9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
( Hum... she perceived that he was a Holy man? wonder how? wonder why? was it something about his character, his nature, his attitude, his ways? maybe it was not so much what he said as it was what he did! or didn't do? but something about this man spoke volumes to her, he was not like the others, there was something about his spirit, his whole demeanor was one of authority and trust, kindness and gentleness, " for all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth.." so in all we do and say we should always strive to be an example to others, available to others, always passing by continually with his love & grace to freely give)
10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.
12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.
13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.
( Hum again she shows her appreciation? her contentment is evident? would to God that we too would learn to be content with his blessings though they abound or abase, In other words she was saying hey I have a family, a home, food, I am blessed! what more should I ask for not what more could I ask for?and it was this attitude that brought more of God's blessing upon her! Divine direction and providence is evidence of divine favor!)
14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old. ( no child now that wound be a sad predicament considering they were beyond child bearing age and without a child to care for them in old age they ould not only be left destitute but hopeless it was considered a curse to be without children ahd it was her dream ye her cry continually within her for a child no she never told anyone but it was her heartbeat! she prayed and prayed no one ever took notice but God did, he saw her heartbeat and that was all it took!)
15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.
16 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life. ( when the man of God speaks we should heed his words)
18 ķAnd when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.
19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.
( Now isn't that like the devil to try to rob us of the blessing of the Lord? " for the devil cometh not but for to steal, kill and destroy but I am come that you might have life and life more abundantly" )
20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.
22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.
23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. (It seem to others that she had no right, nor authority, nor obligation to go to the man of God? but for her, faith took the place of fear, despite the circumstances she refuse to believe and accept defeat, confidence was her strength! faith her motivation, oh yes the physical circumstances said it was over and hopeless, but her God said " is anything to hard for God"
what is impossible with man, all things are possible with God" but my God shall supply all your need.." I am the life and the ressurrection.." You see sometimes its just like that you just have to believe even in the face of adversity and defeat, when life has dealt you a severe blow say and remember this: it shall be well with my soul! " for the trying of your faith worketh patience.." weeping endureth for a night but joy cometh in the morning' ATTITUDE MAY VERY WELL DETERMINE THE OUTCOME OF YOUR SITUATION)
24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.
25 So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammi
26 Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.
( Notice the futher you get away from your problem and get a new perspective? The better your outlook wil be! she traveled quite some time to reach him, and the further she got away the more she realize it would be well with her in time! )
27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
( Now isn't that like some folks, like some Christians, some ministers, some family members, all they want to do is keep you from your blessing, from your answer, from your deliverance, keep you away from Your God, but hey did anyone notice her posture? she fell at his feet? an act of submission and servitude, humility and sincerity, the question is not will they or someone else thrust you away? but will you let them? " pride cometh before a fall" but the humble shall be exalted"
28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?
29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.
31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.
(My my oh Gehazi, what was it about him? he settled for defeat in place of victory? as the representative of God's anointed and the next in line to the mantle of the prophet, there was no place for him to allow defeat or death to the SPOKEN command of Gods chosen vessel, no room for a poor demonstration of faith and authority, ah but herein lies the problem Gehazi had a problem? his heart was not right, was not where it should be, his faith was not in his God but his greed! you see later poor Gehazi went on to be cursed with leprosy for an act of greed and self agridization, oh what he could have become in the way of a prophet? just imagine? a double portion, a triple portion? but instead he went down in history as a failure, oh that the same would not be said of us!)
32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.
35 Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.
( Now isn't that just like some folks they can't see the hand of God at work when its in their face? they are so full of faithlessness that they are powerless and incapable against the on slaught of the enemy, they constantly miss Gods purpose, his plan, his presence, his power you see its not always by what you see or hear? but by what has been spoken in authority and faith! learn to speak the word and will of God to ur situation..)
32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.
35 Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.
Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.
