2 Kings 4 (Part 1) Bible Study (Elisha and the Widow's Oil) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Meet me in Second Kings chapter 4.

2 Kings 4 · chapter mention

And before we unwrap this thrilling chapter together, I

want to briefly mention something in light of last

week's study. Before 1868, the Moabite people

were referenced through 1 main credible source, the Bible.

Apart from the Bible, there was no credible source to give any

idea about who the Moabite people were, even if they

existed. But something happened a few 100

years ago. Again, as I mentioned, in 1868

there was a discovery that was made by Frederick Klein, who was

a missionary in the Middle East. He was traveling through Jordan

and in one particular place, D Bond Jordan, he discovered what

we know today to be the Moabite stone.

The Moabite stone is currently held in the Louvre Museum in

France. There are many replicas out

there, but I bring this to your attention in light of our study

of Second Kings because what they found on this 4 foot stone

were 34 lines inscriptions that were very similar to ancient

Hebrew and the data found on that artifact is amazing.

First of all, it was an inscription that was authored by

Mesha, King of Moab. Does that name sound familiar to

you? They should.

Just in case it doesn't go to 2nd Kings chapter 3, let's jog

our memory here. Look at verse 4.

Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder and he laid or

excuse me, he had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs

and the wool of 100,000 Rams. So Mesha king of Israel is

identified on this slab. But more than that, he describes

how Himash, which is the God of the Moabites and his name also

is found in the scriptures, was angry with the Moabites and so

he allowed check this out the people of Israel to subjugate

them. So you have the nation of Israel

found on this slab. Moreover, you have Yahweh, the

God of Israel mentioned on this stone.

And later you read how Mesha describes human sacrifices,

which is something that the Moabites practiced, and how at

some point Hemash was pleased to give the people of Moab liberty.

Moreover, you have many cities mentioned in and on the stone

cities that we find in our Bibles as well.

Do you know when the stone is believed to have been created?

850 BC? And so I bring that to your

attention to excite your faith that there are external things

that corroborate the Bible that support the Bible, archaeology

and history. King Omri, we studied him many

weeks ago, is also found on the Moabite stone.

And so before we even begin this chapter, let me remind you that

what you are holding in your hands is real.

It's history, it's fact, It's not fables, it's not fairy tale

real events. Real people are real God.

Let's come to 2nd Kings chapter 4.

Now with that being mentioned, if you're interested to review

that more, all you have to do is Google it and I'm sure that it

will excite you. We now resume the ministry, or

at least our close examination of the ministry of Elijah as the

record of miracles connected to him continues to increase in

this chapter. There are several supernatural

episodes that are found in this section, but this evening we're

going to take up our time to focus just on the first one.

The first one is found here in the 1st 7 verses of Second Kings

2 Kings 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4. I want us to read it together.

Then collectively contemplate on the life altering treasures that

it holds. Are you ready with me?

Second Kings chapter 4, beginning in verse one.

2 Kings 4 · chapter mention

Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elijah.

Your servant, my husband is dead, and you know that your

servant fear the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two

children to be his slaves. And Elijah said to her, What

shall I do for you? Tell me what have you in the

house? And she said, Your servant has

nothing in the house except a jar of oil.

Then he said, Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors,

empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door

behind yourself and your sons, and pour into all these vessels,

and when one is full set it aside.

So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her

sons, and as she poured they brought the vessels to her.

When the vessels were full, she said to her son, Bring me

another vessel. And he said to her, There is not

another. Then the oil stopped flowing.

She came and told the man of God and he said, go sell the oil and

pay your debts and you and your sons can live on the rest.

Lord, we really, desperately, genuinely ask for your help.

To go through these texts apart from the power and the wisdom of

the Holy Spirit is foolish and we will not be fools tonight.

We ask for Your grace to be poured out on every mind, every

heart, so that we may benefit and experience all that you have

to say through these verses. We trust You and we give you

glory in advance for how this will impact us.

Give us ears to hear what the Spirit has to say to this

church. In Jesus name we pray.

Amen. It's very tempting to go

straight to this miracle and try to unpack the message behind it,

but when reading this the other night, I could not help but be

gripped by the characters that are involved in this story.

I wonder if you were moved by them as well.

I want to highlight them to you briefly.

