we don't think we have much to offer God. Maybe it’s just a little talent that's hidden away somewhere in this little house of clay. We need to bring it out and let the Lord work with it, and he'll multiply it. The oil didn’t multiply until she poured it out.
Also, Elisha encouraged her to pay her debt. He didn't give her a hand out. He told her something to do that would help her pay her debt. God supplied her need, but she had to do her part.
Now, why did the Lord choose oil? What is so significant about oil?
The dictionary defines oil as one of several kinds of light, viscous liquids obtained from various plants, animal substances, and minerals. It's used as lubricants, illuminants, fuel, and medicines.
Illuminate, means to enlighten, to light up, to throw light upon, to embellish. Illumination means the act of giving light.
Wow!! You know what? The Bible says that the WORD of God is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Lamps need oil or they couldn't give light. Oil is the main source for getting the light out.
Look at Matthew 25:3, The foolish took no oil for their lamps, but the wise took oil. If you’re a wise Christian, you will make sure that you have oil in your lamp. Without oil in your lamp, you couldn’t give out any light. Oil is vital to a Christian. We need to make sure our lamps are filled up every morning with that precious oil from Gods word. We can't be of much help to people if our lamps are dim, and not giving out much light. If we don't daily refuel our lamps they'll go out all together. What good is a lamp with no light??
Ps.147:3, Oil is good for healing. You can't bind up a wound without putting some kind of ointment on it, or else the wound would stick to the dressing. Ouch!! Luke 10:34 tells us that the good Samaritan poured oil, and wine on the travelers wounds. Mothers use Vaseline on diaper rashes. Creams and ointments are made from oil. Oil is good for wounds, and good for healing.
Here are some other good uses for oil. It’s good for cooking. I like my eggs fried. I wouldn’t be able to eat fried eggs without oil. I don’t like to eat dry eggs. Yuk! Oil is good for baking breads. Breads wouldn’t be light and fluffy if you didn’t use a little oil. Oil can keep things from sticking together. It’s good for rusty things. It’s also good for keeping things running such as cars, airplanes, tractors, lawn mowers, weed eaters, ships, trains, motorcycles, etc. They all need oil to run.
Can you think of any foods that give us oil? I can name a few, like peanuts, corn, olives, safflower, sunflower, and soybean. There are many more besides these. All of them provide oil.
God even gave some animals built in oil ducts. Ducks and geese can float on top of the water because they have oil on their feathers. Baby ducks, and geese do not need any swimming lessons to stay afloat. They can bob and float in the water because of the oil all over their downy feathers. Without this oil, they would drown. They use their bills to stimulate the oil ducts that God placed on the underside of their bodies. The oil ducts release the oil, and the duck can rub it on his feathers. Next time you see a duck itch himself underneath with his bill, and then start rubbing his head around all over his body, you’ll know that he’s spreading oil all over his feathers. Oil floats on top of the water. Oil is essential for these birds. Try this little experiment at home. Take a see through glass of water, and a tablespoon of any kind of oil. Put the oil into the glass of water. The oil will float on top of the water every time.
Gen. 28:18, Jacob rose early in the morning, and poured oil on the stones that he used as his pillows, and called the place ,Bethel. Bethel means, “The house of God,” or the dwelling place of the Lord. That oil must have been pretty important.
Ps. 23:5 says, Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Isaiah 61:3 talks about the oil of joy. In 1 Kings 1:39, Solomon is anointed with oil. Exod. 30:25 talks about Holy anointing oil.
Matt. 26:7 tells us about the woman with the alabaster box of precious ointment. She gave it to Jesus. We need to give our best to God. Even if it’s our most precious substance, something that is very costly and dear to us. We need to give him our oil, just as this woman did. In Mark 14: 3, the Bible says, that she had to break the box of ointment. Sometimes we won't give him our best until we are broken.
