Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.”
Parallel Translations
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Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.”
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And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.
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Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying: 'Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.'
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Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (22)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 8:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Kings 5:20-27 But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought. As Yahweh lives, I will run after him, and take something from him.” So Gehazi followed after Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?” He said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, even now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’ ” Naaman said, “Be pleased to take two talents.” He urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants; and they carried them before him. When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and stored them in the house. Then he let the men go, and they departed. But he went in, and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you come from, Gehazi?” He said, “Your servant went nowhere.” He said to him, “Didn’t my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive groves and vineyards, and sheep and cattle, and male servants and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and to your offspring forever.” He went out from his presence a leper, as white as snow.
- 2 Kings 2:14 He took Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and struck the waters, and said, “Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?” When he also had struck the waters, they were divided apart, and Elisha went over.
- 2 Kings 2:20-22 He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” Then they brought it to him. He went out to the spring of the waters, and threw salt into it, and said, “Yahweh says, ‘I have healed these waters. There shall not be from there any more death or barren wasteland.’ ” So the waters were healed to this day, according to Elisha’s word which he spoke.
- 2 Kings 2:24 He looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in Yahweh’s name. Then two female bears came out of the woods, and mauled forty-two of those youths.
- 2 Kings 3:14-16 Elisha said, “As Yahweh of Armies lives, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I respect the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward you, nor see you. But now bring me a musician.” When the musician played, Yahweh’s hand came on him. He said, “Yahweh says, ‘Make this valley full of trenches.’
- 2 Kings 4:3-6 Then he said, “Go, borrow empty containers from all your neighbors. Don’t borrow just a few containers. Go in and shut the door on you and on your sons, and pour oil into all those containers; and set aside those which are full.” So she went from him, and shut the door on herself and on her sons. They brought the containers to her, and she poured oil. When the containers were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.” He said to her, “There isn’t another container.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
- 2 Kings 4:12 He said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she stood before him.
- 2 Kings 4:16-17 He said, “At this season, when the time comes around, you will embrace a son.” She said, “No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your servant.” The woman conceived, and bore a son at that season, when the time came around, as Elisha had said to her.
- 2 Kings 5:14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
- 2 Kings 6:6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” He showed him the place. He cut down a stick, threw it in there, and made the iron float.
- 2 Kings 6:9-12 The man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you not pass this place; for the Syrians are coming down there.” The king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once or twice. The king of Syria’s heart was very troubled about this. He called his servants, and said to them, “Won’t you show me which of us is for the king of Israel?” One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
- 2 Kings 6:17-20 Elisha prayed, and said, “Yahweh, please open his eyes, that he may see.” Yahweh opened the young man’s eyes; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” He struck them with blindness according to Elishah’s word. Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” He led them to Samaria. When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “Yahweh, open these men’s eyes, that they may see.” Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the middle of Samaria.
- 2 Kings 6:32 But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Then the king sent a man from before him; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Behold, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold the door shut against him. Isn’t the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”
- 2 Kings 7:1 Elisha said, “Hear Yahweh’s word. Yahweh says, ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.’ ”
- 2 Kings 7:3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate. They said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die?
- 2 Kings 7:10 So they came and called to the city gatekeepers; and they told them, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, not even a man’s voice, but the horses tied, and the donkeys tied, and the tents as they were.”
- 2 Kings 7:16-20 The people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to Yahweh’s word. The king appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to be in charge of the gate; and the people trampled over him in the gate, and he died as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. It happened as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria;” and that captain answered the man of God, and said, “Now, behold, if Yahweh made windows in heaven, might such a thing be?” and he said, “Behold, you will see it with your eyes, but will not eat of it.” It happened like that to him; for the people trampled over him in the gate, and he died.
- Matthew 2:8 He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”
- Luke 9:9 Herod said, “I beheaded John, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” He sought to see him.
- Luke 23:8 Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad, for he had wanted to see him for a long time, because he had heard many things about him. He hoped to see some miracle done by him.
- John 9:27 He answered them, “I told you already, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t also want to become his disciples, do you?”
- Acts 24:24 But after some days, Felix came with Drusilla, his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ Jesus.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 8:4 And the king talked with Gehazi the…
2Ki 8:4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.