The first is the mention of a deceased husband who is

identified as one of the sons of the prophets.

The second being a widow. A widow who was approaching this

man of God known as Elijah with a predicament.

And lastly Elijah who seems to be the main character of this

section of Second Kings. Elijah who was again approached

with this need and how he responds to it.

I truly believe that each of these individuals offer

something to us if we are willing to not rush and just

patiently meditate to see how what is included and connected

to them can indeed sanctify us. So I want us to do that.

I want us with the 1st 2 verses. Look at each of these

individuals separately and see what we can draw from what the

Scriptures provide us concerning them.

Let's deal with this man, this unnamed husband who is also a

father who's also enrolled in the sons of the prophets.

I want you to look at verse one, and I want to ask you, and you

are free to answer if there's anything that stands out to you

about this man whom this destitute widow speaks of.

Anything stands out to you from verse one.

I'm doing this because I want us to train to how to get

revelation from the Bible and it takes careful reading,

meditation, and asking questions if we're going to get any

answers. Anything stands out to you.

Yes. He was a servant that feared the

Lord. Very important.

Absolutely. Anything else he says your

servant or she says your servant.

The widow says to Elijah, he was your servant.

Good. Anything else?

I get it. There's not much to work with,

right? But I believe there is at least

three things that we can learn from this individual.

Three things, at least three things.

The first thing is this. This man, whoever he was, he

served the Lord. He served the Lord.

As we just heard, this widow speaks to Elijah and identifies

him as your servant. So evidently Elijah knew who

this man was, had a relationship with him, And that seems obvious

because the narrator tells us that he was one of the sons of

the prophets. Now we learned not too long ago

who the sons of the prophets were.

They were a school, a band of men who were committed to

exercising and growing in their gifting, but also the study of

God's Word. And Elijah for the longest time

was the overseer of these prophets until Elijah took his

place as their leader. So we know that Elijah knew who

this man was. This woman is reminding Elijah

of that fact. But what blesses me about this

man that we don't know his name. We're not given reasons for his

death. I'm stirred, I'm certain,

because he was somebody who chose to serve the living God in

an age where the general population was apostate.

You got to remember the setting. This is an Israel.

There was only a remnant of true prophets, and the prophets of

Yahweh paid a high price not too long ago, right?

Many of them were slaughtered under the administration of

Jezebel. And yet you have this man who

was willing to give his life over to full time ministry when

there wasn't much reward with it, when the culture generally

bow down to false blasphemous gods, and at any second

persecution could break out against the true servants of

God. And yet he he still chooses to

set himself apart to honor the true and living God.

And so we see here that he was willing to serve under

circumstances in an environment that was not favorable.

That says something about this servant, which brings us to our

next point. He was not just a servant of the

Lord. He was a servant, as our sister

mentioned, who did what? He feared the Lord.

Look at that phrase again, and you know that your servant

feared the Lord. The words of this wise widow

remind us that we should not assume that just because

somebody's a dedicated student of God's Word or a full time

servant in his Kingdom, that he or she fears God.

There's a distinction being made here, is there not?

Yes, He is your servant. But let me also add this,

There's a quality about his service, about his devotion to

the Lord. He feared the Lord.

It's possible for somebody to be active in the things of God, to

be knowledgeable in the things of God, and yet be void of the

fear of God. We're actually being plagued

with that kind of Christianity Today.

Not so with this man. And we've discussed much about

the fear of the Lord in this church.

Rightfully so. But let me bring up one

important attribute that this fear produces in a Christian.

We find it in, I mean, there's many places to go, but this is

what was on my heart. We find it in Jehoshaphat's

instructions to the judges that he would raise up in Judah in

Second Chronicles 19. You can turn there if you'd

like, but I'm just quoted to you in Second Chronicles 19.

Seven. He gives these men instructions

and notice what he says in this powerful verse.

Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you.

Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the

Lord our God, or partiality, or taking bribes.

Do you catch it? Observe how being careful what

you do is closely associated with the fear of the Lord being

upon someone. When a person fears God, they go

from being careless to being careful.

Careful with their words, mindful of their actions,

cautious how they interact with the opposite sex.

Vigilant of his whereabouts, joyfully attentive about his

testimony before any audience, he finds himself standing

before, leading and dealing with an awareness of God's presence

at all times, even if he is all by himself.

