If you can meet me please in the book of Second Kings as we
continue in this series in chapter 8 and we will look at
the 1st 6 verses together, Second Kings chapter 8 and I
will wait for you before we begin reading these verses.
Let's read together verse one now, Elijah had said to the
woman whose son he had restored to life.
Arise and depart with your household and sojourn wherever
you can, for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come
upon the land for seven years. So the woman arose and did
according to the word of the man of God.
She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the
Philistines 7 years. And at the end of the seven
years, when the woman returned from the land of the
Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and
her land. Now the king was talking with
Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me all the
great things that Elijah has done and why he was telling the
king how Elijah had restored the dead to life.
Behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to
the king for her house and her land.
And Gehazi said, My Lord, O King, here is the woman, and
here is her son, whom Elijah restored to life.
And when the king asked the woman, she told him.
So the king appointed an official for her, saying restore
all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields
from the day she left the land until now.
Righteous Father, we ask that as we come to this final study of
this year that you would meet us in a special way.
Lord, we hunger for you, We long for you.
And we've come, Lord, believing that you have a word for us.
So we ask that you would stir our hearts, You would stimulate
our minds, You would win our affections, You would transform
us. We trust that you're able.
We trust that this word is able. So we ask that even in our
weakness, from the preacher to the listener, that your power
would be made perfect. So we rely on you and we
believe, Lord, that we will meet with you in your word.
At this moment, in Jesus name we pray, Amen.
You know, there is a debate, some debate about this passage
that we just read together, and the discussion surrounds the
timing of this testimony. When did it actually take place?
And the reason for this is not so much determining when this
famine happened, but rather the mention of Gehazi in this.
Text. The last time that we
encountered Gehazi was back in Second Kings chapter 5, when he
was cursed with leprosy and was expelled from the presence of
the prophet and really from society altogether.
At least that's what the law demanded.
And to our surprise, we come to 2nd Kings Chapter 8 and we
discover that. Gehazi is not outside the city
walls. He's in the presence of the
king, conversing with him in his palace.
This is strange. There seems to be something
wrong here. And so this has this has LED
some to believe that what we have in Second Kings Eight One
to Six actually took place before 2nd Kings Chapter 5.
Which is plausible. Why?
Because not every biblical author is concerned about
recording and giving their account in a strict
chronological order. We see that in different places.
We even see that in the Gospels. So again, there's some who say
this happened before 2nd Kings chapter 5.
But I believe that there are other worthy explanations for
why Gehazi is here when he shouldn't be.
And we're going to explore that in this study.
But before we go there, we have to take our time to uncover
other truths that precede it. And that's what we'll be doing
today. Because Ghazi isn't the only one
who makes a surprising reappearance in this narrative.
There's someone else. The Shudamite woman.
You remember her, right? We thought that we learned a lot
from her, and we did. But the Holy Spirit obviously
wants to teach us. Even more things from her
example and that's what we are going to learn as well.
All to say that there is much in store for us tonight including
what we can learn from this famine.
Let's look at verse one again Now Elisha had said to the woman
whose son he had restored to life.
Arise and depart with your household and soldier and
wherever you can, for the Lord has called.
For a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.
There are three things that we can draw from verse one about
this famine alone. Now, we've discussed this a few
chapters ago, but it's worth revisiting.
And there's an additional thought that I want to present
to you. How long did this famine endure?
7 years. Now this is under Elisha's
ministry. But this was not the only famine
that this people experienced. We remember that there was a
famine before this and we'll talk about that, but there is
also a lengthy famine during the ministry of Elijah.
And how long did that last? According to James chapter 5,
three years. And how long?
Six months, You're right. So three years and six months.
Now here's the second observation.
Elijah declares the one who is behind this famine, What does it
say there in the middle of verse one?
For the Lord has called for a famine.
This drought is orchestrated by God himself.
And why is that important to know?
Because it reminds us that famines were not natural
occurrences under the Old Covenant.
For this people, they weren't part of the cycle of the year or
every few years. Famines were foreign.
Famines were actually something that the people didn't have to
experience, but they were triggered when the people
disobeyed persistently. And we've talked about this from
Deuteronomy. Allow me to quote it in your
presence once more so that we can make this more concrete in
our understanding. In Deuteronomy 11, verse 16, the
Lord already forewarned the people in His law.
The following Deuteronomy 11/16 Take care lest your heart be
deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship
them. Then the anger of the Lord will
be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that
there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and
you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is
giving you. So here's what's interesting.