This woman is also mentioned in the Bible in Luke 7:37. In this passage the Bible clearly states that she was a sinner, just like you and me. In verse 46, the Lord gets all over the Pharisees for condemning the woman, when they themselves did nothing to anoint the Lord’s head with oil. The Lord is very concerned about that little bottle of oil that we as sinners need to break and pour at his feet. That means more to him than all the good works and self-righteousness of all the religious people in the world. You can also read about this in John 12:3, and 11:2. This must have been very important for the Lord to record it so many times. God is so very concerned about that little bottle of oil.
I bet you didn’t know that there was so much we could learn from this little three-letter word, OIL. Huh?
The Shunamite Woman
2 Kings 4:8-37
The first thing we learn about this woman is that the Lord called her GREAT. He doesn't even give her name, just calls her great. She must have really caught the Lords attention in order for him to call her great.
Why did the Lord call her great? Well, first of all she appreciated of the man of God, Elisha. Every time Elisha would pass by her house, the Bible says that she constrained him to eat bread. Now I sort of had a good idea of what the word constrained meant, but I looked it up in the dictionary anyway. Here’s the dictionary definition of the word constrain. It means: to strain, to press, to argue, to exert force, to compel or force, to argue with irresistible power, or with the power sufficient to produce an effect. What a woman!! She wanted to take great care of the Man of God. Every time Elisha passed by, he knew he’d better turn from his journey into the woman’s house and let her feed him, or he’d have a fight on his hands. Ha.
The woman even wanted her husband to add on a small room to their house for Elisha to sleep in. That's where the word prophet chamber came from. She wanted the prophet completely taken care of. Not only that, this woman had some spiritual wisdom. In 2 Kings 4:9-10 she said to her husband, “I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber I pray thee for him, 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.”
She was in tune spiritually, and she had some spiritual wisdom. Let’s take each of the items that she wanted her husband to put into the prophet’s chamber, and apply them spiritually to our own lives.
In his room, she wanted:
A bed- (for resting)
A child of God needs rest. The Devil is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. A lion will always run after the weakest. Do you know what a lion does when he sees a herd of animals in the wild? He crouches in tall grass where he cannot be seen, and then he studies the herd. He watches ever so closely to see if there are any sick, weak, hurt, or young ones in the herd. He waits for just the right time, then he pounces on them. He chomps down with his mighty teeth, and he rips, and devours, and destroys the helpless creature. He doesn’t waste his time on the strong and mighty in the herd, he always goes for the weakest. If a child of God doesn’t get proper rest, he becomes tired and weak, and sometimes may even get sick because of lack of rest. Jesus said if you come to him, he’ll give you rest. When I don't get proper physical rest, my Bible reading and my prayer time grows weaker, and weaker. That’s just what the devil wants, it’s what he’s been waiting for, and he has a hay day devouring anyone to shreds. A child of God needs proper rest.
A table- (for eating)
Eating is for strength. A child of God needs proper nourishment. We will become weak if we don't eat right. Spiritually speaking, we will grow weak if we do not feast on God's word daily. What would happen if we just stopped eating all together? We would eventually die. Well, if we stop taking in God's word, we will die spiritually as well.
A stool- (for praying)
A child needs to communicate with his Father. Right? So a child of God needs to communicate with God the Father. Where do you think Elisha got his wisdom and the ability to do all those miracles? He received wisdom and the ability to do miracles by communicating with God. We may not be able to perform miracles physically on the outside like Elisha, but if we stay close to God, we will be able to perform miracles in people’s lives on the inside.
A candlestick- (for reading God's word.)
Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that procedeth out of the mouth of God. We just can't live without God's word. We need God to give us light so we can understand what we are reading. We need that candlelight. We need God to light up those precious pages so we can see more clearly and understand what we are reading.
Here are some more good things we can learn from the Great woman of Shunam. She thought of others before herself, and she was very humble. Elisha asked if she wanted him to say good things about her to the king, or if she wanted him to speak highly of her to the captain of the host so that she could be recognized. Boy, what an honor. How many of us would have taken him up on that?? But she was humble. Her answer was, "I dwell among my own people.”
We as Christians should dwell with our own people. We don't need to be great or spoken highly of in the sight of the world. We don't need to be recognized by the president of the United States of America. We just simply need to be recognized by God, and dwell humbly with our own brothers and sisters.
