29 THE SHUNAMMITE’S SON

We can easily guess that, after the birth of this son, the prophet was doubly welcome in the home of the Shunammite couple. He had  thought he owed her something, but now, as long as she lives, she will think she can never do too much for him. We may also suppose that the child was especially dear to the prophet, as the result of his prayers, and particularly dear to the parents, as the son of their old age.

The child, the darling of the aged man and generous woman, grew and was so far past the dangers of infancy that he was able to go to the field with his father who no doubt was pleased with his boyish chatter, since his joy of his son was greater than the joy of his harvest. We don’t know what, but either the cold or the heat of the open field, some germ that floated in the air, or something in the food he ate or the water he drank, something overcame the child, and he complained to his father that his head ached. This may remind us that the Holy spirit, the Spirit of Adoption Who teaches and reminds us that we are adopted into the family of God our Father urges us also to take all our headaches to the Father. The Holy Spirit teaches us to cry, with groanings that cannot be uttered, “My head, my head; my heart, my heart.” This is the privilege of all God’s children.

The father sent the boy to his mother’s arms, little suspecting any serious danger, but hoping he would fall asleep on his mother’s lap and awake well, but it was not to be. The sickness proved fatal and he slept the sleep of death; he was well in the morning and dead by noon. All the mother’s care and tenderness could not keep him alive. He was a child of promise, a child of prayer, and given in love, yet taken away. Little children lie open to the dangers of sickness and death. But how admirably does the prudent godly mother guard her lips under this surprising affliction! Not one peevish murmuring word comes from her. She evidently has a strong belief that the child will be raised to life again, otherwise why did she not bury the dead boy? Why did she seek the prophet?

Like a genuine daughter of Abraham’s faith, not merely an inheritor of his promise, she calculates that God is able to raise her child from the dead. He had already been a miracle baby. She may have heard of the raising of the widow’s son of Zarephath, and that the spirit of Elijah who was used to bring that miracle about now rested on Elisha. Such confidence had she of God’s goodness that she was ready to believe that He who so soon took away what He had given would restore what He had now taken away. Perhaps Hebrews 11:35 refers to her. “Women received back their dead, raised to life again.” In this faith she makes no preparation for the burial of her dead child, but to the contrary gets ready for its resurrection by laying him on the prophets bed! O woman! great is your faith. God who gave that faith to you will honor your stewardship and use of it.

The prophet being gone to the college at Mount Carmel, she begged permission from her husband to go to the prophet. In case he might not have the same faith she had, she did not tell him the nature of her mission, though he may have guessed it. He said it is neither new moon nor Sabbath. This may suggest that on those occasions she had gone there many times before to join with Elisha and the other prophets in prayers and praises. She did not think it enough to have his help sometimes in her own family and home, but, even though she was a great woman yet she attended public worship just as the other people did. See how this couple honored each other and worked together. She would not go unless she had his permission and he would not stop her even though he did not know why she wanted to go.

In her distress, she hurried to the prophet. Before she arrived the prophet noticed her coming and showing his concern and through his servant asked: Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is the boy alright? It looks good and brings glory to God when men and women of God, with tenderness and concern, inquire about the welfare of their friends and their families. The woman’s answer was general It is well. Gehazi was not the man with whom she came to speak, so she put him off with what she did say which was patient and an expression more of her faith than of her sight. She saw that the child was dead, but by faith she perceived that he might live again. That is what faith can do. The child is dead in the house and yet she says all is well. When God calls away our dearest relations by death would it be a great testimony to the goodness of God and the rightness of our faith in Him for us to say what this woman said,“It is well both with us and them?” It is well, for all is well that God does; all is well with those that are gone if they have gone to heaven, and all well with us who stay behind if by the affliction we are advanced in our journey to get there.

When she arrived before the prophet she humbly reasoned with him about her present affliction. She threw herself at his feet, as one troubled and in grief, which she never showed until she came to him who, she believed, could help her. She knew how to cover her feeling when it would not serve her to reveal them and also knew how to show them when it would be a benefit. Gehazi knew his master would not be pleased to see her lie at his feet, and therefore would have raised her up; but Elisha waited to hear from her, since he did not know the cause of her trouble directly from God. God revealed things to His prophets as He saw fit, not always as they desired. God did not show this this time to this prophet, evidently wanting him to learn of it from the good woman herself. What she said was very moving. She appealed to the prophet. Did I ask you for a son? You know I did not; it was your own proposal, not mine; I did not complain that I wanted a son, as Hannah, nor did I beg, as Rachel, Give me children or else I die.”

When any joy or happiness is taken from us, it is good if we can say, through grace, that we did not set our hearts inappropriately on it, for, if we did, we would have reason to fear it could be taken away. Do we love the Giver of the gift, or do we love the gift more, or even worse, do we love just the gifts? “Didn’t I say, don’t deceive me?” Was she quarreling with the prophet for deceiving her or was she pleading with him to raise him to life again? Just because we lose something that was a blessing and mercy from God, that should not cause us to minimize the value of what we had when we had it.

However the plan of God for our lives may disappoint us, we may be sure the promise of God never did, nor ever will, deceive us. Hope in that! Trust in that! Our Father deserves that we thank Him rather than blame Him for whatever He does. We might guess that the woman had more to say to Elisha about the boy’s death and that Elisha had more to say about his possible resurrection, but we don’t know those details. God gives us in His Word what He wants us to know and that is enough. We believe in the sufficiency of God’s revelations. The unanswered questions, by faith, we leave with Him.

