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In the late 1860’s life was good for Horatio Spafford and his wife Anna. They had four daughters: Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta, and one son: Horatio Jr.  Horatio Sr. was a successful Chicago lawyer and prominent businessman. He invested a large amount in real estate by the shores of Lake Michigan. They were active in the abolitionist movement as well as leaders in an evangelical movement with famed preacher Dwight L. Moody. Their life was filled with the joys and contentment of loving family and serving God.

However, in 1870 their faith was tested by tragedy. Their 4-year-old son died of scarlet fever. In 1871 the Great Chicago Fire destroyed their real estate holdings, along with 250 people dying and 90,000 left homeless. The Spaffords did not despair and kept their faith. Even though finances were mostly depleted they still sought ways to help the homeless, feed the hungry and care for those families impacted by the fire.

In 1873 the Spafford’s attempted to put family tragedy behind them and they planned a trip to Europe to assist Moody in conducting England revivals. Horatio sent his wife and four daughters on to Europe while he was to remain behind finishing up some business dealings. Unfortunately, tragedy would strike again as the steam ship the family traveled on collided with a British iron sailing ship. Only 81 of 307 passengers & crew survived and only Anna, Horatio’s wife survived. Anna’s physical body experienced pain from the shipwreck, but it was her heart that hurt the most in losing her four daughters. The words she hung on to from a friend were this: “It’s easy to be grateful and good when you have so much but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God.”

Horatio traveled to see his surviving wife. While crossing the ocean at the spot of the wreckage he would reflect upon the same Scripture text we will examine today, and then write this hymn: “It Is Well With My Soul.”

EXAMINE  2 Kings 4:8-37    3 ways to receive God’s blessings.

Once again in Kings, the author pauses the conversation about national politics, regional wars, and immoral lifestyles, to tell the story about another unnamed woman with unexpected pains.

⁸ One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. ⁹ And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. ¹⁰ Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.”

God’s blessings come by making room for others and being available to Him.

God’s blessings come by making room for others and being available to Him. Elisha was traveling as a prophet to speak God’s word around the region, and likely training other schools of prophets like Elijah did. He went to Shunem, a small town with a family appeal (cf Abishag).

This is a subtle reminder that God’s people take God’s word with them everywhere they go. They’re kingdom ambassadors outside the walls of the church in communities, schools, workplaces, and each place their feet or vehicle takes them.

There was an elderly couple who had some sort of bed and breakfast type place. They served food to weary travelers. Noticing Elisha the prophet’s ministry, they sought to bless him. They built a small room with walls and overhead on the roof of their house. They also furnished the area with a bed, a table, a chair, and an oil lamp – perhaps sold from the widow in the previous passage (2 Ki 4:1-7).  

Jesus taught that welcoming people and offering hospitality to those who speak God’s word is like expressing care for Him (Mt 10:40-41). This couple models for us the significance of hospitality. Gracious hospitality is a trait of the righteous throughout the Bible (Gen 18; 47; Ruth 2:15; 1 Sam 25; Neh 5:14–19; Job 31:32; Acts 16:11–15; 1 Tim 3:2; Jas 2:25).^[1] Hebrews 13:2 “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” And Jesus didn’t teach that we should only show hospitality to prophets, but especially toward those who are poor, handicap, and disabled (Lk 14:14). We are to be gracious to others because God has been gracious, accepting, and generous toward us (Ro 15:7; Col 3:12-15).

What does generous hospitality specifically look like for you?

• Neighborhood block picnics
• Visiting senior living centers
• Foster care or adoption…
• Or maybe just being a surplus adult in a child’s life. The closest “definitive silver bullet” to finding lasting faith among the young generation was that “students who experience more intergenerational [life experiences] tend to have higher faith maturity.”[2] So, develop friendships with other adults so they can impact your kids – and you do the same for other families.
• Learn the names of family members among your co-workers and ask about their lives. This presents compassion and opens conversations for a gospel witness.

What does generous hospitality specifically look like for you?

• Greeting compass (N-E-W-S).
• Greeting formally.
• Volunteer in CM/YM… almost everyone can do something.
• Acts 15:19 “we should not make it difficult among unbelievers to turn to God” 
• Simply learning the names of family members in the church is a great start. – – – one of the aspects I appreciate about spbc.

