27 And when she came to where the man of God was on the hill, she put her hands round his feet; and Gehazi came near with the purpose of pushing her away; but the man of God said, Let her be, for her soul is bitter in her; and the Lord has kept it secret from me, and has not given me word of it.
But he gave her no answer. And his disciples came and said to him, Send her away, for she is crying after us.
No longer do I give you the name of servants; because a servant is without knowledge of what his master is doing: I give you the name of friends, because I have given you knowledge of all the things which my Father has said to me.
But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot (who was to give him up), said, Why was not this perfume traded for three hundred pence, and the money given to the poor? (He said this, not because he had any love for the poor; but because he was a thief, and, having the money-bag, took for himself what was put into it.) Then Jesus said, Let her be. Let her keep what she has for the day of my death.
At that point the disciples came back, and they were surprised to see him talking to a woman; but not one of them said to him, What is your purpose? or, Why are you talking to her?
And went in and took her place at the back of him, near his feet, weeping, so that his feet were washed with the drops from her eyes, and with her hair she made them dry, and kissing his feet she put the perfume on them.
And they took to him little children, so that he might put his hands on them: and the disciples said sharp words to them.
And on the way, Jesus came to them, saying, Be glad. And they came and put their hands on his feet, and gave him worship.
And the Lord said, Am I to keep back from Abraham the knowledge of what I do;
Certainly the Lord will do nothing without making clear his secret to his servants, the prophets.
No one has knowledge of a man's grief but himself; and a strange person has no part in his joy.
My soul is tired of life; I will let my sad thoughts go free in words; my soul will make a bitter outcry.
So she went, and came to Mount Carmel, to the man of God. And when the man of God saw her coming in his direction, he said to Gehazi, his servant, See, there is the Shunammite;
And Nathan said to the king, Go and do whatever is in your heart; for the Lord is with you.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Kings 4
Commentary on 2 Kings 4 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 4
Great service Elisha had done, in the foregoing chapter, for the three kings: to his prayers and prophecies they owed their lives and triumphs. One would have expected that the next chapter would tell us what honours and what dignities were conferred on Elisha for this, that he should immediately be preferred at court, and made prime-minister of state, that Jehoshaphat should take him home with him, and advance him in his kingdom. No, the wise man delivered the army, but no man remembered the wise man, Eccl. 9:15. Or, if he had preferment offered him, he declined it: he preferred the honour of doing good in the schools of the prophets before that of being great in the courts of princes. God magnified him, and that sufficed him-magnified him indeed, for we have him here employed in working no fewer than five miracles.
2Ki 4:1-7
Elisha's miracles were for use, not for show; this recorded here was an act of real charity. Such also were the miracles of Christ, not only great wonders, but great favours to those for whom they were wrought. God magnifies his goodness with his power.
2Ki 4:8-17
The giving of a son to such as were old, and had been long childless, was an ancient instance of the divine power and favour, in the case of Abraham, and Isaac, and Manoah, and Elkanah; we find it here among the wonders wrought by Elisha. This was wrought in recompence for the kind entertainment which a good woman gave him, as the promise of a son was given to Abraham when he entertained angels. Observe here,
2Ki 4:18-37
We may well suppose that, after the birth of this son, the prophet was doubly welcome to the good Shunammite. He had thought himself indebted to her, but henceforth, as long as she lives, she will think herself in his debt, and that she can never do too much for him. We may also suppose that the child was very dear to the prophet, as the son of his prayers, and very dear to the parents, as the son of their old age. But here is,
2Ki 4:38-44
We have here Elisha in his place, in his element, among the sons of the prophets, teaching them, and, as a father, providing for them; and happy it was for them that they had one over them who naturally cared for their state, under whom they were well fed and well taught. There was a dearth in the land, for the wickedness of those that dwelt therein, the same that we read of, ch. 8:1. It continued seven years, just as long again as that in Elijah's time. A famine of bread there was, but not of hearing the word of God, for Elisha had the sons of the prophets sitting before him, to hear his wisdom, who were taught, that they might teach others. Two instances we have here of the care he took about their meat. Christ twice fed those to whom he preached. Elisha was in the more care about it now because of the dearth, that the sons of the prophets might not be ashamed in this evil time, but, even in the days of famine, might be satisfied, Ps. 37:19.