A Sunday or two ago, the pastor of the church we attended talked about the story of the Shunammite woman and Elisha.
The Shunammite woman, whose name is never mentioned, was wealthy and well connected. To illustrate how connected she was, sometime after the event we will discuss, Elisha warned her about a coming famine and so she move to the land of the Philistines. When she returned after seven years, she petitioned the king for the return of her land and it was granted (2 Kings 8:1-6).
But back to our story. The Shunammite woman had prepared a room for Elisha to stay whenever he passed by that way. Elisha asked her what he could do to repay her and she requested nothing. Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, then mentioned that she had no son and Elisha told her that within a year she would have a son.
The Shunammite woman did bear a son but when the child was older, he was stricken with some illness involving his head and died in the arms of his mother. Instead of just mourning for her loss, she determined to get to Elisha who was at Mt. Carmel which was a distance of 20 miles from Shunem (according to Easton’s Bible Dictionary). Her urgency is expressed in what she told her servant:
“Urge the animal on; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” (2 Kings 4:24-25 ESV)
The Shunammite woman illustrates how we should respond to a crisis in our lives. Many Christians resign themselves to whatever life brings into their lives because God is sovereign and he controls everything that happens to us. A “let go and let God” mentality. This borders on fatalism. The example of the Shunammite woman tells us we have an ability to deal with the crisis we face and should do whatever we can. As one of the early Church fathers, Origen, explains: “He makes Himself known to those who, after doing all that their powers will allow, confess that they need help from Him.” [1]
While she was doing all she could, she also exhibited calm in the midst of the crisis. When she made it to Mt. Carmel Gehazi asked her how it was with her, her husband, and her child. Her response was: “All is well.” (2 Kings 4:26-27 ESV)
Losing a child is one of the most heart rending experiences a parent can go through. This is particularly the case for the Shunammite woman who had been childless for so long. We can understand why she did everything she could to save her child. Yet in the midst of this crisis, she exhibited a calm because she evidently believed that regardless of the outcome, all would be well. Paul had the same opinion: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, (Romans 8:28 ESV). “All things” means the good and bad events in our lives.
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[1] David W. Bercot, Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up, Tyler, TX: Scroll Publishing Company, 1989, p. 53.
