2 Kings 4:8 - Part 01 — Joseph Balsan

Well, it's a pleasure to see you all, to be with you for these couple days as I'm returning from a swing through Kansas and Colorado, now Nebraska. Shall we turn to 2 Kings chapter 4, 2 Kings chapter 4, 2 Kings 4 and verse 8,.

Elisha and the Great Woman of Shunem

And it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman, and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was that as oft as he passed by, he turned and thithered to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold, now I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.

Let us make a little chamber, I pray, beyond 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 and thither.

And it fell on a day that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunemite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. 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? Wouldst thou be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.

And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. 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.

And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season, that Elisha had said unto her, According to the time of life. 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. And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.

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. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him today?

It is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, 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.

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. 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. 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. Then she said, Did I desire a son of my Lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?

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. Verse 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 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.

May the Lord bless to us the reading of his word. Now I am sure I have read a very familiar portion to many of us who are in this audience tonight. I was thinking especially of this great woman that is brought before us here.

Greatness in Ordinary Faithfulness

And I think that as we look at her, we see some of the qualities that you might say constitute one pleasing in the sight of God. Now I think this is the only woman in the Bible of whom it is said that she was great.

We have various men in the Bible spoken of as great, especially our Lord Jesus Christ. We remember that it was said when he was born, he shall be great, and he shall be called the son of the highest. Now I think that the remarkable thing about this woman who is constituted great is that this woman in the eyes of men did nothing unusual or nothing that would win her a name in the annals of earth.

She didn't do any great thing as far as the world is concerned, or that the world would call great. As far as we know, she never moved outside of her home circle. And yet, God said concerning her that she was great.

You know, most of us are waiting for some outstanding event of some kind to come across our path that is going to give us an opportunity to do something outstanding. Something that will call us, you might say, to the attention of people.

Something that will cause perhaps people to speak about us. There are those we know in the world who do great things in the world. They have their names on buildings. They have their names on monuments.

They accomplish great things as far as the world is concerned. But I remember an old preacher in Chicago saying quite often, Well, all the things that are done in this earth and all the great achievements that are accomplished in this earth, why, they're all just for the big fire.

Because the earth and the works that are therein, they shall be burned up. And you and I could do something great that would put our names on some monuments here on earth. That would perhaps cause people to write books about us.

But you know, we could be very insignificant and unimportant in the sight of God. But this woman was a woman of whom the Holy Scripture says that she was a great woman. And as we think of this woman who, as far as we know, only on one occasion moved outside of her home circle, I think that this comes down to those of us who sometimes feel to ourselves, Well, after all, what can I ever do?

Or what can I ever be that I should amount to anything in the sight of God? After all, it seems that my life is in the humdrum of everyday activity. I don't seem to move out in a very large circle. I go to my work in the morning.

I go around the same people all the time. And it seems that I'm in that rut, as it were, or in that routine, day after day, and week after week, and year after year. Or it might be perhaps one says, Well, you know, I'm just a housewife.

Or I'm one who doesn't have a great sphere, you might say, of service. Well, what could I ever do that would ever bring me any renown or make me of any account as far as God is concerned? Well, I think that this incident of this woman here is a wonderful illustration to us where a person is recorded in God's Word who eventually was brought before the king too.

Because if we were to turn to the 8th chapter of 2 Kings, we would notice on one occasion a famine was going to come upon the land. And Elisha told her to leave her land. And so she went into another land, the land of the Syrians, I think it was.

And she was there for seven years. And when she came back, she came back at the most opportune moment. Because right in the presence of the king, why, there was Gehazi, and the king was asking him about some of the miracles that Elisha had performed.

And you remember Gehazi was telling about how Elisha had raised a little boy from the dead. And right at the opportune time, why, that woman comes into the presence of the king as she's asking for her land.

You know, when we're in the will of God, and when we're moving according to the will of God, we're always on time. We're always in the right place at the right moment. And it's wonderful to see how the Lord orders our lives, and how the Lord can do things for us in a most unusual way.

Now, she had been out of the land for seven years. And at the precise moment that the king was asking about the child that was raised from the dead, Gehazi looks around, and he says, why, your majesty, here is the woman.

