2 Kings 4:18

2Ki 4:18 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.

Ver. 18. Went out to his father to the reapers.] This Shunammite, though rich, yet had himself the oversight of his harvest labourers: so had Boaz. {Rth 2:4; Rth 3:2-7} This was good husbandry.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ki_4:18-37

And when the child was grown.

The empty home

The Bible is the most perfectly natural and human book in the world. It deals not with philosophies and theories, but with real human life. The story of the Shunammite and her child is one of the most touching episodes in Scripture, and also one of the most beautiful and finished narratives in the whole range of literature.

1. We are introduced to a great woman, a lady of great wealth and influence. She dwelt in Shunem, in the plain of Jezreel, the richest and most fertile tract of land in Palestine. She was a woman of keen spiritual perception; and as Elisha passed to and fro on his Masters business, she recognised him to be a man of true piety. I perceive, she said, that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. There is an Eastern proverb, A myrtle in the desert will be a myrtle still. So Elisha was consistent in whatever circumstances he might find himself.

2. She was also a woman of large-hearted generosity.

3. But this great woman was hiding in her heart a great disappointment: she had no child to cherish as her very own.

4. But this great woman was to pass through a great sorrow.

5. But this great woman overcame by means of great trust in God. (F. S. Webster, M. A.)

Concerning accidents

The remark was recently made by an earnest and thoughtful believer: There is no catastrophe that can possibly come to a living Christian. The tidings had just reached him of a serious accident--as we are accustomed to say--that had befallen a dear relative, known not less for piety than for marked amiability of disposition. This was the sad occasion that suggested the above remark. The words were spoken tenderly, evincing no lack of heartfelt sympathy, showing no indisposition to administer comfort in the most substantial manner. While we stood silently contemplating the situation, this Christian friend added: There is no catastrophe but the loss of faith. Very true. To abandon ones reliance upon the Heavenly Fathers care is incalculable loss. The whole universe, without faith inspiring the soul, would, indeed, become a dreary chaos, a world distorted, meaningless. Laying aside all discussion of extraordinary events which befall those who are in rebellion against God--how far these events are under the supervision of that Almighty power which is so despised, consider that no catastrophe can possibly come to the living Christian. He is not exposed to accident in any true sense. The severest revulsions may come; the sudden visitation of physical illness may change every earthly plan; even the throne upon which reason sits may be demolished; but not one nor all of these combined can touch that sacred relationship over which infinite love and power exercise perpetual guardianship. A living Christian has a living union with the Divine nature, enjoys a residence in the realm of faith, is upheld every moment by an arm that wearies not beneath the burden of universe. The child of our King--a victim of chance? Never! Sooner the covenants of God will be broken than this could be. Let every loyal heart rejoice in the absolute perpetuity of relationship with his Father, and in the consequent pledge on His part of unremitting care.

A day in a mothers life

There are times when everything goes on smoothly, and one day is like another. Again, there are times when changes come, and whole years of joy or sorrow may be concentrated into a single day. So it was with the household at Shunem. It was a hallowed day when Elisha first entered the house (2Ki_4:8). It was a joyous day when a man-child was born (2Ki_4:17). But most memorable of all was that day when the only son was lost and found; was dead, and received back to life again (verse 18-37).

I. Morning joys. It is the harvest time. Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his labour until the evening (Psa_104:22-23).

1. We see mother and child at home. She is called a great woman (2Ki_4:8). This implies not greatness in wealth, but in character (Pro_12:26; Pro_31:10-31). Doubtless she would show her greatness, not only in her management of household affairs, but in her care of her child.

2. The next scene is in the harvest field. Here, too, all is joy. The father is glad at sight of his boy. His coming is not the result of command, but of his own choice. There is such love between him and his father as makes their meeting and intercourse a joy to both. They are happy together.

II. Darkness, at noon. How soon may the brightest sky be clouded. How quickly may the happiest home be darkened by sorrow and the shadow of death. We know not what a day may bring forth.

1. It is a cry raised in the midst of innocent labour. The work going on is good and not evil. It is in accordance with Gods ordinance. It is wholesome and pure. Old and young may join in it freely. Such, at least, it was in the olden time, when the simplicity and purity of pastoral life were still known in the land (Rth_2:4). And yet here death comes. There is no place safe. There is no people or work with immunity from trouble.

2. The cry brought woe to the fathers heart. His sons voice was sweet to his ear.

3. Picture the sad home-coming. Carry him. The lad obeys. What a change. He came out full of life and frolic; he is borne back helpless as a clod. Alas, how dreadful the awakening! (2Ki_4:20). Mark her gentleness. On her knees--where often she had dandled him with delight.

III. Light at evening time. All is not lost, since God liveth. This woman, like her countrywoman of Gospel times, was great in faith. Therefore, instead of giving way to despair, she strengthens her heart in God.

1. Mark the preparation. What promptitude and decision!

2. The long ride to Carmel.

3. The passionate appeal to the prophet (verses 27-30). Nothing will satisfy her but Elisha.

4. The return and restoration (verses 32-37).

Hope has sprung up again in her breast. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. Trials will come. In the darkest hour God can help. Here the child cries to his father, the father sends to the mother, the mother appeals to the prophet, and the prophet casts himself on God. So let us cast ourselves on Christ, our God and Saviour (Isa_66:13; Joh_11:25). (William Forsyth, A. M.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ki 4:18-21. He went out to his father to the reapers — Either for pleasure, or with some message to him. He said to his father, My head, my head! — A more than common heat of the sun probably made him thus ill. The hand of Providence, however, was in the affliction, that occasion might be given to the prophet of working a wonderful miracle for the manifestation of the glory of God, like that which Elijah had wrought for the widow of Zarephath. He sat on her knees till noon, and then died — His pain was so violent, that it killed him in a few hours. She laid him on the bed of the man of God — The pious mother possesses her soul in patience under this surprising affliction: not one peevish, indecent word drops from her lips. She has a strong belief that the child will be raised to life again; like a genuine daughter of Abraham, she accounts that God is able to raise him from the dead, for she had at first received him by as great a miracle. She had doubtless heard of the raising the widow’s son at Zarephath, and that the spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha; and such confidence had she of God’s goodness, that she was very ready to believe, He that so soon took away what he had given, would restore what he had now taken away. By this faith women received their dead raised to life; Heb 11:35. In this faith she makes no preparation for the burial of the dead child, but for his resurrection. O woman, great is thy faith! he that inspired it would not frustrate it.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—

2Ki_4:22. That I may run to the man of God—Not waiting to inform her husband of the reason of her mission, lest he should dissuade her, not doubting the miraculous help she would gain from the man of God.

2Ki_4:23. She said, It shall be well—Simply שָׁלוֹם, peace. With the one single word she likewise answers G hazi (2Ki_4:26), the Eastern Salam! “it is well!” for she desired silence till she could tell all the truth to the servant of Jehovah.

2Ki_4:27. Let her alone, for her soul is vexed within her—Gehazi thought her eager attitude an undue freedom, not sufficiently respectful towards his master. But fervid grief stays not at punctilios, “her soul is bitter.”

2Ki_4:31. There was neither voice nor hearing—אֵין קוֹל נְאֵין קָשֶׁב—i.e., the dead gave no sign of life, no response to the mere staff. The act was allowed to fail, in order to show that only through humble and dependent prayer could God’s power be entreated.

2Ki_4:34. Lay upon the child—Following the method of his great predecessor, Elijah (1Ki_17:21). Yet the effects differed, the resuscitation was by gradual and progressive stages.