Let the fear of the Lord be upon you.

Be careful what you do. People, even professing

Christians who don't fear God, they don't.

They don't care what they say, what language they use, how they

refer to God, how they represent God.

That's not that's not there. But when a person has this fear

on their lives, they are indeed very aware.

And this is not being legalistic.

It's not a being about somber. It's not being overly

introspective. It's none of that.

It's it's a way of life that springs from a heart that is

absolutely and profoundly longing to please his or her

God. That's what it's motivated by, a

fierce love that walks step by step, conscious of their God and

wanting to do everything that ultimately pleases Him.

So we can imagine then that that we don't know much about this

man. The fact that he feared the Lord

says so much about him, says so much about him.

He was the real deal. It must have been a painful

thing for those who knew Him to know that he had passed on into

glory. So number one, we know that this

man's served the Lord. More than that, we know that he

feared the Lord. Let me add this We also know

that he suffered. He suffered for the Lord.

In what ways did he suffer? What's the obvious way?

He died? He died.

That's the first thing he died. We're not told how he died.

Was he sick? Was it sudden?

Was he the victim of collateral damage?

Was he subject to the folly of someone else?

We don't know. But what we can say with

confidence is that this is a reminder to all of us that

fearing the Lord does not exempt us from painful interruptions in

life. Here's another hint that just

because someone is suffering, even to the point of an untimely

death, does not necessarily mean that such a person lacked the

fear of the Lord or is not a true servant of God.

We have a tendency to equate suffering exclusively with sin.

That is not always the case, as we see here.

This was a man who served God. This is a man who feared God.

But this is a man who was taken supposedly early and just like

Elijah's departure into glory. We may not understand the ways

of God, especially with His graduations of some of His

servants into glory, but we have to trust Him.

Is there anything else to add about this man's suffering as he

served the Lord besides the fact that he died?

Say it again. Death.

Yes, besides death. That OK, good.

So happens when you stand up here.

Sometimes you can't make out the words.

Yes, not just death, but debt. Now we are not certain if this

debt accumulated while this man was alive or if it began after

he died, but we can say this, that he was not a wealthy man.

He did not leave a generous inheritance behind for his

family. So now his family is suffering,

suffering greatly. So again, let me go back to that

point. This man chose to serve the Lord

when there wasn't much pay, when there wasn't much reward or

assistance. Remember the land, though this

was the nation of Israel was generally Pagan.

And we've seen in our past studies how true prophets of

Lord were not treated the best. And I think that reflects even

here with this man's financial situation.

It gets even more heartbreaking, right?

Because look at verse 2 again. And when Elijah asks her, what

do you have in your home? The only thing that she can

claim to her name is what? A jar of oil?

Now here's what's interesting, and Pastor Bennett can confirm

this. When you look at the Hebrew word

for jar, it's only found here in the Hebrew Scriptures and it

actually describes a flask. So we're not, we're not talking

about a bucket here. We're talking about a little

pouch of oil. This is probably what prophets

would carry with them when they were sent to anoint the king or

another prophet. We're talking about a little

pouch of oil. If that's not difficult enough,

we read of this creditor threatening this family.

In what way? She says my two children are

going to become slaves. What's wrong with this scenario?

Only until you understand the Law of Moses will this make

sense because there is a law that was given by God for those

who have incurred debt and how they should deal with that debt

and how the lender should treat such people who were in debt.

So turn with me to Leviticus for you to see with your own eyes.

Leviticus chapter 25 beginning in verse 39.

Leviticus 25 · chapter mention

God gave instructions about those who owed money to another

and could not repay. Here's the law.

Leviticus chapter 2539 to 40. If your brother becomes poor

beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him

serve as a slave. He shall be with you as a hired

worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until

the year of the jubilee. So knowing this now, with this

in view, what's wrong with the picture in Second Kings chapter

2 Kings 4 · chapter mention

4? This creditor was ready to take

the sons to make them what? Hired workers, slaves, slaves.

So what's this law about really? It's about those who could not

for whatever reason, pay back what they borrowed.

And if that was the case, they have to be employed.

They have to be employed and they have to cover their debts

before they were set free or until the year of jubilee came

around, whichever came first. But the instruction here for

those who did lend money was that they could not treat these

individuals as degraded or permanent slaves.