When we connect the first insight with the second, we can
make this conclusion. It's a disheartening truth about
the people of Israel that under Elijah's ministry, evidently
they did not repent, even though on Mount Carmel the true God
destroyed Baal ISM, and with that miraculous demonstration
that people still returned to their sin in a persistent
manner. And So what did the Lord do?
Because they didn't learn to repent after God showed the
mercy in that way and even after that level of chastisement, He
says, fine, you didn't learn with 3 1/2 years.
I'm going to double it. Here's seven years.
Let's see. You'll learn this time if you'll
learn this time. Because, you see, to go back to
sins that we vowed to never revisit again only invites
greater discipline from a loving Heavenly Father, especially if
we've been disciplined for those sins before.
And unfortunately, many deceive themselves by thinking that the
consequences that they had to endure and they survived will be
the same consequences they will have to face again if they
indulge in those same sins again.
So let this be an example for us.
The Lord will not treat us with such indifference.
He loves us too much. So if we didn't learn the first
time, if we didn't learn the second time, if we didn't learn
the third time, He will change His ways with us every single
time if necessary, in order to win our holiness and to win our
devotion to Him. And so we get a sense, we get an
insight of how God treats His own.
They didn't learn with 3 1/2 years.
So let's prolong it. Let's go with 7 now and see if
you will truly repent and come back to me.
Here's the third observation about this famine.
There is evidence that this particular drought was not
solely because of the idolatry of the people.
Why? Because there's a clue with the
first word of the first verse. What is it now if you have a
different? Word for word.
Translation like the new King James, and I believe the King
James, it will read, it will be rendered.
What then? So that's a word that denotes
sequence, that something happened before this and there's
something now following. So we're meant to connect what
Elijah warns about here with what just happened and what.
Did we learn last week that the people endured another famine?
Some argue man made famine because of the siege or it was
another famine and they just the Syrians just capitalize on it.
Nevertheless, the people were suffering, they were starving,
and the Syrians were bringing them to a point of near
extinction or potential exile. And what did God do?
He intervened with. Supernatural provision and
protection and preservation. And if you read carefully Second
Kings chapter 6 that account, you'll notice that there is a
staggering omission of something.
A staggering omission. You know what it is?
The lack of response from the people after God came through
for them. There is no sign of an
acknowledgement of the goodness of the Lord.
There is no hint of repentance, not even a word of gratitude for
Him coming through for them. I'm persuaded that a major
catalyst to this prolonged famine in Second Kings 8 is a
result of a lack of thankfulness on the part of the people of
Israel. God registers how we respond to
His provision, to His power, to His Providence in our lives,
whether it's common grace or uncommon grace, God looks at how
people respond to His mercy. And if there is a lack of
gratitude to us, that may not seem significant, but it is to
the one who is the source of everything that is good in our
lives. And I believe because there was
silence here on the part of this people, the Lord said, fine,
here's more discipline. You won't acknowledge me.
You won't give me glory, then here's another famine.
But God doesn't just take note of the wrong that sinners or
even His children might do. He takes note of the good that
His servants do as well. How do we know that?
In the very fact that Elijah comes to the Shunamite woman and
gives her this awesome revelation of what's to come,
what's about to come to pass in order to prepare her.
And I think this is God's way of demonstrating the extent of His
reward to those who make the effort and even sacrificially
give to the advancement. Of his purposes on the earth
especially in a day of apostasy like this day so you remember
this is the same woman who when she learned elisha would come
through her town decide to. Give him a meal every single
time, and more than that, decide to make an extension to her home
in order for him to rest there whenever he would like to rest.
And the reward in that immediate context was that she received
what she could not have, and that was a son.
But God went beyond that. He didn't just provide this
woman a child. He provided her insight of the
future in order to preserve her life and her the life of her
household altogether. And so this really shows how God
keeps in mind those who have done good to His people and His
cause. And it reminds me of this New
Testament verse in Hebrews chapter 6, verse 10.
This is a verse for those who serve God and are tempted to
believe that maybe God has overlooked my sacrifice.
And part of that temptation is when people, especially the
people of God, don't recognize. You for your sacrifice.
Or praise you, or reward you. Look what the Holy Spirit has
included in His Word in Hebrews 610.
For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love
that you have shown for His name in serving the Saints, as you
still do. I love that verse.
