And he said, Call her. How could this woman say It is well when her young child lay dead? When she did return seven years later, all that shed lost was returned to her. Why should I read the bible? - Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. It was Elishas idea for her to become a mother, not hers. Does it not rather direct us to our true power by shutting us out from our own fancied might? However, years later, the child mysteriously dies. Im so much inspired by this woman, she didnt focus on the death of her child but all she said was IF IS WELL,at the end of everything it was well just as she said wooow wat a brave woman, Hi Rene, God Speaks is a beautiful hardcover gift book featuring forty short letters that have been compiled from the promises and affirmations of God in the Bible. Well, when one sneezes, one is having an involuntary bodily function occur to cast out virus that has become lodged in the lungswhen one sneezes to remove those virus (demons) it is by the name YAHSHUA as we sneeze that is the sound that is made by the human body to effectively remove or cast out those germs/virusesunderstand? Her only son just died in her arms, yet she spoke not a word about it. Who knows??? No, I dont but Ill look him up. Sometimes God gives us a promise and it seems like the promise is 'dead'. Elisha didnt know something, why? She falls at Elisha's feet and takes her living son with her out of the room. He finds the lifeless child and revives him. I first encountered her during the global recession of 2008, when my husband had been offered a job in Dubai. We had 18-month-old twins were grappling with the decision about whether we should take the opportunity or not. The Shunammite Woman witnessed a miracle not once, but twice. And of course, you have included one of my all-time favorite hymns. She was hospitable yet called everything out as it was. No name was found for the Shunammite Woman during this research. The Shunamite womans capacity for empathy, her ability to grow spiritually and facilitate the spiritual growth of others, her willingness to be proactive, and her humility are all qualities that I cherish and seek to emulate. They're lying. is it well with thy husband? But the Shunammite woman spoke faith, life and truth. She carried him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and left him there. Call me crazy, but it doesn't seem too well to me. "You . Therefore, in the same way the Shunammite woman didnt treasure her house and land, dont treasure worldly things. . In 2 Kings 4:8 we learn that Elisha became friends with a "prominent" woman in Shunem. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man . What we do know of her has consistently inspires me though and perhaps the fact that we dont know her name suggests we can all find something of our story in hers. Excellent! Then she picked up her son and went out. But the child died from sunstroke, while he was still young, and she went to fetch. 4 Now a woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared th God bless, Lisa, thx u lisa i needed the ps u posted May God our Father bless u with blessing tht r over flowing, thank you for the notes -the shunamite woman is just good for me .i love these bible stories.GOD bless you. Also, the first man Adam received life when Yahweh simply breathed into him the breath of life (He breathed-Yah-Weh into his being). Trust you are too. When sorrows like sea billows roll; Second Kings 8 begins with these words. Did I desire a son? In conclusion, the Shunammite woman was a well-off woman that did what she could to bless others. She is most likely called the Shulammite because she came from an unidentified place . window.mc4wp = window.mc4wp || { God Rescues Through People: One Man Two Men a Group of Men. 9 And she said to her husband, "Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. " continue reading on The Shunammite woman by O.Peng Related articles. But who was the Shunammite woman? The miracle story central to the novel comes from the Old Testament and it is one I had never known of before. Please, man of God, dont mislead your servant!. I choose to understand the word gedolah, however, as referring to her wisdom. Your writing especially touched my heart today! The preacher saw her coming from a distance, as she was kicking up quite a bit of dust, and he sent Jake out to greet her and to find out if all was well. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Isaac's wife and Jacob's mother, the second matriarch survived a difficult pregnancy and engineered the future of the Jewish people. and the child?, Nevertheless, she pressed forward, and when she reached the man of God, she knelt down and took him by the feet, crying bitterly. Automated page speed optimizations for fast site performance. Do everything without complaining and arguing, 2 Kings 4. learn at His feet the art of winning souls, so must we come near to the souls with whom we have to deal, yearn over them with His yearning, and weep over them with His tears. We take doctrinal or practical truth, as Gehazidid the staff, and we lay it upon the face of the child, but we ourselvesdo not agonisefor its soul. She didnt cry, scream or wail, she didnt even mention the sons death to her husband. When the Shunammite recognized an opportunity to entertain God's prophet, she made room for him in her home and heart. Be well. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked. However, we can infer that she trusted him. She didnt laugh like Sarah did, but instead she said, Dont lie to me!. 2 Kings 4:8-37; 8:1-6. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Thanks, Steven! Need this fact discourage us? And so her sharing with Elisha is a reminder that we should use our resources to be a blessing to others. The Shunammite woman asked for a donkey that she might run to the man of God. She took her family and settled in the land of the Philistines for seven years. As we can see, this woman's action displays faith. The father told the servants to carry his son home. thank you so much what an exposition. The statement that she was a great woman could have meant that she was older, wealthy, or nobler. You are to work miracles, to do marvels. So he called her. A few things in the story of the Shunamite woman stand out to me. It is well with my soul, I found myself also struck by how long it would have taken The Woman to get to Mt. Thank you for sharing; I really like to the thronenot the phone. You might enjoy reading similar thoughts that I penned in a blog entry, Who You Gonna Run To? I look forward to reading your future posts! Phonetic spelling of shunammite. Rabbah 2:5:3).The Rabbis relate in a playful manner to the story of the son of the Shunammite woman, in order to derive the laws relating to corpse impurity. I loved reading this! She was marriedbut had no children. it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. Sometimes things happen and we definitely do not feel well, is it okay to say it is well at such times? Elisha Raises the Shunammite's Son (). 21. It appears as if shed been trying and eventually became content without one. It makes sense, but I dont see scripture to back it up- if you have it, send it my way*******. Wailing, crying, and mourning would all have been natural responses to the death of a child. Her reaction to Elishas promise that she would have a son gives us a hint at how she became that way. Consider the story of Elisha and the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4:8-37. II Kings chapter 4, where we find her story, is also the haftarah portion which corresponds to parshat Vayera which tells of the miraculous birth of Abraham and Sarahs son Isaac as well as the binding of Isaac. Gehazi lays the staff upon the face of the child but he doesn't awake. Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, As I read the start of her story though, I saw something Id not noticed before. You see, she was persistent, called out the orders, made things happen and tried her best to do what was right. by Melody Keller. One day the circuit-riding preacher, Elisha, and his traveling companion, Jake, came into the sleepy little town of Shunem. The sister of Moses and Aaron was an important part of the sibling team that led Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness. The term comes from a root skn, "attend to," "take care," and its noun forms can be applied to high officials in Hebrew (Is. })(); Your email address will not be published. We use cookies to optimise our website and our service. In 2 Kings 4:8-37 in the ESV translation, we see that the Shunammite woman has the gift of hospitality. The chorus of the Isaacs' song brings the . She takes it upon herself to run to Elisha, she doesnt send her husband or anyone else to run this errand. Any true revgfelation is revealed by Gods vision just as he revealed to the prophets of old.Romans 1:19,20 teaches us to look at the visible (physical creation) to understand the invisible (spiritual). Do not speak defeat and discouragement. It was this same peace that enabled Horatio G. Spafford to pen the words to the hymn It Is Well with My Soul when his four daughters were lost at sea, and his wife was saved alone. Challenge: What is one thing that you can trust God for today? In it they would put a bed, a table, a stool, and a lamp, and so it would have everything he needs. The main character, Bina, is The Shunammite woman. The Bible very clearly tells us that we need to walk by faith, and not by sight (2 Cor. While he was still talking about these things, a ruler kneels before Jesus and unburdens his troubled soul. Just as He came in deepest sympathy into the nearest contact with our wretched humanity, and condescended to stoop to our sorrowful condition, so must we come near to the souls with whom we have to deal, yearn over them with His yearning, and weep over them with His tears, if we would see them raised from the state of sin. Thank you and God bless you. The statement that she was a great woman could have meant that she was older, wealthy, or nobler. Calmly she carried the lifeless form of her son into the preachers room and laid him on the bed, then walked out and shut the door behind her. Im thankful that our Father gave us so many great examples of godly women in the Bible. Some translations say she was wealthy. Gehazis visit just wasnt good enough for her. Elisha's words were not made-up man's words, they were God's words and when God promises something it always happens. She is describedas a great woman when I looked up the definition ofthis word used in Hebrew, it means bold, prominent, insolent, mighty, noble, loud or older. One day she asked her husband if they could build a little room for him to stay in when he comes to town. You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness . His mother held him on her lap, but thenthe boydied. She put her son on Elishas bed and made plans. Gehazi pointed out that the woman had no children and her husband was old. Eventually, the Shunammite woman convinced her husband to prepare a small room for Elisha where he could stay whenever he wanted to. If so, how sad to consider the immediate distress of 2 Kings 4:20. Nevertheless, the Shunammite wasn't immune to the heartache of our broken world. Once one knows how to run the vision then the process of running the vision is very natural. A gedolah, a great woman. The journey will likely be longer than I can imagine, but it has finally begun, and that's all that matters. She said to her husband, I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. The woman is described as a wealthy married woman in the village of Shunem. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. God told the widow to gather vessels and pour the oil herself ( 2 Kings 4:1-7 ). It is well, it is well said the Shunamite woman 2 Kings4:8-37, : It is well, it is well said the Shunamite woman 2 Kings4:8-37. is it well with the child? With her dead son locked up in Elishas room, she knows no one will see him. 2 Kings 4 . I would like to suggest that he lacked the faith to believe it could be done. How do you know the sneezes are to be interpretted this way? Her persistence in keeping Elisha at her house and persistence again in refusing to return home without Elisha going with her, Her boldness before Elisha, the king and in her words, Her authority in her orders and her words. Every time he was in the area he stopped to eat bread with the . In other words when we breathe we inhale-Yah, we exhale Wehwhen we sneeze we involuntarily say YAHSHUA, It is good as a man of God also to know what you are doing in faith we must have the true faith and know that all power and authority has been given to us and we have power to raise the dead,heal the sick,to set free those who are oppressed by the devil and to preach the gospel news and Elisha must be a good example to us. And although she experienced miraculous things, she herself was a down-to-earth role model for women in every era, and a model of the power of empathy. Let me tell you about my grandmother-She had a heart of goldbut was fighting tough. Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out. However, before mentioning the death of her son to her husband, she sought to "run to the man of God" and speak to Elisha. She then had a child, although she had been barren before. Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. The more I dissected her character and her words, I felt like I understood her and her personality. You are not, therefore, to look upon the restoration ofthese dead children, which in Gods name you are called to bring about, as being a thing unlikely or difficult when you remember who it is that works by your feeble instrumentality. Verse 26. Its the same word we use to refer to the Rabbinic scholars who demonstrated Torah learning and sagacious rulings. but there was neither voice, nor hearing. The Shunammite woman was kind and generous. As a representative of God, having a prophet ask you what you desire is a great opportunity. Indeed, a son is born at the designated time. At the start of 2 Kings 8, Elisha warned the Shunammite woman to leave because there was going to be a 7-year-long famine. It is one of my favorite stories, and how she reappears in chapter 8. In spite of the fact that her emotions soared, clearly her faith grew. One, in particular, is the Shunammite woman. 2002-2023 My Jewish Learning. Spiritual Growth through a Healing Embrace. is it well with the child? And she said, It shall be well. Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the Ancient Paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Meanwhile, Elisha had sent his servant ahead to lay his staff on the child. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us. After doing that for a while, she suggested to her husband that they build a room for Elisha to stay in whenever he came by. For her reward, God gave the woman a miracle: a son of her own. This blessed me a lot! Because she had a special relationship with the prophet Elisha, her child was miraculously conceived and miraculously resurrected. In the wake of the death of his mentor Elijah, Elishas detachment was so great that his quick temper resulted in the tragic death of 42 children who were teasing him. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. Still looking to reward their hostess, Gehazi and Elisha made another plan completely without her input. The lessons from Part 1: See the need and take action. Sign up to receive exclusive offers and Ruths Bible study blogs before they get added to the website. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. At first, it was simply a meal that she urged Elisha to stay and have when she met him in her hometown. Depending on how much a person values things, they wouldnt leave their home or land when facing a natural disaster. But, this woman from Shunem didnt panic. 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Exclusive offers and Ruths Bible study blogs before they get added to the man of,! 2 Cor how to run the vision then the process of running the vision then the process running! Up to receive exclusive offers and Ruths Bible study blogs before they get added the!