And she went and came to the man of God, to mount Carmel. And it came to pass when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, there is the Shunammite
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she said, It is well.
Elisha sees the Shunammite woman coming across the plain. He sends Gehazi ahead with three quick questions — about her, her husband, her child. Her son lies dead on the prophet's bed, yet she answers that all is well. Older translations put her answer as "It is well," and the writers below quote it that way. Everything in the verse turns on that answer: what does a believer mean by "it is well" when it plainly is not?
Her reply is not a report on her circumstances. It rests on what she expects God to do with the child He gave her.
"It is well," she says, when death was before her soul. What a word! Her son is dead, but it is well! Why? Because she is a worthy daughter of Abraham. The same hope holds her up that held him: his faith counted on God being able to raise Isaac from the dead. God, who had given her this child and who had taken him back through death, could restore him in resurrection. She expects no less from the man of God, but how she hurries! "Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me," she tells her servant. Having lost the object of her heart, she can know no rest until she has recovered it.
Before this, her husband had asked why she was going, since it was neither new moon nor Sabbath — and she gave him the same short answer.
If he thinks of the man of God, it is only in connection with new moons and Sabbaths. Like many another in this day, his only thought of God is tied to a religious festival or the outward keeping of a day. The links that faith has with God are matters of life and death. Faith may not be able to argue with unbelief, or answer the questions raised by mere reason; but faith can say in the darkest moment, "It is well."
Elisha sends Gehazi to ask, and Gehazi gets the answer — but nothing more. Notice that the prophet has to ask at all: God has not told him what happened. She presses on to Elisha himself, and only there does the whole grief come out.
"It is well" might do for her husband first and then for Gehazi. But to the man of God she reveals the depth of her sorrow, and in such a way as made it clear that she had grown wonderfully since the promise had been given. She reminds him that she had not asked for the son now lying dead in the prophet's room. Was this not the same as laying a claim on the living God that He should give her back her son in resurrection? Faith is bold, and God delights in encouraging and satisfying the faith that honours Him. Even Elisha finds himself at a loss. God used the prophet's ignorance of what had happened to complete the test, so that she might be thrown back on God Himself.
Her steady answer was not numbness. Faith did not make her loss hurt less; it changed where she took it.
It is clear that the deep struggles of her heart never showed in her outward manner. Faith and spiritual discernment had drawn her to the prophet, and to no one else would she make known her sorrow. It would have been a waste of time. Her behaviour under this deep trial was beautiful. Like another believer, she could say, "I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child."
One writer draws the general rule out of her example.
A friend once wrote to me — "Faith rejoices in a dead life." And so it is. Where there is no faith, such circumstances produce utter hopelessness. To faith, they are simply the occasion for trusting God alone and completely.
Her answer is not for her alone.
See her hurrying across the plain of Jezreel, perhaps thirty miles. She goes to spread out her grief at the feet of the man of God at Mount Carmel. Such was her confidence in God that she could answer all three questions — about herself, her husband, her child — with "It is well." Friends, it is always "well." "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28).
- Well — Her one word is not a description of her situation but a verdict of faith on it; the child is dead and it is still well.
- Why — It is well because the God who gave the son can give him back; her hope stands on resurrection, like Abraham's with Isaac.
- Who — The short answer goes to her husband and to the servant; she pours out the full grief only at the feet of the man of God — who must himself wait on God.
- Weight — Calm speech did not mean a painless heart; her grief ran deep while nothing showed on the outside.
- Whatever — What crushes a life without faith pushes faith to trust God alone. For those who love God, it is always well.
And she came to the man of God to the mountain, and caught him by the feet; and Gehazi drew near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone, for her soul is troubled within her, and Jehovah has hidden it from me, and has not told me.
A grieving mother clings to the prophet's feet, and his servant moves to push her off. Elisha stops him with one sentence — it names her distress and admits that God had kept it from him.
To her husband and to Gehazi she said only that all was well. The full weight came out at Elisha's feet:
"It is well" might be enough for her husband first and then for Gehazi. But to the man of God she reveals the depth of her sorrow, yet in a way that made it clear she had grown remarkably since the promise had been given. She reminds him that she had not asked for the son now lying dead in the prophet's room. Was this not the same as setting up a claim on the living God, that He should give her back her son in resurrection? Faith is bold, and God delights to encourage and satisfy the faith that honours Him.
Another writer explains why she would not stop for anyone:
Any delay is critical. A moment lost may ruin everything. This woman can find no rest until she has caught the man of God by the feet.
Gehazi meant to protect his master. One writer sets that zeal beside the husband's worldly wisdom and finds that both had to go:
The worldly wisdom of the husband must be set aside. He could see no reason or use in drawing near to God or seeking Him at such a time. In the same way, Gehazi's zeal for his master must be disowned. It would have kept her away from the Lord she sought. Officialism, or delegated power or authority, breaks down and completely fails to meet her case — but she never trusted it.