HOMILETICS OF 2Ki_4:18-37

A GREAT TRIAL AND ITS JOYOUS ISSUE

SORROW and joy, tears and laughter, lie close together in the ever-changing experience of human life. The source of greatest joy is often turned into a channel through which flows the bitterest anguish. The son of the Shunamite, whose advent brought gladness into the home, was also the means of bringing over it the darkest shadow of trouble. But as the star shines brightest in the night, so in the gloomiest moments of our distress are we most conscious of the radiance of the Divine presence, and are more impressed with the wisdom and glory of His works.

I. Here we have the trial of a first bereavement (2Ki_4:18-21).

1. It was the bereavement of an only son. It was not only the loss of a child, but of the only child, and that child the son and heir—a child sent as a special and unlooked-for gift of heaven, as of one “born out of due time.” The first and fondest affections of the parental heart had centred in this child, and his loss was the heaviest affliction his parent had ever known. Words cannot depict the keen and bitter pang of a first bereavement—the heart lies pierced and bleeding, writhing in voiceless and helpless agony. Happy is the sufferer who can find relief in tears!

2. The bereavement was sudden. One moment the lad is blithe and merry in his gambols in the harvest field—the pride of his father, who already sees in the abundance of his fields the means of blessing the future of his son; the next moment he is smitten by the fierce rays of the sun that had ripened his father’s wealth, and he is carried to his mother’s lap to die. The eyes that had watched with a mother’s rapture the nimble form of her darling boy as he bounded towards the fields in the golden light of that harvest morning, with his parting kiss fresh upon her lips, are now bent in tearless grief over his corpse. A few brief hours have brought the change from light to darkness, from life to death. Ah! how sudden are the great changes of life—how swift is the messenger of sorrow! We live a life-time in a moment, and the heart receives a scar that time will never efface.

II. Here we have a trial of faith in the Almighty power of God (2Ki_4:22-30).

1. Sorrow should not destroy, but intensify, our faith. As soon as the first shock of alarm had subsided, the faith of the Shunamite woman in the God of Elisha asserted its power. She believed her boy might be restored. So strong was this belief that, for the time being, she hid the fact of his death from her husband. She heroically bore the grief herself, strong in the confidence of Divine interference. The soul that has no faith in God is paralyzed and helpless in sorrow. The distress that drives the believer to God, drives the unbeliever to despair. “Faith is the best lever at a dead lift.”

2. Faith prompts to the use of all legitimate means to attain our most ardent desires. With all speed she sought an interview with the prophet, poured her grief into his ears, and passionately entreated his help; nor would she cease her supplications until she prevailed upon him to accompany her to the home where the dead child lay The chamber of the prophet was, for the first time, the chamber of death. Faith without works is dead. It is presumption to expect God to do what we can do for ourselves. Only when we have exhausted all human means may we patiently and believingly wait for the Divine interference. We cannot save ourselves; but we are directed to ask, seek, knock.

III. Here we have the trial of a painful suspense (2Ki_4:32-35). Elisha entered the chamber, shut the door, and was alone with the dead child and with God. Who can describe the agony of suspense that tortured that mother’s heart during the few hours of the prophet’s absence—how hope and fear alternated? Will the door never open again? Will the prayers of the holy man prevail? Will she clasp again her living son? And yet most of us are acquainted with such moments in life. How much has sometimes depended upon a single hour—upon a letter—upon a telegram! Such moments have been experienced at the rescue of a wrecked crew. Will the vessel hold together—will the line bear the strain—till the last man is saved?

IV. Here we have the sorrow of death exchanged for the joy of a miraculous resurrection (2Ki_4:36-37). The faith and prayer of the prophet triumph. The child is restored to life, and given back to his mother. Who can describe her rapture? “This my son was dead, and is alive again.” A symbol of the rapid and marvellous changes in life. After a storm, a calm. Trial, conflict, despair, give place to joyous deliverance. “Sorrow may endure for a night; but joy cometh in the morning.”

LESSONS:—

1. There is no home into which death does not sooner or later enter.

2. The only refuge and relief in sorrow is in God.

3. The greatest trials lead to the realization of the greatest blessings.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES

2Ki_4:18-37. The Shunammite’s son. I. A proud mother’s delight.

(1). Her son. The pleasure she took in watching his childhood and growth, &c. He was her treasure.

(2). He was her only son. This would increase her anxiety and also her delight in him Jdg_11:34; Luk_9:38).

(3). The child of promise (2Ki_4:16-17). Hebrew wives anxious to have children—especially to have a son. This desire is natural, not confined to Hebrews. Her husband was well off, and here was a son to inherit the father’s property and name.

(4). Harvest time. Her child sent out to play in the harvest field. She watches him depart, and thinks of the happy day he would have, and the meeting at night. II. A tender mother’s trial,

(1). The child in the field. Youthful sports. Playing at harvesting. The father’s pleasure. The sunstroke. “My head! my head!” The father’s sorrow. “Carry him to his mother.” A mother the best nurse.

(2). She sees her child returning, not running by the father’s side, but carried. Her anxiety. Her fears.

(3). Nurses her child. The time drags on. The mother does not tire. The child dies. She has faith left. Faith a good companion in trouble. This child of promise could not be lost—should not die if she could help it. Carries the child into the prophet’s chamber. III. A good wife’s example.

(1). Considers not her own feelings only, but her husband’s also. How great his grief on his return, and finding death in his house!

(2). Resolves on immediate action. Will visit the man of God. Cannot do this without assistance. The distance is very great. Calculates the time can accomplish it before the day is over.

(3). Hastens to the field—begs for one of the young men, &c. Does not tell her husband. Would not grieve him. A hint for those who unnecessarily burden other people with their troubles. IV. A happy mother’s reward.

(1). She returns with the prophet. Who would bring a doctor to a dead child? Her faith.

(2). The child’s wonderful restoration to life.

(3). The first reward. Clasping the living child to her heart.

(4). Second reward. The father’s return and greeting. Pleased to find that the child is well. Astonishment at learning the history of the day. Men at their occupations little think of the trials at home. Should commend their dear ones to God.

(5). Her after rewards. The preservation and growth of this child.

LEARN:—

1. To repay a mother’s love and anxious care.

2. Try to bear your trial nobly without making other people bear it.

3. Jesus will aise all children up at the Last Day.—Class and Desk.

2Ki_4:18-19. His father grew young again with the pleasure of this sight, and more joyed in this spring of his hopes than in all the crops of his harvest. But what stability is there in earthly delights? The hot beams of the sun beat upon that head which much care had made tender and delicate. The child complains to his father of his pain. Oh, that grace would teach us, what nature teaches infants, in all our troubles to bemoan ourselves to our Heavenly Father!

2Ki_4:18. A day in a mother’s life. There are times when everything goes on smoothly, and one day is like another. Again there are times when changes come, and whole years of joy or sorrow may be concentrated into a single day. So it was with the household at Shunem. It was a hallowed day when Elisha first entered the house (2Ki_4:8). It was a joyous day when a man-child was born (2Ki_4:17). But most memorable of all was that day when the only son was lost and found; was dead, and received back to life again (2Ki_4:18-37).

1. Morning joys. It is the harvest time. “Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening” (Psa_104:22-23). First, we see mother and child at home. She is called “a great woman” (2Ki_4:8). This implies not greatness in wealth, but in character (Pro_12:26; Pro_31:10-31). Doubtless she would show her “greatness” not only in her management of household affairs, but in her care of her child. How tenderly she would watch over him; with what gentle wisdom she would train him in the ways in which he should go! Day by day he grew before her in strength and comeliness. He was her joy and pride. His birth had taken away her reproach; his training had developed all the deepest feelings of her nature; his fellowship was her delight, and his future the dearest hope of her life. He should live and prosper. He would yet do worthily in Shunem, and be famous in Jezreel. Oh, happy mothers,

“Who carry music in their heart;

Plying the daily task with busier feet

Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat.”

