I Will Not Leave You

I'd like you to open your Bible or your journal. We're in 2 Kings, so if you want to find 2 Kings in the Old Testament, if you're visiting with us, we walk our way through books of the Bible, and we're not very far in this one, so don't worry. There's time for you to catch up.

We're only in chapter 4, but today we're in 2 Kings chapter 4, and we are really picking up in the middle of what are three pretty powerful stories. The middle story begins in verse 8 and goes through verse 37, and that's what we're going to read for today.

2 Kings 4 · chapter mention

2 Kings chapter 4, beginning in verse 8. One day, Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food.

2 Kings 4 · chapter mention

And she said to her husband,

Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who is continually passing our way. Let us make a small room for him on the roof, with walls, and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.

One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there. And he said to Gehazi, his servant, Call this Shumanite. When he called her, she stood before him, and he said to her, Say now to her, See, you have taken all this trouble for us.

What is to be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army? She answered, I dwell among my own people.

And he said, What then is to be done for her? Gehazi answered, Well, she has no son, and her husband is old. He said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway, and he said,

At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, O man of God, do not lie to your servant.

But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time, the following spring, as Elisha had said to her. When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers, and he said to his father, Oh, my head, my head.

The father said to his servant, Carry him to his mother. And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, And then he died.

And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door behind him, and went out. Then she called her husband and said, Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again.

And he said, Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath. She said, All is well. Then she saddled the donkey, and she said to her servant, Urge the animal on.

Do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you. So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi, his servant, Look, there's the Shunammite.

Run at once to meet her and say to her, Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child? And she answered, All is well.

And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet, and Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.

Then she said, Did I ask my Lord for a son? Did I not say, Do not deceive me? He said to Gehazi, Tie up your garment, and take my staff in your hand, and go.

If you meet anyone, do not greet him. And if anyone greets you, do not reply, and lay my staff on the face of the child. Then the mother of the child said, As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.

So he arose, and followed her. Gehazi went on ahead, and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound, or sign of life. Therefore, he returned to meet him, and told him, The child is not awakened.

When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in, and shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord.

Then he went up, and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm.

Then he got up again, and walked back and forth in the house, and went up, and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

Then he summoned Gehazi, and said, Call this Shumanite. So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, Pick up your son. She came, and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground.

Then she picked up her son, and went out. Let's pray. Father, we get emotional just reading your word, just the incredible ups and downs. And we're reminded, Lord, in our own lives, though it may not be life and death, sometimes it is.

Lord, for those in North Carolina, in other parts of the Southeast, it is life and death. And we do pray for them. We pray that in the midst of disaster, and great suffering and trial and uncertainty and fear, that hearts would be drawn to you.

Because, Lord, this world is, in fact, passing. It is under a curse. And it will not always be that way, because you have promised to come again and set things right.

And so, Lord, as a people, as a race, we want to be prepared. prepared, prepared for our King, to be ready with repentant hearts. And so, we pray for every worker.

We pray for safety. We pray for every person who's afflicted. We pray for the church. We pray for your people, that in the midst of great trial and suffering, Lord, the gospel would shine.

We pray for our own, Lord. We think of Eric Brown, and we pray for his recovery in the hospital. We pray for Aaron Neumeier, who was in the hospital this week, Lord.

We pray for those among us that are still seeking jobs, that you would be our healer and our provider. And we pray this together as your people, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

What an incredible story, right? Like I said, there are some ups and downs. Talk about an up and a down. Because what starts out in a rather ordinary way, I mean, it's a beautiful picture of hospitality.

Don't overlook that. But it gets followed by some very extraordinary events. A promise, a miraculous gift, a great tragedy, a persistent mother, and of course, the climax of it all, is that her son, is given back to her alive.

And in the midst of this, I don't know about you, but I got some questions. We've got some strange things going on here. And I think what might be most helpful for us this morning, is if we just walk through the story again.

And I'm going to try to fill in a little more detail for us. And while it might be a little more challenging today, to kind of pull out hard and fast points, I think what I'm going to offer you today, are more like reflections.

