If God Is For Us (2 Kings 8:1-6)
Rev. William L. Barron, July 17, 2022Part of the Morning Worship at North Greenville Church series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
This is a section on the providence of God. There had been a famine for 7 years. Elisha had raised the Shunammite woman's son to life. The woman had lived among the Philistines. In the meantime, the state had appropriated her assets. Gehazi, who had been punished with leprosy, was dealing with the king of Israel; maybe Jehoram. Maybe Gehazi was a relative. Maybe this account took place before Chapter 5, when he was stricken. Gehazi told the king about the Shunammite woman and that Elisha had raised her son, and here she was. She was seeking her land back by decree of the king. God softened his heart; he gave back her land and forgave her taxes owed. There is still hope for disobedient people. God still has control over them. We are never excused from responsibility. God's providence directs the actions of the king. He provides for His people by means of His providence, for our good and for His glory. The king saw what God did, but did not place his trust in God. There is no salvation in this, then and now. We look to God expectantly, that His grace is sufficient to answer our needs. We need to trust that His providence will shine on us, in His timing.
| Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
|---|---|---|
| « The Church And Christ's Baptism | None | The Weeping Prophet » |
2 Kings 8:1–6 (Listen)
8:1 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the LORD has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land. 4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.”
(ESV)