Someone beautifully commented on it by saying that while God will
never remember our sins, He will never forget our service.
He will never remember our sins, and he will never forget our
sacrifice for him. And I would add that his reward
outweighs whatever contributions we make in this temporal life,
because it is temporal 1 and it is granted, and it is responded
to with eternal reward. Things that people can't steal,
or moths can't eat up, or rust can destroy.
But let me stay here for a while because it's difficult for some
people to remain persistent in their service to the Lord.
And I love what the author says here because he mentions the
love that you have shown for his name in serving the Saints.
If you. Lack the motivation to serve God
with your gifts, to serve God consistently in the House of
God. Do it for His name.
Not even necessarily for those
who bear His name. Do it for His name and you'll
find greater grace to serve those who bear His name.
So that's an encouragement to me that ultimately I'm doing it for
the Lord. I'm doing it for my Master.
I'm doing it for His smile. Whether people smile at me or
not. Will people recognize me?
It doesn't matter. I'm doing it for His name.
And there's a warning in this passage as well, because only
when we do it in His name and for His name are we rewarded.
If I'm doing it for my name, I lose my reward, right?
So if I'm here preparing Bible studies and preaching every
Sunday for my name, then I will appear before the judgment seat
of Christ and all my works will turn into ash.
That's what Paul teaches in First Corinthians chapter 3.
So it must be for his name. That will motivate you to work
and that will also keep you with the right motive in your work.
This woman served this man of God and the Lord did not forget
him. He spoke to Elijah, says you
need to go to that Shunammite woman and tell her that she
needs to flee from here because I'm going to bring a famine.
Not even the king received such a privilege word, but this
widow, I say widow because I believe based on what we read,
her husband was no longer with them.
Remember the husband to this woman We learned there in Second
Kings earlier? In chapter 4 that he was old, he
was much older than she was, and based on how this text reads,
doesn't seem like he's there anymore.
But God is there, watching over, taking care of her, providing
for her. What a wonderful God we serve.
Now I can't move on without bringing up an interesting
detail and Elijah's warning to this woman.
Read it carefully. This really stood out to me when
I was reading it the other day. Now Elisha had said to the woman
whose son he had restored to life.
Arise and depart with your household and sojourn wherever
you can. Highlight those 3 words wherever
you can, for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come
upon the land for seven years. No doubt.
This is supernatural revelation. God has made this known to the
prophet. He's making it known to this
woman, but within it we find an intensely practical truth.
He tells this woman something's about to happen, you need to
leave. But he gives her liberty where
to go? Go wherever you can.
Do you know why this is encouraging to me?
Well, it should be encouraging to all of us, especially those
who are troubled by the notion that every single decision that
you make in this life, whether it's big or small, must not be
made unless you receive or it is approved by supernatural
disclosure. Have you met people like that?
I have, and those people, as much as they think it's
spiritual to live that way, are actually tormented in many
cases. I'm not saying that you
shouldn't be praying about your plans.
You have to pray about everything.
But to remain completely inactive unless some spectacular
sign is granted to you, it's not only unscriptural, it can be
very harmful. So go wherever you can.
What's the biblical approach to some of these decisions that we
have to make in life? It is to continually seek God's
guidance. Yes, pray without ceasing.
And if it provides clear answer, then you have another reason to
praise Him. But if He doesn't?
Then what the Bible proposes is that you make the most
righteous, wise, God glorifying decision and trust that God is
going to protect you from making the wrong choice as you step out
and obey him. So this woman was told, go
wherever you can. You have options.
And that mindset is found in the New Testament as well.
You might you might be shocked where you're going to find this,
go to 1st Corinthians Chapter 7. Look at verse 39.
In this chapter, Paul gives us insight about marriage, divorce,
singleness, being engaged. In the context of a particular
persecution that the Corinthians were experiencing, if you don't
view it in that light, you can draw some strange conclusions
and give some awful counsel to people.
You have to view First Corinthians 7 in light of a
trouble that the people at this time were experiencing.
Nonetheless, universal truths that can still be applied in any
context, including this one. Notice this in First Corinthians
739. A wife is bound to her husband
as long as he lives, but if her husband dies, she is free to be
married. To who?
To whom she wishes. Only in the.
Lord, I think this dispels a lot of Christian teaching about what
to look for in a candidate in the spouse.
It really demystifies it, doesn't it?
What did he tell them? He says if your husband dies,
you are free to be married to who?
Whoever you desire to be married to.