Biblical reflections. So we're going to walk through the story, and I'm going to kind of push pause for us, at five different points. And I'm going to offer you five different reflections, before we're done, as we weave our way in and out of this narrative.

So, let's get started. It all kicks off in verse 8, where we are introduced to this wealthy woman. We don't even get her name. All that we're told is that she is a Shunammite, from this place called Shunam.

I've got a map behind me. By the way of background in 2 Kings, let's remember where we are in the context. We are fresh off of that military campaign, to go fight Moab.

And the reason that's important, is that we are recognizing that, this is an event that has helped establish Elisha, and his reputation. You could say, establish his prophetic credentials.

He is known. He is known as Elijah's successor. And so, it's now become obvious in everybody's eyes, that this is a man of God. Even the miracle that he performs here in this chapter, is like a sequel, a repeat, to a miracle very similar, that Elijah himself did,

back in 1 Kings chapter 17. So anyway, Elisha's got this full-blown ministry now, that is literally taking him places. Literally, all over Israel.

1 Kings 17 · chapter mention

His home is at Mount Carmel, but as you can see from the map, Shunem is located in the Jezreel Valley. It's about 18 miles, southeast of Mount Carmel.

But understand that, because it's mountainous terrain, Shunem will sit on the route, that goes to all the important places, in the land. Places like Samaria, the capital.

Places like Bethel, Gilgal, Jericho. And, a day's journey at this time, if you're a human being, walking, or even if you're on an animal, it's about 20 miles a day, maybe 25, if you push the pace.

So, given that Shunem is about 18 miles, from Elisha's home, what that means, is that this is a pretty good, stopping point. And it's also one, that he would come by all the time.

It's a great spot, to stop and refresh, get a drink, maybe try to find something to eat. And that's exactly, what this Shunemite woman, has been offering to him.

A place for the man of God, to rest, and grab a hot meal. And one day she says to her husband, you know, we've got that unfinished space, up on the roof.

Why don't we, make something, for this holy man of God. So she goes on to suggest that, in verse 10, she's like, hey, we're doing pretty well.

You know, I am a wealthy woman. We're a wealthy couple. We've got a nice home. Let's finish him a room, up on the roof. And I just like that, because, here we are in the Midwest, a couple thousand years later, or more than that.

And you know, we probably don't do that, finish a room on the roof, but we do have basements, don't we? Isn't this just kind of like, what we would think?

You know, we've got this person, that comes and visits a lot. You know, why don't we finish a room, in the basement for them? That's very much like, what she does.

And so she, puts it up there, this extra space. She puts walls up. She puts a roof over it. I think I've got a picture, of a house, to give you some kind of an idea, an artistic rendering.

And she even, furnishes it, with a bed, and a table, and a chair, and a lamp. So that whenever he comes to us, he can go up there. He can have some quiet.

He can maybe take a nap, or spend the night if he needs to. A place for study and prayer. Literally, a place of retreat. What a gift. And what does our prophet think of it?

He's pretty impressed. He's pretty happy with it. He goes on to tell his servant, Gehazi, who seems to be always with him, a traveling companion, and who, in an interesting way, in the customs of the ancient Near East, kind of functions as a go-between, as he converses with people, specifically with this woman.

He says, I want you to go ask her, verse 13, tell her, hey, I've got some pull now, with some people in some pretty important places. Kings and commanders.

Would you have me speak a word on your behalf? I could do that. And she answers like this. She says, I dwell among my own people, which is a polite way of saying, we're good.

We're fine. But thanks anyway. Elijah doesn't seem, Elisha doesn't seem content with that, does he? He goes on, and he talks further to Gehazi, and he says, what can we do, Gehazi?

And Gehazi points out the obvious. He says, well, verse 14, she has no son, and her husband is old. So it's almost like this, Abraham and Sarah kind of thing.

A couple that appears to have had some fertility issues, and at least for one of them, the husband, the fruitful years are long gone. Elisha tells Gehazi, go call her, verse 15.

