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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
2 Kings 4:8–17, “And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.”
As a prophet of the Lord, Elisha used to travel from place to place in Israel so that he could bring the Lord’s message to the people. From time to time he passed a place called Shunem, which was just to the south of Mt Carmel, the place of Elijah’s great triumph. Abishag, who was David’s nurse in his old age, also came from this place. Elisha was invited to stay and have a meal by one of the leading ladies of the town when he passed by. After a while, this lady and her husband decided to build a little extension to their house, something like a granny flat these days, and ask the prophet to stay there when he was going past. The built the flat and Elisha enjoyed having a comfortable place to stay when he went that way. After a while, the prophet asked the woman if he could do anything for her in return for he kindness. He asked his servant, a man named Gehazi to ask the woman and her husband if they needed anything. It was quite appropriate for Elisha to have a servant as he was a prophet and had many important things to do as he brought the Lord’s message to the Israelis. Gehazi discovered that the woman had no child; she and her husband had been trying for a long time and had, basically given up hope. Elisha promised her, after having prayed to the Lord, that she would have a child in the next year. She had given up hope in such a wonderful answer to many years of prayer and asked the prophet not to lie to her. In spite of this, she gave birth to a son in due time.
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