Lesson 310 - Senior
Memory Verse
"My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
Cross References
I The Widow's Oil
1. The Lord hears the widow and the fatherless, [2KG:4:1]; [EXO:22:22-24]; [DEU:10:17-18]; [DEU:24:17-22]; [PS:68:5]; [JAM:1:27].
2. Elisha offers aid, [2KG:4:2].
3. Empty vessels are needed, [2KG:4:3]; [MAT:5:6]; [ISA:26:9].
4. The world is shut out, [2KG:4:4-7]; [1KG:17:19]; [MAK:5:40]; [MAK:7:33]; [MAK:8:23]; [ACT:9:40]; [MAT:6:6].
II The Shunammite
1. She has regard for Elisha, the man of God, [2KG:4:8-11]; [ROM:12:13]; [MAT:10:40-42]; [MAT:25:35]; [HEB:13:2].
2. "What is to be done for thee?” [2KG:4:12-17]; [2KG:2:9]; [1KG:3:5]; [JHN:15:7].
3. She has faith, [2KG:4:18-26]; [GEN:22:5-8].
4. She has determination, [2KG:4:27-30]; [GEN:32:26]; [LUK:18:1-8].
5. She is rewarded by the restoration of her son to life, [2KG:4:31-37].
III Help in Time of Need
1. The deadly pottage is healed, [2KG:4:38-41]; [MAK:16:18].
2. An offering is blessed and multiplied, [2KG:4:42-44]; [PRO:3:9-10]; [LUK:9:13-17]; [MAT:15:32-38].
Notes
The Widow
God has promised in His Word that He will watch over the widows and fatherless. He has made it a part of pure religion "to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction” [JAM:1:27]). According to some of the ancient writings, this widow who appealed to Elisha for help was the wife of Obadiah, the man who hid the prophets of God when Jezebel sought to slay them. Whether this be true or not, Elisha stood ready to lend a helping hand. He first inquired, "What shall I do for thee?” Then, without waiting for a reply, he inquired, "Tell me, what hast thou in the house?” And she said, "Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.”
Using What We Have
If we trace the miracles and mighty works of God wrought by His servants, we shall find many times they were brought about by the person's making use of that which was at hand. To Moses God said, "What is that in thine hand?” [EXO:4:2]). It was only a rod, but it became an instrument through which God wrought great signs and miracles. With his rod, Moses smote the river and it became blood. Cast upon the ground, the rod became a serpent; and then in his hand it became a rod again; and when it was stretched out over the sea, the waters divided and a path was made for Israel to cross over. An oxgoad was the instrument with which Shamgar slew six hundred men; and the jawbone of an ass was the weapon with which Samson slew a thousand men. Men of faith do not wait for mighty weapons, nor do they tarry until they can do some mighty deed; but using that which is at hand, they work at the task that lies before them. A widow of Zarephath had only a handful of meal and a little oil, but God used it to sustain her household and Elijah for many days.
A pot of oil seemed mighty little with which the widow, told of in our lesson, could face the future, when the creditors were already threatening to take her sons as bondmen. But the power of God is not limited; neither is His ear deaf to the cry of the needy.
Empty Vessels
"Go, borrow . . . empty vessels.” God can fill empty vessels. Oil is typical of the Spirit of God, and empty vessels are typical of the hungry heart. The woman poured, and the oil did not cease until every empty vessel was filled. God today is filling empty vessels; just let a hungry heart come to Him and see how quickly He fills it. The trouble is that many vessels are so filled with pride and self that they must be emptied and cleansed before they can be used. Not one empty vessel – not one hungry heart – will go unfilled.
In Secret
"And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee.” When we are in distress or need, it is good to shut the world out, and shut ourselves in with God. Jesus said: "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” [MAT:6:6]).
It all seemed very simple for Elisha to tell them to go borrow empty vessels and then to shut the door and start pouring out the oil. But did you every try it? We are not told that Elisha prayed about it, but don't you think that Elisha, too, entered his closet and shut the door and began to prevail before God that the oil would be increased? We read that Elijah stood before Ahab and declared that there would not be dew nor rain for years. The original account does not say that he prayed, but James tells us in the New Testament, that he prayed earnestly that it might not rain. Our God is a miracle-working God, but his servants must prevail.
The Dead Raised
Elisha prayed on another occasion, although we are not told what the words of his prayer were. This time a dead child lay upon his bed. "He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.” He stretched himself upon the child, and then with agony of soul he walked to and fro in the house. No doubt the Spirit made intercession, as the Apostle Paul said, "with groanings which cannot be uttered” [ROM:8:26]). You might know that it was a deep earnest prayer that brought the dead to life that day.
This child was the only son of a great woman who furnished a room and provided meals for Elisha when he passed that way. When the child died she placed him, with faith, upon Elisha's bed. When she asked for an ass to ride to go after the man of God, she did not tell her husband the child was dead. To his question as to why she wanted to go to the man of God, she, with faith, replied, "It shall be well.”
When Elisha's servant, Gehazi, went to meet her and asked, "Is it well with the child?” she again replied, "It is well.” However, when Elisha sent Gehazi to lay his staff upon the child she said to Elisha, "As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave the.” In this hour of distress, she looked to the man who had power to fill the empty pots with oil. She wanted the holy man of God to help pray her through this deep trial. Her perseverance and faith, coupled with that of Elisha, brought forth life from the dead. She was one of those women referred to in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews who through faith received their dead raised to life again. Faith accomplishes the seemingly impossible.
Filling the Need
As it was in the miracles of Christ, the miracles of Elisha were wrought because of a heart of compassion to fill a need. The widow's oil was not increased for a demonstration to the curious, nor was the Shunammite's son brought to life for publicity purposes, for both miracles were wrought behind closed doors. When Elisha told his servant to boil a vegetable stew for the sons of the prophets, it was a time of famine. From the circumstances it is evident Elisha healed the pottage because of a shortage of food, and not to make a show of his power with God. When Jesus said, "They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them” [MAK:16:18]), He did not intend that His followers should tempt God by deliberately handling snakes or drinking poison. If by accident a Christian drinks poison or is bitten by a snake, he has this promise of God's protection.
When a man brought of the firstfruits and presented them to Elisha, his heart went out immediately to the people who were short of food. His heart was akin to that of Jesus who said: "I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat” [MAT:15:32]). The servant of Elisha, like the disciples of Christ on another occasion, wondered how so little could be divided among so many, but Elisha had been talking to God about it. The Lord told him, "They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.” God is good to His people to supply them bread in time of need. "They did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.”
Questions
1. Why was a pot of oil selected as the medium for providing for the widow?
2. On what other occasion was oil multiplied miraculously?
3. Of what are empty vessels a type?
4. Name some of the things that the Shunammite who was called a "great woman” did.
5. How was she rewarded for her deeds?
6. How was her faith demonstrated?
7. List the miracles of the Bible which were wrought behind closed doors.
8. What was the condition in the land when the pottage was healed?
9. Compare the feeding of 100 men by Elisha to similar miracles wrought by Christ.