THE SHUNAMMITE WOMAN’S FAITH
2 Kings 4:8-37
The story of Elisha and the Shunammite woman is found in 2 Kings 4:8-37 and is the story of miracles. The woman from Shunem is one of the unnamed women of the Bible but her testimony of faith is one we can still learn from today.
The Bible does not give her name but it does tell us that she was a great woman, meaning that she had great wealth and wisdom.
Elisha was a great prophet at that time and one day as he was passing through the city of Shunem, the Shunammite woman stopped him and invited him to her home for a meal. And so, it was that each time Elisha came by that way he stopped and had a meal with them.
The woman could see that Elisha was a great holy man of God. Grateful for an opportunity to show her honor and respect for this man of God she asked her husband if they could make a room for him in their house.
The woman said, “Husband, look I see this is a holy man of God, and since he comes this way quite often, I ask that you let me make him a little room in our home, where I can place a bed, a stool, and a candlestick. That way when he comes by this way he can have a place to stay.”
Evidently, the woman’s husband allows it and when Elisha and his servant Gehazi pass that way they stay in the Shunammite woman’s house in the room she had made for him.
One day as Elisha lay there resting upon the bed, he called his servant to him and said, “Call for the Shunammite woman and ask what it is we can do for her since she has been so thoughtful to take such good care of us.”
So Gehazi called the woman and she came and stood before him, he said, “Elisha has sent me to ask what it is he can do for you since you have took such great care to give him a place to stay. Can he speak to the king for you, or to the captain of the army?”
And the woman answered, “Thank you, but no, I have need of nothing, I live among my own people.”
When Gehazi told Elisha that she had need of nothing, he said, “But surely there must be something that can be done for her.” He asked Gehazi, “What can be done for her?”
Gehazi said, “Well, I have noticed she has no children and her husband is old.”
Elisha said, “Call her.” And, when Gehazi called to her, she came and stood at the door. Elisha said, “About his time next year you shall embrace a son.”
In the old world, it was a shame when a woman was barren because a woman’s primary purpose was to bear children. Being without a son also meant her elderly husband’s property would pass to someone outside the family, shaming his family and leaving her future in doubt.
When Elisha promised she would bear a son the next year, shocked and overjoyed, she cried, “No my lord, thy man of God, do not lie to me!”
Her response revealed her deep desire for a son and her desperate fear of disappointment.
God fulfilled his promise to the Shunammite woman, and she held a treasured son in her arms the next year. But one day, when the little boy was in the field with his father, he complained of a headache. The boy’s father sent him home to his mother, where he sat in her lap until noon, and then he died. Why would God give her a son and then let him die?
But, God had promised this son to her and she was willing to stand upon this promise. She immediately laid her son on Elisha’s bed and arranged a journey to the prophet’s home at Mt. Carmel. She asked her husband to ready a carriage and horse along with a servant to take her to the man of God. Her husband asked, “Why do you need to go today, it is neither a new moon, nor sabbath?” She replied, “All is well, I shall return.” She then instructed the servant to hurry.
When the man of God saw her coming from afar off, he said to his servant, “Look there comes that Shunammite woman, run ahead and ask if all was well with her family.”
Gehazi ran to meet her and asked, “Is everything ok? Is your husband well? Is the child well?” She answered, “All is well.”
Interestingly, the Shunammite woman never states that the child is dead. Maybe if she says that he is dead, that indeed will be the case. Or maybe her faith is so strong, that she knows if she can just make it to the man of God, All Will Be Well.
When she got to the man of God on the hill, she ran and grabbed him by the feet. Gehazi came to push her away, but Elisha said, “Leave her alone, her soul is troubled within her. The Lord has hidden this from me and not told me.”
The woman then cried, “Did I ever say I desired a son from you? Did I not say do not deceive me?”
Elisha instructed his servant to race to Shunem, and lay his staff upon the child’s face, but the woman refused to return without Elisha, she said, “As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” So, Elisha arose, and followed her.
Despite the servant’s efforts, the boy still lay dead on Elisha’s bed when the man of God arrived. Elisha went into the room with the child, shut the door, and prayed to God. He lay upon the child until his body became warm. He left, paced back and forth through the house, then returned and lay upon the child again, the boy sneezed seven times, and opened his eyes. He then told his servant to call the Shunammite woman. When she entered, Elisha said, “pick up your son.” The woman came in, fell at his feet to show her respect, arose, picked up her son, and left the room.
Once again, God had worked through Elisha, this time to restore the promised son to life.
Though the Shunammite woman had no thought of reward when she made room for God, He fulfilled her heart’s desire. He gave her a son. God’s gifts always accompany His presence. Nevertheless, the Shunammite wasn’t immune to the heartache of a broken world. When tragedy struck, she maintained her faith and focus. Rather than wasting time speculating on the cause or solution, she took her grief and confusion to God. She recognized that she didn’t have the complete picture, that God had the last word.
The same is true for us. We can’t know the truth of our circumstances until we hear from God, until we see our situations from his perspective. When we refuse to acknowledge him, we limit his power in our lives. When we make room for him, we give him space to act.
It’s not often when unnamed characters in the Bible show up in more than one place. But the story of the Shunammite woman did not end when Elisha raised her son from the dead. She shows up again in 2 Kings chapter 8.
The story begins...
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.” The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.
This statement shows that the Shunammite woman and Elisha remained in contact. We don’t know if Elisha continued to stay at her home when he stopped in Shunem. However, we can conclude that she trusted the man of God in her life.
After seven years she returned to Shunem, and found she no longer had access to her home. The Shunammite woman went to the king to ask him to reinstate her land to her.
Back at the king's house the king was talking with Gehazi, and said, “Please tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how Elisha had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the Shunammite woman came to petition the king for her house and land.
Gehazi said, “My lord, oh king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life!”
And when the king asked the woman if she was indeed the one, she told him. The king then appointed an officer to go and see that all was restored to her, even the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, until now.
My pastor often says there are no coincidences with God, only appointments. Isn’t it interesting that just as the Shunammite woman goes into see the king, Gehazi has just finished telling him about some of the miracles Elisha had done, specifically the time Elisha had raised a woman’s son from the dead.
There are no coincidences in the Bible, there’s only Providence. God showed up (again) in the Shunammite woman’s life and He restored all that she had lost when she went to live among the Philistines.
God is a God of restoration. He restored the Shunammite woman’s son back to life, he restored her house and land back to her, scripture says He restored all, everything from the day she left until the day she came back. God still restores today. He can restore broken homes, marriages, broken bodies, your children, anything! Just so that we repent, follow His word, and trust in Him!
Serving God is not a lucky charm which safeguards you against hardship or ensures that you will get all you ever dreamed of. Quite the contrary. Living a Christian life will be fought with challenges and hardships, but the Shunammite woman teaches us that we can trust God to be faithful when we step out in faith. Living for God is a good life!
I’d also like to point out one more lesson in this story - the relationship this woman had with her man of God. She perceived him as a holy man of God, and she trusted him. She gave him reverence and respect. When he gave her a word from God, she followed it without question.
Do you have a holy man of God in your life?
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