They were to be treated with dignity and honor.

And when it was time for them to go, they had to let them go.

And so we we see this creditor who's now threatening to not

just take one son, both sons. And leave this widow all by

herself. So what I know about this

creditor is that he was not a man who feared God.

He did not honor the law of God, nor did he honor the situation

with the simple fact that this family had a father, had a

husband who was a prophet. He was a servant of the Lord.

He could care less. It's true today.

It was true back then that servants of God don't often

receive honor as they should, respect as they should.

You and I should prepare for that if we're going to serve

God. And the way to endure that kind

of treatment is to keep your eyes on a heavenly reward.

Keep your eyes on the judgement seat of Christ.

Keep your eyes on Jesus giving you the final praise and

blessing. So we learned a lot about this

man, but let me move on now to this widow.

Going back to verse one and connecting it to verse two, let

me ask this question again. Is there anything that stands

out to you about this woman? Anything?

Put yourself in her shoes. What temptations would there be?

What risk would there be for someone's faith if the more

they're one of the most prized possessions was taken from them?

Any idea? You know what stands out to me

about this woman? She wasn't bitter.

She wasn't bitter against her husband.

She wasn't resentful towards God.

How do I know that? Because look how highly she

speaks of her husband and she is willing to still inquire of the

Lord. That's not the case for many

people. It's not hard to imagine how

some in her situation would approach the situation

differently. Coming to Elijah and saying your

servant, your servant is now dead.

He's not here. He's died.

And look at what serving God gets you.

Elijah, how does God do this? We're talking about a remnant of

prophets left in Israel, and God chooses to take one of them

early. Why doesn't he take one of the

wicked prophets instead? That sounds exaggerating.

No, it doesn't. That's very possible.

Nothing of the sort with this one, though it doesn't say it

explicitly. I believe with all my heart that

it wasn't just her husband who feared the Lord.

This woman feared the Lord as well.

Not just a woman who was free from bitterness, but there's

something else that she possessed.

What was it? Somebody said it.

Humility. Sure.

Humility expressed how? Faith, she knew where to run to

in her time of great distress in this tragedy, in this calamity,

in this situation that would change the trajectory of her

life. She went to the mouthpiece of

God, namely Elijah, who represented God.

So this woman believed God, and I have no doubt that she had a

grasp on the law of God, but I wonder if she had her mind.

I wonder if she understood and applied a particular law that

speaks to her situation. Go to Exodus 2222.

It's an easy reference. And notice what God says about

widows. Exodus 22 verse 22 to 23.

Exodus 22:22–23

She would have had access to this.

She would have understood this. She probably might have

memorized this. You shall not mistreat any widow

or fatherless child. Look what it says next.

If you do mistreat them and they cry out to me, I will surely

hear their cry. I wonder if she's acting upon

that promise. She's being mistreated.

She's being abused. She's surrounded by people who

don't honor God's law. So she goes to a man who does

honor God and she is crying out believing what that God's going

to hear. Isn't that what we're told in

Second Kings chapter 4 verse one?

2 Kings 4 · chapter mention

Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elijah.

She believes God's going to hear her.

She might have not understood why God allowed things to happen

the way they happened, but she still believed God was good.

God was still for her. Oh, this, this woman is

remarkable. So we learned something from

this unnamed deceased husband. We learned something from this

widow. We still have one more

character. We haven't passed verse 1 and 2

yet, but it's OK. There's no rush, right?

Look at Elisha in verse two. Let me ask you the same question

again. What stands out to you about

Elisha in this particular case? Look at how he responds to her.

That will be your clue. And Elisha said to her, what

shall I do for you? Tell me, what have you in the

house? Read carefully.

Read slowly. Anything stands out to you about

that. Let me put it this way.

Is he apathetic? Is he reluctant to help this

woman? No.

You sense urgency, Don't you? Read it again.

There's desperation in his voice.

What shall I do for you? Tell me.

Whatever You in the house. So I see something about this

prophet in light of what we just learned in the previous chapter,

that he was somebody who was willing and eager to help a

single woman in private, not just kings on a national stage.

What what did we end with last week?

That Elisha was the vessel God used to deliver armies from a

foreign enemy, potentially defeating them.