Even though she didn’t ask for anything, the prophet Elisha wanted to do something for her because she had been so good to him. If you are reading the passage in the Bible that goes along with this story, Notice that Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, is the one who gave Elisha a good idea of what the woman would want. He told Elisha that the woman had no son, and that her husband was old.
How many of us would have asked for something great, if given the chance? Yet this woman asked for nothing. So Elisha called the woman to him, and told the woman that she would have a son. At first she didn’t believe him. But God always sticks to his promises though, doesn’t he? She did have a son just as Elisha said. The baby grew strong and healthy. The woman and her husband were so grateful to finally have a son.
When her son became old enough, he went out to work with his Father in the fields. The Bible doesn’t tell us how old the boy was, but it does say that he was just a lad, and yet still small enough to sit on mommy’s knee. So my guess is that the boy was maybe around the ages of 5 to 7. After working in the field a while with his father, the boy began to complain about his head hurting. His Father told one of the men working with him to carry the boy back home to his mother.
The Bible says in chapter four, verse twenty, the woman of Shunam sat and held her sick child on her knees till he died. The woman of Shunam was a good mother. There are some mothers that do not care properly for their babies when they are sick. The woman of Shunam is a great example of how a mother should be. My mother was like the woman of Shunam when it came to her sick children. But now that I think of it, my mother was like that when it came to any sick child. If she had her way, she’d rather sit and hold a sick child all day long than do anything else.
My mother was just like the Shunamite woman in other ways as well. Most of the single Bible school students knew where to go when they needed a good southern, home cooked meal. Mother loved cooking for them all. They would come up to Mom at church and ask if they could come over and eat. Some of them didn’t even ask, they just popped in right about supper time. Mom didn’t care, she fed them all.
My Mother also went straight to God with her troubles. I never heard her go to another person with a problem that she had. Oh, snd let me tell you, she had a lot of them. But you see, they were the troubles that were visible to me. I’m sure she had so many more, but she carried them to God. She never complained to her children. What a blessed, blessed mother she was. The Bible says in Proverbs 31:28, “Her children arise up and call her blessed.” So I just can’t help but write about her when I get the urge. It’s a natural thing. I just have to arise up and call her blessed, and I do every day.
And guess what I just did? I ran ahead of myself. That was the next lesson that we were going to learn about this great woman. She knew where to go when trouble hit her life. She didn't waste any time getting to Elisha. We don't need to waste time getting to God when trouble hits our lives as well. It’s obvious in the Bible that she didn't even tell her husband about her son being dead. She was calm, and she carried her complaint straight to the one who could help her. A lot of times we just waste time talking about our troubles to others when we should just run with it to God. She also didn't want to trouble her husband about it, or upset him until after she had gone to Elisha. Her husband didn’t even understand why she was taking off so quick to find Elisha. He said, in chapter four, verse twenty-three, “ Honey, Why are you going to see Elisha today, it’s not new moon, nor the Sabbath?”
And she answered him in the same verse and said, “Don’t you worry dear, It shall be well.” She told the servant who was leading the donkey for her, to go forward, and not to even slow down unless she told him too.
We need to run to God, and not take our time getting there either. It's so wonderful that we can go directly to God about our troubles. We don't have to go through another man or a priest. We have access to the throne of grace anytime. Praise God.
When Elisha saw her coming from afar off, he sent his servant to ask her if all was well. When Gehazi met up with her, she told him that all was well. She kept it all inside her heart until she got to the man of God. Why didn’t she say something to Gehazi, you might ask.. Well, it would have slowed her down. She didn’t want to waste time telling her troubles to a man that couldn’t help her anyway. She needed to talk to the man of God herself. When she got to Elisha, she fell down, and grabbed him at his feet.
Sometimes we just need to grab God at his feet and just hold on, and let out all of our troubles, cares and worries to him. We need to be honest, and straightforward with God, like the woman of Shunam was with Elisha. She said to Elisha, " didn't I desire a son, and didn't I tell you not to deceive me about it?!!.".