One condition, they have to be Christian.
They have to be in the Lord. So what does this mean?
Doesn't mean that you don't pray about your spouse.
No, you better be praying about your spouse.
But it also means. That it's OK to be drawn to
somebody based on their personality and who they are and
compatibility and their vision and their character.
You can assess things in such a way.
I've talked to people who have told me, should I consider so
and so And I say, well, are you attracted to so and so?
No, I'm not attracted to them whatsoever, but I'm just
wondering. They might be God's will.
No, probably not. Actually, no, but they're godly.
OK, great, they're godly, but you're not attractive.
So keep them in the category of sister in Christ, for your sake
and hers to whom she wishes. It's not as mystical as people
like it to be. Can God make wonderful stories
and testimonies of how people come together?
Absolutely, yes. But if you're waiting to meet
somebody on that premise alone, and if it doesn't come in the
way you think it should happen in the spectacular,
supernatural, undeniable way, you might be waiting for a
while. To whom she wishes.
Only in the Lord. So you don't have total liberty.
So what we see in the Scripture is that in moments where we may
not understand, there may not be a chapter or verse on it.
What do we do? Well, you take God's righteous
precepts and His wisdom and you see the examples and you receive
people who have biblical insight, and you make the most
guided, wise decision that you can with the options that you
have and trust that the Lord will lead you.
So go wherever you can. And how does she answer it?
Look at verse 2. So the woman arose and did
according to the word of the man of God.
She went with her household and soldier into the land of the
Philistines. 7 years. This is wonderful.
Number one. She obeyed in faith.
She obeyed without delay. There is no resistance, there is
no protest. She went when she heard the
word. And here's why.
This going to inspire us because the land of Israel was in plenty
at this time, wasn't it? If we're connecting Chapter 8
with what we read in Chapter 7 last week, then we understand
that the economy in the land of Israel this time knew a radical
shift in the favor of of the people.
And so just when things were beginning to look.
Good God tells us, women, get up, you need to move for several
years. So all she had to really work
with was the word from the Prophet.
But everything that she's seeing, businesses are opening
up again, people are remodeling their homes, the stock market is
looking great. Just when things are are looking
wonderful, she's told pack up your bags.
Things are going to change course very quickly.
And so she had to trust that. Moreover, consider the
difficulty of leading the promised land in general.
God gave him this land. This was his promise to the
people. And though they were generally
apostate at this time, to choose to be among the Philistines was
no better in terms of your surroundings and your influence.
And we've seen many times in the Scriptures how when people stray
from the place that God had determined for them.
It it doesn't turn out good, they don't benefit much from
such a decision. However, this is a unique case,
isn't it? So this woman is not like
Abraham back in Genesis 12 where the famine came to the land of
Canaan and out of his fear he moves to Egypt.
He didn't get a word from the Lord and what happened?
Lying and all this craziness, and he ended up bringing Hagar
back. And we know what happened with
Hagar. Nor is this like David, who who
thought and his exhaustion and his weariness.
The best way to deal with Saul chasing me is to go beyond the
border and to live among the Philistines.
And we saw the trouble that he got himself there too.
This is a woman who received permission from the Lord like
other instances where others have received permission from
the Lord to go to a foreign land and to sojourn there for a
while. And that's an important word
here. What does it say here in verse
two? Look at the last few words.
She sojourned and sojourn in the land of the Philistines 7 years.
You know what the word sojourn means?
To temporarily stay somewhere. So she intentionally, she was
mindful reminding herself in her household, we are not here for
the long haul. Seven years the Lord gave us
seven years and year after year they were reminded of that, I'm
sure day by day. So even in this the Holy Spirit
is telling us that she soldiers, she obeyed the Lord those seven
years faithfully. And I couldn't help but compare
this with another couple. A couple also fled the promised
land due to a famine. But they didn't receive a word
from the Lord, and they experience a very different
outcome. Go to Ruth chapter 1 and I want
us to look at Lemonlec and Naomi briefly, who made a similar move
to a different country but didn't have the confidence of
God's permission. Look at Ruth chapter 1 beginning
in verse one. Let's read the first 2 verses
together. In the days when the judges
ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem and
Judah went to sojourn in the country of Mohab, he and his
wife and his two sons. The name of the man was
Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of the
two sons were Mahlon and Helion. They were Ephrathites from
Bethlehem and Judah. They went into the country of
Moab and remained there. Can you compare verse one and
verse 2 in terms of their travelling plans and see if
there's a difference? What do they?