2 Kings 8:1 Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years.
( Now anybody notice that? Not only did God give life back to her dead child! but he is also concerned about her future, he protects her from the coming famine, and possibly from a coming death, starvation, creditors, etc.. could it be that her faith and humility reached into her future? and brought the favor of God upon her and her household? )
REFLECTIONS: Hum.. I wonder how many times we can find ourselves in this story? in which role do we find ourselves? Oh Im sure at times we can find ourselves playing out each of these roles, some of us do it to perfection. Yes at times God forbid I may find my self as the Gehazi in another persons life, I refuse to believe with them for the impossible, yup sometimes I even hinder them from coming to God, sometimes I do it in ignorance and at other times without regard nor compassion for their hurts or needs, nor their God, Hum I wonder if I to like Gehazi am more interested in what I can get out of God and others than what I can give to others or God? Are there any Gehazi's who have a form of Godliness but deny the power thereof? we walk in his presence but minus his authority!God if ever Im in need, if my hopes are dead? if my life is at the threshold of death? Please do not send me a Gehazi but an Elisha...
Then there are the times we find ourselves playing the role of this Shunammite our faith soars, our sensitivity to God and others is refreshing, encouraging and inspiring, though the storms may be raging and we are tried on the anvil of adversity, yet we walk in his peace, we live in victory and confidence, for inside we know it will be well with our soul! No this does not mean that we never hurt or are discouraged, it does not mean that we do not feel the weight of oppression or failure but we rest in his promises..ever secure ever sure ' for faithful is he who hath called us who also will do it"
Then at times we play the prophet, the man of God, the friend, the source, oh it may not be many times that we do? but the more we do it the more we become acustomed to it, if we can just make it a habit, more and more a little here a little there. The key is, it should be our desire to strive to be more available to others for therein lies the answer to being used more of God, to being a blessing, to being an encouragement, an inspiration, we have to learn to be sensitive to God and to others, God does not want out money or ablities as much as he wants our availablity, you see to be the Elisha in another persons life we have to be a shunammite unto God!
Then at times we may find ourselves as this dead child? It seems everything has been robbed from us, our family, our joy, our job, our faith, our hope, our mariage, our ministry, etc. Just think about it! he could no longer defend himself or plead his cause, he was out for the count! for the most part he had nobody he could count on? or did he? ah but he did have this Shunammite, a lowly, humble, hurting and full of faith mother, somebody was praying for him? for him if God didnt intervene it was over, he had no chance, he couldnt pray for himself, couldnt speak for himself, couldnt fight for himself, ha! ever felt like that? like the enemy was and is to strong for you? like ur a failure? defeated? downcast? dead spiritually if not physically? do u feel lost of life and burden for the things of God? has he robbed you of anything? are the storm winds blowing your way? has the tempest tossed you about every which way but? SAY IT WILL BE WELL WITH MY SOUL! Jesus speaking sayeth: " I am the ressurrection and the life.. he that believeth in me shall never die"
Prayer: Dear father, Lord Jesus you know that I love you, but truthfully Im so ashamed of myself for the many times that I find myself playing the wrong role in the story of life, I have so many needs this day daddy! For one I need ur forgiveness, your grace and mercy, your love and guidance, your wisdom and instruction, but more than anything daddy I need your constant presence! help me ! help me to be more available to you and to others, help me to trust when the strom winds blow. When Im attacked from all angles, from all people, well atleast it feels that way sometimes, help me to walk in confidence, to inspire others, to encourge others, help me to look for change in my life, to be open to correction, help me to remember that there are many stories in life being written and that I can play an important part in each? even if it be a lowly Shunammite... to you be glory and praise my loving father! I worship and adore you, thank you for the part that you have given me in this story of life! and thank you for giving me a future! despite my past! AMEN Failure is not final..
Prepared by : George R. Nava 2170 E. Market St. Stockton, Ca phone -46-59731
My web page: http://gospelstuffs.homestead.com/index.html