Why, this is the woman whose son was raised from the dead. And so the king asked about what had happened, and she tells him the whole story. That thing which she didn't desire, as we're going to see in a little while, is given her.

She's enabled to stand in the very presence of the king. And she tells him what happens, and what is the result? The king commands that the land that she had left seven years before is to be returned to her, and all the fruit that had come forth from that land in those seven years was to be given to her in addition to the land being returned to her after her absence of seven years.

You know, when we're in the will of God, and we're doing the will of God just in the most common, ordinary way, it's wonderful to see the Lord working for us. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Do you see God day by day in your life? Do you see God day by day working in little things in your life, to give you an indication that His eye is upon you, that His hand is toward you, that He is very interested in all that pertains to you?

I think that in this incident here, in this woman, we see some of those spiritual qualities that are precious to God, and that enable us to be in His will, to be doing His work, to be in the right place at the right time for the right testimony perhaps.

And if you and I are characterized by some of these spiritual qualities, why, who knows? Seest thou a man diligent in his business, he shall stand before kings. Why, there's no telling where you and I may be brought if we're just faithful in the commonplace, ordinary things of day by day living.

It says, It fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman, and she constrained him to eat bread, and so it was that as oft as he passed by, he turned and thithered to eat bread. Now I think that the first quality that I want to mention is a quality that we see further down in this chapter, but I am sure that it was that which was really and truly, I might say, the root quality from which everything else springs, and that is, I think that first of all, this was a woman who was characterized by confidence in the Lord.

Confidence in the Lord Through Faith

Because, as you and I see in the 23rd verse, when her husband asks, Why is it that you go to see the prophet? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath, and she says, It is well. And when Gehazi comes with the questions, Is it well with thy husband?

Is it well with thy child? Is it well with thee? She is very steadfast in her confession, It is well. In other words, the first thing that we notice about her is that she is a woman who has confidence in the Lord.

Now we know that this is the root quality in all spiritual life. We must have confidence or faith in God. You know, Hebrews chapter 11 tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Faith in God, how does faith come? How does a person get faith in God? Does faith in God suddenly come through a window and strike you, and suddenly you have got faith? Is that how faith comes? How do we become strong in faith?

I remember one time speaking in Lyman, and I was quoting the verse, Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. And Brother Cal Lindemann came up to me after the meeting, and he says, You know, my little boy came home from Sunday school many years ago.

And he said, You know, I know how you get faith. And he said, Well, I asked my little boy, Well, how do you get faith? He says, Well, faith cometh by hearing and hearing. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing.

Now that is how we get faith. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing the word of God. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The more often you and I hear the word of God, the more often you and I come to the word of God, the greater and the stronger we'll become our faith in God.

After all, isn't that how faith came in the first place? We heard the word of the Gospel. We were awakened to a sense of our need. We were awakened to a sense of our guilt. We learned that we were sinners and that we couldn't save ourselves.

And as we heard that Gospel message, we thought to ourselves, Well, can it be that Jesus died for me? Is it possible that when He died on the cross and bore sin's heavy load there, is it possible that there was provision made for me?

And then we heard the wonderful invitation, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And when you and I came, when you and I believed, we were born of God and faith was begotten in our hearts.

Faith was born in our hearts when you and I received the testimony that God gave concerning His Son. After all, that's how we're saved. We're saved by believing God. We're saved by believing the record that God gave of His Son.

And that faith grows as you and I learn more about the God who has saved us. And as you and I learn more about the Lord Jesus who died for us and rose again and lives for us and cares for us and is interested in all that pertains to us.

You know, D .L. Moody prayed much that his faith might be strengthened. He prayed much that he might become strong in faith. And one night he was reading Romans 10 and verse 17. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

And when he read that verse, he says, well, that's how I get strong faith. And he no longer prayed for strong faith. He spent more time reading the word of God so that he could become strong in faith.

And we know what a strong man of faith D .L. Moody became. When the trials and the difficulties of life hit you and me and you know we all meet the trials and the difficulties of life. We all meet upsets and we all meet disappointments.

We all have our difficulties and our troubles. Do you and I have confidence in God saying, it shall be well. I know that he's working all things together for good because I'm one of those who love him and one of those who am called according to his purpose.