Decide to do in verse one. They went to do what in the
country of Moab sojourn? How did that turn out?
Good. Look at the last two words of
verse 2. They went into the country of
Moab and what sojourn there? They remained there.
They didn't sojourn there. They remained there.
This is a strong reminder for us that if we choose to step
outside of the will of God for any reason, you were in danger
of staying there much longer than you planned.
Always. You may plan it, you may plan
the timing of it, you may plan the resources you'll spend in
that season, but you can never determine it.
Here they are deciding to sojourn, but they ended up
moving permanently. They remain there and eliminate
and his family quickly became comfortable in Moab.
See the the Shudamite woman refused to remain comfortable in
the land of the Philistines. But they did.
And what happened here is that this people group had a rich
history of being enemies of the people of God, and because they
worship the false God eventually.
What happened in Mohab began to affect what happened in this
family, and this often happens with people who profess God is
king. Do you know what the name Elimek
means? God is king.
So he had the name, but he
wasn't living it right? So God is king, But I'm going
to. Tell myself where I'm going to
go and how long I'm going to be there for, though this is
clearly against God's will. So who's really king here?
This man who was the man of the house made this decision and
when he sojourned and even planned to return.
He remained there long enough to make decisions that would
permanently alter his future and the future of his family.
How do we know that? Look at verse 3.
But alumni like the husband and Naomi died and she was left with
her two sons. Verse 4.
These took Moabite wives. So you stay there long enough
for your children to do something that was clearly
against God's Word. God is not against different
ethnic groups marrying, but He is against different faith
groups coming together. And this was true even in the
Old Covenant. These took Moabite wives.
The name of the one was Orpan, the name of the other, Ruth.
They lived there about 10 years. This is the very thing that God
warned about, and they made themselves more vulnerable and
susceptible by going into the land that they shouldn't have
gone to in the in the first place.
And this is what we're supposed to learn from this, that even a
single deliberate step of disobedience.
Will often lead to a deeper descent into sin.
It started out as a just a little vacation in Moab and
ended up becoming something that would have generational effects.
Now, thankfully, God redeemed it through Ruth.
We know that story. But that's not always the case
for people. And the longer you and I remain
outside of God's will, the more likely are to make decisions
that can do such things to our futures.
And I think it's very possible that the sons were just
imitating the relaxed attitude that their father had concerning
God's word. They saw it in dad.
So, yeah, should be a problem for us.
And let me just say this before we move on.
Elimelech is a picture of a father who really has the the
interests of his family in mind, but only in the physical realm.
So he leaves the promised land because there's a famine that
was induced because of the people's sins, right?
It was in the day of the Judges and he wants to provide for his
family bread, physical bread and not spiritual bread.
And I want to speak to the men here.
And maybe it's possible that some, some of the men here grew
up with a dad like that, where he expressed his love primarily
and exclusively in his provision for you.
He worked hard, he paid the bills, he got you wonderful
gifts, He helped you pay for your school.
And those are wonderful things. And I believe that's part of
being a godly man. But if that's all you're
providing your children without the instruction and the
admonition and the fear of the Lord, then you're not completely
walking in your purpose as a man, as a father.
Here's a lemon. Like he's, he's providing in one
sense. But what ended up becoming more
detrimental, the lack of food or the lack of the spiritual
nourishment? The lack of the spiritual
nourishment. Trust God.
You have to take him at His Word.
And that's what the Shunammite woman does.
She was much different. Look here at verse three of
Second Kings chapter 8. And at the end.
Of the seven years when the woman returned from the land of
the Philistines, she went to appeal to the King for her house
and her land. So here's what I see in this
woman. She acted in faith when she left
the Promised Land she acted in. Faith when she remained in the
land of the Philistines and she acted in faith when she returned
to her home. Every step of the way she was in
tune with obedience. Obedience and reliance on the
Lord. How do I know that?
Because she didn't leave midway. She didn't leave.
After a few years, she waited until the seven years was
complete. Additionally, she didn't delay
when the seven years were complete.
I mean, you stay somewhere for. Seven years, you would think,
OK, you're adjusted to a new way of life, a new routine.
And so maybe I'll stay here a little bit longer.
I'll linger here. She doesn't do that either.
So she doesn't abort it early, nor does she prolong it
unnecessarily. The moment the seven years were
up, she went back. She went back.