And she comes, and she stands in the doorway. And now, Elisha, the man of God, very flatly tells her, in verse 16, at this season, about this time next year, you are going to be holding a bouncing baby boy.

She can't believe it. Look at her reaction. She doesn't even want to give herself a chance to get her hopes up. And that's why she's like, don't even start with that.

Don't even talk to me like that, oh man of God. Don't lie to your servants.

But in verse 17, we read of how it all comes true, according to the prophet's word. A gift, and a very precious gift at that, from the Lord.

And that's what brings us to our first reflection today. First reflection, a very simple one that I'd like to offer you is this. The Lord is a giver of good gifts.

Good gifts. Isn't that what this is? The gift of a little boy for her and her husband, inasmuch as they have been the conduit of goodwill to God's prophet,

finishing him a room to rest and stay and pray and study, that the Lord is now going to give her a good gift too. A son. And doesn't the Lord still do that for His people, for us, for us today?

Whether it's in the form of some material blessing in our lives, a home, a vehicle, a job, a healing, or whether it's just in the form of the children, the many children that we have here in this church.

Gifts. Unique blessings. The Lord is a giver of all such good gifts. I love how the Apostle James puts it in the New Testament. In James 1.17, he writes, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,

with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James means that God is a heavenly Father to us, who loves us, and we can trust Him and be secure in His love.

I mean, even Jesus, when He's on earth, over in Matthew, says this about His Father. Matthew 7.11, He says, If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more, how much more, will your Father, who is in heaven,

give good things to those who ask Him? Like a loving parent, who wants to bless their child, how much more with your Heavenly Father?

But moving on in our story, let's pick it back up, because years go by, presumably, and our baby, is now a little boy. He's able to walk, and talk, he seems to be old enough to go out in the field, and join his dad, they're out there doing the harvest, they're reaping in the field,

on what would appear to be a warm day, and in verse 18, that's what he does, he goes out, and then someone hears the boy cry out, Oh my head, my head, and he falls down to the ground.

Now I don't know about you, but if you're like me, as a parent, if you hear one of your kids yell out, Oh my foot, oh my foot, I'm usually going to check for blood, before I start panicking, because it might be a stubbed toe, right?

But if you ever hear a child, or if you see a child, drop over, after they've said something about their head, you know how serious this is, it's not a finger, it's not a foot, it's the head, and that's why we see our father, immediately order his servant, carry him to his mother, back at the house,

and verse 20, verse 20 is a very sad, and devastating verse to read, because as she's in the house, holding her child, her only son, on her lap, and as the noon hour comes, without warning, or explanation, of what's happening medically, the child died,

aneurysm, blood caught, stroke of some kind, we have no idea, all we know, is the child is dead, verse 21, all our mother can think to do, and remember, this is a day long before, modern medicine, there's no CPR,

that they know about, there are no reviving medications, to administer, all she can think to do, is to take him upstairs, to that room on the roof, and lay him on the bed, of the man of God, and shut the door behind her, is she thinking straight,

I mean would you be, would I be, she is in crisis, and that brings us, to a second reflection, this morning, the second reflection, is this, sometimes the Lord's good gifts, bring both gladness, and sadness,

sometimes, the Lord's good gifts, bring both gladness, and sadness, you know, I think of another person, in the Bible, if you know scripture, if you know the Old Testament, you may have heard of a man, named Job, and if you're familiar,

with Job's story, and the turn, his life takes, in Job chapter 1, it's, it's pretty striking, Job you see, had a big, and prosperous life, wealthy, big family, in fact, they had family gatherings, Sunday dinner, every week,