Spiritual Discernment and the Priesthood of Believers

The first thing we notice about this woman was that she was a woman whose confidence or faith was in the Lord. But then you notice the second thing we notice about her. It says, it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunem where was a great woman and she constrained him to eat bread.

And so it was as oft as he passed by, he turned and feathered to eat bread and she said unto her husband, Behold now I perceive that this is an holy man of God which passeth by us continually. The second thing we notice about her was that she was a woman of spiritual discernment.

She says, Behold I perceive that this is an holy man of God. You know there were many religious prophets in the days of Elijah and of Elisha. You know that there were 850 prophets to one in the days of Elijah and they were the prophets of Baal.

We know how in Israel there was constantly the struggle against idolatry and against prophets who were not prophets of God at all. They were false prophets. And so it took real spiritual discernment for a person to discern whether or not a person was a man of God or whether he was not.

As Elisha passed by continually and as she saw how he behaved, as she heard how he spoke, why she realized and she confessed, I perceive that this is an holy prophet of God. Now you know we're living, we believe, in the Laodicean period of the church's history.

We believe that we're in the very last stage of the church's history on earth. We live in a day when materialism as far as the religious realm is concerned seems to be uppermost. Everything today seems to be figured in the way of money and materials and manpower instead of the Holy Spirit's power, the Holy Spirit's ministry, the Holy Spirit's enabling, the Holy Spirit's work.

You know I think that today we need very much to have our eyes anointed with ISAB that we may see. Because there are many spiritual movements abroad today that are offering so-called spiritual experiences to believers that supposedly put them in a realm of super-spirituality.

Take for instance this so-called tongues movement. How many believers there are who are feeling perhaps that their lives are not quite as spiritual as they would like them to be and this comes along as a promise to give them something that they have been lacking and something that they have been missing.

And the result is that believers are carried away with this teaching and the result is that they're led away from our Lord Jesus Christ. You know we need spiritual discernment. We need to be able to discern what is of God and what is not of God.

We need to be able to discern what is truth and what is not truth. Because today the enemy is coming in like a flood and he's coming in and he's carrying away and he's misleading believers. And instead of believers being helped, why believers are being stumbled and their lives are being marred and ruined.

How can you and I get spiritual discernment? Well there's only one way and that is to get into the presence of the Lord and read his word and find out what he wants us to know. You know I was reading Leviticus chapter 21 the other day.

You know in Leviticus chapter 21 we have the account of the priesthood and you notice in Leviticus 21 and verse 16 it says, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed, in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.

Now you notice here it speaks of priesthood. And it speaks of offering the bread of God. That is coming into the presence of God to function there as a priest. Now of course we all believe here I think in the priesthood of all believers.

We believe that that is a distinctive truth that we lay hold of and we seek to practice. Not only in our prayer meetings and I might say it's a good thing to remember that the prayer meeting is also a function of the priesthood.

If we're not at the prayer meeting in prayer, if we're neglecting the prayer meeting, we're not functioning as priests. We're only partially functioning. Because we don't want to limit the Lord's Supper and offering our praise to the Lord as that alone being priesthood.

Because the prayer meeting is also the place where you and I function as priests. And so it speaks here of a man offering the bread of his God. And notice the 18th verse. For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach a blind man or a lame.

Now a blind man of course is a man who's in the dark. And we know there's much religion or religious practice today that is only in the dark. A man who is lame, that is a man who isn't walking straight, he can't function as a priest.

But then it says, he that hath a flat nose. Now that's an awful funny blemish, isn't it? Why would a man with a flat nose be disqualified from being a priest? Well if he had a flat nose, it was probably an indication that he couldn't smell.

Or his sense of smell wasn't as good as it should be. His sense of discernment was not what it should be. And where the sense of discernment was lacking, a man could not function as a priest. And so we see how important it is that we should have a sense of discernment.

That we should be able to discern what is of God and what is not of God. And you know I think that when we come together on Lord's Day morning, I think we should have that sense of discernment. We should remember what we're there for.