Elisha told Gehazi to run ahead of him and place the staff upon the childs face. Do you know that The Great Woman of Shunam wouldn’t even leave Elisha. She could have left with Elisha's servant, and ran to see if the servant could heal her son, but she didn't want to leave the man of God. She knew where the real source of God's power was. We need to trust God alone to handle our problems and not man. The Great woman of Shunam said in verse thirty, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee."
When Elisha got to her house, he went into the room where the child lay dead, and he closed the door behind him. Before Elisha did anything else, he prayed to God first of all. Then the Bible says in verse 34 and 35, that Elisha lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon the child’s mouth, and his eyes upon the child’s eyes, and his hands upon the child’s hands. Then the child’s flesh became warm. Elisha walked around for a bit, then laid upon the child a second time. The child then sneezed seven times, and opened his eyes.
You know, that sure is a funny way to bring someone back to life, huh? But you know, sometimes the Lord uses stuff like this to confound the wise. What people don’t understand in the Bible, they want to skip over. I think there is a reason behind everything the Lord does. I believe that every word in the King James Bible has a meaning, and when I don’t understand it, that means I’m the one who is ignorant of what God is saying. I believe that the reason Elisha touched the boys mouth, eyes, and hands is because, if you think about it, those are the most important parts of our body the Lord can use for himself. With our mouth, our eyes, and our hands we can do the most for Jesus Christ. We can use our eyes to read God’s word, and study the scriptures so that we can help others. We can use our mouth to speak for God and lead souls to him. We can use our hands to help others, and be a blessing to others. For instance, we can help with extra chores around the house when Mom doesn’t feel good, or we can help out an old person by cleaning their house or mowing their lawn. Just because you are young does not mean you are limited when it comes to doing things for God. The Lord will use your hands, your mouth and your eyes the most for his glory.
Not only will God use your mouth, your eyes, and your hands, but the devil will use them too if you turn them over to him. Just like these tools are the most important tools for God to use, they are the most important tools that the devil will use as well. Those three tools, your mouth, your eyes, and your hands, are the tools the devil will use to get you to sin against God the most. And let me tell you, the devil can do some mighty powerful damage with those tools. He will do damage that can last for eternity, and maybe even send souls to hell. While we are young, we need to hand over those three tools to God before the devil gets a hold of them. That’s why I believe Elisha touched the boy’s mouth, eyes, and hands.
Also before the boy opened his eyes, he sneezed 7 times. Why seven times, I wonder? The Lord could have shortened the passage up, and said, “ The body of the child became warm, and he opened his eyes.” You know, there is a reason why the Lord put in his word,” seven times.” The Lord doesn’t waste words. I believe there is an explanation for every word in the Bible. Do you think it was because the boy was seven years old? Maybe that’s true, and maybe it’s not, but whether it is or isn’t, I know one thing for sure, every word that God put into the King James Bible was put there for a purpose. The number seven has always been a very important number to God. The number of days for quarantine in the old testament was seven. Elisha told Naaman to go and wash his self seven times in the Jordan River, 2 Kings 5:14. In Joshua 6:6 there were seven priest, and seven trumpets. The youngest King was Joash, and he was crowned at seven years old, 2 Chron. 24:1. There were seven maidens given to Esther at the time of her purification, Esther 2:9. The Word of God was purified seven times, Psalms 12:6. David said in the Psalms, “Seven times do I praise thee,” Psalms 119:164. There are seven things the Lord hates in Proverbs 6:16. There were seven loaves in Matthew 15:36. And after the Lord Jesus fed the multitude, they took up seven baskets full of leftovers. There are seven churches in Revelation 1. There are seven spirits of God, Revelation 4:5. There are seven seals in Revelation 5:5, and there are seven angles with seven trumpets in Revelation 8:6.
In closing, one last thing we can learn from the Great Woman of Shunam is, the Bible says in verse thirty seven that she came into the room, and fell down at Elisha’s feet, and bowed herself to the ground. She gave God glory, and thanks, before she even picked up her child. We should always give credit where credit is due. I believe it went exactly in the order God recorded it. How many women would have run past Elisha and picked up their child and hugged it first. How many women would have wanted to run over to their child just to touch him, to see if he was really alive? Not the Great Woman of Shunam, she gave God the glory first, and then the Bible says she took up her child. That’s what we should do when God almighty answers our prayers. We should never forget to thank him first of all. What a great woman this Shunamite was.
