My dad used to tell me, “Son, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” “Do something! Right or wrong, be decisive.” “Don’t be a stand up in the road.” Over these last several weeks, I’ve been having something of an epiphany concerning the subject of God’s Justice. This week’s lesson certainly furthers that experience for me personally. It personalizes the concept for me in this manner. There are, all around us, people who, in these uncertain economic times, are facing dire circumstances. Individually, we can all do something to help. We can get involved. Every little bit helps. Don’t just be bystanders. Get in the game.. personally.
Additionally, we are called on to act collectively on the behalf of the weakest among us. Time and time again, we hear a gospel that tells us that with faith and obedience, we’ll prosper.. individually. I submit to you that, according to what we’ve read over that last few weeks, we have a societal responsibility, a national responsibility to see to the needs of those among us who are the most afflicted, weak or disparate among us. OK! Off the soap box and onto the lesson.
2 Kings 4:9
She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God.
2 Kings 4:16
“About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.”
2 Kings 4:36
Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.”
A little background: Elisha and this un-named woman from Shumen had become friends. She and her husband were a well to do couple in Shumen. I’m not sure how she came to hear of Elisha, but she was taken by him. Drawn to his aura of faith and holiness. So much so, that she petitioned her husband to build a small guest room onto their house for Elisha to stay in whenever he was in the area. Elisha took advantage of the open invitation often. Whenever he was in the area, he stopped by for a meal and fellowship. Over the process of time, this woman received two very significant miracles. She was barren, and Elisha prayed for her to bear a son. That same son died sometime later, and Elisha resurrected him. Trust me when I tell you that whenever Elisha spoke, this woman was listening.
2 Kings 8:1
Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the LORD has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.”
Hard times. Sooner or later everyone is touched by them. This woman left a life of prosperity at the word of the prophet of God. That had to be a tough decision, but she had known Elisha for quite sometime and she trusted him. A ‘Word’ from the Lord does not distress, it soothes. It brings peace. She packed up and left for Palestine.
2 Kings 8:3
At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land.
Leviticus 25:13
“‘In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to their own property.
The first thought that comes to mind is, “What gives her the right to ….???” Remember Beloved, we are studying the topic of God’s Justice. God established the principles of Sabbath and Jubilee to guide the consciousness of a nation. When we allow the same principles to guide our hearts we can see perfectly that it was this woman’s right to return to the land of her ancestors and make an appeal for the return of her property. The beauty of this story is that this woman left in faith and returned in faith.
Romans 10:14
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Matthew 18:20
For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
2 Kings 8:4
The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.”
Gehazi was called into the king’s presence to….. preach. The Lord, God knew this woman was coming. It was time for Him to set the environment. Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, who was the servant of the Lord stood before the king and told him of all of the wonders wrought by the ministry of Elisha. Where God’s Word is, God’s Presence will be. Where God’s Presence is, there will be power.
2 Kings 8:5
… “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.”
Acts 17:26
From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
Many believers believe that nothing happens by accident. They also don’t believe in ‘chance’ or ‘fate’, which are really references to the worship of false gods in times past. While these terms are used commonly in our culture, they should not govern our consciousness. The bible tells us time and time again that God providentially guides all of the affairs of man. Particular those men and women who are called by His name.
2 Kings 8:6
The king asked the woman about it, and she told him. Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”
Upon meeting this woman spoken of by Gehazi, the king returned all of her property to her and remarkably all of the profits that the land wielded during her absence. This is the ‘exceedingly, abundantly” way of the blessing of the Lord. As I stated before, she left in faith and she returned in faith. She had no reason to believe that God would not restore to her what was rightfully hers. She was in alignment with the Law of God and the Prophet of God. As believers, we too can reasonably expect that when we align ourselves with the Word of God, He will act on our behalf to our benefit.
However, this verse is as much about king Joram as it is about the widow. Joram was the second son of the evil king Ahab to ascend to the throne of Israel. The first son, Ahaziah was so evil that the Lord shortened his reign over Israel as well as his life. His parents, Ahab and Jezebel were possibly, the wickedest of rulers over Israel. While Joram was evil, he was not as evil as those of his family who preceded him. In this passage of scripture, while the king has not requested an audience with Elisha, he has requested that Gehazi appear before him to tell him of Elisha. Why? The reasons could be many. Elisha and Joram had a contentious relationship in the beginning of their ascension to leadership roles within the kingdom of Israel. Perhaps Joram sought a mending of the relationship, at least on a professional level. Maybe.
Whatever the case, when Gehazi begins to preach, he sets the table for a miracle. Joram simply aligns himself with the Word of God. In doing so, for a few brief moments, he becomes a vessel for the sovereign will of God. Throughout scripture there are numerous examples corrupt leadership. In the gospel, Jesus’ primary antagonist were the leaders of Israel. What distinguishes Joram in this lesson is not his character or his virtue, but his willingness in this singular moment, to execute the law of God according to the will of God….just for a moment. Joram used the power of his throne and the authority that accompanied it to benefit the people of God in exactly the way God intended. There is an argument to be made, that government is allowed by God for God’s purposes. In this series of lessons, God’s law commanded that Israel’s government be just and merciful, especially toward the least of it’s citizens.
Amos 5:24 (The Message)
Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That's what I want. That's all I want.
Titus 3:1 (The Message)
[ He Put Our Lives Together ] Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God's people should be bighearted and courteous
Enjoy the lesson!
.wb
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