So this is precise obedience. This isn't flimsy.
This is in general. This isn't circumstantial.
This is calculated. This is OK.
The Lord told us this amount of time, no sooner, no later.
That's wonderful, and I'll tell you why that level of obedience
is important, because it secures God's blessings in our lives,
that kind of righteous stubbornness, in a way.
And how do I know that it secures?
God's blessings in our lives, because look what happens next.
I want us to read here. The.
Next few verses beginning. In verse 4.
Now the king was talking. With Gehazi, the servant of the
man of God, saying, tell me all the great things that Elisha had
done. And while he was telling the
king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, we've seen
that that word over and over in many verses of this study.
Behold, I pause and see what's about to happen.
Behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to
the King for our house and our land.
And Ghazi said my. Lord, O King, here's the woman,
here's her son, whom Elijah restored to life.
It was at the time. Out of all the things that
Elijah had done, it came to the point where he was explaining to
the testimony of this boy being resurrected from the dead.
And while he is sharing that testimony, the woman who is part
of that testimony walks in the room.
And confirms the story. And her presence?
In light of that testimony being shared, I believe was necessary
for this unrighteous king to be willing to give her back what
she lost. Now here's what I thought about.
What if she had left the land of the Philistines before the seven
years? What about out of her
frustration? It's been three years.
Enough of this, I'm going to go back and she goes back.
What if she delayed? What if she had not trusted the
Lord to wait seven years? I wonder if it would have messed
up the timing of all of this. But because she trusted the Lord
and she walked according. To his ways.
According to his desire, she stumbled upon the right
circumstance to unlock the blessing of her property being
brought back to her. Just trust God, would you just
take him at His word? Believe Him, believe Him every
step of the way. You and I are going to be held
accountable on one thing, what His word said and how you
responded to it. Even though things look
different, even even though if your obedience looks very
costly, if it is costly, notice she obeys the Lord.
And what happens when she returns?
Somebody takes her land, somebody takes her home.
Is this what I get for trusting the Lord?
Going to the land of the Philistines for seven years and
I come back and instead of coming back to an empty home, I
come back to somebody occupying it, my produce, my fields.
Remember, she was a wealthy woman.
She had a lot. Is God still worthy?
To be trusted and obeyed when it's costly.
She doesn't complain. Oh, you see this consistency in
her character. Whether it was her son who was
prematurely sick and dies because of that sickness, all is
well. All is well to her husband.
All is well before the Prophet, and now she comes.
Back to. The land, her land, and it's
taken from her. And though she doesn't say, she
demonstrates this. You go, OK, I'm going to go to
the king and I'm going to make an appeal.
She doesn't raise her fist to the heavens.
This is a remarkable woman. So as challenging as waiting on
God may be, or as inconvenient as his commands might seem, you
can't afford to rely on your human wisdom.
Especially when it contradicts God's word.
Because you have no idea what. Blessings await the other side
of your obedience. You have no idea.
Speaking on relying on our own. Wisdom.
Let's talk about Gehazi a little bit, shall we?
This rebel, how do you explain his?
Presence in the palace of the king.
How is he here of all places? Well, you heard it earlier that
A. Common explanation is that this
took. Place before 2nd Kings chapter
5. But I think there are
challenges. With that.
So there are some other. Possibilities and people will
claim that. He must have repented, he must
have confessed his sin, and God was merciful to him by reversing
the curse. And as much as we would love to
believe that he had a change of heart, there is no shred of
evidence that Gehazi got right with God.
So you have others who would say.
Well, OK, yes, he did receive this indictment, this judgement
of leprosy, but it didn't develop right away.
It was a slow process and so. For a period of time he was
still fine and he was able to function in society, which
enabled him to engage with the king in this manner.
OK, but that. Really contradicts this verse
where we read in Second Kings 527 that.
He went out from Elijah's. Presence a leper like snow.
So this is advanced leprosy immediately.
So what is the answer? I think we're left with only one
conclusion, that Gehazi had a unique relationship with the
prophet Elijah, and because of that, he was.
Granted, special, though limited access to the King who wanted to
satisfy his curiosity, who had inquiries about Elijah's life,
his story, his abilities. And so he summons Ghazi, who had
a front row seat, to it all. And how that worked?
Practically, we're not told, but that seems to make to make the
most sense that he calls for this man, though he's a leper,
so that he can inquire of him in order to to know more about the
Prophet. And if that is true.