Job 1 · chapter mention

at one of the kids' house, all the kids, got along, and celebrated together, it was wonderful, up until the day, in heaven, when Satan, went before the Lord, and challenged, Job's faithfulness, and asked the Lord, for permission, to put Job, to the test,

and just like that, with divine permission, Satan, took everything, from him, home, goods, livestock, even his children, in natural disaster, or what they thought, was natural disaster, what the Lord, had given Job, and that had brought him,

so much gladness, was now, dire sadness, and here's what Job said, when others, like his wife, tried to get him, to curse the Lord, here's what he said, in Job 1 21, and he said, naked, I came from my mother's womb,

and naked, shall I return, the Lord gave, and the Lord, has taken away, blessed be, the name of the Lord, sometimes the Lord's, good gifts, can bring us, both gladness, and sadness, stories,

like this one, in scripture, press us, to think about, this problem, that God, can be a giver, of good gifts, and that sometimes, at some point, because of, some circumstance, or some development, those same gifts, can be, vehicles for sadness, sadness,

a beloved child, that gets a diagnosis, a teenager, that makes the bad choices, and turns, prodigal, a once great job, that's become, a living nightmare, a once healthy body,

that's now, suffering, an affliction, a great friendship, that's lost, in betrayal, but the Bible, reminds us, the Bible, you could say, repositions, are thinking, about our world, and it does it, by reminding us,

that ever since, the garden, we have been, at war, war, a spiritual war, with a very, real, and sometimes, very manifest, consequences, occurring in our lives, consequences, of the fall,

because we're at war, with an enemy, there's a quote, from Pastor Ray Stedman, I'd like to read to you, from his book, Let God Be God, it's a book, that reflects, on Job's story, and this is what he writes, there is no safe place, in a war,

Job reminds us, that when we are, in the midst of trials, we don't know, the whole story, we can't see, behind the scenes, of reality, the reason we suffer, is that we live, in a universe, at war, in the middle, of a cosmic struggle, that's been going on,

since before, the creation, of Adam and Eve, and that's true, Satan was before, even their creation,

that's why, writers like C.S. Lewis, once described, our world, as enemy, occupied territory, he said that, enemy, occupied territory, and I'm telling you, that because of this reality, sometimes, the Lord's good gifts, gifts that bring us, much gladness,

can also bring us, sadness, happiness, but our story, isn't done, is it, because no sooner, has the woman, shut the door, to the roof, behind her, and she calls her husband, to prepare, a servant, and a donkey, and she's going to make a trip, like right now, verse 22,

she says, I need to, quickly go to the man of God, and come back again, verse 23, the husband's confused, he says to her, he says, it's not a new moon, or a Sabbath, it's not one of those times, when godly people, like you, go to worship, and just for a moment, we step back,

and realize, what a stark picture, it is spiritually, of this kingdom of Israel, that we're in right now, that the people, of this northern kingdom, don't have a temple, for pure worship, such that, a faithful Yahweh, worshiper, like her, and we presume, many others, they're going to the prophets, and they're going,

to the prophets, homes for worship, not to the priesthood, or to a temple, so she tells her husband, at the end of verse 23, all is well, and just like that, she is off, and she says, to that servant, no, don't waste any time, urge this animal on,

do not slacken the pace, for me, unless I tell you, we need to get there, she's on an urgent mission, and in verse 25, she completes, this 18 mile trip, and arrives, at Mount Carmel, the home of the man of God,

Elisha, sees her coming, and he tells Gehazi, to intercept her, and to ask her, if all is well with her, if all is well with her husband, specifically he says, if all is well with the child, for her part, our woman here,

she's not interested, in receiving any go between, this is not going to be a day, where Gehazi is going to be okay, and so she pretty much, just kind of brushes right past him, she tells him, it's fine, it's fine, all is well, but once she comes up the mountain, and finally gets to the man of God,

we're told in verse 27, that she caught hold of his feet, I imagine her diving at his feet, and falls down, grabs them, and she will not let go, even when Gehazi, you know, like I guess she's breaking some protocol, or something, and he tries to like push her away,

