25<\/strong>. to mount Carmel<\/em> ] The distance would occupy five or six hours riding. (Bunsen, Bibelwerk<\/em>.) The LXX. inserts at the beginning of this verse a further direction to the servant. ‘Come, set forth and go to the man of God to Mount Carmel’. This is a result of reading the Hebrew words twice over.<\/p>\n Probably from previous visits both the Shunammite and her servant were familiar with the road; for the whole narrative gives the impression that on Carmel there was a centre of prophetic teaching and religious worship, and that the family from Shunem were among the frequenters thereof. Elisha discerns her coming in the distance and is able to say to Gehazi who she is some time before she arrives.<\/p>\n that<\/em> [R.V. the<\/strong> ] Shunammite<\/em> ] The pronoun of the original is, except in this instance, connected with masculine nouns. It is better to consider it here as rendered by ‘yonder’, which the A.V. puts in italics. It is demonstrative in force, and the noun has its own article.<\/p>\n The distance was about sixteen or seventeen miles.<\/P><\/p>\n So she went and came unto the man of God at Mount Carmel<\/strong>,…. Where Elijah used to be, and where, perhaps, was a school of the prophets; this, according to Bunting x, was sixteen miles from Shunem:<\/p>\n and it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off<\/strong>; as he might from the eminence of the mountain:<\/p>\n that he said to Gehazi his servant, behold, yonder is that Shunammite<\/strong>; that has so often and so hospitably entertained us at her house.<\/p>\n x Travels, &c. p. 207.<\/p>\n (25) To mount Carmel.<\/strong>Elisha, then, must have dwelt there at least occasionally. (Comp. 2Ki. 4:9<\/span>.) Carmel probably served as a fixed centre of prophetic teaching for the north, as Gilgal, Beth-el, and Jericho for the south. (Comp. also Elishas sacrifice there, 1Ki. 18:31<\/span> seq<\/em>.)<\/p>\n Afar off.<\/strong>The same word (minnged<\/em>) as to view<\/em> (chap 2Ki. 2:7<\/span>; 2Ki. 2:15<\/span>).<\/p>\n Shunammite.<\/strong>Syriac, Shulamite<\/em>.<\/p>\n 25<\/strong>. <\/strong> She went, and came to Mount Carmel <\/strong> Some ten or twelve miles from Shunem, a distance which she doubtless travelled in a few hours.<\/p>\n The relation of this scriptural story, in the mere letter of the subject, is uncommonly interesting. The prophet’s salutation and enquiry of her welfare, and that of her family, and her short but expressive answer, are very striking. It behoves the ministers of God both in spiritual and temporal mercies, to take part in the concerns of their people. And observe the pious frame of mind in the woman. Though her soul within her was convulsed with sorrow, as afterwards when she came nearer Elisha, he saw her agony, for her very looks expressed it; yet such was her faith and patience, that she said, All is well. That is, all is well, because what hath taken place is from God’s appointment. She hoped an happy issue both from what she knew God was able to do, and from what she hoped that God would do. Sweet and blessed frame of mind! And depend upon it, Reader, the same can our Lord Jesus Christ work by his Holy Spirit in every heart of his people, when, as in the instance of this woman, he works a faith suited to every trying situation.<\/p>\n 2Ki 4:25 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 Shunammite:<\/p>\n Ver. 25. Behold, yonder is that Shunammite.<\/strong> ] That good Shunammite, which “showeth out of a good conversation her works with meekness of wisdom.” Sir Thomas Moore was out when he said, Men commit faults often, women only twice, that they neither speak well nor do well.<\/p>\n 2 Kings<\/p>\n A MIRACLE NEEDING EFFORT<\/p>\n 2Ki 4:25 – 2Ki 4:37 <\/strong> .<\/p>\n The story of Elisha is almost entirely a record of his miracles, and the story of his miracles is almost entirely a record of deeds of beneficence. Exception has been taken to it on the ground of the strange accumulation of supernatural works, which have been said to make it like some mediaeval saint’s legend. But why should it not be true that, after Elijah had proclaimed the truth, his successor’s function was to enforce it chiefly by his acts, and to seek to draw Israel back to God by ‘the cords of love’ and the gentle compulsion of mercies? The careful consideration of the work of the two prophets makes the peculiarities of Elisha’s perfectly intelligible. This story of the great lady at Shunem, her joy over her only child and his piteous death ‘on her knees,’ is one of the tenderest and sweetest pages in the history. Late won and early lost, the poor boy lies pale and dead on Elisha’s bed at Shunem, while the mother hurries across the plain of Jezreel to Carmel,-a distance of some fifteen or sixteen miles,-where Elisha was then living, probably near the place of Elijah’s sacrifice. This passage begins with her approach.<\/p>\n I. Note first the meeting <\/strong> 2Ki 4:25 – 2Ki 4:28. Somewhere on the slopes of Carmel, commanding a view of the plain stretching away in the blue distance eastward, sat the prophet. His eye was keen, though probably he was now old, and he recognised the lady at a distance, as she rode swiftly towards the mountain. He appears to have suspected that this unusual visit meant some calamity, and his gentle heart went out towards his hostess and friend. Gehazi could not get back sooner than she could come, but sympathy could not sit passive and watch her approach. So the instinctively despatched message beautifully witnesses the prophet’s keen affection, and, as it were, the eager leap of his sympathy. So swift and ready to flash into act is the fellow-feeling of the Highest with the sorrows of us all; so should be the compassion of each with another. The higher in gifts or office in the kingdom a man is, the more is he bound to carry his sympathy in an outstretched hand. It is worth very little when it comes slowly. It is priceless when it runs to meet the mourner before she speaks.