And the same man who was willing to help kings was also willing

to help one that was easily overlooked.

You know, we have this notion if our service to God is not

public, if it doesn't reach out or contribute to the masses,

then it's not powerful or meaningful.

Nothing can be further from the truth.

Elijah did not dismiss the importance of representing God

before armies, but he also was willing to come to the aid of

somebody who was hurting, ignored, hidden, maybe even

despised. I just want to pause here and

actually exhort you and ask you a few questions.

Are you only willing to exercise your gifts with the knowledge

that it will be honored or recognized somehow?

Are the people in your church that you may be looking over,

looking past, dismissing because they don't have status, they

can't return aid to you in any way?

If so, crucify that concept quickly and be willing to go out

of your way. For those who are often

overlooked, let me ask you another question.

I've asked this question many times in our study of the Old

Testament. Let's see who remembers who was

the first person in the Scriptures with the title Man of

God was given to good Moses and Deuteronomy.

It's the first time the title Man of God appears and is

attributed to a particular individual.

Now what you're going to discover in the next few

chapters of our study from 4 onward is that this title Man of

God is given to Elijah many times.

And here's what's even more exciting.

There is no other named individual in the Bible where

the title Man of God is given to more than Elijah.

Now why do I bring that up? Because that reference is

granted in this context. Look at verse seven.

Once more she came and told the man of God and he said, go sell

the oil and pay your debts and you and your sons can live on

the rest. So this title, Man of God is

applied to Elijah in the context of him willing to serve a

hurting family. What's your idea of a man of

God? Someone who preaches before

thousands, who travels and does conferences?

You know how the Bible describes a man of God?

Somebody was willing to come to the aid of a widow who could not

afford her next set of groceries.

That's a man of God, according to the Scriptures.

That's a woman of God according to the Scriptures.

It's not about grandeur. It's not about platform.

It's not about likes. It's not about follows.

We need to rediscover the beauty of serving people even when

nobody knows about it. He was a man of God.

Let's continue. Let's reread verse 3.

So Elijah asks, he inquires and he learns that her resources are

very scarce. So he gives her now divine

guidance in verse 3. Then he said, go outside, borrow

vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few.

Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons

and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it

aside. Anything stands out to you about

these instructions? I mean, I'm not looking for

insight. Let's actually just break down

these instructions. What was she to do?

She was to borrow vessels. They were supposed to be empty.

And there's a very important point.

They were not supposed to be few.

As many as she can get. OK, seems straightforward, but

put yourself in her shoes again and imagine what it would feel

like to hear those words in light of the predicament that

she's in. What is the main problem at hand

here? What's the issue that they're

trying to solve? We said it earlier, starts with

the letter D debt, OK? Her problem was that whether her

husband or her after her husband died, borrowed money and could

not pay it back. And imagine how you go to this

man of God for some help and the first instruction he gives you

to relieving you of this debt is what go borrow.

It's like actually that was that's what got me in trouble to

begin with. Now you're telling me to borrow

more. This is not a lesson that

permits those who are in debt to incur more debt.

It's actually a lesson about how sometimes the commands of God

are counter intuitive, or at least they seem

counterintuitive. So what do we learn from here

that got us to be trusted at all times in all things, Especially

when your obedience involves people who may not understand

why you are doing what you are doing.

Wasn't that what was about to happen?

Because Elisha tells her, Yeah, go borrow vessels from where?

The nearest Home Depot? All your neighbors, not just a

couple, not just a few, go to all your neighbors.

Can you imagine going to every house on your street and around

the block, having a reputation of being in debt, borrowing and

not giving back, to ask people if you can borrow some of their

possessions? So this was a call to great

trust and faith and humility. You can imagine the potential

questions that these neighbors would ask.

You can imagine the potential fear of being rejected by some

of these neighbors. But it didn't matter.

And this is a reminder that when we obey God, we cannot allow

what people might say to us about us.

Doubt us. Question your motives.

All of that has to be dismissed. If God said it, you do it, and

don't try to have everybody understand why you're doing what

you were doing. Many people have been called

into the ministry, for example, and they don't get the support

of their family. They don't.

People don't understand that's OK.

Not just ministry for anything. Some people don't understand why

you're forgiving somebody who doesn't deserve forgiveness.

You obey God, doesn't matter what your neighbors say.