What are we there for? We're there to remember our Lord Jesus Christ. We're there to break bread in memory of his death. And you know this place is a place where we show our spiritual discernment. Sometimes the meeting is going along and we seem to be carried right into the presence of the Lord.

And we're being occupied with the Lord and with his death. And all of a sudden some brother will get up and he'll give an out of him like, Oh what a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear.

What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Now that's a beautiful hymn. It's a precious hymn. It's a precious hymn for the prayer meeting. But it isn't a hymn that is suitable, you might say, to remember our Lord Jesus Christ.

Or it might be perhaps that a brother gets up and he begins to pray. And he begins to pray for the whole world. And he's praying for the sick. Well those things are good. Praying for the world and praying for the sick and praying for the unsaved.

Those things are very good for the prayer meeting. But when we're there to remember our Lord Jesus Christ, why we want to remember that we're there to think upon him. And the hymns and the offerings of prayer or praise, they should center around that one whom you and I are gathered to remember.

And everything that we say or every part that we contribute to that gathering should be for the furtherance of the object for which we are gathered together. Now we know that in the religious world there isn't much spiritual discernment.

They say, come and worship with us. And you go there and you're listening to a sermon. We know that to worship our Lord Jesus Christ, we're offering to him praise and thanksgiving. We're occupied with his death.

The prayer meeting is the prayer meeting, the petitions, the requests. The remembrance feast is where you and I come together to offer to him our thanks, our worship for what he has done for us. Spiritual discernment.

So necessary if you and I are going to be pleasing in the eyes of our God. And the third thing we notice about her, and this of course has often been spoken about, and that is in the first verse, she constrained him to eat bread.

Hospitality as Everyday Ministry

And so it was that as oft as he passed by, he turned and thithered to eat bread. She was a woman who was given to hospitality. She was a woman who used what ability the Lord had given her in the particular sphere in which she was placed.

You know, many of us want to do the unusual thing, don't we? We want to do the thing that will bring us to the attention and the admiration of people, but here was a ministry that this woman fulfilled in the ordinary, everyday circumstances of her life.

As this prophet passed by, she opened her home. And as oft as he passed by, he was invited to share of what they had to offer. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 4 for a moment. 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 8. Perhaps we could read the seventh verse.

But the end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves, for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging, as every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Now notice this. The ninth verse speaks of using hospitality, and the tenth verse speaks of receiving the gift and ministering the same one to another. Now notice how the Spirit of God brings these two things together.

Our hospitality and using the gift that the Lord has given to us. This woman used what she had. It wasn't what she didn't have. It wasn't whether she wanted something else. She was willing to use and function in that particular sphere in which she was placed.

You know, I think that amongst the assemblies of God's people there's enough talent and there's enough gift. There's enough ministry, whatever that ministry may be, to really and truly work a revolution, you might say, in the entire spiritual realm.

If we would only, each and every one of us, do what we can. Remember what the Lord said to Moses? He says, what is that in thine hand? He had a rod in his hand, and the Lord used what he had in his hand.

What do you have in your hand? What do you have at your disposal? This was a woman who used what she had at her disposal for the Lord, and the result was it led into a larger and a richer life as far as she herself was concerned.

She was given to hospitality. And then it says, she says in the third, tenth verse, 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.

Now someone has said this indicates that she was a woman possessed of great common sense. Great common sense. Because when it came to preparing a chamber for the prophet, she didn't, as it were, go wild.

She just prepared just what would be necessary. You know, I remember a story that an old servant of the Lord told me one time about how he and another preacher were out preaching, and they came to the home of a very rough woman, but she was a real child of God, and it was in the days of the Depression.

And so, of course, money was very scarce, and there wasn't much as far as the people having very much. And so when they came to her home for dinner, why, she just put on a simple bowl of bean soup, and as she put it on, she says, Well, she says, if you're the Lord's servants, what I have is good enough for you, and if you're not the Lord's servants, it's too good for you.

Well, this woman, she provided just what would be necessary. A bed, a table, a stool, and a candlestick. She provided for him what would be necessary for his spiritual benefit and his spiritual usefulness, as well as his physical convenience.

Rest, Provision, Learning, and Light in Christ

You know, as I look at these things, why, if they are necessary for the servant of the Lord, I think that they're necessary for each and every believer. You know, as you and I look at these four things, why, they all present to us a little picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He is to you and me.