<\/p>\n The detailed question put into Gehazi’s mouth describes the circle within which this woman’s heart moved,-her husband, her child, herself. If these were well, nothing could be very ill; if ill, nothing could be well. But the message, which came so warm from Elisha’s lips, had been cooled on the road, and sounded formal from Gehazi. It is hard for selfish indifference to carry tender words without freezing them. The bearer of sympathy must be sympathetic. As Gehazi spoiled Elisha’s message, so we Christians too often do our Master’s, and cool it down to our own temperature. The fact that Gehazi had done so is suggested by the curt answer, ‘Peace!’ It is often quoted as the language of resignation, but it seems much rather to be evasion of the question, and that because her sorrow shrank from unveiling itself to the questioner. Nothing makes grief dumb so surely as prying and yet indifferent intrusion. A tenderer hand than Gehazi’s is needed to unlock the sad secret of that burdened breast.<\/p>\n It was perhaps partly pique at her silencing him, and partly mere unfeeling attention to ‘propriety,’ which made the servant wish to check the convulsive grasp of the feet, which the master allowed. Underlings are more careful of what they suppose to be their superior’s dignity than he is. Much is permitted to love and sorrow, by a prophet, which would be repressed by smaller men. ‘Her soul is bitter within her’ pardons much, and only unfeeling critics will be punctilious in dealing with even the extravagances of grief. But Elisha had another reason than pity. He wished to know her pain, and therefore he let her cling to his feet; for only there would she find her tongue. Does there not shine through the figure of the gentle prophet the image of the gentler Christ, who will not have the poorest and foulest spurned from His feet, though it be ‘a woman who was a sinner,’ and lets us come as close to Him as we will, even to hide our faces on His breast, that we may pour out all our sorrows and sins to Him?<\/p>\n The limitations of the prophet’s knowledge he frankly owns. How much better would it have been for the Church if its teachers had been more willing to copy his modesty, and said about a great many things, ‘The Lord hath hid it from me’!<\/p>\n The mother’s answer is indeed the cry of a ‘bitter’ heart. Its abrupt questions and its reticence as to the child’s death are pathetically true to nature, and sound yet across all these centuries as if the bitter cry were for a grief of to-day. ‘Did I desire a son?’ She upbraids Elisha and Elisha’s God for having forced on her an unasked blessing. ‘Did I not say, Do not deceive me?’ She did 2Ki 4:16; and she upbraids Elisha again for a worse deceit than she had meant then, by mocking her with a gift which was wrenched from her hands so suddenly and soon. How many a sad heart is to-day tempted to raise this cry of anguish! And how patient is Elisha with wild words, and how he discerns, beneath the apparent rough reproach, the misery which it implies and the petition which it veils! Elisha’s Lord is no less tender in His judgment of our hasty, whirlwind words, when our hearts are sore; and if only we speak them to Him and cling to His feet, He translates them into the petitions which they mean, and is swift to answer the meaning and pass by the sound of our bitter cry.<\/p>\n II. We note the ineffectual experiment of the staff <\/strong> 2Ki 4:29 – 2Ki 4:31. The supposition that Gehazi was sent in such haste with the hope that the touch of the staff might bring back life, is dismissed as ‘impossible’ by most commentators, who have therefore some difficulty in saying what he was sent for. Some of the Rabbis answered, ‘To prevent putrefaction,’ which would set in soon on that harvest day. Others say that the intention was to ‘prevent more life escaping from him.’ But ‘dead’ is not usually supposed to be an adjective admitting of comparison. Others find the reason in the wish to deliver Israel from the superstitious veneration of such things as the staff, by showing that it was powerless. But 2Ki 4:31 plainly implies that the result of Gehazi’s attempt was not what had been expected. Why need there be any hesitation in taking the natural meaning, and supposing that Elisha sent his servant quickly, ‘if peradventure’ the touch of his staff might suffice, and followed in person, because he did not know whether it would. There is nothing unworthy of a prophet who had just confessed his ignorance in the supposition. His unobtrusive spirit delighted to hide its power behind material vehicles, as is seen in most of his miracles; and, if he remembered how he himself, in his early days, had parted the waters with his master’s cloak, he might think it possible that his servant should work a miracle with his staff.