The next scene is in the harvest field. Here, too, all is joy. The father is glad at sight of his boy. His coming is not the result of command, but of his own choice. There is such love between him and his father as makes their meeting and intercourse a joy to both. They are happy together. See them watching the reapers, or walking hand in hand amidst the yellow corn. The father’s heart swells with gladness. His boy is more to him than all his fields. He is his only son, his heir, his treasure, the hope of his old age. He sees in him his mother’s love and image, and the stay of her heart when he himself is gone. How fervently he prays: “The God of Jacob bless the lad.”

2. Darkness at noon. How soon may the brightest sky be clouded. How quickly may the happiest home be darkened by sorrow and the shadow of death! “We know not what a day may bring forth.” The sun is high and hot in the heavens. Suddenly a cry of agony is heard—“My head, my head!” It is the cry of a child. How strange the association—childhood and pain! Surely here is a proof of the ravages of sin (Rom_5:14). We may hear many sermons, and give no heed; but hard and callous is the heart that can behold the sufferings of a child and yet not feel humbled and awed before God. It is a cry raised in the midst of innocent labour. The work going on is good, and not evil. It is in accordance with God’s ordinance. It is wholesome and pure. Old and young may join in it freely. Such, at least, it was in the olden time, when the simplicity of and purity of pastoral life was still known in the land (Rth_2:4). And yet here death comes. There is no place safe. There is no people or work with immunity from trouble. The cry brought woe to the father’s heart. His son’s voice was sweet to his ear. Many a time had he heard it and been glad. But now the words “my head” are like a sword. Well did he know the import of that, terrible cry. He is helpless. But he knows where comfort is to be found. “To his mother.” It was the instinct of his heart. It was what the boy himself would have said, could he have spoken. Where is there a comforter like a mother? It may be the child is hurt. Others may make light of it: not so his mother. It may be he is weary of learning. Others may be hard and impatient: not so his mother. It may be he has committed a fault. Others may be severe and unsympathizing: not so his mother. It may be he has been stricken by sickness. Others may not understand or take heed: not so his mother. Work is laid aside. Comforts are got. Books, pictures are bought. Everything must give way to the little in valid. “His mother.” Sure refuge for the weary; true resting-place for the sick and stricken child. Picture the sad home-coming. “Carry him.” The lad obeys. What a change! He came out full of life and frolic; he is borne back helpless as a clod. “His mother.” Perhaps on household business intent. Perhaps preparing for the return of father and child, and busy in heart shaping joyous things. Alas! how dreadful the awakening (2Ki_4:20). Mark her gentleness. “On her knees”—where often she had dandled him with delight. Her patience and hope. Till noon. What suspense! What hoping against hope! Her terrible distress. “Died.” Seemed like as if the sun had gone down at noon. All was dark. In that moment what thoughts crowded upon her soul! What a trial to her faith! God seemed to have forsaken her. Thus with many—

“Too common! Never morning wore

To evening, but some heart did break.”

III. Light at evening time. All is not lost, since God liveth. This woman, like her countryman of Gospel times, was great in faith. Therefore, instead of giving way to despair, she strengthens her heart in God. Perhaps she said to herself, like David, “Why art thou cast down, my soul? Still hope in God.” Mark the preparation. What promptitude and decision! The long ride to Carmel. At other times might have admired the “glory of Carmel,” but now she is preoccupied—her heart is fixed. She is silent. The passionate appeal to the prophet (2Ki_4:27-30). Nothing will satisfy her but Elisha. He is to her the man of God. He stands as the prophet of the Lord to her, in sorrow as in joy. She will not leave off till he yields. Such importunity pleads not in vain. The return and restoration (2Ki_4:32-37). Hope has sprung up again in her breast. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. How strange and solemn the scenes in the chamber of death! How wonderful the revival! God is great. Oh, what joy when the mother clasps again to her breast her beloved boy! Nothing Diviner could she feel short of heaven. Think of the happy close of the day in that Hebrew home! Dearer than ever was the son that had been dead, and received back to life again. Stronger than ever was the faith of father and mother in the God of Jacob, who had proved their Refuge and Help in the time of trouble. With what quiet and assured peace would they kneel in prayer. With what joyful hearts would they sing praises to the God of Israel (Psa_30:11-12). What lessons to young and old are here (Ecc_12:1; Pro_22:6; Eph_6:4). Trials will come. In the darkest hour God can help. Here the child cries to his father, the father sends to the mother, the mother appeals to the prophet, and the prophet casts himself on God. So let us cast ourselves on Christ, our God and Saviour (Isa_66:13; Joh_11:25).—The Study and Pulpit.

2Ki_4:19. What an undivine inference was that of the Bishop of Hereford, in his sermon at Oxford upon this text, in the reign of Edward II., pursued at that time by his queen and son, that an aching and sick head of a kingdom was of necessity to be taken off, and no otherwise cured!—Trapp.

2Ki_4:20. The death of a child. I. Lightly regarded by some. II. Is the first real sorrow to many. III. A proof of the prevalence and power of sin. IV. Gives a deeper interest to the bereaved in the better land.

—The death of loved children comes often suddenly, like the lightning from a clear sky, and destroys our joy and our hopes. Therefore, we should possess these gifts as not possessing them. The Lord will not abandon, in days of adversity, him who trusts in Him in days of prosperity. He who in the latter has learned sobriety, and maintained his faith, will not be without wisdom and consolation in the former, but will be composed in all adversity.—Lange.

2Ki_4:22-23. A prudent wife. I. Will control her own feelings for the sake of her husband. II. Will consult her husband on every needful occasion. III. Enjoys the respect and confidence of her husband in all things.

—A pious woman does nothing without her husband’s knowledge, and does not willingly call his attention to anything by which he may be saddened.—Starke.

2Ki_4:26-27. This scene is natural and very graphic. If you ask after a person whom you know to be sick, the reply at first will invariably be Well, thank God, even when the very next sentence is to inform you that he is dying. Then the falling down, clasping the feet, &c., are actions witnessed every day. I have had this done to me often before I could prevent it. So also the officious zeal of the wicked Gehazi, who would thrust the broken-hearted mother away, probably thinking her touch pollution, agrees perfectly with what we know of the man, and of the customs of the East.—Thomson.

2Ki_4:26. “It is well.” The verdict of hope. I. May be uttered when the heart is full of sorrow. II. Indicates an unwavering faith in God. III. May be true in a higher sense when present circumstances do not warrant the verdict.

—The highest Christian optimism. I. Teaches that all is well in its relation to the wisdom and love of God. II. In its present moral bearing on ourselves. III. In its relation to the compensation and glory of the future.

2Ki_4:27. Do not make known at once to every one you meet that which distresses you, but keep it to yourself until you find one who understands you, and whose heart you have tested. Beware lest thou treat harshly sad souls who are overcome by grief, and who seek help and consolation, and lest thou thrust them away or judge them hastily. Do not cause still more grief to a bruised heart.

2Ki_4:31. The powerlessness of some religious acts explained. I. Not because they are not done as commanded and with all due propriety and solemnity. II. But because there is a lack of earnest, acting, living faith. III. Because there are defects and inconsistencies of religious character.