The first thing we learn about this woman is that the Lord called her GREAT. He doesn't even give her name, just calls her great. She must have really caught the Lords attention in order for him to call her great.
Why did the Lord call her great? Well, first of all she appreciated of the man of God, Elisha. Every time Elisha would pass by her house, the Bible says that she constrained him to eat bread. Now I sort of had a good idea of what the word constrained meant, but I looked it up in the dictionary anyway. Here’s the dictionary definition of the word constrain. It means: to strain, to press, to argue, to exert force, to compel or force, to argue with irresistible power, or with the power sufficient to produce an effect. What a woman!! She wanted to take great care of the Man of God. Every time Elisha passed by, he knew he’d better turn from his journey into the woman’s house and let her feed him, or he’d have a fight on his hands. Ha.
The woman even wanted her husband to add on a small room to their house for Elisha to sleep in. That's where the word prophet chamber came from. She wanted the prophet completely taken care of. Not only that, this woman had some spiritual wisdom. In 2 Kings 4:9-10 she said to her husband, “I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber I pray thee for him, 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.”
She was in tune spiritually, and she had some spiritual wisdom. Let’s take each of the items that she wanted her husband to put into the prophet’s chamber, and apply them spiritually to our own lives.
In his room, she wanted:
A bed- (for resting)
A child of God needs rest. The Devil is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. A lion will always run after the weakest. Do you know what a lion does when he sees a herd of animals in the wild? He crouches in tall grass where he cannot be seen, and then he studies the herd. He watches ever so closely to see if there are any sick, weak, hurt, or young ones in the herd. He waits for just the right time, then he pounces on them. He chomps down with his mighty teeth, and he rips, and devours, and destroys the helpless creature. He doesn’t waste his time on the strong and mighty in the herd, he always goes for the weakest. If a child of God doesn’t get proper rest, he becomes tired and weak, and sometimes may even get sick because of lack of rest. Jesus said if you come to him, he’ll give you rest. When I don't get proper physical rest, my Bible reading and my prayer time grows weaker, and weaker. That’s just what the devil wants, it’s what he’s been waiting for, and he has a hay day devouring anyone to shreds. A child of God needs proper rest.
A table- (for eating)
Eating is for strength. A child of God needs proper nourishment. We will become weak if we don't eat right. Spiritually speaking, we will grow weak if we do not feast on God's word daily. What would happen if we just stopped eating all together? We would eventually die. Well, if we stop taking in God's word, we will die spiritually as well.
A stool- (for praying)
A child needs to communicate with his Father. Right? So a child of God needs to communicate with God the Father. Where do you think Elisha got his wisdom and the ability to do all those miracles? He received wisdom and the ability to do miracles by communicating with God. We may not be able to perform miracles physically on the outside like Elisha, but if we stay close to God, we will be able to perform miracles in people’s lives on the inside.
A candlestick- (for reading God's word.)
Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that procedeth out of the mouth of God. We just can't live without God's word. We need God to give us light so we can understand what we are reading. We need that candlelight. We need God to light up those precious pages so we can see more clearly and understand what we are reading.
Here are some more good things we can learn from the Great woman of Shunam. She thought of others before herself, and she was very humble. Elisha asked if she wanted him to say good things about her to the king, or if she wanted him to speak highly of her to the captain of the host so that she could be recognized. Boy, what an honor. How many of us would have taken him up on that?? But she was humble. Her answer was, "I dwell among my own people.”
We as Christians should dwell with our own people. We don't need to be great or spoken highly of in the sight of the world. We don't need to be recognized by the president of the United States of America. We just simply need to be recognized by God, and dwell humbly with our own brothers and sisters.
Even though she didn’t ask for anything, the prophet Elisha wanted to do something for her because she had been so good to him. If you are reading the passage in the Bible that goes along with this story, Notice that Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, is the one who gave Elisha a good idea of what the woman would want. He told Elisha that the woman had no son, and that her husband was old.
