2 Kings 4:8-17 – How do Ordinary People Get God’s Attention (2020) – Bible study

2Kings 4:8-37 How Ordinary People Get Gods Attention Shunem was a Jewish town, located in the tribe of Issachar. No doubt, as Elisha passed through the Galilean area to minister to the twelve tribes, he past through that area and thus met this woman and her husband. We get no sense that there was anything exceptional about this family. It is obvious that they had some wealth by the fact that they had servants, but that may not have been unusual. God had promised Israel prosperity. At one time, all Jewish families had land. It was a land flowing with milk and honey so every family had an equal opportunity to work the land and make something substantial out of their inheritance. The point is, this family was like normal. Spiritually, they worshipped God but that should have been the rule for Israeli families, not the exception. But even as this family was normal, they received several miracles from God. 1. The first miracle was to receive a son at all. The woman was barren, childless. There were no fertility clinics in that day. No doctors delved into that field of study. Yet, Elisha prayed and asked God to give her a child, and God did. That is my definition of a miracle. 2. Then God raised that child from the dead. He got sick, perhaps an aneurism, perhaps a stroke, regardless, he died. Elisha prayed over himafter he had been dead for several hours at leastand God returned the breathe of life to him. Again that is a miracle. I have seen God do some things in my life, but these kinds of miracles are rare. Yet, this family received two of them. Why? How? What made this familyand most of it seems to be centered upon this womanso special? How did she get Gods attention? Lets see a few thoughts this afternoon. I. \#14\ She got Gods attention by not being bitter. A. Here was a Jewish woman who had no child. 1. While some today might think it of little consequence not to have children, those of the Bible would have looked at it like a curse from God. 2. Yet, this woman showed no bitterness toward God. B. Life certainly has its challenges. Each challenge offers another opportunity for bitterness to do its work. 1. You can get bitter at God as the Sovereign who arranged the challenge. a. No knowledgeable Christian can deny Gods sovereignty. b. The Scripture teaches it. Psalms 135:6 Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places. Isaiah 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? Romans 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? c. That means that regardless of whether you have wealth or poverty, health or sickness, sunshine or clouds, joy or sorrow, feast or famine, life or death-it is God who gives it. d. I am sure that Shunamite woman considered that. (1) \#14\ It was God who never gave her a child. (2) \#17\ It was God who gave her a child. (3) \#20\ It was God who took her child. (4) \#34-35\ It was God who gave her a child back. e. Yet, she did not get bitter at God. 2. Instead of getting bitter at God, you could get bitter at other things. a. You could get bitter at life for dealing you such a hand. b. You could get bitter at circumstances because you dont like them. c. You could get bitter with yourself and figure somehow you are to blame. 3. But no matter what you direct your bitterness toward, it is still bitterness to God. a. Sooner or later, every thinking Christian will realize life, circumstances, even our own will to one extend or the other, are all tools in Gods hand. b. This woman had no bitterness. 4. We need to learn an important lesson: Bitterness will suck the life out of you like a sponge. a. It will rob you of your joy. b. It will rob you of your energy. c. It will rob you of your health. d. It will rob you of your relationships. Nobody wants to be around a bitter person. e. Most importantly, it will rob you of your walk with God. II. \#8-11\ She got Gods attention by respecting the things of God. A. This woman built a room onto her house! She provided a permanent place for the man of God to abide. B. I dont suppose this was a great financial challenge to them as they seemed to have an adequate income supply, but this kind of an act is only described once in all the Bible! 1. It was an act of help. a. There were probably no hotels or lodges nearby. b. If there were, the man of God probably had little money to stay there. c. Now the man of God had a place to eat a hot meal, a comfortable place to rest on his journey, and a bed to lay his head down in. d. I am not certain how old Elisha was at this time, but I am certain it was a great aid to a weary body. 2. What an act of kindness. a. Sometimes people make offers and you are not certain they mean what they offer. b. This woman proved she wanted the man of God to drop by for a meal and much more! c. The couple made the man of God welcomed! 3. What an act of trust. a. By building onto their house, this couple was saying that you are a part of our household. b. Those with good sense do not open their home to people that they do not trust. C. Now, why would this family do this? What would their motive be? 1. They never asked Elisha for anything. a. Not for blessings, not for payment, not for favor from God. b. The motive does not seem to be greed or selfishness. 