—Why was Gehazi’s mission with the staff a failure? First of all, we maintain that it is far from certain or evident that Elisha expected his staff and his servant would be effectual in raising the dead. On the contrary, it is very possible that he meant Gehazi’s mission should be a failure, in order to show that the miracle could not be wrought by any supposed magic of the staff, by any mere human agency whatever. But on the other supposition, certainly admissible, and even probable, that the prophet expected his staff to resuscitate the child, the failure is thus well explained by Kitto: “Elisha did not at first mean to go himself to Shunem, and for that reason sent his staff to supply the lack of his own presence. But after he had sent away the servant, his observation of the uneasiness of the mother, whom he had expected to have gone home satisfied, and her avowed determination not to leave him, induced him to alter his purpose, and, with the kindness natural to him, to forego his own engagements at Carmel, and to accompany her to her forlorn home. It was probably in consequence of this change of plan that no response was made to the first claim of faith by means of the staff. That appeal, in fact, was superseded the moment he resolved to go in person, the Lord thus reserving for the personal intercession of His prophet the honour of this marvellous deed.” But Gehazi’s supposed unfitness to work the miracle, and the woman’s lack of faith in him, are facts not to be overlooked. They may be a sufficient reason for the failure of Gehazi’s mission. For in the realm of the miraculous, Divine Power works not blindly nor arbitrarily, but according to sacred laws. To affirm that there must be a sympathetic union or spontaneous affiliation between the human agencies employed and those deeply concerned in a given miracle, is only to say what is abundantly suggested in the Scriptures. Nor is this to degrade a class of miracles to the low plane of animal magnetism, or explain them away on naturalistic principles; yet it need not be denied that the psychological basis of animal magnetism was a medium through which many miracles were performed, and without which some miracles could not have been wrought. When the disciples, after their failure to heal a lunatic child, asked Jesus why they could not work the miracle, He replied, “Because of your unbelief” (Mat_17:20, comp. Mat_13:58; Mar_6:56; Mar_9:23).—Whedon.

—The staff of the prophet is of no use if the spirit and power of the prophet are wanting. Do not mistake the sign for the thing signified. It is God alone who can help, and His help is not dependent on external instruments and signs.

2Ki_4:32-35. The power of prayer.

1. The best preparation for a great spiritual conflict.

2. Inspires an invincible faith.

3. Suggests the use of the best means for obtaining an answer.

4. Achieves great victories.

2Ki_4:32-33.—Merit and importunity have drawn Elisha from Carmel to Shunem. He finds his lodging taken up by that pale corpse. He shuts the door and falls to prayer. This staff of his, whatever became of the other, was long enough, he knew, to reach up to heaven, to knock at these gates, yea, to wrench them open. Bishop Hall.

2Ki_4:34. He knew what Elijah had done in a similar case (1Ki_17:21), and followed his example; but doubtless both Elijah and Elisha used these natural means in accordance with some special revelation that was given them. This placing of his mouth, eyes, and hands, upon those of the child, bore the same relation to this miracle which the spittle and the washing in Siloam did to the miracle by which Jesus gave sight to the man blind from his birth (Joh_9:1-7). Divine power could have raised this child to life in answer to Elisha’s prayer without any other action on the part of the prophet, but Divine wisdom decreed otherwise. Christ opened one blind man’s eyes by a single command; but in the other case He adopted peculiar measures to work substantially the same miracle. We cannot tell why, but we accept the facts, and argue from them the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God (Rom_11:33). We do not presume to deny that our God might have adopted a different plan of redemption from the one we have, but we may well question the possibility of a wiser one, and though we cannot fathom all its mystery, we accept with joy the fact of “God manifest in the flesh;” and in the blessed incarnation of our Lord, to use the analogy of this miracle of Elisha, we see with wonder how the God-man stretches himself upon our cold, lifeless humanity that was dead in trespasses and sins, and even contracts himself to the narrow span of our infancy, childhood, manhood. His blessed mouth and eyes and hands come into contact with our own. He breathes upon us the Holy Ghost, and we are quickened and warmed into a new and eternal life. We are thus raised from spiritual death, and our ears hear, and our eyes see, and our hands handle the word of life.—Whedon.

2Ki_4:35. Thus the work is done by degrees and with difficulty, mystically showing how hard it is to raise one dead in sins and trespasses, and to bring the work to any good effect. To comfort a wounded conscience is as great work, saith Luther, as to raise one from the dead.—Trapp.

2Ki_4:36-37.—The mother is called in to receive a new life in her twice-given son. She comes in full of joy, full of wonder, bows herself to the ground, and falls down before those feet she had so boldly laid hold of in Carmel. Oh, strong faith of the Shunammite, that could not be discouraged with the seizure and continuance of death, raising up her heart still in an expectation of that life which to the eyes of nature had been impossible, irrevocable! Oh, infinite goodness of the Almighty, that would not suffer such faith to be frustrated, that would rather reverse the laws of nature, in returning a guest from heaven, and raising a corpse from death, than the confidence of a believing heart should be disappointed!—Bishop Hall.

As might be expected, there have not been wanting rationalistic interpreters who have explained this miracle as a case of suspended animation, or fit of apoplexy, and Elisha’s efforts as the manipulations of animal magnetism, by which sensation was restored. Of course such expositors ignore or deny the plain statement that the child was dead, and so do not explain, but contradict and torture the word of Scripture.—Whedon.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

4:18-20 “My head hurts!” The boy probably suffered a brain aneurysm. The woman’s faith and character were put to the test with the sudden death of her son on her lap.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

We may well suppose that, after the birth of this son, the prophet was doubly welcome to the good Shunammite. He had thought himself indebted to her, but henceforth, as long as she lives, she will think herself in his debt, and that she can never do too much for him. We may also suppose that the child was very dear to the prophet, as the son of his prayers, and very dear to the parents, as the son of their old age. But here is,

I. The sudden death of the child, though so much a darling. he was so far past the perils of infancy that he was able to go to the field to his father, who no doubt was pleased with his engaging talk, and his joy of his son was greater than the joy of his harvest; but either the cold or the heat of the open field overcame the child, who was bred tenderly, and he complained to his father that his head ached, Kg2 4:19. Whither should we go with our complaints, but to our heavenly Father? Thither the Spirit of adoption brings believers with all their grievances, all their desires, teaching them to cry, with groanings that cannot be uttered, "My head, my head; my heart, my heart." The father sent him to his mother's arms, his mother's lap, little suspecting any danger in his indisposition, but hoping he would drop asleep in his mother's bosom and awake well; but the sickness proved fatal; he slept the sleep of death (Kg2 4:20), was well in the morning and dead by noon: all the mother's care and tenderness could not keep him alive. A child of promise, a child of prayer, and given in love, yet taken away. Little children lie open to the arrests of sickness and death. But how admirably does the prudent pious mother guard her lips under this surprising affliction! Not one peevish murmuring word comes from her. She has a strong belief that the child will be raised to life again: like a genuine daughter of Abraham's faith, as well as loins, she accounts that God is able to raise him from the dead, for thence at first she received him in a figure, Heb 11:19. She had heard of the raising of the widow's son of Sarepta, and that the spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha; and such confidence had she of God's goodness that she was very ready to believe that he who so soon took away what he had given would restore what he had now taken away. By this faith women received their dead raised to life, Heb 11:35. In this faith she makes no preparation for the burial of her dead child, but for its resurrection; for she lays him on the prophet's bed (Kg2 4:21), expecting that he will stand her friend. O woman! great is thy faith. he that wrought it would not frustrate it.

II. The sorrowful mother's application to the prophet on this sad occasion; for it happened very opportunely that he was now at the college upon Mount Carmel, not far off.