How many of us would have asked for something great, if given the chance? Yet this woman asked for nothing. So Elisha called the woman to him, and told the woman that she would have a son. At first she didn’t believe him. But God always sticks to his promises though, doesn’t he? She did have a son just as Elisha said. The baby grew strong and healthy. The woman and her husband were so grateful to finally have a son.
When her son became old enough, he went out to work with his Father in the fields. The Bible doesn’t tell us how old the boy was, but it does say that he was just a lad, and yet still small enough to sit on mommy’s knee. So my guess is that the boy was maybe around the ages of 5 to 7. After working in the field a while with his father, the boy began to complain about his head hurting. His Father told one of the men working with him to carry the boy back home to his mother.
The Bible says in chapter four, verse twenty, the woman of Shunam sat and held her sick child on her knees till he died. The woman of Shunam was a good mother. There are some mothers that do not care properly for their babies when they are sick. The woman of Shunam is a great example of how a mother should be. My mother was like the woman of Shunam when it came to her sick children. But now that I think of it, my mother was like that when it came to any sick child. If she had her way, she’d rather sit and hold a sick child all day long than do anything else.
My mother was just like the Shunamite woman in other ways as well. Most of the single Bible school students knew where to go when they needed a good southern, home cooked meal. Mother loved cooking for them all. They would come up to Mom at church and ask if they could come over and eat. Some of them didn’t even ask, they just popped in right about supper time. Mom didn’t care, she fed them all.
My Mother also went straight to God with her troubles. I never heard her go to another person with a problem that she had. Oh, snd let me tell you, she had a lot of them. But you see, they were the troubles that were visible to me. I’m sure she had so many more, but she carried them to God. She never complained to her children. What a blessed, blessed mother she was. The Bible says in Proverbs 31:28, “Her children arise up and call her blessed.” So I just can’t help but write about her when I get the urge. It’s a natural thing. I just have to arise up and call her blessed, and I do every day.
And guess what I just did? I ran ahead of myself. That was the next lesson that we were going to learn about this great woman. She knew where to go when trouble hit her life. She didn't waste any time getting to Elisha. We don't need to waste time getting to God when trouble hits our lives as well. It’s obvious in the Bible that she didn't even tell her husband about her son being dead. She was calm, and she carried her complaint straight to the one who could help her. A lot of times we just waste time talking about our troubles to others when we should just run with it to God. She also didn't want to trouble her husband about it, or upset him until after she had gone to Elisha. Her husband didn’t even understand why she was taking off so quick to find Elisha. He said, in chapter four, verse twenty-three, “ Honey, Why are you going to see Elisha today, it’s not new moon, nor the Sabbath?”
And she answered him in the same verse and said, “Don’t you worry dear, It shall be well.” She told the servant who was leading the donkey for her, to go forward, and not to even slow down unless she told him too.
We need to run to God, and not take our time getting there either. It's so wonderful that we can go directly to God about our troubles. We don't have to go through another man or a priest. We have access to the throne of grace anytime. Praise God.
When Elisha saw her coming from afar off, he sent his servant to ask her if all was well. When Gehazi met up with her, she told him that all was well. She kept it all inside her heart until she got to the man of God. Why didn’t she say something to Gehazi, you might ask.. Well, it would have slowed her down. She didn’t want to waste time telling her troubles to a man that couldn’t help her anyway. She needed to talk to the man of God herself. When she got to Elisha, she fell down, and grabbed him at his feet.
Sometimes we just need to grab God at his feet and just hold on, and let out all of our troubles, cares and worries to him. We need to be honest, and straightforward with God, like the woman of Shunam was with Elisha. She said to Elisha, " didn't I desire a son, and didn't I tell you not to deceive me about it?!!.".
Elisha told Gehazi to run ahead of him and place the staff upon the childs face. Do you know that The Great Woman of Shunam wouldn’t even leave Elisha. She could have left with Elisha's servant, and ran to see if the servant could heal her son, but she didn't want to leave the man of God. She knew where the real source of God's power was. We need to trust God alone to handle our problems and not man. The Great woman of Shunam said in verse thirty, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee."