Elisha had no word from God about the boy. What he had was a read on the woman herself:
The prophet knew very well that there was some worthy cause for an action so unusual. "She is in bitter distress," he said, and he was sure of it, "and the LORD has hidden it from me" — hidden even from the man who was the witness of grace.
(Older translations read "her soul is vexed within her" here.)
The verse says the Lord had not told him. One writer gives three reasons for that silence:
The Lord had not revealed the child's sickness to the prophet, and this for more than one reason. If he had known the danger, he would have run there, and the child would not have died. So his dependence on God would have been tested. … And then, if Elisha had known the danger, the Shunammite would not "have seen the glory of God" who raises the dead. A third reason for hiding this event from the prophet was that the Shunammite's faith might be thoroughly tested. Even if the man sent by God had arrived at her home at the very moment her son died, there would have been no chance for her to be fully shown. In this way her faith had its perfect work.
Her trust in the prophet carried a danger of its own:
If there was anyone or anything in danger of coming between her soul and God, it was the prophet, the man of God. … But it was possible then — as, sadly, we find it now — for the channel to take, more or less, the place with the soul which belongs only to the source it is supplied from. In any case, the Shunammite is to learn that even the man of God can do nothing for her of himself.
The lesson was not only for her. The same writer says what the silence did to Elisha, and what it did not do:
That it had been hidden from him entirely … was enough to raise a question in the prophet's soul: would God teach him, too, that the power was not in him, but in God Himself? Elisha may have had to learn this lesson more deeply than before. But that was not to shake or weaken his faith in God. It was to test and strengthen it. Tried it was, but not shaken.
- Silence, then speech. She told her husband and Gehazi only that all was well. The grief came out at the feet of the man of God. There it became a claim on the God who raises the dead.
- Zeal that blocks. Gehazi's push was loyalty, not malice — and it would still have kept her from the Lord she was seeking. Delegated authority failed where faith got through.
- Sight without facts. Elisha knew nothing of the boy's death. He still saw real distress behind her unusual act, and made room for it.
- Hidden on purpose. God kept the news back for three reasons: to test the prophet's dependence, to let the mother's faith do its perfect work, and to let her see the glory of God who raises the dead.
- Channel, not source. The man who gave her the promise could do nothing of himself. The withholding pushed her past the servant of God to God.
And she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?
The woman of Shunem had lost the son God gave her, and she rode hard to Carmel saying nothing of it to anyone. Only at Elisha's feet did she speak, and her words were not a plea but a reminder: she had never asked for this child.
Her words look back to a promise she had not sought. One writer ties her sorrow to the very thing that made the boy precious:
Yet in this world, even the mercies and the gifts of God are not free from deep trial. So it was with the Shunammite's son. The more he was loved and valued as the gift of God, above all by his mother, the more sorrow became her portion. He fell sick, came home to his mother, and died.
Her question carries its own answer: she never asked for a son. One writer looks at what was in her heart before the promise came:
Still, the Shunammite's heart holds a secret desire, a great desire. It was so high and so far out of reach that she had never told anyone. But the prophet's servant could see that she lacked something, and without it her happiness would always be incomplete. "She has no son, and her husband is old." … The Shunammite did not speak of this need herself. She accepted the circumstances where God's providence had placed her. Only the emptiness was there, felt deeply in her heart.
The second half of her sentence quotes herself. When the promise was first made she had answered, "Do not lie to your servant." Now she throws that back, and the ground she stands on is that nothing in this child began with her:
She counts on Him whose promises are never taken back. They rest only on the grace of the One who gives them when they were never asked for, so that nothing in them comes from her at all. She believes that even if men deceive, God does not. Had Elisha been a man like other men, he might have been mistaken, making a promise without keeping it. But he represented God, and a man of God could not act like that.
The Lord kept this trouble hidden from Elisha. Commentators read more than one purpose in that silence:
If he had known the danger, he would have run there, and the child would not have died. So his dependence upon God would have been put to the test. … And if Elisha had known the danger, the Shunammite would not have "seen the glory of God" who raises the dead. A third reason for hiding this event from the prophet was to test the Shunammite's faith to the full.
Her sentence has the shape of a complaint, but it functions as an argument. Having asked for nothing, she can ask for everything:
She reminds him that she had not asked for the son who now lies dead in the prophet's room. Was this not the same as laying a claim on the living God, that He should give her son back in resurrection? Faith is bold, and God delights to encourage and satisfy the faith that honours Him.
Notice how little she said, and to whom. To her husband and to Gehazi she gave the same answer: "All is well." She kept the whole grief for the prophet.
She had received the promise through Elisha. One writer names the danger in that:
But it was possible then — and, sadly, we find it now — for the channel to take, more or less, the place in the soul that belongs only to the source that supplies it. In any case, the Shunammite must learn that even the man of God can do nothing for her by himself.
Nothing else will fill that place — not the staff, and not her own grief:
Religious observances will not bring the child back. The staff, which may serve for everyday circumstances, is no use in this bitter trouble. Grief, however real, will not call the child back. It must be the Lord alone who can raise the dead.
