seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Kings 4:1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”
2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”
3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
5 She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”
3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
5 She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
At first glance, this looked like an easy little story... post it, love it, and let it stand on its' own. But then I opened the commentaries and I learned about the people and the circumstances.... it touched me.
In modern terms... this woman is a preacher's wife. I figured that out because it says that she was the wife of one of the men from the company of prophets. Elisha was from that company of prophets. Her husband had been in the seminary. They were believers. They had sons. Now that her husband was gone.... she had no way to pay her bills. Her sons would be taken to satisfy the debt. How sad.
This is from the easy English site.
There is an old story that the widow had been the wife of Obadiah. (Look at 1 Kings 18:4.) He had hidden 100 prophets so that King Ahab would not find them. So perhaps Obadiah received money from other people to feed the prophets. And he would have to pay it back to them. That is the story. But we cannot say whether it is true. Jesus himself said that there were many poor widows in Israel in those days (Luke 4:25). And we can see that very many people were poor. Wars were frequent in Israel. And the rulers were evil men who did not hesitate to steal property from poor people. On several occasions, there was not enough food for all the people. So people had to obtain loans in order to afford food.
If people could not pay back those loans, they or their children might have to become slaves. And that is why this widow became so desperate. Many people are desperate but they still do not ask God for help. But this woman had faith in God. Her husband had been loyal to God. And she too trusted God to help her. So she went to Elisha. He was the prophet whom God had appointed in Israel at that time. So she trusted that God would give Elisha the power to help her.
Elisha’s reply was God’s message to the woman. God would help her. She only had one small jar of oil. But God would use what she had.
Elisha told the woman to collect small jars from her neighbours. He told her to fill those jars with olive oil from her small jar. Then she could sell the oil and she could pay her debt. She would also have enough money to live on.
The widow believed what Elisha had told her. She obeyed his commands. God supplied what the widow needed. He used the small amount that she had. And he increased it so that it was sufficient to deal with the situation.
If people could not pay back those loans, they or their children might have to become slaves. And that is why this widow became so desperate. Many people are desperate but they still do not ask God for help. But this woman had faith in God. Her husband had been loyal to God. And she too trusted God to help her. So she went to Elisha. He was the prophet whom God had appointed in Israel at that time. So she trusted that God would give Elisha the power to help her.
Elisha’s reply was God’s message to the woman. God would help her. She only had one small jar of oil. But God would use what she had.
Elisha told the woman to collect small jars from her neighbours. He told her to fill those jars with olive oil from her small jar. Then she could sell the oil and she could pay her debt. She would also have enough money to live on.
The widow believed what Elisha had told her. She obeyed his commands. God supplied what the widow needed. He used the small amount that she had. And he increased it so that it was sufficient to deal with the situation.
I've been homeless..... with kids. All I can say is.... I'm glad God let Elisha help her open up a little side business. Women were not first class citizens back then. A woman without a husband had no land, no income, nothing.... selling oil would give her that income she would need to keep her family together.
I'm sure Elisha would have paid her debts for her if he could.... but he doesn't have regular employment. The prophets have been hiding out in caves.... so regular income hasn't been a regular thing in any prophet's home for quite a while. I'm sure none of her neighbors were prosperous during this time. I wonder if she shared her business plan with any of them. I doubt any of the other women would have been ready to open a little side business. They all had husbands to depend on. Their sons were safe.