1. She begged leave of her husband to go to the prophet, yet not acquainting him with her errand, lest he should not have faith enough to let her go, Kg2 4:22. He objected, It is neither new moon nor sabbath (Kg2 4:23), which intimates that on those feasts of the Lord she used to go to the assembly in which he presided, with other good people, to hear the word, and to join with him in prayers and praises. She did not think it enough to have his help sometimes in her own family, but, though a great woman, attended on public worship, for which this was none of the times appointed; therefore, said the husband, "why wilt thou go to day? What is the matter?" "No harm," said she, "It shall be well, so you will say yourself hereafter." See how this husband and wife vied with each other in showing mutual regard; she was so dutiful to him that she would not go till she had acquainted him with her journey, and he so kind to her that he would not oppose it, though she did not think fit to acquaint him with her business. 2. She made all the haste she could to the prophet (Kg2 4:24), and he, seeing her at a distance, sent his servant to enquire whether any thing was amiss, Kg2 4:25, Kg2 4:26. The questions were particular: Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? Note, It well becomes the men of God, with tenderness and concern, to enquire about the welfare of their friends and their families. The answer was general It is well. Gehazi was not the man that she came to complain to, and therefore she put him off with this; she said little, and little said is soon amended (Psa 39:1, Psa 39:2), but what she did say was very patient: "It is well with me, with my husband, with the child" - all well, and yet the child dead in the house. Note, When God calls away our dearest relations by death it becomes us quietly to say, "It is well both with us and them;" it is well, for all is well that God does; all is well with those that are gone if they have gone to heaven, and all well with us that stay behind if by the affliction we are furthered in our way thither. 3. When she came to the prophet she humbly reasoned with him concerning her present affliction. She threw herself at his feet, as one troubled and in grief, which she never showed till she came to him who, she believed, could help her, Kg2 4:27. When her passion would do her service she knew how to discover it, as well as how to conceal it when it would do her disservice. Gehazi knew his master would not be pleased to see her lie at his feet, and therefore would have raised her up; but Elisha waited to hear from her, since he might not know immediately from God, what was the cause of her trouble. God discovered things to his prophets as he saw fit, not always as they desired; God did not show this to the prophet, because he might know it from the good woman herself. What she said was very pathetic. She appealed to the prophet, (1.) Concerning her indifference to this mercy which was now taken from her: "Did I desire a son of my lord? No, thou knowest I did not; it was thy own proposal, not mine; I did not fret for the want of a son, as Hannah, nor beg, as Rachel, Give me children or else I die." Note, When any creature-comfort is taken from us, it is well if we can say, through grace, that we did not set our hearts inordinately upon it; for, if we did, we have reason to fear it was given in anger and taken away in wrath. (2.) Concerning her entire dependence upon the prophet's word: Did I not say, Do not deceive me? Yes, she did say so (Kg2 4:16), and this reflection upon it may be considered either, [1.] As quarrelling with the prophet for deceiving her. She was ready to think herself mocked with the mercy when it was so soon removed, and that it would have been better she had never had this child than to be deprived of him when she began to have comfort in him. Note, The loss of a mercy should not make us undervalue the gift of it. Or, [2.] As pleading with the prophet for the raising of the child to life again: "I said, Do not deceive me, and I know thou wilt not." Note, However the providence of God may disappoint us, we may be sure the promise of God never did, nor ever will, deceive us: hope in that will not make us ashamed.

III. The raising of the child to life again. We may suppose that the woman gave Elisha a more express account of the child's death, and he gave her a more express promise of his resurrection, than is here related, where we are briefly told,

1. That Elisha sent Gehazi to go in all haste to the dead child, gave him his staff, and bade him lay that on the face of the child, Kg2 4:29. I know not what to make of this. Elisha knew that Elijah raised the dead child with a very close application, stretching himself upon the child, and praying again and again, and could he think to raise this child by so slight a ceremony as this, especially when nothing hindered him from coming himself? Shall such a power as this be delegated, and to no better man that Gehazi? Bishop Hall suggests that it was done out of human conceit, and not by divine instinct, and therefore it failed of the effect; God will not have such great favours made too cheap, nor shall they be too easily come by, lest they be undervalued.

2. The woman resolved not to go back without the prophet himself (Kg2 4:30): I will not leave thee. She had no great expectation from the staff, she would have the hand, and she was in the right of it. Perhaps God intended hereby to teach us not to put that confidence in creatures, that are servants, which the power of the Creator, their Master and ours, will alone bear the weight of. Gehazi returns re infecta - without success, without the tidings of any sign of life in the child (Kg2 4:31): The child is not awaked, intimating, to the comfort of the mother, that its death was but a sleep, and that he expected that it would shortly be awaked. In the raising of dead souls to spiritual life ministers can do no more by their own power than Gehazi here could; they lay the word, like the prophet's staff, before their faces, but there is neither voice nor hearing, till Christ, by his Spirit, comes himself. The letter alone kills; it is the Spirit that gives life. It is not prophesying upon dry bones that will put life into them, breath must come from heaven and breathe upon those slain.

3. The prophet, by earnest prayer, obtained from God the restoring of this dead child to life again. He found the child dead upon his own bed (Kg2 4:32), and shut the door upon them twain, Kg2 4:33. Even the dead child is spoken of as a person, one of the twain, for it was still in being and not lost. He shut out all company, that he might not seem to glory in the power God had given him, or to use it for ostentation and to be seen of men. Observe,

(1.) How closely the prophet applied himself to this great operation, perhaps being sensible that he had tempted God too much in thinking to effect it by the staff in Gehazi's hand, for which he thought himself rebuked by the disappointment. He now found it a harder task than he then thought, and therefore addressed himself to it with great solemnity. [1.] He prayed unto the Lord (Kg2 4:33), probably as Elijah had done, Let this child's soul come into him again. Christ raised the dead to life as one having authority - Damsel, arise - young man, I say unto thee, Arise - Lazarus, come forth (for he was powerful and faithful as a Son, the Lord of life), but Elijah and Elisha did it by petition, as servants. [2.] He lay upon the child (Kg2 4:34), as if he would communicate to him some of his vital heat or spirits. Thus he expressed the earnestness of his desire, and gave a sign of that divine power which he depended upon for the accomplishment of this great work. He first put his mouth to the child's mouth, as if, in God's name, he would breathe into him the breath of life; then his eyes to the child's eyes, to open them again to the light of life; then his hands to the child's hands, to put strength into them. He then returned, and walked in the house, as one full of care and concern, and wholly intent upon what he was about. Then he went up stairs again, and the second time, stretched himself upon the child, Kg2 4:35. Those that would be instrumental in conveying spiritual life to dead souls must thus affect themselves with their case, and accommodate themselves to it, and labour fervently in prayer for them.

(2.) How gradually the operation was performed. At the first application, the flesh of the child waxed warm (Kg2 4:34), which gave the prophet encouragement to continue instant in prayer. After a while, the child sneezed seven times, which was an indication, not only of life, but liveliness. Some have reported it as an ancient tradition that when God breathed into Adam the breath of life the first evidence of his being alive was sneezing, which gave rise to the usage of paying respect to those that sneeze. Some observe here that sneezing clears the head, and there lay the child's distemper.

