The Shunammite Woman and Unprovoked Kindness – Part 3 of 4

Continued from part 2 –>

Picking up on the story of the Shunammite woman and the principle of unprovoked kindness, we last saw from 2 Kings 4, vv. 18-20 that the boy had died. His mother didn’t tell the father, just placed him in the room she kept for the prophet and headed to see him.

Starting from verse 22:

22 She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return.”
23 “Why go to him today?” he asked. “It’s not the New Moon or the Sabbath.”
“That’s all right,” she said.
24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.

The Shunammite had an urgency about her as she set out to see the prophet. Her mindset was that once she could get the matter into God’s hands, it would be sorted out.

The prophet actually saw her coming from a distance and sent his servant, Gehazi to meet her and ask her what the matter was. He didn’t know what her problem was, but with her coming out to meet him, he knew there was a problem.

I once asked a person I was about to minister healing to what the matter was. “I want God to tell you” was her response.

“Why should He when you’re right here?” was my answer.

Sometimes the Lord will reveal things a minister doesn’t know, many times He won’t. If you can open your mouth to tell the prophet, you may have to. Don’t be afraid to not have everything be in the supernatural realm. God created your mouth also.

Let’s go on..

25 … When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the Shunammite! 26 Run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’”
“Everything is all right,” she said.

Remember how the Shunammite had learned not to waste her time updating people with no ability to help her? Rather than wasting time and effort telling her story to soon-to-be-proven-corrupt Gehazi, she told him, “no problem”.

She didn’t set out to tell her story to Gehazi. Gehazi didn’t prophesy for her to have a son. She set out to see the Elisha – the prophet who promised her the son who had just died.

I remember once I traveled from the United States to England to be ministered to by one man – Colin Dye of Kensington Temple in Notting Hill, London. After his Sunday service, I cornered him and he was gracious enough to take time for me.  He prayed and I was healed and returned home.

One of his ministers earlier asked me if he could pray for me. I declined. I didn’t fly several thousand miles to see that minister. I traveled that far to be prayed for by Pastor Dye. If you have someone in mind for prayer, get it done. Find that person.

Another time, I wanted to get another minister to pray for me all the way in Texas.  He was really busy and I must have called 10 or more times until they put me through to him. I explained my need for prayer and he prayed.

Interesting… I wasn’t healed then, but I appreciated his prayer as it helped my faith. I was later healed from the”entirely hopeless” (quoting a top orthopedic surgeon) situation months later through God’s mercy.

So this is how the Shunammite woman’s account concluded…

27 When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me why.”
28 “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”
29 Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. Don’t greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy’s face.”
30 But the child’s mother said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.
31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.”
32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
36 Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.” 37 She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.

So many lessens from this passage. Where do we begin? There’ll have to be a Part 4, I guess…

Concluded in part 4 –>