Hospitality

2 Kings 4:8-17

⁸ One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food.

⁹ And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way.

¹⁰ Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.”

¹¹ One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there.

¹² And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she stood before him.

¹³ And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’ ” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”

¹⁴ And he said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”

¹⁵ He said, “Call her.” And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway.

¹⁶ And he said, “At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your servant.”

¹⁷ But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time the following spring, as Elisha had said to her.

We’ve all had those experiences where someone has done something for us without expecting anything in return. They are serendipitous events that take us by surprise and bring a light into our day. And for some those rare gifts can even be difficult to accept. This is what happened to the Shunemite woman who unfortunately remains nameless throughout the story. Out of the kindness of her heart, she created a warm, safe, comfortable place for Elisha to stay whenever he passed through the area. She did this with no apparent motivation other than that she was a caring person. Elisha rewards her with the promise of the one thing she thought her life would never contain – a son.

There are a couple of things worth noting in this passage. First, in verse 14, we notice that Gehazi (Elisha's servant) is the person who points out the one thing the woman doesn’t have. While the text doesn’t state this, Jewish tradition holds that his suggestion was one made out of lust and sin rather than a genuine concern for the woman. (While this seems like a stretch, in the next chapter, we will see Gehazi’s true colors and it isn’t exactly a pretty picture.) Elisha tells her that she will have a son and he will be the product of her marriage, (not a union with Gehazi). Second, the woman’s hospitality is truly a remarkable thing. She provides this space for Elisha without being asked or paid to so do. She is simply a very hospitable person. Had she expected a reward, it would make the gift far less intriguing and it begs the question for all of us as we check our own motivations for the things that we do. Are our actions of kindness motivated by the thought of reward or by the desire to love another person as we are loved? Hopefully, our affirmative response lies with the second choice more often than the first.