8 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.
11 One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 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.”
14 “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked.
Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”
15 Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.”
“No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!”
17 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.
I was intrigued a few days ago as I was reading my Bible, and came to a passage of scripture in 2nd Kings 4:8-17. In this passage a wealthy woman from Shunem invited Elijah to come to her home for a meal. After his first visit he continued to stop there whenever he came to town.
This woman even told her husband that she was sure that this man was a man of God. She even suggested to her husband that they build a small room for him, and furnish it with a bed and a chair and lamp, so that he would have a place to stay whenever he came to town.
I saw God’s favor all over this. Elisha, was blessed because he was a man that honored God. He was treated with kindness by this wealthy woman, and she was also hospitable to him. The relationship that was developing between Elisha, the woman and her husband, would end up being a blessing to all three of them.
Little did the wealthy woman know, that her kindness and generosity would play a huge part in her future. Elisha sent his servant Gehazi to ask what he could do for her? It turns out that this lady did not have a son. Elisha promised her that at that same time the next year, that she would be holding a baby son.
She honestly thought that he was deceiving her, but a year later true to his word she was holding her baby son.
A great lesson from this really beautiful story is that, we never know what our being kind to someone will lead to. God has so many wonderful ways of blessing us, and when we bless others, He blesses us.
Another great lesson is that Elisha desired to bless her in a way that was possible for him. He didn’t assume that because she was wealthy that she didn’t have a need. Sometimes a person’s greatest need is the one that you cannot see, so be willing to ask. Although someone else shared her need with him, he was still the one that inquired.
Here’s another lesson, God has an abundance of blessings to fit any and every need imaginable. Just keep your eyes fixed on Him and treat others with kindness and He will bless you whether directly or indirectly through someone else. Remember just as we love blessing our children, He loves blessing His children!