The first step in Elisha’s plan to intercede for the life of the boy was to send Gehazi to hurry to the dead child with his staff which he was to lay on the face of the child. What did Elisha plan to do? Elisha knew that Elijah raised a dead child with similar situation by stretching himself on the child and praying again and again. Could he think to raise this child by so simple an act as sending his staff with his servant, especially when nothing hindered him from going there himself? Will such a power as this be delegated, and to no better man that Gehazi? Great favors such as Elisha was about to ask of God are not to be made cheap by overly simple small gestures. Elisha needed to do some serious praying, not just send a servant with a staff.

The woman said she would not to go back without the prophet himself. Sometimes we need to be adamant in prayer. She evidently didn’t have much expectation from the staff in the hand of the servant. And yet another time Elisha will tell Naaman to wash in the Jordon river and does not even so much as send anything to him; no rod, nothing but the word to wash in the Jordan. God has a great variety in the ways He works. At any rate, Gehazi returns without success, without any news of any sign of life in the child. The child has not awakened. Could even this have been a comfort to the mother to hear that the boy’s death was but a sleep, and that Gehazi expected that he would shortly be awaked. In the raising of dead souls to spiritual life, we human ministers can do no more by our own power than Gehazi could here. We can lay the word, like the prophet’s staff, before their faces, but there is neither voice nor hearing, until Jesus, by His Spirit, comes Himself. The letter alone kills; it is the Spirit that gives life. It is not the prophesying to dry bones that bring them to life; breath must come from heaven and breathe on those slain.

The prophet, by earnest prayer, obtained from God the restoring of this dead child to life again. Elisha found the child dead and on Elisha’s own bed, but the narrative does not refer to the dead boy’s body, or the dead boy’s corpse, but rather speaks as if he were there. Even the dead child is spoken of as a person, one of the two who remained when the door was shut. Elisha shut out all company, that he might not seem to glory in the power God had given him or to use it for bragging rights or to be seen of men.

The prophet focused his prayers and himself on this great operation, maybe even concerned that he may have tempted God too much in thinking to effect such a miracle by the mere staff in Gehazi’s hand. He may have felt rebuked by the disappointment. We must remember that he was still fairly early in his career and was feeling his way forward. We are often in a similar situation learning the ropes of our new ministries. Probably God is not so much displeased with either Elisha or us as He is watching to see if we will keep trying. Elisha now found it a harder task than he thought earlier and positions himself to it with greater focus, effort and intensity. He prayed to the Lord probably as Elijah had done, Let this child’s soul come into him again. Christ raised the dead to life as one having authority—Damsel, arise—young man, I say to you, Arise—Lazarus, come forth since He was the powerful and faithful Son, the Lord of life, but Elijah, Elisha and you and I participate in God’s miracles by petition, as servants.

Instead of lamenting that we are not Jesus, let’s rejoice that we get to participate. If we must wrestle in prayer, then let’s wrestle in prayer. I wonder if Elisha thought of Jacob and the night Jacob wrestled in prayer to obtain the answer he wanted. Jacob wept as he begged for God’s answer. With determination he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Or perhaps Elisha remembered Elijah’s experience recorded in1 Kings 17:17-24. We examined that event earlier in this series when we looked at the life of Elijah. Here it is again: “17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, 'What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?’ 19 ‘Give me your son,’ Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, ‘Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?’ 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, ‘Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!’ 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, ‘Look, your son is alive!’ 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.’”

Did Elisha remember that story? Did Elisha learn from Elijah’s experience? Evidently. Elisha lay on the child, as if he would give him some body heat. In this way he expressed the earnestness of his prayer, and gave a sign of the divine power he depended on for the accomplishment of this great work. He first put his mouth to the child’s mouth, as if, in God’s name, he would breathe into him the breath of life; then his eyes to the child’s eyes, to open them again to the light of life; then his hands to the child’s hands, to put strength into them. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. He then returned, and walked in the house, as one full of care and concern, and wholly intent on what he was doing. Then he went up stairs again and the second time stretched himself on the child. Anyone who wants to be instrumental in conveying spiritual life to dead souls must put themselves wholly into the project, laboring and wrestling fervently in prayer for them.

It was only gradually that the operation was performed. First the flesh of the child became warm which gave the prophet encouragement to continue intensely to  prayer. After a while, the child sneezed seven times, which was a definite indication not only of life, but liveliness. It does not require much imagination to see how the sneeze would be a great sign! Next we see how joyfully the child was restored alive to his mother as verses 36, 37 say, “Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, 'Call the Shunammite.’ And he did. When she came, he said, ‘Take your son.’ 37 She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.” The narrative does not need to tell us of the joy the woman and her elderly husband felt when they saw their son alive again. Acts 20:8 - 12 tells a story of a man who fell and died and was raised to life again. You will notice two similarities between the stories of Elijah, Elisha and now Paul; (1) Paul threw himself on the dead man and (2) the dead lived again. The story of Paul and Eutychus does tell us of the comfort the observers felt. It says, “8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘He’s alive!’ 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.” See the power of God, who kills and makes alive again. See the power of prayer; as it has the key of the clouds, so it has the key of death. See the power of faith that changed that firmly fixed law of nature—the law that says that death is a condition from which there is no escape or returning, that law—this time would rather be changed than that this believing Shunammite would be disappointed.

God can develop prayer warriors. He wants to enlarge your territory, increase your fruitfulness and strengthen your faith. Prayer will help with all of this. Prayer is a central component of Christian ministry. You may or not be a prophet in the making, but you certainly can be a minister in the making. Whether God uses you as an evangelist, pastor, Christian teacher, church leader or missionary, you need the power, wisdom and love of God filling your life and making you able to face the challenges and seize the opportunities before you today as a man or woman of God.

Allow the story of Elisha and the other prophets we are examining in this series to impact you and generate a deep desire to be a person of prayer. Learn to let God show you what to pray for and how specifically to pray for each situation. The better you learn these skills the more effective you will be as a minister called and equipped for service to God’s Church and people.