Old Testament Resurrection

2 Kings 4:8-37

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. ¹⁸ When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. ¹⁹ And he said to his father, “Oh, my head, my head!” The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died. ²¹ And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door behind him and went out. ²² Then she called to her husband and said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again.” ²³ And he said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath.” She said, “All is well.” ²⁴ Then she saddled the donkey, and she said to her servant, “Urge the animal on; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” ²⁵ So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, there is the Shunammite. ²⁶ Run at once to meet her and say to her, ‘Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child?’” And she answered, “All is well.” ²⁷ And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.” ²⁸ Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me?’” ²⁹ He said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply. And lay my staff on the face of the child.” ³⁰ Then the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her. ³¹ Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. Therefore he returned to meet him and told him, “The child has not awakened.” ³² When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. ³³ So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the Lord. ³⁴ Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. ³⁵ Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. ³⁶ Then he summoned Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” ³⁷ She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out. 

This week, we think about resurrection. Not Jesus’ resurrection, but the many people who were brought back from death whose stories are told throughout the Scriptures. There are several people brought back to life in the Old Testament, one of which was the Shunammite woman’s son.

Elisha was an Old Testament prophet who had the difficult job of proclaiming God’s judgment to a people who didn’t care to hear it and were certainly not going to heed it. But He remains faithful to the task nonetheless. But even in the midst of this difficult calling, he meets people who do believe in God and who do honor his ministry. This event from Elisha’s life circulates around the Shunammite 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.

In the culture of the Vikings (800-1000 AD) it was common practice to allow weak or deformed infants to die of exposure rather than try to save their lives and raise them up. It was thought that the death of an infant was easier to deal with than the death of a child you had gotten to know. This same attitude is expressed by the Shunammite woman in today’s story. The son she had received as a gift was now dead and she believed it would have been better for her had he never been born! This grief was too much to bear. But, throughout this story, what we find is that the woman’s faith is great, and she is going to do everything necessary to bring God into this situation.

When the child dies she keeps it a secret and heads directly to Mt. Carmel to look for Elisha. His intervention brought this child into her life and she believed his intervention could bring him back from this early death. To hide the child’s death, she places him in Elisha’s room. Probably, when Elisha was not in residence, no one even went in there so the child’s body was safe. When Elisha hears of her trouble, he sends Gehazi ahead to lay his staff upon the child’s face. This was important, for it marked the boy and would keep people from burying the body! In Jewish tradition, a dead person must be buried within 24 hours. When Elisha arrives and finds that indeed the boy had died, he goes immediately into a time of intense prayer, seeking God’s power in this helpless situation. God is gracious and revives the boy, bringing him back to his mother.

The determination of this woman and the faith that drives her is to be commended. While God is under no obligation to give her back her son, she is at least going to do everything within her power to ask God to bring him back. Her calmness and sure actions speak well of the strength of her faith. What strikes me is that when the situation would lend itself to panic she sets her face toward God and holds on until He answers her. Her determination and resolve are admirable. That moves us to wonder how we would do in a similar circumstance. Do we cry out to God in panic (which is not a sin by the way) or do we set our faces in His direction and wait for Him to work things out for us?