Women with a Story to Tell: The Shunammite Woman 2.

 Is it a sign of weak faith if something bad happens to good people? Ask Job about that. No reason was ever given for the disasters that hit him. There was a conversation between God and Satan, but that is only a discussion of his faithfulness. His erstwhile friends pressed him to admit some sin that caused the death of his children (among other losses). However, Job defeats their easy theology claiming that it is more complex than that. And it is. 

 What is the purpose of a test of faith? Ask Jesus about that. Jesus was baptized by John and God himself confirmed Jesus’ identity and mission (Luke 3: 21-22). Then the very next event is that the Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness to fast and then, in his physical weakness, to be tempted by the devil (Luke 4: 1-15). Jesus resists temptation and then is empowered by the Spirit to begin teaching in the countryside and in synagogues. Is such a test of faith normal? 

 Clearly, bad things do happen to good people. When a great disaster strikes we are not to conclude that it is punishment for a great sin (see Jesus’ comments in Luke 13: 1-5). Our godly Shunammite woman from the last devotional is about to suffer such a crisis of faith.

“When the child was older, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. He complained to his father, “Oh, my head, my head!” The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” He carried him and brought him to his mother; the child sat on her lap until noon, and he died” (II Kings 4: 18-20).

 Remember in the last devotional that when Elisha told her she would have a son, she said, ““No, my lord, O man of God; do not deceive your servant.” At the time, I passed the response off as equal to today’s, “No, you’re kidding.” In retrospect, it looks like it was a lot more. Life was hard, people died young, mothers miscarried, and children died. 

 As recent as 150 years ago, my grandfather was one of seven children born to my great grandmother and grandfather in southwestern Indiana. His father died at age 35. Their tombstone was in the county cemetery (aka ‘poor folks cemetery’) across the road from our farm. When I was young, I remember walking across the road with my mother to see those graves. Once I noticed beside the graves the bottoms of bottles sticking up an inch or so from the ground. They were about 3” around and made of thick green glass. There were five of them in a row. I asked Mom what they were. She said that they were the markers for the five of my grandfather’s siblings who did not live past age 5. So, by the time my grandfather and his brother were 10 and 12 years old, their father and five siblings had died. Life was tough.

 Lacking doctors and health care, what was the Shunammite woman to do?   

“She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, closed the door on him, and left. Then she called to her husband and said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again.” He said, “Why go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath.” She said, “It will be all right.” Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Urge the animal on; do not hold back for me unless I tell you.” So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel” (II Kings 4: 21-25).

 Since she had long ago made a rest stop for the prophet, she knew which way he was walking and where he was going. Did I not say that Mt. Carmel was on the circuit?

“When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, ‘Look, there is the Shunammite woman; run at once to meet her and say to her: Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is the child all right?’ She answered, ‘It is all right’. When she came to the man of God at the mountain, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi approached to push her away, but the man of God said, ‘Let her alone, for she is in bitter distress; the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me’.” (II Kings 4: 25-27)

 There is an interesting side-lesson here. Elisha is a prophet of God, but that does not mean that he knows everything; only what God decides to tell him. Too many Christians think that if they know something (Scripture) or someone (God), that means that they know everything. They do not. There are people rewriting history to suit their story, people trying to dismiss science to undermine results they do not like, and Christians following conspiracy theories in order to distract the public from actual current events. Elisha did not do that; he waited on God. 

 Here is the Shunammite woman’s perspective, her own story. 

“Then she said, ‘Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not mislead me?’’ He said to Gehazi, ‘Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go. If you meet anyone, give no greeting, and if anyone greets you, do not answer, and lay my staff on the face of the child’.” (II Kings 4: 28-29) 

 She did not say much, or perhaps the record doesn’t tell us much. Either way, it was enough for God to clarify for Elisha what had happened. Elisha sprung into action because time was short. He sent his disciple Gehazi.

 Was the Shunammite woman impressed? 

“Then the mother of the child said, ‘As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave without you’. So he rose up and followed her. Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. He came back to meet him and told him, ‘The child has not awakened’.” (II Kings 4: 30-31)

 There are a couple of possibilities here. Just as Jesus’ disciples could not cast out a particular demon (Luke 9: 37-43), Gehazi cannot resuscitate the boy. He was not the prophet himself. Or, perhaps something is amiss with Gehazi’s faith journey. In the next chapter, Gehazi lets greed get the better of him and it does not go well for him (II Kings 5:19b-27). 

 “When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and closed the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. Then he got up on the bed and lay upon the child, putting his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and while he lay bent over him, the flesh of the child became warm. He got down, walked once to and fro in the room, then got up again and bent over him; the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. (II Kings 4: 32-35).

  Nor was it easy for Elisha to perform this miracle. The key was that he first “prayed to the LORD.” Elisha was obviously out of tricks and perhaps in over his head as far as earthly wisdom and power goes. Once in the room alone with the door closed, there was nowhere to go but up.

The Shunammite woman had done all that she could do in calling the man of God to help. Disaster had struck, but she still had faith, hope, and determination. She will make it through this test of faith.