Some people don't understand why you come to church.

OK. Sunday.

Yeah, Friday. Who goes to Bible study on

Friday night? Well, they don't understand.

It's OK. You go to Bible study.

That's what your heart's desire is, You know, That's what you

believe God is calling you to. So she was to obey despite

misunderstandings, questions about her motives or doubts with

her intentions. But there's one more thing about

these instructions. It was the last part about it.

Not that she was just supposed to go to all her neighbors, get

empty vessels, but what? Not too few of them.

Get as many as you can. So I'm imagining here that

Elisha is expecting her and her sons to get more than just a

couple of jars and pots each. I'm thinking they have to fill

their living room, their bedrooms, the garage.

There was a garage. So you know what that would

require hard work? Knocking on doors, gathering

vessels, going back home, dropping off the vessels, going

back to get more from that one house and then go to the next.

I don't know how long this took, but I find it amazing that when

God was ready to provide for this woman, He called her to

participate in the process. We saw this back in Second Kings

Three with the three kings and their armies, that God was going

to meet their need, but He also asked him to do something in the

process. And it's no different with this

widow. Why?

Because the same rule applies to all.

And what is that law that if you want to see God move, guess

what? You must be willing to move.

God's power is designed to work alongside with our

participation. So listen whenever there's a

crisis, whenever there's a tragedy, whenever there's a

great need, you have to be willing to pray.

You have to be willing to praise.

You have to be willing to plan. You have to be willing to seek.

You have to be willing to send, must be willing to receive as

you wait on the Lord to come through and do what only He can

do. I actually want to challenge you

to look at most miracles in the Bibles and realize that even in

the New Testament with Jesus, He calls for the participation of

those involved in the need that they are seeking Him for.

And we see it here. She was working and God was

going to come and work for her. Let's read verse 5.

So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her

sons, and as she poured, they brought the vessels to her.

So an undisclosed period of time passes, and this woman and her

sons, they felt as though they had gathered enough vessels.

And their obedience continues to shine in this text because they

honor the latter portion of Elisha's instructions, which

were what look back at verse four.

It wasn't just to gather them into, gather many of them, but

to go and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour

into all these vessels, and when one is full, set it aside.

Is there any idea why God wanted this to be a private matter?

We're not explicitly told, but let me give you one major

reason. I think it was to protect her.

Was she vulnerable? Very vulnerable.

Were there vultures around her? Yeah, we got a hint of it with

this creditor willing to take advantage of her.

So I believe in part of the reason why this was supposed to

be done with closed curtains and a closed door was so that she

wouldn't be taken advantage of as she was receiving from the

riches of heaven. But besides that, we may not be

getting a full explanation. There is one undeniable

observation about the fascinating ways of God in this

situation. Here it is.

He does miracles behind closed doors.

I love to hear what God is doing in people that I know through

them for them. It moves me when I get a text or

when I meet somebody after the service or an e-mail, or even

when I watch something on YouTube and I hear how somebody

came to Christ or how somebody experienced a miracle.

It always moves me. But when studying the Bible,

especially with miracles like this, I am encouraged and called

to be stirred about what God is doing without me knowing.

In other words, He's always moving.

I just like to envision it. Here you have a woman with her

sons and they have a pouch of oil and they have these empty

jars surrounding. They can't even move an inch,

and they're just squeezing this oil out.

I mean, that's work in itself, right?

And then once one jar came to the brim with rich oil.

And listen, I believe God provided the riches of oil, just

like when Jesus provided the best wine in cana.

This wasn't cheap oil. This wasn't the good stuff.

And so she pours this out and then one son moves in, another

one brings an empty vessel. And all of that was taking place

while the neighbors cutting his grass while the others are doing

dishes. Nobody knew about it except for

this small family and the prophet who gave them the

instructions. And with this exciting thought

comes another observation. While these instructions were

unique to a particular individual, the idea of God

doing something special in seclusion is not uncommon for

you and I, you know, you might be sitting here thinking, I

would love to see God do something spectacular like that

in my life. And I'm here to tell you,

though, this is again a unique instance.

You have a similar invitation. Say, what are you talking about?

I'm talking about what Jesus said about you and the privacy

of your own home. My mind went to Matthew 66.

But when you pray, what are you supposed to do?

