Elisha and the Woeful Woman
“Is It Well?”
II Kings 4:8-37
In a small little market town, tucked away near the foot of Mount Carmel in the northern kingdom, this town of Shunem held what the Bible says is a great woman. Very little is known of her. We do not know her name, we don’t know how old she was or her husbands name. What set her apart from the rest of the women in her native land was the fact that she opened her home to Elisha.
She was married to an old man and had no son. As a reward for her kindness to the preacher, the prophet prayed for her and she receive a son of promise.
This much promised and much loved son was born and grew towards manhood. Then suddenly he took sick and died. The mother knew she had only one place to do with her grief. Elisha asked her great questions. “Is it well with the? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child?
Is It Well With Thee? How are You Doing as a Person?
If I am not doing well as a person, then I am not doing well as a partner or a parent.
She Had a Personal Faith
Vs. 9 – she perceived that Elisha was a holy man of God. She had a spirit of discernment that sees beyond the outside and to the hidden man within
She Had a Practical Faith
Vs. 10 She helped the preacher practically. Notice the polysndeton. This is the use of “and” in the sentence. It is the Holy Spirit’s way of slowing down our reading to pay attention to the words. She set up a place for the preacher to rest and to study
She Had a Pure Faith
Vs. 13. When Elisha asked what he could do for her, she pretty much responded all her needs was met. She did not serve the preacher in order to receive a reward, but with a pure heart, be a blessing
Because of this the Bible records she was a great woman (vs. 8). The word great in the Bible is rarely used of people. Abraham, David, Moses, Barzillai, Mordecai, John the Baptist and this woman. That is all
Is It Well With Thy Husband? How Are You Doing as a Partner?
A woman with the right relationship with the Lord will have a right relationship with her husband. Nobody can have a right relationship with the Lord that does not have a right relationship with their spouse.
Some women excuse themselves from being what they ought to be because their husband is not what he ought to be. God does not accept that.
Her Husband Was Careless About Divine Things
In the home the husband is to be the family priest and the family prince. He is to be the head of the home in spiritual matters as well as the mundane things.
Whose idea was it to build the little room for the preacher? The woman! He was a decent enough fellow. He didn’t oppose his wife’s idea. He didn’t say it would cost too much. He just left the project to his wife
He took no initiative in spiritual things. He left it up to his wife. Notice she didn’t pester him about it, nor did she try to change her husband. She left God to do that.
Her husband only spoke twice in this story and once about spiritual things. Vs. 23.
With him religion belonged to certain official days. Be could see no need to want to see the preacher in the middle of the week. Not even when the child’s need was desperate. But he let her go.
When she was asked the question, Is it well with the husband, she replied, it is well
Her Husband was Careless about Domestic Things
The couple only had one son. One day the boy went to watch the harvesters work. You could almost her the father say, keep out of the way. We are busy.
As a result, the boy got sick, perhaps sun stroke. Even then he sent a worker to bring the boy home, while he stayed and worked.
When the question came, is it well? She answered, it is well.
She didn’t complain or criticize her husband. She didn’t complain her husband refused to take the spiritual leadership position. She didn’t say my husband is more interested in the farm then the family, or that he wasn’t even concerned that the boy was dead.
All she said, was it is well. How could she say that? She left the problem of her husband to God. God rewarded her for that.
Is It Well With the Child? How Are You Doing as a Parent?
When asked about her son, she said, it is well. Many people have children that are spiritually dead. Sooner or later the parents will get desperate with God. The reason why the woman could say “it is well”, was because she wasn’t looking at the problem, but the prophet.
Moreover, she was not going to settle with Gehazi. When she fell at Elisha’s feet, Gehazi tried to push her away. Soon Elisha got rid of his servant by giving him something to do.
Elisha did what his master did. He laid himself on the corpse and waited for God to bring about a miracle.
The son was healed. It is well indeed.