<\/p>\n The Shunemite quotes his own words on that far-off day; and perhaps she was reminded of them by perceiving the analogy of the two incidents. But her clinging to Elisha shows her doubt of the success of the attempt; and she was right. Why did the staff fail? Perhaps because of its bearer. Gehazi always appears unfavourably, and Elisha’s staff loses its power in such hands. The mightiest instruments are weak when selfishness and coldness wield them. An unworthy minister can make the Gospel itself impotent. It is an awful thing to carry ‘the rod of Thy strength’ and to hinder its exerting its energy. But possibly the non-success of the attempt was meant to teach Elisha and us that miracles of life-giving are not to be wrought so easily, but need the effort of the prophet himself. We cannot delegate the work of God, and no sending of others will do instead of going ourselves. Such things are not achieved without much personal toil, pains, and self-sacrifice.<\/p>\n III. So we come to the last step, the communication of life <\/strong> 2Ki 4:32 – 2Ki 4:37. It was noon when the child died. The mother’s journey would take three or four hours, and the return at least as much. It would then be dark when the two reached her desolate home. She had laid the boy on Elisha’s bed, as if even that brought her some comfort. It is difficult to say whether ‘them twain’ 2Ki 4:33 means him and the mother, or him and the child; but the expression of the next verse, ‘went up,’ suggests that the prayer with shut door was in the lower part of the house, and that the mother’s cry was joined to the prophet’s petitions. Such prayer is the true preparation for such a miracle. Beautiful consideration, born of sympathy, led him to shut out curious onlookers, and then to go up alone to the little chamber where that pale, tiny corpse lay. No eye but a mother’s could have seen what followed without profanation; and a mother’s heart would have been torn by hopes and fears if she had seen.<\/p>\n The actual miracle is remarkable for two peculiarities-the effort required and the slowness of the process. Of course, there is a profound and beautiful use to be made of the prophet’s action in laying himself upon the dead child, mouth to mouth, and hand to hand, if we regard it as symbolic of that closeness of approach to our nature, dead in sins, which the Lord of life makes in His incarnation and in His continual drawing near. It is His own life which Jesus imparts, and it is imparted because He comes near and touches us. It is the warmth of His own heart which passes into those who live by derivation of life from Him. And Elisha may well stand as symbol of Jesus in this miracle. But besides that use of the narrative, which is no mere fanciful playing with it, we should also note the difference between the prophet and Christ in their miracles. Jesus raises the dead by His bare word. His expressed will is all-sufficient. Elisha prays, and then puts forth somewhat prolonged efforts, from which at first there is no effect, and which drain him of force, so that he is obliged to pause and leave the chamber, and gather himself together for a renewal of them. The ease of the one sets the difficulty of the other in a strong light. And the life which came back with a rush, in full stream, at Christ’s bidding, comes only by degrees at Elisha’s prayer and work. The one worker is the Lord of life, who speaks and it is done; the other is but the channel of power, and the appearance of effort and gradualness in result is owing to the narrowness of the channel, not to the inadequacy of the power.<\/p>\n In all Elisha’s gentleness and lowliness there is yet a certain dignity as God’s prophet; and it was not fitting that he should come from the scene of such a miracle with the glow of it upon him, to seek for the mother. So he summons her by Gehazi, and then, with beautiful delicacy, leaves her to go alone into the chamber. None are to see the transports of her joy, not even the author of it. How beautiful, too, are the quiet words, ‘Take up thy son’! She has no words; but, for all answer, comes close to him there is no ‘in’ in 2Ki 4:37, and once again, but with what different feelings, clasps his feet. Not even Gehazi, or any other stickler for propriety, has the heart to thrust her back this time. The story draws a curtain over that meeting in the prophet’s chamber. Sad hearts who have vainly longed for such a moment, can fancy the rapture. But the day will come, not here, but in the upper chamber, when parted ones shall clasp each other again; and many a mourner shall hear Jesus say from the throne what He once said from the Cross, ‘Woman, behold thy son; son, behold thy mother.’<\/p>\n 2Ki 4:25-31<\/p>\n 2Ki 4:25-31<\/p>\n ELISHA RETURNED WITH THE SHUNAMMITE TO SHUNEM<\/p>\n “And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is the Shunammite: Run, I pray thee, now 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 hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone: for her soul is vexed within her; and Jehovah hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. Then said she, 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 thy 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 Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose and followed her. 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 returned to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.”<\/p>\n “And she answered, It is well” (2Ki 4:26). This, of course, is the same ambiguous answer to Gehazi that the woman had previously given to her husband (2Ki 4:23). She was apparently unwilling to admit the death of her son to anyone except the prophet.