Overall, like this hospitable couple, we must make room for God to work in our life. That starts by prioritizing meaningful time in God’s word, valuing unhurried and deliberate reflection (4me: journal or walking), and not living in bondage to busyness that hinders sincere friendships and spiritual community. Our lives are like rocks in a riverbed that are shaped by the flow of life in the communities we exist; we just have to make sure we are resting in a healthy riverbed.[3]

Also, I don’t want to miss the significance of a childless couple who takes a risk. This family had no need of an additional loft bedroom. Yet, they took a risk to start something new and serve a need for someone. What risks is God calling you to begin and build?

• Doing the same thing and expecting different results is… insanity. If we want God to move in a fresh way, then there are times when we must take spiritual risks of obedience for God.
  • In all…  God’s blessings come by making room for others and being available to Him. 

¹¹ One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there. ¹² And he said to Gehāzī his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she stood before him. ¹³ And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’ ” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” ¹⁴ And he said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehāzī answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.” ¹⁵ He said, “Call her.” And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶ And he said, “At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your servant.” ¹⁷ But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time the following spring, as Elisha had said to her.

God’s blessing comes in our deepest pains. God wants to do His greatest work in our life not just through our strengths but our weaknesses; not just through our celebrations but also our suffering and hardships.

God’s blessing comes in our deepest pains.  Elisha and his servant Gehāzī were blessed by the Shunamite couple’s hospitality. They wanted to do something in return to bless them but the woman was “wealthy” (v.8 gādôl – great/famous/fortune[4] or significant substance^[5]),

• What gift do you give to a rich person?
• While, this woman/couple is not misusing her status – “she dwells among her own people”– we see that she is not gādôl in terms family; there’s something missing, and Elisha will touch a sore subject with her about this.
• BUT, do you notice in general how the Bible addresses gādôl people? [6] 
  • Mark 4:19 “the deceitfulness of riches… choke the word and it proves unfruitful”
• • Mt 6:19, 24 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal… No one can serve two masters – you cannot serve God and money.” Mt 19:21-24 “If you would be complete, go sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come follow me – but the man went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. And Jesus said, Truly, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. ”God’s not promoting economic class warfare. Essentially, Jesus is simply pointing out the reality that a person’s wealth deceives them into self-sufficiency and thinking they have no need for God. And we can see that many people who are materially prosperous and experience rich, can also be relationally poor. Hollywood shows us that all the money in the world does not equate to personal happiness, sustained joy, satisfied marriages, or fulfilled families. 
  • It’s not sin that keeps us from God but our self-perceived righteousness. Sin can be forgiven, but unconfessed pride is a stumbling block to faith.

So, this woman’s gādôl is insufficient to completely fulfill her life, and she has a buried pain inside due to childlessness/infertility. And Elisha promises she will carry a son. She pushes back, telling Elisha “Don’t tease me; this is no topic to play around; so, don’t make a promise if you’re not certain God will fulfill it.”

And mercifully Scripture leaves out the details for this elderly couple, but we do read of God’s faithfulness to bless them with a growing baby boy.

God’s blessings come in our deepest pains. God wants to do His greatest work in our life not just through our strengths but our weaknesses; not just through our celebrations but also our suffering and hardships.

Pain always deepens our pursuit for something. The text emphasizes the woman didn’t ask for a son (2Ki 4:16,28). She seems to know that this one area of deprival and pain in her life would be sensitive and shaking to her faith. Yet, she clings to the Lord, pursuing and hoping in God’s promise. Likewise, our earthly pains have the power to cause us to drift or draw more closely to God. Tim Keller says, “Suffering is indeed a test of our connection to God. It can certainly tempt us to be so angry at God and at life that we have no desire to pray. Yet it also has the resources to greatly deepen our divine friendship. It starts with analysis. When times are good, how do you know if you love God or just love the things he is giving you or doing for you? You don’t really… Suffering reveals the impurities or perhaps the falseness of our faith in God. In a sense, it is only in suffering that faith and trust in God can be known to be in God, and therefore it is only in suffering that our love relationship with God can become more genuine.”[7]

• Faith isn’t true if it isn’t tested.
  • C.S. Lewis after wife died wrote,
    A Grief Observed, “You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth of falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.
• • Ps 42:8 “By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me”
• • Ps 61:2b “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I”
• • Ps 68:19 “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation.”
  • Ps 119:71 “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn God’s ways.”