Ver. 4. And the king talked with Gehazi.] Though a leper, as he might: the leper was only to dwell alone without the camp. {Lev 13:46} Besides, Gehazi might by this time be upon his true repentance, which some think may be evinced and gathered from this text, and perhaps his leprosy had cleansed him, his white forehead made him a white soul, cleansed from his leprosy.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Quest. How could the king speak with Gehazi, who…
Quest. How could the king speak with Gehazi, who was a leper?
Answ. Either the king might speak with him at a convenient distance, it being usual for others to discourse with lepers, as 2Ki 7:8; Mat 8:2; Luk 17:12; or his leprosy might be of that sort which was not infectious; or, if his leprosy was such as made him yet to be unclean, the king’s great curiosity might easily prevail with him to break a ceremonial law, who made no scruple of violating God’s moral law.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of…
And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God,.... Elisha's servant, just at the same time the woman made her application to him; so that this was before he was dismissed from the service of the prophet, and consequently before the affair of Naaman's cure, and so before the siege of Samaria:
saying, tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done; the miracles he wrought, as the dividing of the waters of Jordan, and healing those near Jericho; the affair of procuring water for the armies of the three kings in Edom he needed not to relate, since Jehoram was an eyewitness thereof; the next was the multiplying the widow's cruse of oil, when he in course came to those that were done for the Shunammite woman.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Gehazi the servant - Formerly his servant. The law…
Gehazi the servant - Formerly his servant. The law did not forbid conversing with lepers, but only dwelling with them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. The king talked with Gehazi] This is…
Verse 4. The king talked with Gehazi] This is supposed to have happened before the cleansing of Naaman, for is it likely that the king would hold conversation with a leprous man; or that, knowing Gehazi had been dismissed with the highest disgrace from the prophet's service, he could hold any conversation with him concerning his late master, relative to whom he could not expect him to give either a true or impartial account?
Some think that this conversation might have taken place after Gehazi became leprous; the king having an insatiable curiosity to know the private history of a man who had done such astonishing things: and from whom could he get this information, except from the prophet's own confidential servant? It agrees better with the chronology to consider what is here related as having taken place after the cure of Naaman. As to the circumstance of Gehazi's disease, he might overlook that, and converse with him, keeping at a reasonable distance, as nothing but actual contact could defile.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ki 8:4. The king talked with Gehazi, the servant…
2Ki 8:4. The king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God — Or, who had been his servant formerly. The law did not forbid conversing with lepers at a due distance, but only the dwelling with them. Thus Naaman conversed with Elisha’s family at a distance; and the lepers called to our Lord, as he went along the highway.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Giezi was not yet infected; (Salien; Menochius) or if…
Giezi was not yet infected; (Salien; Menochius) or if he was, (Haydock) the king spoke to him at a distance, overcoming his natural repugnance, in order to know some particulars of the life of Eliseus. (Calmet) --- This he would more readily do, if Giezi had brought the glad tidings of plenty. (Tirinus) --- Providence ordered that he should be present at this time, that he might bear witness to the woman. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain the king talked with Gehazi--Ceremonial pollution being conveyed by…
the king talked with Gehazi--Ceremonial pollution being conveyed by contact alone, there was nothing to prevent a conference being held with this leper at a distance; and although he was excluded from the town of Samaria, this reported conversation may have taken place at the gate or in one of the royal gardens. The providence of God so ordained that King Jehoram had been led to inquire, with great interest, into the miraculous deeds of Elisha, and that the prophet's servant was in the act of relating the marvellous incident of the restoration of the Shunammite's son when she made her appearance to prefer her request. The king was pleased to grant it; and a state officer was charged to afford her every facility in the recovery of her family possession out of the hands of the occupier.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. The king talked with Gehazi — Many of…
4. The king talked with Gehazi — Many of the best expositors suppose this conversation took place before Gehazi became leprous, and therefore before the cleansing of Naaman. This is very probable, for it is not likely that the king would talk much with a leper, and we have already observed that the chronology of Jehoram’s reign is uncertain and obscure. See note at the beginning of chap. 3. But it must not be denied that this talk with Gehazi might have occurred after the latter became leprous. Though a leper, and no longer in the service of his old master, he might still have been known and spoken of as the servant of the man of God, and the king’s insatiable curiosity to learn the private history of Elisha might have led him to hold a conversation with a leper. The supposition of some divines, that Gehazi repented and had his curse of leprosy revoked, is an unfounded conjecture, destitute of the least shadow of support in Scripture, and in direct opposition to Elisha’s solemn sentence, “The leprosy shall cleave unto thee and unto thy seed forever.” 2Ki_5:27.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. the king talked [R.V. was talking] with Gehazi]…
4. the king talked [R.V. was talking] with Gehazi] For a brief conference we find Naaman coming to the court of Israel and probably obtaining an interview with the king or some of those in immediate attendance on him. So if Jehoram were desirous to know everything about Elisha, he might for a short time converse with Gehazi. The interview appears to have been in some public place, perhaps at the gate of the city, where kings sat to hear appeals and administer justice. The Shunammite finds them together. ‘The words of Gehazi, the thoughts of the king, the desires of the Shunammite, all drawn together, by the wise providence of God into the centre of one moment, that His oppressed servant might receive a speedy justice’ (Bp Hall).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) And the king talked.—And the king was speaking…
(4) And the king talked.—And the king was speaking unto.
