seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Kings 8:1 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.” 2 The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. 4 The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land.
Gehazi said, “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.
Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”
3 At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. 4 The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land.
Gehazi said, “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.
Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”
It hasn't been that long but I need a refresher. This is another story about that https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Kings+4&version=NIV who didn't want a lie. She was perfectly unhappy with being childless, then Elisha came along and told her she would have a son. Paraphrased, she said "Don't you lie to me!" and then she had a son. Just a few years later... Elisha and Gehazi were called back to the house because the boy had died. That same woman ran right to Elisha's house and told him off for putting her and her son in this fix. She was perfectly unhappy before and now she's got to be more unhappy because she now knows what it's like to have a child but loose him. Elijah put his body heat against the boys and brought him back. So it's that woman. Apparently Elisha must have felt like he should care for the family. Elisha told the lady to find a better place for her and her son. So he sent her away before the famine. Now she's back to reclaim her land. Odd... a widow and orphan getting their land back!!!!
This is from enduringworld.com.
She went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land: Upon leaving Israel and going to the land of the Philistines, the woman forfeited her claim to her ancestral lands. She made this appeal so she would not be a loser for listening to God’s prophet and for saving her family from famine.
Bible.org offers some clarification.
It is difficult to overestimate the difficulty of this woman’s decision to obey the prophet and leave Israel. I believe that she is now a widow. Her husband was said to be old even before the birth of her son (2 Kings 4:14). He is never mentioned in 2 Kings 8:1-6. Indeed, when Elisha gives the instruction to leave Israel, he gives it to the woman. If her husband were alive, you would expect that God would direct her through her husband. She is told to leave Israel with her household [literally ‘her house’],which implies that she is now the head of the household. When the woman returns with her son, it is she who appeals to the king. We cannot help but be reminded of Naomi’s return to the land of Israel as a widow, accompanied by Ruth.
The seven years of famine pass, and the woman returns to Israel only to find that her farm has been confiscated. It could have been taken over by a neighbor, but one would think that it would have been given back to the woman when she returned. I personally think that the king of Israel confiscated her land. We know that king Ahab confiscated the land of Naboth. We know also that the king (almost certainly king Jehoram) was a wicked man , so this would not have been out of character for him. When the Shunammite returns, she appeals to the king for the return of her land, rather than to deal with the elders of the city (as was the case with Naomi in the Book of Ruth). If the king took her land, then we would expect the woman to appeal to the king for its return. And further, when the king restored her land, he had one of his officials take care of this. He did not ask the official to “see to it that she got back her land and its income,” which is what he would have done if someone else had confiscated it. He appointed one of his officials to, “Give her back everything she owns, as well as the amount of crops her field produced from the day she left the land until now” (verse 6). It stands to reason that one of the king’s men would give her back her land and its income if it was the king who had taken possession of them in the first place.
The Shunammite woman and her son have returned to Israel, only to find that their land has been confiscated. The woman and her son are on their way to appeal to the king. And as they are making their way to the king, a conversation is taking place between the king of Israel and Gehazi, Elisha’s servant. Some are surprised to find Gehazi named here. Was he not stricken with leprosy in chapter 5? What is he doing here, then? It is possible that this text may have been placed here, out of chronological order. Or, Gehazi may have repented and been healed, as Moses’ sister Miriam had been (compare Numbers 12:10-15). It is also possible that he was not healed, but was talking with the king anyway. We know that Naaman maintained some kind of relationship with the king of Syria as a leper (see 2 Kings 5:4-6). If Gehazi had been “fired” by Elisha, then we would expect Elisha to be in one place, with another servant, while Gehazi was elsewhere. Also, the king of Israel might have felt more comfortable around a man like Gehazi, while he was not at all comfortable in the presence of the prophet.
However it came about, Gehazi is with the king, and the king asks him to relate some of the great deeds that Elisha had done. This implies (as we should expect) that the king was not close to Elisha, nor was he well informed as to Elisha’s activities. It also implies that the king is now interested in Elisha and his ministry. A seven-year famine had just ended, and the king of Israel may now be more interested in Elisha and his God than he was earlier.
However it came about, Gehazi is with the king, and the king asks him to relate some of the great deeds that Elisha had done. This implies (as we should expect) that the king was not close to Elisha, nor was he well informed as to Elisha’s activities. It also implies that the king is now interested in Elisha and his ministry. A seven-year famine had just ended, and the king of Israel may now be more interested in Elisha and his God than he was earlier.
Whatever his motivation might have been, the king of Israel questioned Gehazi about the great miracles Elisha had performed. I think you would agree that raising the dead would surely be one of the “great things” that Elisha had done. And so Gehazi gives his eyewitness account of this most amazing miracle. The timing of the widow’s arrival with her son is uncanny. It must have occurred just as Gehazi concluded his account of this young lad’s miraculous deliverance from death.
Gehazi’s eyes must have widened as he looked up and saw the woman and her son entering the king’s court. “This is the woman I was telling you about!” Gehazi shouts, “and this one is her son.” The king then asks the woman to describe this same incident, which she does. Perhaps the boy was questioned as well. You will recall that two or three witnesses were required to validate certain claims or charges. God neatly arranged for three eyewitnesses to this resurrection: Gehazi, the mother, and the son. Their testimony was irrefutable.
Gehazi’s eyes must have widened as he looked up and saw the woman and her son entering the king’s court. “This is the woman I was telling you about!” Gehazi shouts, “and this one is her son.” The king then asks the woman to describe this same incident, which she does. Perhaps the boy was questioned as well. You will recall that two or three witnesses were required to validate certain claims or charges. God neatly arranged for three eyewitnesses to this resurrection: Gehazi, the mother, and the son. Their testimony was irrefutable.
So was Jehoram restoring the land to a widow and orphan because he now felt Elisha was working for God and that's why he never gave a good report to either Ahab or Jeroram.... and he felt God wanted him to for repentence... or because the law required him to do it? At any rate... it was miraculous that the king of Israel, the leprose liar assistant Gehazi, the woman and her son were in the room at the exact time they needed to be. That's the story...
IMHO....I don't care if Gehazi was spreading Leprosy to Jeroram, king of Israel.
Not to speak ill of Bible characters... but these two need to do some serious ear washing. They are not hearing that they need to repent.