Then it also. Provides an insight about the
human heart. That the King's.
Curiosity about the things of God and Gehazi's ability to
recount them accurately does not signify a right relationship
with the Lord. So we might be excited.
That the king of Israel is finding some thrill and
discovering. What Elijah is all.
About what he's able to do in the testimonies that are
associated with him. But that doesn't mean that he.
He wants God. There are many people who have
an. Interest in the Bible.
I've met people like that. I've met people who've come on
Friday night Bible studies who after the study will come up and
they have, they just have this curiosity about the things of of
the of the word, the historicity of it, the revelation of it, the
prophecies about it. But they have zero interests of
the God of the Bible. They don't want a relationship
with him. They're just curious.
They're just. Fascinated.
Maybe. It's just an intellectual.
Kind of stimuli mental. Gymnastics and you have others
like Ghazi. Who can, who can rehearse?
Church history with a PhD level of knowledge.
Memorized it. Can explain any doctrine, any
theological concept. In our lepers.
Unrepentant, still filled with greed and operate in deception.
So you have this pair. One is.
Interested in the things of God, but is wicked Another who can
explain the things of God, but is wicked in his own way?
This is interesting. And it's quite telling of the
human condition. It's not what you.
Know it's what you do with what you know, Yeah.
And it's not how fascinating you.
Are with the truth it's if it's one your devotion.
So no matter how. Excited you are about these
things or how well you can articulate them that.
Won't save you only when that truth has won your heart.
Does it mean something? To you and to others.
So what shall we do? We have to make a conclusion
about Gehazi. I don't think the author is too
interested in trying to explain to us how he is here, I think.
There's a greater truth to be learned.
And it's about Providence. And.
That's what we're going to conclude.
On there are a couple of thoughts about.
Providence that I want to bring to your attention.
Let's look at verse 6 again. And when the king asked the.
Woman, she told him. So the king appointed an
official for her, saying restore all that was hers, together with
all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the
land until now. Let me mention to you.
The brilliance of God's Providence, the.
Brilliance of God's. Providence in how it
accomplishes more than one redemptive purpose at a time.
Because the obvious. Conclusion here is that.
God orchestrated all of this so that the woman would arrive at
this particular moment, so that the King would hear the
testimony, see the evidence of it, and be moved to get behind
supporting this woman and the way God supported this woman or
whatever was going through his mind to actually accept her
appeal. But it's more than that.
As much as God had the woman in mind right to reward her and to
preserve her, I believe that God had the King in view as well.
What do you mean? Because Gehazi's testifying.
Of what the Lord had done through Elijah and at the same
time there's a double witness you.
Have the woman and her son appearing before the king of
Israel, confirming that this was true.
With what end in mind to? Entertain the king you know to
hopefully cause him to see this is the true God.
He's real. The gods that I worship.
They can't do this. There's no testimonies like
this. And so I'm persuaded that the
Lord orchestrating this was also to cause the king to reconsider
his lack of faith in the true God.
He gave this king a chance. Another chance with this
testimony is a brilliant testimony.
And so I love the way God. Moves because you see one
testimony. And there are hundreds of other.
Testimonies attached to that one.
God is doing something in your. Life, which is wonderful, but.
There are other things that he's doing in that.
There are all these different subplots in God's work.
It's it's wonderful. And I think in eternity we're
going to spend thousands upon thousands of years connecting
all the dots. And so we just see two things.
At least that's what I see. The woman being provided for and
also the king being provided for In what way?
Yes, the woman, her property, but this man under the chance to
witness the truth so that he can come to the truth.
So the brilliance of God. 'S wisdom in his providential
work, but also the purpose of pain in his providential work.
Who would have? Thought that the Lord.
Bringing this woman a child and allowing that child to die.
Would be the necessary. Testimony for years to come that
when this woman would lose everything, it would be that
testimony that would win everything back.
At least 7A. Minimum of seven years has has
transpired between this woman and her son.
And this encounter with the. King, Surely it's more than.
That. So who would have thought?
That the trauma of this boy's dead death.
And the glorious testimony of His resurrection had something
greater in mind that would take years upon years before it was
realized. So you and I have scars.
And we wonder the purpose of these scars.
You might not know it for another decade.
You might not know it for another. 30 years?
You have no clue. But we have stories like.
This to comfort us in those moments of waiting and wondering
that this is not in vain. My my turmoil is not pointless.
There's something to this. I may not be able to see it.