Gehazi.—He, therefore, was not yet a leper (2Ki_5:27). So Keil and some earlier expositors. But lepers, though excluded from the city, were not excluded from conversation with others. (Comp. Mat_8:2; Luk_17:12.) Naaman was apparently admitted into the royal palace (2Ki_5:6). The way, however, in which Gehazi is spoken of as “the servant of the man of God” (comp. 2Ki_5:20) seems to imply the priority of the present narrative to that of 2 Kings 5.
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Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things.—“The history of Elijah and Elisha has a distinctly popular character; it reads like a story told by word of mouth, full of the dramatic touches and vivid presentations of detail which characterise all Semitic history that closely follows oral narration. The king of Israel of whom we read in 2Ki_8:4, was, we may be sure, not the only man who talked with Gehazi, saying, ‘Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.’ By many repetitions the history of the prophets took a fixed shape long before it was committed to writing, and the written record preserves all the essential features of the narratives that passed from mouth to mouth, and were handed down orally from father to child.” (Prof. Robertson Smith, The Prophets of Israel, p. 116.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And the king talked with Gehazi; rather, now the…
And the king talked with Gehazi; rather, now the king was talking with Gehazi, as in the Revised Version. The king, i.e. , happened to be talking with Gehazi at the moment when the woman came into his presence and "cried" to him. It has been reasonably concluded from this, that chronological order is not observed in the portion of the narrative which treats of Elisha and his doings, since a king of Israel would scarcely be in familiar conversation with a leper (Keil). It may be added that Gehazi can scarcely have continued to be the servant of Elisha, as he evidently now was, after his leprosy. He must have dwelt "without the gate." The servant of the man of God. That a king should converse with a servant is, no doubt, somewhat unusual; but, as Bahr notes, there is nothing in the circumstance that need astonish us. It is natural enough that, having been himself a witness of so many of the prophet"s marvelous acts done in public, Jehoram should become curious concerning those other marvelous acts which he had performed in private, among his personal friends and associates, with respect to which many turnouts must have got abroad; and should wish to obtain an account of them from a source on which he could rely. If he had this desire, he could scarcely apply to the prophet himself, with whom he was at no time on familiar terms, and who would shrink from enlarging on his own miraculous powers. "To whom, then, could he apply with more propriety for this information than to the prophet"s familiar servant an eye-witness of most of them, and one who would have no reason for reticence? Oriental ideas would not be shocked by the king"s sending for any subject from whom he desired information, and questioning him. Saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done. Miracles are often called "great things" (twOldog) in the Old Testament, but generally in connection with God as the doer of them (Job_5:9 Job_9:10 Job_37:5; Psa_71:19 Psa_106:21, etc.)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And the King talked with Gehazi.
2Ki_8:4-6
And the King talked with Gehazi.