(3.) How joyfully the child was restored alive to his mother (Kg2 4:36, Kg2 4:37), and all parties concerned were not a little comforted, Act 20:12. See the power of God, who kills and makes alive again. See the power of prayer; as it has the key of the clouds, so it has the key of death. See the power of faith; that fixed law of nature (that death is a way whence there is no returning) shall rather be dispensed with than this believing Shunammite shall be disappointed.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 18. When the child was grown] We know not of what age he was, very likely four or six, if not more years; for he could go out to the reapers in the harvest field, converse, &c.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(18) It fell on a day.—See Note on 2Ki_4:8.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18–37. The child of the Shunammite dies, and is restored to life by Elisha (Not in Chronicles)

18. And when the child was grown] During the years which had elapsed since the birth of the child the journeys of the prophet between Samaria and Carmel had no doubt still continued, and the feeling of reverence felt by the Shunammite at first, had grown, as we see from the subsequent narrative, into complete trust, a trust which sends her to Carmel when her sorrow comes, and makes her cling to Elisha as her chief hope for relief. ‘As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee’.

to his father to the reapers] The whole picture is of a well-to-do home, where all was abundant. The husband is of the condition of Boaz (Rth_2:1), and servants of various kinds are ready for every duty.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when the child was grown,.... Perhaps was six or seven years of age, or more:

it fell on a day that he went out to his father to the reapers; it was harvest time, and the men were reaping the corn in the fields; and his father, though a wealthy man, was with them to direct them, and see they did their business well, as Boaz formerly; and the child went out from the house to the field, to see his father and the reapers, for his recreation and diversion.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

18. When the child was grown — Large enough to go out by himself.

To the reapers — In the neighbouring grain-fields. In June (16th, 1838,) Dr. Robinson passed through the grain-fields about Shunem, and wrote: “The fields in many parts were still covered with a rich crop of wheat, long ready and waiting for the sickle. The harvest in other quarters of the plain seemed to be already ended. Our guide from Jenin took us directly through several fields of grain, where his donkey and our mules cropped their fill in passing.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when the child was grown not grown up, for he was still a "child" (Ver. 30, 31, 35, etc.), but grown to be a boy, perhaps four or five years oldit fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. The corn-fields about Shunem attract the admiration of travelers. The husband of the Shunammite, the owner of several, was in one of them, superintending the cutting of his corn by the reapers; and the boy joined him there, as he had probably often done before. Country children delight in watching the various operations of the farmstead.

Vers. 18-37.

Death and restoration.

This is a touching story. It is a story for children. It is a story for parents. It is a story for every one. The circumstances of this little boy"s death were peculiarly sad. He had been an unexpected gift of God to his parents. His mother had not sought for him; but God sent her a son as a reward for her kindness to his servant, and in answer to the prophet"s prayer. Perhaps when this sudden stroke came upon her, and she watched the little fellow pine away and die in her arms, the poor mother felt a little disposed to murmur at the strange providence. She no doubt wondered why God had tried her thus, to send her a child entirely unexpected and unasked by her, and then when he had reached that most interesting age, when he was able to run merrily to and fro, when his childish prattle filled the house with gladness, and when his parents" affections had begun to twine themselves about him then to take him from her! She may not, perhaps, have had hard thoughts of God, but, with all the faith and patience which she afterwards showed, she certainly was a little disposed to blame Elisha. For we find her saying to him, when she went to tell him of her trouble, "Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?" But God"s hand was in it all, as she soon learned. Perhaps she was beginning to make an idol of this child, and God took this way of reminding her that the child was his, that on earth there is none abiding, and that he himself should have the supreme homage of the human heart. Ah yes, she knew something of God"s love before, but she never would have known half so much of it but for this trial. The sunshine is beautiful; but sometimes in a time of continued drought we learn that the world would not get on with perpetual sunshine. We are positively glad to see the clouds and the rain. If we could only learn the same lesson for our spiritual life! The sunshine is sweet, but the clouds have their uses too.

No shattered box of ointment We ever need regret, For out of disappointment Flow sweetest odors yet.

The discord that involveth Some startling change of key. The Master"s hand resolveth In richest harmony.

We have here

I A BELIEVING MOTHER. We see her strong faith in God in that answer which she gave to Gehazi. At Elisha"s command he asked her, "Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child?" And she answered, It is well." Not a woman of many words, this. But a woman of great thoughts, of practical faith, of heroic patience.

1. It was well with the child. She had no doubt of that. She knew less about the hereafter than we do. She did not know what we know about him who is the Resurrection and the Life, who was himself dead and is alive again. She did not know what we know about heaven about the angels" song and the pearly gates and the golden streets. But this she felt assured of, that there was a hereafter; that, though the body died, the soul still lived; that her child was with God, and that, therefore, it was well with him.

2. It was well with her husband. It was well with herself. Yes, although sorrow had entered their home, still she could feel and say that it was well all round. She could have anticipated Paul in his unfaltering assertion, for "we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Calmly and confidently, even though perhaps her tears were falling while she spoke, she uttered the single Hebrew word which means It is well." Thank God for believing mothers. A mother"s faith in God has rescued many a son from the very grasp of hell itself. How many an eminent servant of God has owed his conversion to the prayers of a believing mother! St. Augustine and John Newton are well-known instances. A word here to bereaved parents. You too may have watched a dear child droop and die. Perhaps you murmured rebelliously under your affliction. Learn to look away behind the veil, into that happy land of which perhaps your darling sang-and as you look there surely you cannot but say, "It is well it is well with the child." A word here to all parents. Can you say, as you think of your children one by one, "It is well with the child"? If they should die in infancy, it certainly is well with them. But your children of maturer years, who are growing up into manhood and womanhoodhow is it with them? Are there not some in your household that you know are still unsaved? O parents, can you rest until you win them for Christ? It is right to give them a good education. But the most important concern of all is the salvation of their immortal souls.

II A DEAD CHILD BROUGHT TO LIFE. All dead children will be brought back to life. The body only dies; the soul lives forever. This little one, however, was brought back to the life of earth. Perhaps God thought that this poor mother had been sufficiently tried. Perhaps he wanted to give even then some proofs of the possibility of a resurrection. It was an exceptional act then. It is not to be expected by bereaved parents now. They can only say with David, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." Is it not better so? Could we wish them back again? Look upon them in that bright land where Jesus is, and where the angels are, where their little feet are never weary, where their little faces are always bright and happy, where their little bodies shall nevermore be racked by pain or enfeebled by sickness, where their minds shall never know another thought of sin, and tell me if you would bring them back to this world of wickedness, of temptation, of sickness, and of sorrow? Surely not. Surely they were taken away from the evil that is to come. To depart and be with Christ is far better.

1. Notice the means of this childs revival.

(1) First of all, there was prayer. "And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the Lord.

So it must be in all efforts for the revival of dead souls. Parents must have recourse to prayer if they would see their children converted. We want more praying families; we want more praying Churches. Nothing but the Spirit of God can make the dry bones to live. If our work is to last, it must be done in prayer.

(2) Then, again, observe that Elisha used the means to bring about an answer to his prayers. He asked for a certain blessing, and he showed that he expected an answer. He stretched himself upon the child, that his body might communicate heat to that of the child, and his breath upon the child"s mouth encouraged the returning vitality. It is God"s method of converting the world, of quickening dead souls. It is the Spirit of God that alone can quicken a dead soul. But he uses human instrumentality. He uses living Christians. The apostles were men on fire with the Holy Ghost and with zeal for souls, and therefore their labors were blessed. The reason there are so few conversions, the reason the Church has so little influence upon the world compared to what it might have, is that too often the Church itself is worldly, seeking for temporal position and worldly gain, and that Christians show too little of the spirit of their Master. They have a name to live, but are dead. But it is wonderful what one or two living Christians can effect in a congregation, in a community, even throughout the world.

2. Notice also the signs of this childs revival. "The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes." It was enough. Elisha did not wait for the child to speak. He did not wait for him to walk. He recognized the unmistakable signs of life, and at once he restored the child to his sorrowing mother. Christians ought to watch for signs of spiritual life as the result of their labors and their prayers. They should not be discouraged if there seems but little fruit, do not discourage the slightest indication of a desire on the part of any one to turn from sin and come to Christ. Encourage those who may be seekers after God, groping feebly after the truth, struggling, perhaps, with their difficulties and doubts. What souls have you been the means of bringing from death into life? C.H.I.

Vers. 18-31.

Great trials.

when the child was grown," etc. This paragraph suggests three general observations.