A bed, what is a bed for? A bed is a place to rest. Do you and I find our rest in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you and I find rest in Him? You know, we're living in a world today of a lot of excitement and a lot of movement, a lot of confusion, and you and I need to come apart for a little while and just rest in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you and I know what it is to retire into the quiet place and rest there? It's necessary. I was reading one time about a man who was the prime minister to the king, and he was a very wise man. He was a very capable man.

He seemed to be a man, but nothing disturbed. And because he did his work so well, and because he was so high in the estimation of his master, why, he had many enemies. And his enemies laid wait, just like they did for Daniel to find some fault with him.

And so one day they came to the king and they says, Your Majesty, we believe that he is plotting against you. We believe that he is conspiring against you. Oh no, he says, I don't believe. We believe that he is.

Every day at a certain hour, we see him retire into a certain room, and we believe that in that room, he's conspiring and plotting against you. And much as he hated to think of it, the king couldn't help listening to their suggestions.

And so he called the man into his presence and he says, What is this I hear about you plotting against me? Oh, Your Majesty, I would rather die than plot against you. Well then, why is it that you've got a secret room that you retire into?

Every day, who do you talk with in that room? Who is there in that room with you? He says, Your Majesty, would you like to see that room? He says, Yes, I would. And so he took him into a little room that was just under a stairway in his home.

And as he opened that room, while it was a very simple room, all that was there was just a table and a chair, and there on the wall were some garments that he used to wear when he was a shepherd who cared for the farm.

He says, Your Majesty, he says, Every day I come here, and he says, I sit here and I look at those garments, and I remember what the lowest state that I came from. I remember what I was at one time, a shepherd, just a humble shepherd who wasn't very much.

And he says, as I sit here and meditate for a little while, and remember how low was my estate, and how you have elevated me, and what a responsibility you have given me, he says, this little time in here refreshes me, humbles me, and fits me to go forth and serve you to the best of my ability.

You know, we need that little time apart to rest. Do you and I rest in Christ? And then it says, and a table. And of course, the table, of course, speaks of the bountiful provision. I was reading the other day that little expression, delight thyself in the Lord.

And in a book of meditations, a writer suggested, what does it mean to delight thyself in the Lord? And he suggested it means, seek delicacies from the Lord. Seek daily delicacies from the Lord. Just imagine Mephibosheth sitting at David's table.

Wouldn't you like to have been Mephibosheth? And as the king looks at the various things, he'd specially pass something to Mephibosheth. Something that came to Mephibosheth right from the king himself.

Do you ever have that experience? Do you sit at his word and receive some delicacy from him? Some special portion from him that just seems to fit you? The table, it speaks of Christ as the one who would feed our souls.

Who would minister to our souls. And the stool, of course, that where the learner sat. And you and I should be constantly learning of our Lord Jesus Christ. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. And then, of course, the candlestick, Christ our light.

You and I need light today. We're living in days of confusion and chaos. We're living in days of darkness. And the only light we can go by is the light that the Lord gives us. But you notice something else about her.

Contentment Among God's People

She was not only a woman of common sense or care, who provided for the care of the prophet. But notice it tells us in 12th verse, He said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.

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? Wouldst thou be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.

Now she was a woman who was given to something that is very rare today. It's almost one of the lost arts of Christianity. You know what that is? Contentment. Contentment. I dwell among mine own people.

Would you like to be spoken to for the king? She's done so much for us. What should we do for her? Would you like to be spoken of to the king? Would you like to be brought into the captain's court? My, what a wonderful opportunity.

I wonder how many of us would pass it by. Invited to the White House. How many of us would pass it by? To be brought into the elite. You know, into society, you know. Why, you know, to be something in the world.

She says, I dwell among mine own people. She was content to be amongst her own people. You know, I know a certain brother, and this brother thought, oh, you know, the assembly people, my, they're just so common ordinary.

They're not very much, he says. You know, I think I'm going to get into a, you know, more of the elite. I want to get into a bigger, a higher group. You know, people that really matter. After all, people in the assemblies, they don't matter very much.