Go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who

is in secret and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

There are many things to take about from Jesus words here.

One of the things is that when the Lord sees you and I willing

to set time apart to leave distractions and agendas at the

door and give Him your full attention, He will reward you.

Let that be one of the incentives to get you planning

and disciplined for that time with the Lord.

He will reward that. It moves the father to see his

child stepping into that bedroom, closing the door,

stepping into that car with nobody else, with no podcast

playing and talking to him. He will reward you.

He will pour something into your life.

Can I tell you one of the rewards?

I can say with great confidence and with complete boasting in

the Lord that one of the rewards of that in my life is that He

has kept my heart soft toward Him, and He has opened my eyes

to treasures in His Word, and He has helped me solve situations

where I almost felt like Daniel and Daniel.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

Chapter 2, where Revelation came in an emergency, hasn't happened

much, but when it happened, it's enough to mark you forever.

There are rewards that await us with our faith in private.

If your only interaction with the Lord is public, you're

missing out on many rewards. Many rewards.

But take this truth from Matthew 6/6 and believe that every time

you go in there, something is happening, whether you realize

it or not. Famously, if somebody once said

that prayers may not always change things that you're

praying for, but it's definitely changing you, that's what you

can always come out with. There might be delay.

They're not, might be immediate answers or solutions or

provisions. But one thing is for certain,

you getting before the presence of God will not leave you the

same. You may not notice it.

Just like Solomon's temple when they built it, they did not hear

the sound of hammers clinging against stones.

It may not be immediately perceived, but you can believe

Matthew 6/6. He will reward you.

So here's this woman with her two sons in the privacy of their

home, ready to experience a miracle.

And I'd like to believe that whenever I get before God, that

privilege in itself is a miracle.

I have an audience with the resurrected, ascended Jesus

Christ of Nazareth. If you want one thought that can

recalibrate you while you're trying to pray, but you're

thinking about your laundry, pause and remember that you are

speaking to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who died on the cross

for your sins, who existed and walked on this earth, who

conquered death, who one day is coming back.

But also in the meantime, promise if you ask in my name,

I'll answer it. That kind of revelation will

make you less anxious about your homework that day and give some

quality time before God. Let's continue in these final

verses. Verse 6, when the vessels were

full, she said to her son, bring me another vessel.

And he said to her that there is not another.

Then the oil stopped flowing. Oh, there's so much to say about

this verse, but I want to connect it with verse 7.

Let me stop here and ask this. Imagine now in your excitement,

I mean, you don't mind. You were ready to lose your sons

to be slaves. And here you are pouring out of

this pouch oil and you're not even looking.

You're just mesmerized by this miracle.

And you ask for another vessel, and your son says there's no

more. And you look and you see the

glistening golden oil all around you.

What thoughts would come to mind if you knew that in I can use

this language, if you won the lottery, what what would happen?

What plans, What dreams, what relief, what excitement?

What, what would happen to you? Where would you go?

Who would you call? What would be your next move?

This woman is remarkable. You're saying why?

Look what she does in verse 7. She came and told the man of

God. In other words, she was such a

careful listener when Elijah told her.

Go to all your neighbors, ask for empty vessels, don't get too

few of them, and then go into the privacy of your home and

pour into it. When it's full, you'll get

another one. Fill it up.

She understood that there was no instructions after that.

And So what does she do? She goes to the man of God who

initially helped her and asked for further guidance.

But here's the picture. It's very easy to cry out to God

in your want. It's not common to cry out to

God when you got it. It's very easy to cry out to God

when you're experiencing a season of poverty.

It's less common to come before God as she does before Elijah in

your plenty. And This is why she's so

inspiring, because she's now asking, what do I do with all of

this? So here you are.

You've been asking God for a house and He gave you the house.

Now has your praying stopped? Here you are asking God for a

spouse, and He and His goodness provides a spouse.

Have you stopped crying out to Him?

Here you are asking God for a job, and He provided you that

job. Are you as eager and desperate

to get before Him when you were looking for something that would

help you and sustain you and provide for you?

This woman asks, she receives, but she doesn't stop asking and

seeking her God. She's just as eager to know what

to do in her prosperity as she was in her poverty.

Unfortunately, that is not the case with many.

They get drunk almost with the excitement of even blessings.

