Faith of the Shunemite Woman

Introduction

II Kings 4:8 “And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. ”

            In the above passage we see that Elisha lands down to a place called Shunem where he meets a Shunemite woman. We see she requested Elisha to come over to place to dine. The name of the woman is not disclosed in the Bible. But the woman is eloquent and honorable. She knew how to receive and honor the servant of God. She was filled with an immense amount of faith on the Lord almighty. As a part of today’s meditation, let us see how the element of faith has changed her life and blessed her abundantly.

Confessions of faith

II Kings 4:13 “And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. ”

            When Elisha asks her what he should do for her, she replies with words of faith. She tells him that she is doing well with her people. Though she had few major issues in her family, she replied with the words of faith. She was childless and her husband was old. These were the two major issues that she was facing in her life. The woman did not utter a single word of disbelief. She had a firm faith that the Lord almighty will solve all her problems. Even in her lives, we do have many issue but how are we dealing with it? We the children of God should never be demotivated and filled with disbelief.

            We read in II Kings 4:15 ‘And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. ’ She was hesitant to enter into the room and stayed near the door. Although she had a lot of problems, she gave all due respect and honor to the man of God. She made sure she fulfilled her duties amidst of all her family issues. This act pleased the Lord almighty and he began to bless her. One of the key learnings that we see here is the incomparable amount of faith that the woman had on the Lord. Even in our lives, we should learn to confess the words of faith during our problems.

Test of faith

II Kings 4:19 “ And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.”

            Here we see the woman was blessed with a child but later they face a temptation. The beloved child of hers had a severe pain in his head. The situation is very depressing as her child’s health was at stake. The child’s father did not even carry him but diverts the situation. He was not a loving father. But the mother is compassionate as she prays for her son. In II Kings 4:20 ‘And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.’ The mother keeps the situation in prayer. She had the child on her lap and keeps praying. As we read in Habakkuk 2:4 ‘’ The woman prevailed her temptation by her immense faith. Most importantly she fought the battle alone. There was nobody to help her. It was only the Lord almighty that honored her faith. We the children of God should learn to face the battle alone without letting go of our faith.

Work of faith

II Kings 4:20-21 “And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.  And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. ”

            Soon after she realizes her child is no more, that’s where the work of faith comes into picture. The faith of her began to increase post this incident. There are cases where there will be a lot of hindrances for the Lord to work out miracles for his children. This woman went through certain steps to receive what she wanted in her life. She takes her son to the upper room and locks it. We read in II Kings 4:22 ‘And she called unto her husband,and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. ’ She never informs anyone that her child is dead and never lies to anyone. In II Kings 4:26 ‘Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. ’ Here we see about the woman’s faith as she confesses that all is well. She won the test of faith for the second time here. We read in II Kings 4:27 ‘And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. ’ The woman was filled with sorrows inside but she had an immense faith that the Lord will save her child. This is where the work of faith started to pitch in and change the entire situation.

Victory of faith

II Kings 4:31,35 “ And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked. Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro*; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times,and the child opened his eyes. ”

            When Elisha keeps the staff on the child there was no feeling or healing. But Elisha did not accept the response. In II Kings 4:33 ‘He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. ’ the faith of the woman and Elisha’s prayer goes hand in hand. In II Kings 4:34-35 ‘And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he 

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