I may not be able to explain it. And I'm sure you've tossed in
bed back and forth trying to wonder what, why this, why, and
I. Wonder what the reaction of
this? Woman was she was a woman of
faith. She was, she was a smart woman.
I wonder what she thought when she went back home and realized
it was this testimony that would win the King's temporary
affection to allow me to have everything that I lost.
This is no ordinary king, by the way.
The context suggests that he is Jeho Ram.
And who is he? The son of?
Remind me? Good.
Ahab. And his mother was Jezebel.
Did Ahab have a reputation of being kind with people's
property or No, No, no, no. You remember Nabit's vineyard,
right? And so this is.
This is a king whose. Dad was very manipulative,
right? And it makes you wonder.
What are the chances? That this king is not going to
take advantage of the situation and.
Manipulate it so that he. Can come out with something very
low, very low if we see his. History and his upbringing, and
yet it would be Ghazi's word and this woman's appearance at that
time and that particular story out of all of Elijah's
testimonies that would soften his heart and say you can have
it back. And not just have it back.
Read verse 6 carefully again. So the king.
Appointed an official for her saying restore all that was
hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the
day that she left the land until now.
So not just your house and. Your land, but whatever produce
that might have been developed in your absence, all of that is
being brought to you. As though you were here.
Everything that was. Taken from you.
Is going to be given back to you.
I'm sure she would have been happy if you just got the keys
back to her front door. But no, we're going to, we're
going to work this out and figure out what was, what was
developed and what was produced. And we're going to, we're going
to put that into your account as well.
Because the Lord goes above and beyond for those who serve him,
He goes. Above and beyond.
For those who serve him, that's really the lesson of this
testimony in this study, that you will never go wrong serving
the Lord sacrificially never go wrong and though you serve him
and. Things happen in your.
Life that don't make sense. Treatment that doesn't seem to
align with faithfulness. There's a reason for it.
It's developing a wisdom in you.
It's developing a character. In you, it's developing a story
in you that when it's shared, might win people to the Savior.
They say, I've read this in many, many accounts of
ministers, that their messages and that their counsel and that
their interactions with their members radically change when a
chapter of suffering comes their way.
God's curriculum in his school is very fascinating to me, very
interesting. And all that requires of.
Us is just to trust him, believe him, let him lead and let him
write this story and as he's writing that story, as we learn
that doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have some liberty
to make choice as you were informed by the word of God.
Go wherever you can. And so I want us to end here
tonight, asking us for both of those things, for His perfect
leadership so that we wouldn't miss 1 testimony.
And at the same time for the wisdom and the balance to know
when to move, how to act, what to decide, and to believe that
He will guide us even though we don't get supernatural guidance
in it. Shall we pray?
Can we take our time? I think this is a very fitting
study for the last study of our year of this year as we prepare
for a new year. And the praise team can.
Join me on the platform as we are ready to sing to the Lord.
Thank you, Lord. We bless your holy name.
You are beyond good to us. Lord, Oh God, we thank you for
2024. We thank you for every
testimony. We even thank you for the tests,
the trials, Lord, that you were able to bring us through.
Thank you, Lord, that these things occurred, not because we
have something to prove to you, but.
So that we can confirm. The faith that we have in you
and realize I do trust him, I do believe in him, I do love him.
So Lord, we, we honor you, we crown you with our praise for
everything. Oh God.
And we, we ask even now, Lord, if there is a crossroads that
some are standing at, not knowing where to go, that this
study would be the nudge to push them in the right direction.
And for those who have done all that they can to obey you and it
and it just seems to cost them more than anything else.
May they believe you and may they rest in you knowing that
they will never go wrong, obeying what your word has to
say, even if it encourages delay, even if it causes
inconvenience. Lord, we believe you that you
only have good in mind for us. So help us be patient.
In our obedience, help us be patient as we wait on You.
Lord, Tonight we pray that You would deposit in our hearts the
ability to retain these truths. When they matter, the.
Most when we are faced with similar things that might
challenge us to distress you, Lord, bring these things to
mind. Help us remember.
We will not, O Lord, divert from your way.
We will not be like Elimelech and Naomi and choose to be the
kings of our own lives, the queen of our own decisions.
We trust in You, even in famine. Even in discomfort.
We'll wait on you. In Jesus name, Amen.
Let's stand and worship the Lord.
Just worship Him with the heart that He has taught us so much in
2024 and that He has more for us should He tarry in 2025.