#85. The Lord Gives
So he said, ‘What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.” So he said, “Call her” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!’” But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.
II Kings 4:14-17 NKJV
In I Kings 3 the Lord appeared to Solomon and asked him, “What shall I give you?” Solomon asked for wisdom, “an understanding heart to judge Your people…” Because Solomon asked for that which was good instead of asking for things of the world, such as riches and honor, the Lord promised to give Solomon wisdom, riches, and honor. Solomon became one of the wisest of all men and abundant in riches and honor, so that royalty came from far away to hear the wisdom of Solomon and admire the beauty of his kingdom.
The Shunammite woman did not ask anything from the courts of this world, for there was nothing that she needed from them. Thanks to the providence of God in the perception of Gehazi, Elisha went to the courts of heaven for the Shunammite woman when he heard she had no son. So Elisha called her and gave her a promise from the Lord: She would have a son in about a year.
This reminds us of Sarah who was promised a son in her old age and Hannah who was barren and prayed for a child from the Lord. So this woman had an old husband* and seemed unlikely to conceive, and yet the Lord was going to give her a son.
The response of the woman shows her knowledge of both Elisha and of her current situation. She responded with respect and recognition of Elisha’s office but also with disbelief: “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!” The thing was too good to be true, was she being mocked? He who had caused other women’s barren womb’s to bear in the past was certainly able to give her a son whose husband was old. And so the Lord did as He promised and at the appointed time the Lord gave the woman a son.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). As you look around at your home, your vehicles, your clothing, your worldly possessions, your children, parents, and siblings, do you consider where those gifts come from? The Lord is the giver of them all. Perhaps we see this most evidently in the gift of children. The Lord is the giver of life and the fruit of the womb is His reward. Let us give thanks today for the many good gifts the Lord has given to us.
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*The text does not tell us that the Shunammite woman was old but only that her husband was old. While it is possible she was also old the focus of the text is on the age of the husband rather than that of the wife. In either event, there were natural prohibitions from another child for this family.
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