Elisha proceeds to send his servant, on to her boy, he sends Gehazi in verse 30, but even then, she won't budge, she says in verse 30, I will not leave you, as the Lord lives, and you yourself live, that's curse, taking language, oath taking language, on my life, on your life, I will not leave you,

she is staying, she is remaining with him, and she is clinging, to God's man, and that brings us, to a third reflection, this morning, third reflection, is this, we should run, and cling, to God's man, in times of trial,

and refuse, to leave him, and refuse, to leave him, we should run, and cling, to God's man, in times of our trial, and refuse, to leave him, of course, back in this day, it's, a human being, it's the man of God, Elisha, functioning,

as God's, designated representative, our woman, runs and clings, to him, in the time, of her great need, clings to him, and refuses, to budge, and refuses, to leave, or be dissuaded, in any way,

and I would suggest, to us, that this is what, the Bible, teaches every child, of God, to do, with God's man, though not just, the man of God, or a man of God, but literally, the man, the God man, I'm talking, not about a human being, of course, but about Jesus,

about the one, who was divine, but became human, Jesus Christ,

Hebrews chapter 4, tells us to do this, verse 16, Hebrews 4, 16 reads, let us then, with confidence, draw near, to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and find grace, to help in our time, of need,

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

because you see, Jesus, our great high priest, not only came, into our world, and died on a cross, and walked out, of an empty tomb, the scriptures tell us, he also, ascended back to heaven, and in that place, where he is, on his throne, because of his, atoning work, on the cross, we can now, draw near,

to his feet, near, to his throne, of grace, and we can run, to it, and cling to it, with total confidence, cling, to his feet, on that throne, no angel, is going to push us away, and we should refuse, to leave, in times of crisis,

and I say that to you, because Jesus himself, told us that, when he was on earth, to cling to him, to remain, in him, that's what he says, in John 15, verse 4, he says, abide, remain, in me, and I, in you, as the branch, cannot bear fruit, by itself, unless it,

John 15:4

abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you, abide, in me, don't leave, cling, to his feet, just as our, bereaved mother, can only turn, to the God, who allowed, this perplexity, to happen, and keep, clutching,

at the feet, of his man, of God, the same goes, for you and I, in times of crisis, you don't understand, in difficult times, I don't understand, we should, cling, to the feet, of our loving savior, we should draw near, to him, and clutch, at his feet, we keep, clutching, to our God,

even when, especially, when, we don't, understand his ways, we call this faith,

because as James, again, James reminds us, we have a promise, when we do that, when we draw near, James 4 verse 8, says draw near, to God, and, he will draw near, to you, do you find yourself, in a day of trouble,

James 4:8

have you been, at a place, where, you don't understand, what's going on, and you're in some crisis, your world, seems to be falling apart, remember, the words of James, the next times, that happens, remember the words, of James, and the call, of Jesus,

and abide, and draw near, but again, our story's not done, let's go back, because our woman, we're leaving her, we're picking her up, I guess we could say, at, at Elisha's feet, she's still there, she says, I won't leave, she hasn't left, even with Gehazi, trying to push her away, but he's now gone,

and we hear, this interesting statement, from Elisha as well, before he sends Gehazi, he says to his servant, he says, leave her alone, don't push her away, for she is in bitter distress, and get this, and the Lord, has hidden it from me, and has not told me, imagine that, a prophet of God,

I think arguably, the greatest living prophet, at the moment, who doesn't know everything, who doesn't have any answers,

think about it, not only does Elisha, not have any answers, he doesn't even really know, what the problem is, he's limited, he's human, he's limited, in his knowledge, and in his power, because as things, progress, we quickly find, that even his staff, doesn't have any power,

lacks the power, to save this kid,

our woman, protests in her distress, did I ask for this, did I ask my Lord, for a son, didn't I say, don't mess with me, on this, she is really upset, and so in verse 29, Elisha, first thing he does, is he orders, the younger Gehazi, who's clearly, the faster of the two, he orders him, to gird up his guard,

arm and tuck it in, get ready to run, and I want you, to marathon your way, to that boy, don't stop, for anybody, or anything, lay aside, all the ancient, near eastern customs, of the extended greetings, be rude, you're on a mission, Gehazi, and you need to get there, and you need to take my staff, and I want you,

to lay my staff, on the face, of the child,

now there are, several theories, about why, Elisha would prescribe, this course of action, I mean, first off, let's just ask ourselves, does the, the staff of a prophet, have power, like magical, staffs of Gandalf, or something like that, no, it's not that, some however, think this could be, a prophetic action,