When Elisha got to her house, he went into the room where the child lay dead, and he closed the door behind him. Before Elisha did anything else, he prayed to God first of all. Then the Bible says in verse 34 and 35, that Elisha lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon the child’s mouth, and his eyes upon the child’s eyes, and his hands upon the child’s hands. Then the child’s flesh became warm. Elisha walked around for a bit, then laid upon the child a second time. The child then sneezed seven times, and opened his eyes.
You know, that sure is a funny way to bring someone back to life, huh? But you know, sometimes the Lord uses stuff like this to confound the wise. What people don’t understand in the Bible, they want to skip over. I think there is a reason behind everything the Lord does. I believe that every word in the King James Bible has a meaning, and when I don’t understand it, that means I’m the one who is ignorant of what God is saying. I believe that the reason Elisha touched the boys mouth, eyes, and hands is because, if you think about it, those are the most important parts of our body the Lord can use for himself. With our mouth, our eyes, and our hands we can do the most for Jesus Christ. We can use our eyes to read God’s word, and study the scriptures so that we can help others. We can use our mouth to speak for God and lead souls to him. We can use our hands to help others, and be a blessing to others. For instance, we can help with extra chores around the house when Mom doesn’t feel good, or we can help out an old person by cleaning their house or mowing their lawn. Just because you are young does not mean you are limited when it comes to doing things for God. The Lord will use your hands, your mouth and your eyes the most for his glory.
Not only will God use your mouth, your eyes, and your hands, but the devil will use them too if you turn them over to him. Just like these tools are the most important tools for God to use, they are the most important tools that the devil will use as well. Those three tools, your mouth, your eyes, and your hands, are the tools the devil will use to get you to sin against God the most. And let me tell you, the devil can do some mighty powerful damage with those tools. He will do damage that can last for eternity, and maybe even send souls to hell. While we are young, we need to hand over those three tools to God before the devil gets a hold of them. That’s why I believe Elisha touched the boy’s mouth, eyes, and hands.
Also before the boy opened his eyes, he sneezed 7 times. Why seven times, I wonder? The Lord could have shortened the passage up, and said, “ The body of the child became warm, and he opened his eyes.” You know, there is a reason why the Lord put in his word,” seven times.” The Lord doesn’t waste words. I believe there is an explanation for every word in the Bible. Do you think it was because the boy was seven years old? Maybe that’s true, and maybe it’s not, but whether it is or isn’t, I know one thing for sure, every word that God put into the King James Bible was put there for a purpose. The number seven has always been a very important number to God. The number of days for quarantine in the old testament was seven. Elisha told Naaman to go and wash his self seven times in the Jordan River, 2 Kings 5:14. In Joshua 6:6 there were seven priest, and seven trumpets. The youngest King was Joash, and he was crowned at seven years old, 2 Chron. 24:1. There were seven maidens given to Esther at the time of her purification, Esther 2:9. The Word of God was purified seven times, Psalms 12:6. David said in the Psalms, “Seven times do I praise thee,” Psalms 119:164. There are seven things the Lord hates in Proverbs 6:16. There were seven loaves in Matthew 15:36. And after the Lord Jesus fed the multitude, they took up seven baskets full of leftovers. There are seven churches in Revelation 1. There are seven spirits of God, Revelation 4:5. There are seven seals in Revelation 5:5, and there are seven angles with seven trumpets in Revelation 8:6.
In closing, one last thing we can learn from the Great Woman of Shunam is, the Bible says in verse thirty seven that she came into the room, and fell down at Elisha’s feet, and bowed herself to the ground. She gave God glory, and thanks, before she even picked up her child. We should always give credit where credit is due. I believe it went exactly in the order God recorded it. How many women would have run past Elisha and picked up their child and hugged it first. How many women would have wanted to run over to their child just to touch him, to see if he was really alive? Not the Great Woman of Shunam, she gave God the glory first, and then the Bible says she took up her child. That’s what we should do when God almighty answers our prayers. We should never forget to thank him first of all. What a great woman this Shunamite was.
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