> What pains in your life does God want to transform and use for His purposes? What mistakes and messes have you made that God wants to turn into mentoring and ministry use? (cf. Gen 50:20)

God’s blessing comes by enduring faith through persistent prayer.

God’s blessing comes by enduring faith through persistent prayer.

¹⁸ When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. ¹⁹ And he said to his father, “Oh, my head, my head!” The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died. ²¹ And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door behind him and went out.

The child grew up and during one of his day’s work, he experienced a severe head injury. Soon, the boy dies on his mother’s lap. It’s a most precious and heart-wrenching scene. It is also a reminder for parents to treasure their children and take seriously their role in preparing them to know the Lord. The mother surprisingly has a calm and seemingly confident reaction to her son’s death by simply laying him on the bed of the prophet. Does she believe in resurrection? It seems her faith is being tested and she turns to her only hope.

²² Then she called to her husband and said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again.” ²³ And he said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath.”   Dads can be a little slow.

She said, “All is well.” ²⁴ Then she saddled the donkey, and she said to her servant, “Urge the animal on; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.”

Pity the fool who gets in the way of a mother and a child. Dads too, but everyone knows the one who went through the pain of childbirth will endure it again and again to make sure their child has the opportunity for life.

We should also commend this woman. She has already made room to welcome Elisha before he did anything good toward her. So, she’s not approaching him out of greed but need. – – – She’s not treating prayer like an airbag, as only for emergency, instead she’s treating prayer as a regular practice to trust on mountain tops and through the valleys. She doesn’t have the answers, but she’s clinging to the author of life and God of miracles.

She’s not treating prayer like an airbag, as only for emergency, instead she’s treating prayer as a regular practice to trust on mountain tops and through the valleys. She doesn’t have the answers, but she’s clinging to the author of life and God of miracles.

²⁵ So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehāzī his servant, “Look, there is the Shunammite. ²⁶ Run at once to meet her and say to her, ‘Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child?’” And she answered, “All is well.”

The woman will not settle for second-place. She bypasses Gehāzī for the prophet of God, Elisha. ²⁷ And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehāzī came to push her away.  A hint that Gehāzī is not what he presents as a servant of God.

But the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.”

*Some people are surprised when God speaks to them. Elisha is surprised when God does NOT speak to him.

²⁸ Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me?’” ²⁹ Elisha said to Gehāzī, “Tie up your garment and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply. And lay my staff on the face of the child.”

Elisha is recalling God’s miraculous work through Moses with his staff. This is where we see the narrative take a surprise turn. It’s almost as if he’s attempting to operate on past formulas rather than present faith.

We operate similarly. We experience God move powerfully in our life from a previous style of music – or based on a prior program/study – and so we want to mandate our experience for everyone else; as if God is required to follow our comfortable formula… –  We’ll see how this works out…
³⁰ Then the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her.
³¹ Gehāzī went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. Therefore he returned to meet him and told him, “The child has not awakened.”
Isn’t this surprising? Our palms are sweaty; our hearts are thumping; we’re on the edge of our seat and praying for this child to live. But, when Gehāzī arrives and does his miracle magic with “abracadabra, rigor mortis!” and that doesn’t seem to do the trick.

*BTW #1: Magic phrases have religious roots and people believe they can manufacture miracles. “Abracadabra” was likely from a Hebrew “God (Abba) creates (bara).”[8] Similarly, “Hocus Pocus” was heard from priests speaking Latin during communion saying, “Hoc est corpus = This is my body,” and was/is believed the elements physically change into the body/blood of Christ. But a priest can no more turn priceless wine into precious blood than a false prophet raise the dead.

*BTW #2: The fact that this story is included in the Scriptures is evidence of its truthfulness. If this resurrection miracle were not true, why include 1) Elisha’s lack of awareness about the woman’s dead child, or 2) Elisha’s failed instructions to Gehāzī, or 3) Elisha’s first prayer attempt doesn’t work? These details are not flattering to Elisha. But it displays the details of true events.