that is, commonly known about, in, Elisha's day, maybe other, sons of the prophets, did this kind of thing, with their staffs, we don't know, there are some, ancient, Akkadian texts, that talk about, using staffs, to perform exorcisms, it could be, that it's just, really a symbol, of Elisha's prophetic power,

and authority, for the younger, faster, to get Gehazi, to take with him, and try on this boy, a few scholars suggest, and I find this compelling, that maybe the staff, was simply meant, to stop, the premature burial, of this boy, because we're talking about, an 18 mile journey, there and back,

that's going to be, some time, and in a hot climate, they buried their dead, fast, whatever the reason, Gehazi goes ahead, and does what his master, instructs him to do, but in verse 31, there was no sound, or sign of life, it seems ineffective,

powerless, to heal, Elisha's staff, as a symbol, of his own authority, seems, limited, limited, limited, limited, limited, and that really brings us, to a fourth, reflection today, number four, and that's to know, that even God's, mightiest, and most faithful servants,

are still, limited, in knowledge, and power, even his mightiest, and most faithful servants, are still limited, in knowledge, and power, Elisha's knowledge, what do we learn about that,

verse 27, the Lord has hidden this from me, I don't know what's going on, I don't have an answer, what about his power, verse 31, Gehazi goes ahead, lays his staff on the face of the child, but to no effect, no sound, or sign of life, limited,

in fact, the only power, Elisha can muster, once he hears the report, back from Gehazi, and finally, with the mother, arrives, in Shunem, and goes up on that roof, and into his room, the only power, he can reach for, is the power, he prays,

and asks for, it's the Lord's power, because that's what he does, in verse 33, first thing, he goes into that room, shuts the door behind him, and we're told, that he prayed, to the Lord, and you know, often times, humanly speaking, that's all we can do too,

and look at what else, we notice in Elisha, does he speak, to the grieving mother, and tell her, everything's going to be fine, all is going to be well, it's not recorded, does he make her a promise,

we don't see any, we don't hear him, trying to explain, the mysterious will of God, you see there's his, perfect will, and then his permissive will, we don't, we don't hear him, theodicizing, if that's a word, trying to explain, why God, allows bad things, to happen,

he doesn't try, to explain anything, because he doesn't, have answers, he didn't even know, about the problem, all he does, all that he, as a man of God, can give her, are his presence,

his earnest prayer, and his silence, on things he doesn't know, his presence, his earnest prayer, and his silence, on things he doesn't know, because even he, one of the Lord's mightiest, and most faithful servants,

in all of scripture, is limited, in knowledge, and power, and listen, I'm telling you, if that's true, for Elisha, God's man, it might be true, for you, and it's certainly, true of me, we too, are limited, in knowledge,

and power, so maybe, you've come upon, a friend, or a loved one, in great distress, in some kind, of suffering, a family member, do you feel the need, like I have to confess, I often, myself, feel the need to do, do you feel the need,

to come up with words, to give an explanation, to want to try, to offer some assurance, we can't always, offer that, honestly, rarely, can we offer, explanations, for why, difficulty, and suffering, hit us,

in this life, what we can do, is acknowledge, our limits, in both knowledge, and power, and do what Elisha did, keep company, stay with, and pray, and pray,

and maybe, resist the urge, to try to explain, what you can't explain, a couple of passages, I want to offer you, once from Deuteronomy, chapter 29, Deuteronomy chapter 29, verse 29, listen to this, the secret things,

Deuteronomy 29 · chapter mention Deuteronomy 29:29

belong to the Lord, our God, but the things, that are revealed, belong to us, and to our children, forever, that we may do, all the words, of this law, all the words, of this law, things that are revealed, today, you and I, have more than just the law, we've got the prophets,

and we've got the wisdom writings, and the history, and we've got the New Testament, we have a completed Bible, that now, belongs to us, and to our children, we have God's written word, in scripture, and it shows us, and teaches us, and tells us, so much, and I truly do believe, it tells us,

all that we need, it gives us, all that we need, I believe in the sufficiency, of scripture, but we don't have, all the secret things, do we?

