2 Kings 4:13 Komentář

Great service Elisha had done, in he foregoing chapter, for the three kings: to his prayers and prophecies they owed their lives and triumphs. One would have expected that the next chapter would tell us what honours and what dignities were conferred on Elisha for this, that he should immediately be preferred at court, and made prime-minister of state, that Jehoshaphat should take him home with him, and advance him in his kingdom. No, the wise man delivered the army, but no man remembered the wise man, Ecc 9:15. Or, if he had preferment offered him, he declined it: he preferred the honour of doing good in the schools of the prophets before that of being great in the courts of princes. God magnified him, and that sufficed him - magnified him indeed, for we have him here employed in working no fewer than five miracles. I. He multiplied the poor widow's oil (Kg2 4:1-7). II. He obtained for the good Shunammite the blessing of a son in her old age (Kg2 4:8-17). III. He raised that child to life when it was dead (Kg2 4:18-27). IV. He healed the deadly pottage (Kg2 4:38-41). V. He fed 100 men with twenty small loaves (Kg2 4:42-44).

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 4 This chapter treats of the miracles of Elisha, of his multiplying a poor widow's pot of oil for the payment of her husband's debts, Kg2 4:1 of obtaining a son for a Shunamitish woman, who had been very hospitable to him, Kg2 4:8, of his raising up her son to life when dead, Kg2 4:18, of his curing the deadly pottage made of wild gourds, Kg2 4:38, and of his feeding one hundred men with twenty barley loaves, Kg2 4:42.

And he said unto him,...., To Gehazi, before he went to call her: say now unto her, behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; in building a chamber, and furnishing it with proper household goods, and providing food for them from time to time: what is to be done for thee? can anything be thought of by thee that will be acceptable, and in my masters power to do for thee, or thy husband? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? that her husband might be promoted to some post in the court, or in the camp; intimating, that if either of these was agreeable, Elisha would speak on his behalf, having interest in both through his services in Edom: and she answered, I will dwell among my own people she was content and satisfied with her present state of life, and the situation she was in, and with her friends and neighbours she lived among, and did not care to remove, though it was to a higher rank of life, and to greater dignity and honour; and she had no suit to make to the king or general, nothing to complain of; and she had friends enough to speak for her, should she want any assistance.

A widow of one of the prophets, oppressed by a merciless creditor, applies to Elisha, who multiplies her oil; by a part of which she pays her debt, abut subsists on the rest, Kg2 4:1-7. His entertainment at the house of a respectable woman in Shunem, Kg2 4:8-10. He foretells to his hostess the birth of a son, Kg2 4:11-17. After some years the child dies, and the mother goes to Elisha at Carmel; he comes to Shunem, and raises the child to life, vv. 18-37. He comes to Gilgal, and prevents the sons of the prophets from being poisoned by wild gourds, Kg2 4:38-41. He multiplies a scanty provision, so as to make it sufficient to feed one hundred men, Kg2 4:42-44.

Wouldest thou be spoken for to the king - Elisha must have had considerable influence with the king, from the part he took in the late war with the Moabites. Jehoram had reason to believe that the prophet, under God, was the sole cause of his success, and therefore he could have no doubt that the king would grant him any reasonable request. Or to the captain of the host? - As if he had said, Wilt thou that I should procure thee and thy husband a place at court, or get any of thy friends a post in the army? I dwell among mine own people - I am perfectly satisfied and contented with my lot in life; I live on the best terms with my neighbors, and am here encompassed with my kindred, and feel no disposition to change my connections or place of abode. How few are there like this woman on the earth! Who would not wish to be recommended to the king's notice, or get a post for a relative in the army, etc.? Who would not like to change the country for the town, and the rough manners of the inhabitants of the villages for the polished conversation and amusements of the court? Who is so contented with what he has as not to desire more? Who trembles at the prospect of riches; or believes there are any snares in an elevated state, or in the company and conversation of the great and honorable? How few are there that will not sacrifice every thing - peace, domestic comfort, their friends, their conscience, and their God - for money, honors, grandeur, and parade?

ELISHA AUGMENTS THE WIDOW'S OIL. (Kg2 4:1-7) there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets--They were allowed to marry as well as the priests and Levites. Her husband, not enjoying the lucrative profits of business, had nothing but a professional income, which, in that irreligious age, would be precarious and very scanty, so that he was not in a condition to provide for his family. the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen--By the enactment of the law, a creditor was entitled to claim the person and children of the insolvent debtor, and compel them to serve him as bondmen till the year of jubilee should set them free.

what is to be done for thee?--Wishing to testify his gratitude for the hospitable attentions of this family, he announced to her the birth of a son "about this time next year." The interest and importance of such an intelligence can only be estimated by considering that Oriental women, and Jewish in particular, connect ideas of disgrace with barrenness, and cherish a more ardent desire for children than women in any other part of the world (Gen 18:10-15).