<\/p>\n “Gehazi came near to thrust her away” (2Ki 4:27). The servant no doubt thought that the woman’s action was in some manner contrary to his master’s dignity and would have hindered her; but Elisha discerned the woman’s bitterness and anxiety and forbade it. Even then, the woman had not said, “My son is dead”; and Elijah, judging from her words seems to have conjectured that perhaps the child was He promptly dispatched Gehazi with his staff in the hope that such an action would suffice. However, the woman was far from satisfied with that action. She knew that Gehazi would be powerless to help her.<\/p>\n “As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee” (2Ki 4:30). From this, Elisha knew that the child was deceased, and he promptly agreed to accompany her back to Shunem.<\/p>\n “Gehazi passed on before them” (2Ki 4:31). There would have elapsed some time during which Elisha prepared to go. In the meanwhile, Gehazi had laid the prophet’s staff upon the face of the dead child, but, of course, there was no response. God allowed that effort to fail, “In order to show that no magical stick would suffice, but that only by humble and fervent prayer could God’s power be successfully invoked in such a situation as that.”<\/p>\n “The child is not awaked” (2Ki 4:31). The text here repeatedly makes it perfectly clear that the child was deceased. There was neither voice nor hearing on the part of the dead. These words from Gehazi indicate that perhaps both he and Elisha may have supposed that they were dealing with, “A case of mere suspended animation, or a swoon, and that the laying of the staff on the face of the child might have acted as a stimulant to revive him.” No! The child was dead and had been dead long enough to allow travel twice the distance from Shunem to Carmel, that is, about twenty miles.<\/p>\n E.M. Zerr:<\/p>\n 2Ki 4:25-26. The appearance of this woman under the circumstances made Elisha suspect that something was wrong. He bade his servant go to meet her, and to ask the questions about the welfare of the family. It is well is explained at 2Ki 4:23. <\/p>\n 2Ki 4:27. Taking hold of Elisha’s feet seemed to be an intrusion in the eyes of Gehazi. The prophet thought otherwise; that some great sorrow was upon her heart, and that Gehazi should not molest her. <\/p>\n 2Ki 4:28-29. The entire conversation is not recorded. In the previous verse Elisha said the woman’s grief had not been told him by the Lord, but in this paragraph he gives directions on account of the death, which shows that the woman told him about it. Laying the staff on the child was another instance of using a material, though not logical means, in connection with the miraculous results. See 2Ki 2:8. <\/p>\n 2Ki 4:30. “As sure as the Lord lives, just that sure will I not leave thee” is the meaning of the woman’s statement. Upon this, Elisha went with her to her home. <\/p>\n 2Ki 4:31. Had there been any virtue in the staff, the child would have reacted when Gehazi laid it on him. Again, read the comments at 2Ki 2:8. <\/p>\n the Dead Boy Restored to Life <\/p>\n 2Ki 4:25-37<\/p>\n There is fine illustration in this chapter of a noble reverence for goodness, of a good mans gratitude, and of the large reward that never fails those who deal kindly with Gods children.<\/p>\n It is not enough to put the staff, even though it be the prophets, on the cold, sweet face of a child. Our doctrine and precept may be quite good and straight, but something more is needed. There must be not a staff, not a servant, not an intermediary, but ourselves, our heart against the heart that is still, our lips against the dear, cold lips. It is as we give ourselves to the children, imparting our tenderest, strongest sympathy, that new life will come to them.<\/p>\n Walk to and fro in your house! Shut the door on yourself and the child! Pray to the Lord! Give yourself to the great work of saving the soul from death! Let the mother be praying in the room downstairs! Call to the little soul to awake and live. Your faith and prayer cannot fail of an answer.<\/p>\n to mount: 2Ki 2:25, 1Ki 18:19, 1Ki 18:42, Isa 35:2 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: 1Ki 1:3 – Shunammite 1Ki 12:22 – General<\/p>\n 2Ki 4:25-26. She came to the man of God to mount Carmel This was a place which both he and Elijah much frequented; and it is probable there was a school of the prophets here, it being a mountain full of trees, and therefore a place proper for retirement and sacred exercises. Run now, I pray thee, to meet her This he ordered, to show his respect for her. She answered, It is well So it was in some respects, because it was the will of a wise and good God, and therefore best for her. When God calls away our dearest relations by death, it becomes us to say, it is well both with us and them. It is well, for all is well that God doth: all is well with them that are gone, if they are gone to heaven: and all is well with us that stay behind, if by the affliction we are furthered in our way thither.<\/p>\n 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: 25. to mount Carmel ] The distance would occupy five or six hours riding. (Bunsen, Bibelwerk.) … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 4:25”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9640\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"