Secret things, about God's purpose, in specific suffering, or tragedy, all of God's, mysterious ways, are not explained to us, what he's doing, why he's doing it, why he's allowing it, his timing, how he's going to Romans 8,

28 it, work it all for good, which he will, those are secret things, that belong to him,

after all, as Paul the apostle, reminds us about God, over in Romans, Romans 11, fascinating chapter, here's what, here's what we read, at the end of it, in verse 33, Paul says, oh the depths, of the riches, and wisdom, and knowledge of God, how unsearchable, are his judgments,

and how unscrutable, his ways, for who has known, the mind of the Lord, or who has been, his counselor, I don't advise God, I don't think you do either, I'm not giving God advice, when I pray,

sometimes it's hard not to, counsel him, Lord, I think what you want to do, is get my loved one, out of this suffering, right, sometimes we have to wait in faith, and just keep, trusting, and when we're walking,

alongside of others, in crisis, we simply have to, keep company, and pray earnestly, just like Elisha's doing,

and speaking of what Elisha's doing, we need to finish the story, verse 32, here he is, upstairs in the house, in his own room, doors closed, he's praying, and now's where things get, a little weird, verse 34, then he went up,

and lay on the child, putting his mouth, on his mouth, his eyes, on his eyes, his hands, on his hands, somebody needs to tell him, he's supposed to be doing, chest compressions, right, the mouth part might be right, but you know that, and he actually repeats, this action, after getting up,

and walking back and forth, in the room, almost like he's trying, to create body heat, I don't know, clearly the boy's body, would be cold by now, it's a corpse, did God tell him, to do this, we really don't know,

some say, maybe this is our prophet's way, of symbolically, uniting himself, his own life force, to this dead child's body, body, or, maybe he'd heard of this, or even seen this before, again, his former master, Elijah, back in 1st Kings 17,

did kind of a similar thing, with the dead boy, stretched himself out, over the child, three times, and you know, funny enough, in the New Testament, it's almost like, the apostle Paul, knows his bible, because there's a boy, that falls out of a window, named Eutychus, and he dies, and Paul goes down,

and stretches himself, over the body, and then the kid gets up, but I want you to notice, what else is happening here, is his, his own face, and hands, and eyes, are touching this boy's, cold body, God's holy man,

is making himself, ritually defiled, by this kind of contact, having contact, with a corpse, according to the law, he was literally, taking on, uncleanliness, to himself, well whatever it is, that he's doing, and I'm not sure,

I totally understand, what I do know, and what we can know, is that it's not his actions, that do the healing, he's not doing, some ancient form, of prophetic CPR, it's the Lord, and it's the Lord's, response to that prayer, because after these, prophetic symbolic actions, and in response,

to his prayer, we read in verse 35, of how the child, sneezes, like seven times in a row, and now his eyes open, and he's alive,

Elisha summons his servant, Gehazi, says to him, go call the Shunammite, she comes, comes into the room, she hears, the man of God tell her, pick up your son, do you think, she had to be asked twice, verse 37, she comes, she falls first,

at Elisha's feet, bowing to the ground, in gratitude, and then she picked up her son, and went out, our fifth, and final reflection, this morning, number five, even the curse of death, can bear witness,

to the promise of life, even the curse of death, can bear witness, to the promise, of life, you know, sometimes I think, it's easy to forget, that death was not supposed, to be our normal, in this world,

it's become normal, it's all we've known, as a race, but it wasn't supposed, to be that way originally, as a race, created by God originally, we were not meant to die, God intended us, to have access, to life, and to live with him, in fellowship forever,

but of course, that didn't happen, no, our first parents, plunged our race, into sin, and with that, came death, part of the curse, was the curse, of death, that is why, this boy dies, if you want to know why,

and honestly, it's why this boy, back here in, second Kings four, would live some more years, and die again, as did every other human being, with a couple of exceptions, miracles, but today, we see that, even the curse of death, can bear witness, to the promise, of life,

as a man of God, lays himself out, fully identifying, with this dead boy, and takes upon himself, all of its impurity, and in doing so, he brings life, and in this case, in this upper room,

he does it physically, and literally, he brings this boy, back to life, of course you and I, know that that's not, always the case, or else all the, cemeteries and graveyards, of the world, would be empty, we wouldn't have any, but we do, and they're not empty,

and we recognize, that far more often, when someone dies, they stay dead, so that our hope, in the promise of life, looks different, it's a life, beyond this life, it's an eternal life,

