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Bible Study on the Prophet Elisha
Good Old Fashioned
Kindness!
By I Gordon
Introduction
In 2 Kings 4 we are
introduced to a remarkable woman and we will focus in on this woman for the
next two studies. This study then will be half of that story. You’ll have to
read the next study to find out how the story ends! But I’ll let you in on a
secret… it has a great ending! This study will mainly be centered around the 5th
fruit of the spirit which is seen in the life of this woman. As you have
memorized the fruit of the spirit in order I have no need to tell you that it
is about good old fashioned kindness. Let’s have a look at the story!
One
prominent woman…
2 Kings 4:8-10 One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.”
Now, the version I have quoted from above
says that a ‘well to do’ woman lived in
When
you did it to the least of my brethren…
Look at what the text says – She first of all would make sure that Elisha, when he passed through, had a place to eat. But it didn’t stop there. Before long, Elisha not only had a place to eat, but a place to stay for this woman organised with her husband to build an extra room onto her house for Elisha! Now, what was her motivation for being so kind? Well, she recognised that Elisha was ‘a man of God’. He represented God in all that he did and was part of the family. And, as Jesus said ‘if you do it unto the least of my brethren, you do it unto me’. The Bible tells us to be kind toward one another, but especially towards other believers.
“Let
us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good
to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Gal
6:9-10)
It was through this love and kindness towards each other that the world was meant to see and know that we are believers!
“A
new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love[3]
one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love
one another.” (John 13:34-35)
Kindness, it has been rightly said, is a language that the dumb can speak and the deaf can hear. It is a language as old as the hills and one that God has emphasised for some time! The question is, do we do it? Read again this passage from Micah 6:8 which states what the Lord looks for in his people[4].
‘The
Lord has told you, human, what is good; he has told you what he wants from you:
to do what is right to other people, love being kind to others, and live
humbly, obeying your God.’ (NCV)
The response
to kindness - kindness returned
2 Kings 4:11-16 One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. Elisha said to him, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’” She replied, “I have a home among my own people.” “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked. Gehazi said, “Well, she has no son and her husband is old.” Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she objected. “Don’t mislead your servant, O man of God!”
So here’s Elisha, all snug and warm in his new bed, an he’s thinking to himself – ‘This lady has been wonderfully kind to me. She has done all this and asked for nothing in return. What can I do for her? What.. can… I… do… for… her???’ It has well been said that kindness is the hardest thing to give away because it is always returned! So true and we see this very thing in the passage above. Elisha, having been the object of this prominent woman’s kindness, now wants to know what he can do in return.
It is interesting that this woman, when asked what she needs, seems very content with what she has. Her kindness wasn’t displayed for some kind of reward. Well, not in this life anyway! But there is something that that she did long for in her heart – something that she had given up hope of being able to have… a son[5].
But
they didn’t live happily ever after…
2 Kings 4:17-20 But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. “My head! My head!” he said to his father. His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.
It would be nice to say that because of the kindness of this woman, she was blessed by God and lived happily ever after without any problems. But this is real life, not a fairy tale and the scripture tells us that though a son was born just as Elisha had said, after he had grown the boy dies in his mothers arms.
Conclusion
We’ll pick up the story in the next study for though the boy has died, death, for this boy, is not the end! For, as we shall she in the next study, this woman was remarkable for more than just her kindness… but that’s jumping ahead! But before we leave this study, let me just bring you back to this word concerning kindness. Believe me, God may not be asking you to build an extension onto your house like this woman and her husband did! But even the small things that we do for one another matter! Look and ponder on this verse:
Matt
10:40-42 ‘He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the
one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will
receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he
is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives
even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple,
I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”
If you do something kind towards another of the Lord’s brethren you shall be rewarded. It says that above quite clearly. It may be something great… it may be something as small as a cup of water. Whatever it is, it will not go unnoticed by God by WILL be rewarded. It may even be a kind word to sustain a weary soul. As it says in Proverbs 12:25
‘An
anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.’
In this age of self focus, pray that the Lord will keep your eyes off yourself, onto Him, and on those around you that need help. Ask the Lord to put people on your heart that He would wish to minister to through your hands and your kindness. You never know what he may want to do![6]