You remember how many lepers were healed by Jesus and the

gospel of Luke 10 of them, how many came back and gave thanks

to Him? Consider that ratio.

Make it a conviction early on that you will not just be

intense in your prayers, but you'll be just as intense with

your praise, not just in your supplication, but in your

Thanksgiving, not just when you need something, but oh, come to

God with whatever He has granted you.

Say now what, Lord? Where do you want me to go from

here? What do you want me to do with

this? You've given it to me.

You gave me this marriage. You gave me this kid, these

kids. You gave me these blessings.

What do you want from me, Lord? Now, aren't you moved by this

woman? I'm moved by this woman.

I'm moved by something else. As we close in a moment here,

notice the instructions that Elijah gives her.

Go sell the oil and pay your debts.

That's a good principle. If you and I are in debt, it

should be our duty as men and women of character of followers

of Jesus Christ. Romans 13/8 says no, Oh no one

anything. So seek to deal with those debts

as your duty. But notice what he says next.

Go sell the oil and pay your debts and you and your sons can

live on the rest. Connect us with her faithfulness

and her obedience to the initial instructions.

What if she had only taken a few vessels?

Let's just imagine, what if she only had half a room full

because she was getting tired? Or she's like, I don't want to

do this anymore. She might have been able to

cover her debts, but she might have lost the overflow.

It's one thing to be saved from debt, but if you don't have

anything to help you and sustain you moving forward, and you can

return back into debt. But she obeyed God to the extent

that she was able not just to escape this predicament, but

stay out of it. What's the lesson here?

The lesson is the importance about full obedience.

Some people are satisfied with partial surrender to the Lord.

Oh yes, they're out there or they reflect and they look at

their lives and they, they comfort and soothe their

conscience because they say, well, I'm obeying the Lord here,

here, here. I know I'm not obeying the Lord

here, but at least I'm doing something.

You might feel like you are gaining something from such a

mindset, but understand that you are robbing yourself of the full

reward of obedience when there is not full obedience.

Can I ask you something in closing?

Is there any area in your life that you are aware of where you

have not surrendered to the Lord, but you're comfortable

because you're doing this and you're trusting Him here and

you're obeying that part? You're missing out.

You may not see it now, but just like this woman, you may realize

it down the road. And I don't want you to realize

it in that way. I want you to realize it in the

positive that this is what obedience and complete surrender

has brought me to. Is there anything, any area

that's been nagging your conscience?

Seek to obey Him fully. That is the only way to know

complete blessing. More can be said, but let's

close our Bibles and now turn to the Lord in prayer.

Lord, we thank You that there is indeed a message behind every

miracle recorded in Your Word. And at this time, Lord, we pause

to reflect on these things and we ask that You would make them

real to us. Show us where they apply and

help us conform ourselves to complete obedience.

Make us true men and women of God.

Help us get a right understanding of what that means

and how to live that out. Lord, we thank you for the Lord

Jesus Christ who paid all our debt.

And even in this miracle do we have a vignette of the gospel?

We're under the law, we are in trouble, but you come and you

rescue us from it. Lord, we pray that tonight you

would receive our praise, our honour, our Thanksgiving,

because your word is alive. And every week You never fail to

speak to us. Thank you, O Lord, that history

cannot but confirm that what we have before us is the truth.

Thank you that we are in the truth now.

Lord, help us live it. Help us discover more of it.

Help us to enjoy it, to herald it, to declare it without shame.

Help us to obey it when our neighbors may not understand it.

And help us trust, O God, that you will honor us.

Help us rediscover the joys of the secret place, closing that

door, meeting with you and believing that there is a reward

that awaits us. But we honor you tonight.

We give you all the glory and all the praise, and we ask and

pray for these things in Jesus name, Amen.

Amen. If the praise team can come up,

please, I want to invite you to just

take your time to seek the Lord this evening.

And this is the purpose of these Bible studies, not just to

accumulate knowledge and interesting connections in the

Bible, but for the Word to connect with your heart.

Ultimately, if you need to take some time before we even play,

if we can just get even just a minute of gentle music to just

focus our own hearts before the Lord, and then we'll stand and

sing and give him praise, can we do that?

Don't distract anybody to your left, to your right.

Just meet with your God and we will close soon.