I That great trials OFTEN SPRING FROM GREAT MERCIES. With what rapture we may suppose did this woman welcome her only child into the world, and with what care and affection did she minister to his health and enjoyments? It was her greatest earthly prize. She would sooner have parted with all her property, and even, perhaps, with her husband, for he was an old man, than lose this dear boy of hers. Yet she does; death snatches him from her embrace. "And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died." Though the boy was dead, the woman did not seem to lose hope; her maternal love would not allow her to realize the terrible fact at once. She first lays him on the bed in the chamber which she had built for the prophet; then she calls to her husband, and entreats him to send a servant with one of the asses, that she might fly with swiftness to Elisha. When her husband suggested some difficulty about her going just at that time, she replied, "It shall be well." "Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. So she went and came unto the man of God to Mount Carmel." This was a journey of about five or six hours. Distance is nothing when the traveler"s heart overflows with emotion. How frequently it happens that from our greatest blessings our greatest trials spring!

1. Friendship is a great blessing. One true friend, whose soul lives in ours and ours in him or her, is of priceless worth. Yet the disruption of that friendship may strike a wound into the heart that no time can heal.

2. A sanguine temperament is a great blessing. It drinks in largely of the beauties of nature; it paints the future with the brightest hopes, and stimulates the energies to the greatest enterprises. All the best productions of the human species have sprung from such temperaments. But what trials it brings, in frustrated plans, blighted purposes, and extinguished hopes!

But life abounds with illustrations of the fact the greater the blessings we enjoy, the greater agony felt in their loss.

II That great trials SHOULD BE PATIENTLY ENDURED. In this great trial this woman seems wonderfully resigned. In reply to a difficulty which her husband suggested in setting out for the journey, she said, "It shall be well." And when Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, on her approach to the prophet, asked her, "Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child?" she answered, "It is well." "Though I left my dear boy a corpse at home, and my heart bleeds, I feel it is all " well; " it is the dispensation of a Father all-wise and all-loving. I bow to his will" A state of mind so magnanimous as this under great trial is the duty of all, and the sublime privilege of the holy and the good. Thus Job felt, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord." Thus our great Example felt when overwhelmed with immeasurable distress he said, "Not my will, but thine be done.

Thy way, not mine, O Lord, However dark it be; Lead me by thine own hand, Choose out the path for me.

Smooth let it be or rough, It will be still the best; Winding or straight it matters not, It leads me to thy rest

III That great trials MAY HAVE A BLESSED END. The end of this woman"s great trial was the restoration of her dead child to life. This was brought about:

1. In connection with her own efforts. If she had remained at home and not sped her way to the prophet at Carmel, her boy in all probability would, it would seem, nave remained a corpse, and would have had to be buried forever out of her sight. When she reached him, see how earnestly she pleads: "And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet," etc.

2. By the power of God through Elisha. In the following verses we have a representation of the way in which this was brought about. God helps man by man. All our trials might have a blessed end. "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Yes; whilst "we look not at the things that are seen," the result, under God, depends upon ourselves. D.T.

Vers. 18-37.

The lady of Shunem: 2. The son taken and restored.

A lapse of several years occurs in the story, during which time the child had grown, till he was able to go out to his father to the harvest-field.

I THE UNEXPECTED STROKE.

1. A boyhood of promise. Everything combined to invest this Shunammite"s son with interest, and to make him the idol of his parents" heart. He was an only son, the son of his father"s old age, a child of promise almost of miracle. He would be the joy and delight of his home, a constant wonder, an unceasing study. He was his father"s, not less than his mother"s, favorite, as seen by the way in which the child runs out to him in the field. Great hopes would be built on him, and it might be thought that these could hardly fail to be realized. From the manner in which he had been given, God might seem pledged to preserve him from the ordinary dangers of childhood. He lived so it might be fancied a charmed life, and could not fall a victim to disease and trouble as other children did. Alas! the contrary was soon to be shown.

2. The child smitten. The manner of the playful child"s seizure is simply and naturally told. The boy is sporting among the reapers, when suddenly he exclaims, "My head, my head!" The father is by his side, and orders him to be carried home to his mother. He thinks, apparently, only of some passing illness. The heat has proved too much for him. The mother"s instinct more surely divines the fatal character of the stroke. She does not even lay him on his bed, but, taking him on her knees, holds him there in an agony of terror and affection, boding the worst. How great a mother"s love! The father is sought in the hour of play; the mother"s knee is the place in sickness. At noon the child dies.

3. The child dead.

(1) It is not an unexampled thing for children to be taken away as suddenly and pathetically as this Shunammite"s son was. Many a parent"s bleeding heart can tell of similar wounds. The suffering and death of little children is one of the "dark things" of Providence. Often it is the brightest and most promising that is taken, and the removal is sometimes as sharp, startling, and unlooked-for as in the case here described. Yesterday, nay, at morn, the mother had her child by her, happy, winsome, full of mirth and frolic; at noon he is snatched from her embrace forever.

(2) The special mystery in the case of this Shunammite"s son is that he was a child of promise. Had not God given her this son given him without her seeking and how could he now, without manifest injustice, snatch him away from her again in this ruthless manner? Was there not, in this way of dealing, a breaking of promise with her, something arbitrary, capricious, unfair? So to her wild, whirling thoughts, it may have seemed. God"s ways are, in truth, often very mysterious. Yet in the present instance may not the very fondness of these doting parents for their child help to explain something of the darkness of God"s dealing with them? God never binds himself to an unconditional continuance of our blessings. There was danger, just because this child was held so dear, of the parents" centering all in it forgetting, in their feeling of the security of their possession, that the gift still hung on the will of the Giver. To recall them to a sense of their dependence, or, if this is rejected, then, as in Abraham"s ease, to perfect the faith of this Shunammite through trial, the gift is for the time withdrawn.

(3) The child is dead, and with almost unnatural composure, the stricken mother rises from her seat, bears the child"s body aloft to the prophet"s chamber, lays it on the bed, and goes out, locking the door behind her. She tells neither servants, husband, nor any one else, of what has happened. Her husband was still in the field, and she must have put off any inquiries he made with evasive answers. A great mystery hung over this unlookedfor bereavement, and as only the prophet can solve that mystery, to the prophet she will go.

II THE JOURNEY TO CARMEL.

1. On the way.

(1) The lady sends to her husband for an ass, and a young man to accompany her, that she may "run" to the prophet, and come again. She gives no explanation, for in her heart she no doubt cherished hope that her mission would not be in vain. She clung to the promise of God (cf. Heb_11:17-19) In the hour of trouble, nothing lightens the gloom like a promise to hold by.

(2) The husband"s surprised question, "Wherefore wilt thou go to him today? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath," shows that it was Elisha"s custom to hold religious assemblies on the sabbath days, to which the godly in Israel resorted. This is an interesting side light on the practice of the time. Weekly assemblies were not provided for in the Law, but where love to God is in the heart, it needs no law to bring believers together. (Mal_3:16)

(3) The journey was made in haste. "Slacken not the riding." Such errands brooked no delay. When one is earnest in pressing for a blessing, no obstacles will be allowed to stand in the way. Neither in service of God, in seeking blessing from God, nor in pursuit of holiness, should we be tempted to "slacken" our endeavors. (Php_3:13, 14)

2. Meeting Gehazi. From afar, from his dwelling on Carmel, Elisha saw the hard riding of the lady whom he recognized as the Shunammite. With an instant presentiment that something was wrong though nothing had been revealed to him (ver. 27) he bade Gehazi hasten, and inquire concerning herself, her husband, and her child, if it were "peace." To him, however, she was in no wise minded to open up her heart. She but curtly replied, as she had before done to her husband (ver. 23), "It is peace." With all her deep affliction, she had not surrendered faith. She felt that God was trying her, but though "faith and form" were sundered in the night of fear, she had courage to believe that it would yet be "well." Her comfort was not in the well-being of her child with God, but in the hope that he would be restored to her. With the new light the gospel has given, Christians can say of their dear lost children, "It is well," though they have no hope of beholding them again on earth (see sermons and pieces in Logan"s "Words of Comfort;" especially sermon by C. H. Spurgeon on this text, "Infant Salvation," p. 117, 9th edit.).