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The special providence of Jehovah illustrated
We approach, in this chapter, the end of Elishas wondrous but most useful career. His days are now perceptibly numbered, and one more recorded event, and he passes from the scene of this world. The text presupposes that the reputation of Elisha was established as a great and holy man Tell me all the great things that Elisha hath done. The question of the king is introductory to an interesting illustration of the working of Divine providence, in bringing together persons and things in a most unexpected manner, to the furtherance of the ends of justice and the promotion of honesty. We are here also recalled to an old acquaintance, of whom we have heard nothing in the prophets history for some years, namely, the pious Shunammite; but, although we find no record of herself and family during this interval, it is clear that her acquaintance with Elisha had been kept up, and that he may have been her counsellor and guide in many a difficult position. A prolonged famine of seven years is approaching. Elisha knows it; for the Lord had called for it (2Ki_8:1). A partial famine for a brief space had already been endured at the hands of man--the Syrian enemy during the siege of Samaria. It does not appear to have worked any good effect in humbling tim nation. As the smaller judgment is unheeded, the Lord will send a greater. And let us not omit to observe how partial this visitation is to be. The good land, the most fruitful of all lands, is to be blasted with its desolating evidence, while, but a few score miles away, in the country of the Philistines, there is plenty. Surely the Lord doth make a fruitful land barren, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein (Psa_107:34); and His providence can as easily give plenty here and want there, as the day succeeds the night and the night the day, even as He teaches by Amos (Amo_4:7). Thus it was here; for Elisha, summoning the Shunammite to his presence, forewarns and advises her concerning the coming straitness, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn (verse 1). And we can readily see what an advantage the foreknowledge of Elisha would have secured. It would enable the family to make a suitable disposition of property, while plenty was still in the land, and the coming famine hidden from the people at large; and thus she could take enough with her for their support in the land of the Philistines during that lengthened period. And thus we may again notice how the Lord repaid her faith and affection for His servant (Mat_10:41). Well, time, that never stands still, pursued its course--and the seven years had passed. What happened during that period we do not learn. How her son had grown to mans estate, and was now probably her stay and comfort in the land of the stranger; It came to pass at the seven years end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land (verse 3). And now the remarkable providence of Jehovah meets our eyes. The king, we may charitably hope, had profited by the Divine visitation, and he who cared little for the Lord and his servants during comparative prosperity is anxious to hear about the great prophet in the day of his distress. Or, if we would take the more unfavourable view of ibis proceeding, we may suppose that mere curiosity, in an idle moment, prompted the king to request of Gehazi the leper an account of all the great things Elisha had done. And was Gehazi, though now a leper in body, a penitent in heart, and clean in soul? Had the fearful correction administered to his sin wrought a salutary end? It is an interesting thought that the destruction of the flesh may have been the salvation of the spirit (1Co_5:5); but it can only be a thought, for the Scripture is silent. How manifest are the leadings of a special providence! that just at the moment when Jehoram is listening attentively to this surprising account from Gehazis lips, and is perhaps wanting a confirmation of the wonder in his heart--just at this precise moment, when he was telling the king how the prophet had restored a dead body to life (verse 5)--the Shunammite herself enters the Court: Behold, the woman, whose son be had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. There are two inquiries on which a few words may here be said:--
I. Was it a matter of chance? and I reply in the negative--It was not a matter of chance. No converted man would for an instant yield to such an imagination; but there are many nominal Christians who think and speak of such events as if they were but a lucky or unlucky combination of accidents, as the case may touch them. Why was it not a matter of chance? Because to cherish the supposition is to dethrone Jehovah from His supreme seat of absolute control over all things, as well as all creatures, living. If we calmly reflect awhile on the point, such an argument at once places all secondary causes, such as the elements, the seasons, the maladies, and other external movements affecting outwardly the human family, as well as the motives and influences bearing upon the internal economy of man, beyond the inclination of the almighty God over all. It is much the same in probability as if an individual were to argue that the works of a watch would go forward, and the wheels run their regular course, without any mainspring to set them in motion. As opposed to such a view, nothing that happens can possibly be a matter of chance in a believers eye. His own experience would contradict the opinion, if he had not the word of Jesus to sustain it (Luk_12:6-7).