³² When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. ³³ So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the Lord.

Remember the widow from the last passage: she took her empty jars, shut the door to remove distractions, and waited for oil to fill each vessel – and there was abundance! Likewise, Elisha shuts the door to pray for this child’s life.

³⁴ Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. ³⁵ Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

Elisha doesn’t give up. He stretches out face-to-face, hand-to-hand over this child and pleads to the Lord for resurrection life.

The child sneezing is, again, indicating details of true events. But 7x indicates completion and perhaps recalls the creation days, with this child being recreated with new breath and life.

³⁶ Then he summoned Gehāzī and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her.

The mother had given up hope; she left the room & needed called to return.

Undoubtedly there are times in your life – perhaps this present season – where you are at the end of your rope; bowed to the ground; clinging to a well of promises that has appeared to run dry; and you’re ready to walk away. But today the Holy Spirit is whispering, “Shut the door. Silence the outside noise. Keep praying. Don’t give up. God’s blessings begin with our brokenness, and His greatest works are not in our gādôl but in weakness / not in our fullness but our emptiness.”

And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” ³⁷ She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.

In this woman’s life, all was not well because her son was dead. But her faith gave her perspective for her problems. She was content but she wasn’t complacent. She exercised her faith and exhausted all possible means to see the desires of her heart (cf Ps 37:4).

Likewise, many of our earthly lives experience all is not well, and we let it be known with complaint and criticism of God instead of trusting His wise and good character.

As a pastor for 27+, here’s what I know: trials and tragedies often happen for reasons only known to God. In those moments we can turn away from God or trust Him. God wants us to trust His knowledge is wise and His actions are good. In other words, if we knew what God knows, then we wouldn’t be tempted to resist Him but instead would run to Him for help and hope.
“If God were small enough to be understood, he wouldn’t be big enough to be worshiped.”[9]

Shut the door. Silence the outside noise. Keep praying. Don’t give up. God’s blessings begin with our brokenness, and His greatest works are not in our gādôl but in weakness / not in our fullness but our emptiness.

APPLY/TAKEAWAY

> Extraordinary times require extraordinary prayer. It’s easy to look at the world’s pressures and problems and think, “God has enough to worry about. I won’t bother him with my issues.” 1-2 Kings shows us God is attentive to individuals. His eyes scan the whole world to give strong support to those whose heart is fixed on Him (2 Chro 16:9)… And since God can handle raising the dead, then certainly we can trust him with lesser challenges. There is no issue too imposing or too insignificant for God to hear and care. The God who makes grass & flowers grow, feeds oriole birds, covers mountain tops with snow peaks, and who causes startling thunder and boisterous lightning – the Almighty God is infinite and intimate to handle our cries and help our challenges.
– No problem is too powerful.
– No addiction too defeating.
– No failure too final.
– No life too broken.
– No regret too severe.
– No sin too condemning that Jesus cannot save to the uttermost and awaken fresh starts and new beginnings (Heb 7:25).

Jesus is the true prophet of God who encounters us flesh to flesh and exchanges our sin with His salvation. He transforms us from being dead to awakened new life.

Jesus is the one who is making things “all is well” and we long for that Day of peace.

Psalm 34:17-18 “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

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^[1] Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Kings (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 204.

[2] Kara E. Powell, Brad M. Griffin, Cheryl A. Crawford, Sticky Faith: Practical Ideas to Nurture Long-Term Faith in Teenagers (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011): 75.

[3] Thought inspired from Ruth Haley Barton, Strengthening The Soul Of Your Leadership, p.128.

[4] 14x in Jonah, where the word implies significance or greatness. https://growinggodlygenerations.com/2019/01/20/rebellion-repentance-jonah-2-4/

^[5] T. R. Hobbs, 2 Kings, vol. 13, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1985), 50.

[6] Thought inspired from J.D. Greear sermon, “Making Room For The Greater Things, 2Kings 4:8-37.”

[7] Tim Keller, Walking With God Through Pain And Suffering, p.191-192.

[8] Or some form of the phrase; see https://www.thejc.com/judaism/jewish-words/abracadabra-v49e2lqc

[9] Evelyn Underhill, quoted in Tim Keller, Walking With God Through Pain And Suffering, p.255.