38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal. And there was a famine in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. And he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.
And Elisha had spoken to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, Rise up and go, thou and thy household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn; for Jehovah has called for a famine, and it shall also come upon the land for seven years.
And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said to him, Dost thou know that Jehovah will take away thy master from over thy head to-day? And he said, I also know it: be silent!
*I* am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to [the] exactness of the law of [our] fathers, being zealous for God, as *ye* are all this day;
And she had a sister called Mary, who also, having sat down at the feet of Jesus was listening to his word.
And they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting, clothed and sensible, at the feet of Jesus. And they were afraid.
But after certain days Paul said to Barnabas, Let us return now and visit the brethren in every city where we have announced the word of the Lord, [and see] how they are getting on.
When therefore they went out on the land, they see a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.
Jesus therefore says to them, Children, have ye anything to eat? They answered him, No.
But the man out of whom the demons had gone besought him that he might be with him. But he sent him away, saying,
Jehovah will smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with burning ague, and with drought, and with blight, and with mildew, and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. And thy heavens which are over thy head shall be brass, and the earth which is under thee, iron. Jehovah will give as the rain of thy land powder and dust; from the heavens shall it come down upon thee until thou be destroyed.
And it came to pass, after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers and hearing them and asking them questions.
I have compassion on the crowd, because they have stayed with me already three days and they have not anything they can eat, and if I should dismiss them to their home fasting, they will faint on the way; for some of them are come from far. And his disciples answered him, Whence shall one be able to satisfy these with bread here in a desert place? And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. And having taken the seven loaves, he gave thanks, and broke [them] and gave [them] to his disciples, that they might set [them] before [them]; and they set [them] before the crowd.
And propose a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Set on the pot, set [it] on, and also pour water into it.
Son of man, when a land sinneth against me by working unfaithfulness, and I stretch out my hand upon it, and break the staff of the bread thereof, and send famine upon it, and cut off man and beast from it;
The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought. Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem goeth up. And their nobles send their little ones for water: they come to the pits, they find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are ashamed, they are confounded, and have covered their heads. Because the ground is chapt, for there hath been no rain on the earth, the ploughmen are ashamed, they cover their heads. For the hind also calveth in the field, and forsaketh [its young], because there is no grass. And the wild asses stand on the heights, they snuff up the wind like jackals; their eyes fail, because there is no herbage.
Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of Jehovah. And Jehovah said, It is for Saul, and for [his] house of blood, because he slew the Gibeonites.
And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house, and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar to Jehovah.
Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather little in; for the locust shall devour it. Thou shalt plant and till vineyards, but shalt drink no wine, nor gather [the fruit]; for the worms shall eat it. Olive-trees shalt thou have throughout all thy borders, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with oil; for thine olive-tree shall cast its fruit.
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.