King David, the greatest king of Israel, knew something of this, there was a moment, of great crisis, and tragedy, where he prayed, and pleaded, for the life, of his infant son, to be spared, but the little boy died, and after all his prayer,

and pleading, all the sackcloth, and mourning, he cleaned himself up, and this is what he soberly said, in 2 Samuel chapter 12, verse 23, he said this, I shall go to him, but he will not return to me, you know, David spoke of things, he knew very little,

2 Samuel 12:23

about, at the time, is there a hope, of resurrection here, yeah, but he wasn't around, to hear Jesus, teach more explicitly, about heaven, or the apostles, write about, the new heavens, and earth, he didn't know, about all that, but what he did know, is that he would be, reunited, with his dead son, in heaven,

and he is now, think about that, David, and whoever that son was, are both up in heaven, reunited, meaning the promise of life, has been fulfilled for him, as it has been for, all of the loved ones, that we have,

who have gone to be with the Lord, they know the promise of life, that is truly life, they know the glorified, an abundant life, the abundant life, Jesus himself, talked about in John 10, remember that, John 10, 10, almost like he's reminding us, that there is a war zone,

there's an enemy, he says this, the thief, John 10, 10, the thief comes to steal, and kill, and destroy, I came, that they may have life, and have it, abundantly, and Jesus, remember, this is, the true,

man of God, he is the only perfect, and holy man of God, the very one, who actually was God, who came, and took on flesh, and with it, took on our contamination, and then he, stretched himself out, on a cross, to cover us, and cleanse us,

and remove, the contamination, from our hearts, to heal us, and give us life, by his spirit, and though the effects, of the curse, may linger, in our world, for a while longer, I want you to know, they won't forever,

the promise of life, still, and always, stands, so remember, that, the next time, you're dealing, very personally, with the effects, of the curse, in your life, remember that, the next time, you're dealing, with the effects,

of the curse, in someone else's life, and you need to be, with them, and stay with them, and pray for them, and resist, trying to explain, what you don't know, and especially, remember, that when anyone dies, who is in Christ,

it's a moment, of opportunity, to bear witness, to the promise, of life, an opportunity, to remember, and proclaim, what this story, shows, you and me, that even the curse, of death,

can bear witness, to the promise, of life,

would you bow your head, with me, ask you to stand, as we pray, the team comes, to lead us, and worship, one more time, maybe some of us, have been walking, through some paths, where we don't understand,

where we don't have, an answer, and it's easy, to resort, to anger, blame, frustration, accusation, but that's not, what the children of God, are in the business, of doing, we are not accusers,

we don't advise, or counsel God, we have the revealed things, but we don't know, all of his secret ways, but he's a good father, he loves us, how much more, does he want to give, good gifts to us, how much more,

does he want to care for us, in the ways, that will be for our good, eternally, and so I ask you, to trust him, and heavenly father, right now, we pray that you, would give us the power, to trust you, to love you, to stay true to you, even in the midst, of times we don't understand,

even when Lord, maybe someone else, receives a miracle, that we want, and we don't, and father, for those of us, that come alongside, of others, in times of crisis, will you just remind us Lord, of the actions, of your prophet, not pushing someone away,

but remaining with them, not leaving, being in company, with those who are in crisis, mourning, with those who mourn, and praying Lord, may we pray for one another, there is power, released in prayer, prayer positions us, but it also releases you,

and you've called us, and commanded us, to pray without ceasing,

and Lord, let us resist efforts, to explain what we cannot, you are a good God, a good father, and we love you today, it's in the name of your son, you have given us, in Jesus name that we pray, Amen.