2. It was not they who sought a miracle from God. a. \#16\ In fact, when Elisha brought it up, the woman was obviously surprised beyond comprehension. b. I would say that this was dream she had long since given up. 3. I can only see reason this family did what they did. 4. They respected the things of God in general and the man of God specifically. D. I believe that God takes note when somebody has respect for God, Gods people, and Gods things. 1. I believe this is what the Lord mean when He gave Israel this command. De 6:13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. De 6:24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. De 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 2. Respect God. Honor Him. Acknowledge Him. 3. This was a common practice across this land but in recent generations, reverence for God and the things of God have disappeared. a. Few respect the house of God anymore. (1) Even few Christians do. (2) Irreverent dress, food and drink being had in the sanctuary, music more fit for a bar than a worship service. (3) There is a great effort even within the church to make God one of the boys today, but He is not just one of the boys! b. Few respect the Bible anymore. (1) There is a guaranteed right in this country to read anything you want, anywhere you want, for any purpose that you wantexcept the Bible. (2) You may take radical Islamic books to school, read them, distribute them, promote thembut not the Bible. (3) You may take Marxists literature, Nazi literature, anarchists literatureall of it is protected by free speech and freedom of the press. (4) That material will be distributed, read, discussed, even blandished on bulletin boards. (5) It will be called history, philosophy, fodder for mental stimulus, but the Biblethe most historical Book in history, the most influential Book in history, and the only Book that God gave usis banned. (6) I find it interesting that the Biblical, Christian, world- view is the viewed as the only pure "religion" in the world. c. Few respect the men of God anymore. (1) While it may sound gratuitous to say so, I can see the shift from respect for Gods preachers in my lifetime. (2) Some would say "They have brought it upon themselves," and I would agree with that statement to some extend. (3) However, some of it is that people in general just dont know the Bible well enough anymore to distinguish between a man of God and wolf in sheeps clothing. III. She got Gods attention by settling for nothing less. A. A large portion of this account demonstrates this womans determination to get as close to God as she could. 1. \#20-21\ Her son dies. a. She could have, and probably had and did, seek the Lords help through prayer. b. But she could get closer to God, and she knew it. c. She laid her sons body on the man of Gods bed and went out. 2. \#22-23\ Her husband inquired if she had a need. a. God has ordained the home and the husband is the head of the home. b. Even though the Biblical account attributes most of the godly actions of this family to the wife, the husband was likely a devout and godly man as well. c. Seeking the prayers and comfort of her husband would have drawn her closer to Gods power, but she could get closer to God and she knew it. 3. \#24-27\ The woman rides like a maniac cross Israel. a. Elisha who lived on a mountain, saw her coming up the road and sent Gehazi down the mountain side in a more direct route to meet her. b. Gahazi was been with Eliasha as he has performed many miracles. c. It was Gahazi that pointed out to Elisha that this couple had no child. d. Gahazi was the man of Gods servant. It stands to reason that he had some closeness to the things of God, to the power of God. e. But this woman could get closer to God and she knew it. 4. \#27-28\ This woman did not slack up until she came to Elisha. a. This man talked to God and things happened. b. This man desired of God and God responded. c. Once in his presence, she would not leave. d. She was going to get Elisha to talk to God for her no matter what. B. The point here is not to build up the man of God, but to demonstrate this womans determination to get as close to God as possible and to stay in Gods presence until God answered her. 1. This woman was dependent upon God. 2. Her spirit was both passionate and zealous. 3. It was uncompromising, unrelenting, and tenacious. 4. God might turn her down, but she would not quit pounding upon the door of heaven until she knew He had. C. Such a faith is hard for God to ignore. Mt 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Lu 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; D. I do not say that we shall receive all that we ask for but I do say we stop too far short of seeking as this woman sought. 1. God says to seek and to not quit. 2. God says have faith and you shall receive. 3. God says He will answer our prayers. 4. With these kinds of promises, it should take more than a small note of rejection to get us to stop. E. This woman would settle for nothing less than God and she got what she sought! 1. Not just her son backwhich did receive. 2. But she got Godin all of His power and glory. The God that we serve is not just God. He is the God who cares about us. Sometimes we forget that, but I tell you, if God does not care about us, He is not a God worthy of our worship and devotion. This woman believed that. In her case, she had no choice. I say again, would our God not be pleased if we chose to be so devoted to Him, so dependent upon Him, that we could not endure without Him. Having that kind of faith is how ordinary people get Gods attention!