II. But was this unexpected meeting an event in any wise improbable and unworthy of credit? A brief examination of the narrative may anticipate such a thought, and prevent its entertainment. There are many here who have experienced, to say the least, occurrences quite as improbable as this. All the circumstances are natural and consistent. What more natural than the Shunammite, finding on her return to her own country that her house and her land had been appropriated by another, should at once seek the kings presence, and cry unto him for the restoration of her rights? and what more consistent than the fact of such a presence being sought, and such a petition being offered, at a time when, as we have seen, his majesty was probably holding a Court, and Gehazi was admitted for some like end? The result may be viewed as almost a necessary, consequence. The king, arrested by the singular coincidence, and struck by this unexpected confirmation, is at once predisposed to lend a favourable ear to the Shunammites prayer, and so, with the characteristic decision of a despotic judgment, commands officer to see not only her house and her land restored, but even all the fruits of the field since the day that she had left (verse 6). The decision was in accordance with the instructions given to Israels judges: Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy from out of the hand of the wicked (Psa_82:3-4). This happy result is calculated to strengthen the faith of all who can feel, with the apostle, that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness (1Co_3:19). One who can grasp this fact in his inmost heart can indeed realise the persuasion of the Psalmist (Psa_91:1), He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. He feels that whatever seems to make against him is really working for him. Cherish such a trust in the living God. It will sanctify every event of your life; it will moderate its joys; it will mitigate its sorrows; it will quicken activity, while it will temper hastiness; it will arouse indolence, while it will moderate zeal; above all, it will ever impart contentment with results, whatever may be the disappointment by the way. But again: this happy end to the Shunammite will not, I fear, correct the error of those who are sceptical and incredulous of a special providence. The very circumstance of the means by which it was compassed being natural and probable will, strange to say, often have the effect of hardening the mind against better impressions. It is thus that extremes so frequently meet, and exhibit a character of most perplexing inconsistency. The incredulous in what is probable will be the most credulous in what is improbable; and the man who rejects the workings of Divine providence in natural and common events will be the foremost to receive, aye, and to contend for, those workings in unnatural and uncommon events. Thus, a heathen will, as Ezekiel describes, use divination at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to know which to take; he will make his arrows bright, he will consult his images, he will look in the liver (Eze_21:21); and thus an ignorant and superstitious but nominal Christian will have recourse to the turning of a pack of cards, or the winding of tea-leaves round a teacup, or the lines in the hand, sagely pronounced upon by a mysterious operator, while they would openly scoff at, or in heart ridicule, the notion of immediate direction being given to man at a throne of grace in answer to effectual, fervent prayer. (G. L. Glyn.)
The defrauded widow; or, coincidences in file
God is always unwilling to allow us to suffer, and yet if He constantly checked suffering great evil would follow. If Israel had not been visited during the reign of Jehoram with famine, a worse evil would have befallen the nation; it would have sunk into a deeper state of idolatry; a plague of corruption and darkness would have stolen over the people and there would have been a famine of the Word. National calamities fell, but alas! the innocent had to suffer with the guilty. The woman of Shunem had done what she could to honour God and His servants, and yet she was involved in the general distress. One thing.she gained by her piety--a prophets warning. He told her to go and sojourn in a strange land. Intense longing at length merges into actual movement. Her face is turned homewards. Her weary steps bring her at length within the walls. None salute her. A kinsman passes, and she hails him, but he, alas! declares that he has not the pleasure of knowing her. To the very door of her own home she comes. In the spot from whence she had often given a welcome to the wayfarer she is questioned by a hireling and coldly met by another kinsman. To whom shall she go for redress? She goes to the gateway, the place of justice, and seeks, after the manner of Boaz, to gather a jury to decide between her and the men who have appropriated her property. All refuse, for one and another had filched from her something. They are afraid they will have to disgorge. They are trembling at her reappearance. Let her go again to Philistia or starve in Shunem. Treatment such as this was, for the poor widow, harder to bear than famine. She could have borne it from strangers, but from relatives it is bitter indeed. To whom can she have recourse? Who will execute judgment for the oppressed? Were Elisha living she knew that he would help. Had he not once offered to speak for her to the king, or the captain of the host (2Ki_4:13)? Why should I not go direct to the king? is her sudden thought. She mentions it to her son. He will not have time to listen to us, mother; our cause will be such a trifling affair to a great king. Ah, my son, you are right. We are doomed to poverty. Once I was an honoured woman in Shunem and could help others, now I can only crave help. Position or possessions are not for us again. Thus pondering, and perhaps murmuring, she comes into the presence of the king. She trembles, and is ready to turn back. Yet she knows Jehoram by his attire and his staff. He is talking with some aged man, doubtless on weighty matters of state. As she approaches, and glances again at the companion of the king, she fancies she recognises those features. Yes, it is Gehazi, the one who had been attendant on Elisha, the mighty prophet. Jehoram has just asked Gehazi to tell him something concerning the doings of Elisha, the man to whom he owed his success in the beginning of his reign. Through him he repulsed the Syrians. He wishes he had acted subsequently more in harmony with the prophets principles. Hence he is wishful to know more of them. Who is that? Gehazi gazes with astonishment. Can this be the very woman and son of whom he had been speaking? Yes, but how changed, the woman, and aged. And that young man? Tis the child of prophetic promise and miraculous restoration.