3. At Elishas feet.

(1) Arrived in the prophet"s presence, the bereaved mother cast herself in mute grief and supplication at his feet. With singular inappreciation of the delicacy of the situation, Gehazi approached to thrust her away. But Elisha perceived how deeply her soul was "vexed" within her, though as yet he could not divine the cause. There is a silence which is often more eloquent than speech. God does not need our words to tell him what we want; he can read even the "groanings that cannot be uttered". (Rom_8:26) This mourner took her trouble to the right place.

(2) By-and-by she found words, which in form were words of expostulation, "Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?" In reality she was recalling to the prophet that it was his own word which had promised her this child. She was telling him in effect that the child was dead, and supplicating his help to prevent his original promise being completely cancelled. God is pleased that we should plead his promises with him. He bids us "put him in remembrance"; (Isa_43:26) like Job, "fill our mouth with arguments". (Job_23:4) He will honor his own word, for "his gifts and calling are without repentance". (Rom_11:29)

III THE CHILD RESTORED.

1. Gehazis failure. Anxious to lose no time in doing what he was confident it was the will of God should be done, Elisha directed his servant, who could go much more quickly than himself, to speed forward, and lay his staff upon the face of the child. He was neither to allow time to be wasted, nor his thoughts to be distracted, by saluting any one on the way. ("The King"s business required haste;" 1Sa_21:8; cf. Luk_10:4) Gehazi did as he was commanded, but "there was neither voice nor hearing." The staff did not work the wonder was never intended to do so; it was only a symbol of the prophetic authority under sanction of which the deed was to be wrought. There have been many speculations as to the cause of Gehazi"s failure, some supposing that Elisha had stepped beyond his province in presuming to delegate this power to another; others, that the failure was a designed rebuke to Gehazi; others, that this was a new trial of the Shunammite"s faith. But surely the simplest explanation is also the most probable. Gehazi was sent in good faith, but the deed was not one to be wrought by marc, but by the concurrence of faith and prayer. Elisha"s prayers accompanied his messenger, but the defects in Gehazi"s own spiritual nature proved too serious for the work he had to do. God would not act through such an instrument. Even when Elisha came upon the scene, it was not without difficulty that he accomplished the miracle. His foresight in this was limited, even as in the matter of the child"s death the fact was "hid" from him.

2. Elishas success. The Shunammite had refused to leave Elisha, and now, as they journeyed onward, Gehazi met them, announcing, "The child is not awaked." Elisha himself now took in hand the task in which Gehazi had failed.

(1) He went into the room where the child was, shut the door "upon them twain," and prayed. The prophet and the dead are alone together, but God is there too. Elisha attacked the problem from its spiritual side. His first object was to get his own soul into a spiritual frame, and to secure God"s approval of his efforts. He believed, like his master Elijah, in the virtue of "effectual fervent prayer". (Jam_5:16) Such preparations are necessary if we would accomplish the greater miracle of raising the spiritually dead. Prayer attains its highest power when "secret". (Mat_6:6)

(2) Divinely directed in answer to his prayer, Elisha now stretched himself upon the body of the child, placing his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, his hands on his hands, etc., (cf. 1Ki_18:21) and a first stage in restoration was accomplished flesh of the child waxed warm." We can give no explanation whatever of the rationale of this procedure, which yet in some way unknown may have made Elisha a co-agent in the work of restoration. If life was not absolutely extinct a supposition countenanced by the fact that decomposition does not seem, even at the distance of many hours, to have set in (Bahr) some reason might be seen for it.

(3) Elisha now arose, walked for a time to and fro, perhaps to increase animal heat, more probably in an energetic bracing of mind and spirit to overcome remaining obstacles to the power of faith, then renewed his former position of contact with the child. Life gradually reasserted its power; the child sneezed once, again, seven times; then opened his eyes, and was restored to his parent.

The lessons from this concluding part of the story are:

(1) Prayer conjoined with appropriate action does not fail of its reward.

(2) The duty of perseverance.

(3) Some spiritual tasks are more difficult than others. (Mar_9:29)

(4) In the case of the Shunammite, the victory of faith.

(5) The ease with which Christ wrought his miracles as compared with these laborious exertions of Elisha a proof of the superior greatness of his power. J.O.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Shunammite’s Son Restored to Life

v. 18. And when the child was grown, having become a boy of some size, it fell on a day that he went out to his father to the reapers, at the time of harvest, the hottest time of the year.

v. 19. And he said unto his father, My head, my head! He was evidently suffering from a sunstroke. And he, probably believing it to be a passing attack, said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.

v. 20. And when he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees, where she held him in apprehensive fear, till noon, and then died.

v. 21. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, intending to keep his death secret for awhile, at least until she had started on her trip, and shut the door upon him, and went out. She had her plan made and did not intend to let any one or anything interfere with her preparations.

v. 22. And she called unto her husband and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, for since it was harvest, she would be satisfied with only one servant to accompany her, instead of the customary two, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God and come again.

v. 23. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath, the times when religious assemblies were held and the people came to the prophets for instruction. And she said, It shall be well, literally, "Peace," that is, Never mind, don’t worry!

v. 24. Then she saddled an ass and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, literally, "Do not hinder the riding," he should have the beast keep up a regular, swift pace,except I bid thee.

v. 25. So she went and came unto the man of God to Mount Carmel, some twenty miles to the west. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi, his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite.

v. 26. Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? These were the usual questions seeking information concerning the welfare of such as one had not seen for a while. And she answered, when Gehazi put these questions to her, It is well, again equal to: Never mind; don’t worry! an expression by which she wanted to pacify the questioner without giving definite information.

v. 27. And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet, falling down before him and taking hold of his knees in the overwhelming power of her grief. But Gehazi came near to thrust her away, considering it improper for the prophet to be urged in that manner. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her, full of bitter questionings, and the Lord hath hid it from me and hath not told me.

v. 28. Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me? She did not state the cause of her bitterness outright, but Elisha could easily draw his conclusions. She had not asked for a son, but now that she had lost the child of her old age, she felt more deeply stricken than before.

v. 29. Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, for a rapid trip, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way. If thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again; he was to let no delay interfere with his journey, for he was the representative of the prophet, and his mission required haste and concentration. And lay my staff upon the face of the child. The laying of the prophet’s staff on the boy’s face was not intended to act as a magic, but had the purpose of taking from the minds of men all superstitious ideas.

v. 30. And the mother of the child, fearing that the prophet would not personally go to Shunem, said, As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. She insisted that he come in person. And he arose and followed her.

v. 31. And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing, no reaction, no response; the Lord did not intend the miracle to be performed in this way. Wherefore he went again to meet him and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.

v. 32. And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, not merely unconscious as Elisha may have hoped, and laid upon his bed.

v. 33. He went in therefore and shut the door upon them twain, himself and the dead boy, and prayed unto the Lord.

v. 34. And he went up, namely, on the bed, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, to impart warmth to the corpse; and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm, recovering from the chill of death.

v. 35. Then he returned and walked in the house to and fro, as one under the stress of a great emotion, awaiting the fulfillment of his prayer; and went up and stretched himself upon him. And the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

v. 30. And he called Gehazi and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.

v. 37. Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, overcome by emotions of wonder and gratitude, and took up her son, and went out. Such miracles as that here recorded, but much more those related of Jesus of Nazareth, are the guarantee of the general resurrection at the end of the days.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.