1. We have in this an illustration of certain coincidences that come to us in life, and which have oftimes great effect in determining our future. Some men get into a certain course and then life runs on smoothly to the end, like a locomotive on a level line. Others are swept into a current and are turned hither and thither like the stream or torrent that is checked, narrowed and tossed by, the rocky inequalities over Which it has to flow or over which it has to leap. There are certain points in life where We turn completely for good or evil, for time and for eternity. We may not notice these points. There are moments when life appears to turn as on a pivot.. The slightest action, most trifling event, may suffice to give the turn, the complexion, the change of direction to the life. I remember when in great mental perplexity on one of the most important doctrines of the New Testament, that I casually met, at Naples, Dr. Symington of Scotland, and in an afterdinner conversation, and during a stroll along under the castle of St. Elmo, words and thoughts were uttered that make me to-day a Christian worker instead of a mere agnostic.
2. Gods hand should be traced in the minutiae of life. The mighty God of Israel cared for her--a poor lone, rejected, oppressed widow woman. Her houses and lands were speedily restored. The king acted with alacrity. The unjust were rebuked. The removers of the ancient landmarks were punished. The land filchers were frustrated in their scheme. The woman of Shunem could only exclaim, Truly there is a God that judgeth. He is the father to the fatherless, and a husband to the widow. And all who are in any trouble, sorrow, perplexity, or who have to suffer through the wrong-doing of others, may always be sure of access to the King of kings, and of the fact that there is an Advocate with the Father. The Bible is full of hints of the special working of God. The silver thread of Providence runs through the whole. Christ taught us that the very hairs of our head are numbered, and that not a sparrow falls to the ground without the Divine notice. Since Christs death all history shows that God has been working for the welfare of men and the advancement of His kingdom of goodness in all hearts. Men specially fitted for great works are born at different periods. All things shall converge towards His great end. Everything, even that which seems most adverse,--as with the Shunammite woman seeking her lands--shall coincide to the restoration to Christ of all the kingdoms of the world to Him. His right it is to reign. The usurpers shall not only have to give up their usurpation, but shall have to do homage to Him who hath brought in victory.
3. Now although we believe in the converging of circumstances under the direction of God, and although we urge upon all the need of looking for Divine direction and of following the indications of the providence, we would also utter a warning against always looking for coincidences to guide us in every circumstance. We might err and be only leaning on an arm of flesh. It is always best to do that which the heart suggests when acting under the consciousness of earnest prayer to God. We may not look for signs. We are to act as though all depended on ourselves, but, at the same time, rest in Gods power by simple prayer.
4. Sometimes there is a convergence of misfortunes, a coincidence in sorrow. We have a familiar saying that misfortunes never come singly. There are periods that try faith severely. A man may lose his situation, fail in business, be called upon to pay some guarantee for one he trusted, and have at the same time wife ill, children stricken down with fever. Or he meets with some accident and is prostrate. Wave of trouble succeeds wave, until it seems as though there were no more to come, and he exclaims, All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Well for him if at such times he, like the Shunammite, seeks help from the king, and lays hold of that mercy which is never withdrawn from the most erring, or fails the feeblest. (F. Hastings.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 8:4-5 Gehazi, Elisha’s former servant, had gained sufficient social…
8:4-5 Gehazi, Elisha’s former servant, had gained sufficient social standing to serve the king. Although Joram had often been Elisha’s adversary, he apparently wanted to know more about the great things Elisha had done.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.