- Unasked. She never asked for a son. The whole gift began on God's side, and that is the ground of everything she says here.
- Unbearable. The child was pure gift, and that is why losing him cut so deep. Even God's mercies come with trial.
- Unexplained. The Lord hid the crisis from Elisha to test the prophet's dependence and the woman's faith.
- Unanswerable. Her question is really a claim: the One who gave what was never asked for can give it back from the dead.
- Unmoved. No servant, no staff, no religious routine will do. She holds out for God Himself, and He is the only one who answers.
And he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go thy way. If thou meet any man, salute him not, and if any salute thee, answer him not again; and lay my staff upon the face of the lad.
Elisha has just learned why the Shunammite woman came running to him: her son is dead. He does not go himself but sends his servant ahead with his staff — can a symbol of power do the work of the living God?
The order to greet no one is not rudeness. It reflects a custom that would have swallowed the day.
Greetings in the East were often very long and merely a formality. That may well explain why those sent in a hurry were told to greet no one along the way. 2 Kings 4:29; Luke 10:4.
The whole shape of the command is single-minded. One writer reads it as a mission stripped of everything but its object.
He says to Gehazi, "Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand and go your way." He was to go without stopping, heeding no one, greeting no one. He had his mission to lay the prophet's staff upon the face of the child.
Commentators differ on what the staff pictures. One takes it as the mark of Elisha's own manner of life, handed to a man who had not lived it:
The staff is the emblem of the prophet's walk, but someone other than himself is carrying it. Will the Shunammite accept that as the remedy for her distress? No, her faith accepts no go-between, for it is not Gehazi who will save or who can save.
Another sees a picture of God's law. The point lies in what the law could not do.
Elisha's staff is symbolical of the law of God. But what could the law do, even in a servant's hands or in the hands of religious Pharisees? The law could tell a living person how to live, but what of a dead person? In the Old Testament the law had its opportunity to give life, if it could. But it only proved that people were dead in sins, just as the staff on the boy's face did nothing.
The errand went to a proud man, and nothing came of it. The silence that followed is a warning to anyone who handles the Word of God.
We can well understand his pride as he walked off with Elisha's staff. That staff had struck the Jordan and divided the waters. It was a mighty staff, and it had done such wonders! It was in his possession now! No doubt he imagined he was going to do great things with it as he laid it on the face of the dead child! But there was neither voice nor hearing. Is it possible to take the Word of God — that which is mighty to give life — and use it without effect, so that there is neither voice nor hearing? It is possible. If the staff is to be of any use in your hand you must be in touch with the One in whom is life and power.
She had been promised a son by this prophet. Now she will not swap him for his servant and his stick.
She preferred the living person to the lifeless staff, however much the staff might be a symbol of power. Perhaps Elisha was testing her, as Elijah tested him on the day he was taken up. If so, her faith responded nobly. How many in our time cling to lifeless forms to the neglect of the living Christ!
Her refusal is not stubbornness but discernment about where life comes from.
She rightly feels that servants and staffs will be of no use. Nothing but the power of God brought in by one who is in touch with God will restore the dead child.
Here the writers are candid that Scripture does not say. The verse before this one records that God had hidden the matter from Elisha, and one writer leaves the motive an open question.
Did the prophet do this under divine guidance, as a lesson for Gehazi and a test of the Shunammite's faith? Or had the Lord hidden the case from him, so that he was now left to act in his own wisdom and strength, without direct guidance from God? I would not say.
The same writer sees a danger in the woman's attachment to the prophet.
It was possible then — and, sadly, we find it now — for the channel to take more or less the place with the soul that belongs only to the source it is supplied from. At all events, the Shunammite is to learn that even the man of God can do nothing for her by himself.
- Haste — Greetings in the East were long and merely a formality. Those sent in a hurry were told to greet no one, as in Luke 10:4.
- Staff — Elisha's staff had divided the Jordan. Commentators read it either as the emblem of the prophet's own walk or as a picture of God's law.
- Silence — In Gehazi's hand that same staff produced neither voice nor hearing. You can hold the Word that gives life and see no effect, unless you are in touch with the One in whom is life and power.
- Substitute — The mother would not trade the living man of God for a lifeless symbol. Many still cling to lifeless forms instead of the living Christ.
- Source — Servants and staffs do not raise the dead. Only God's power restores life, and the channel must never take the place of the source.
And the mother of the lad said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee! And he rose up and followed her.
The child is dead, and Elisha's first move is to send his servant Gehazi ahead with a staff. The mother will not take it. She binds herself with an oath and will not move without the prophet himself.
Gehazi had real orders and real haste. That was still not enough for the mother.
He tells Gehazi to tie up his garment, take his staff in his hand, and go. He was to go without delay, paying attention to no one, greeting no one. He had his mission — to lay the prophet's staff on the face of the child. This would not satisfy the faith of the mother. The staff would not do. The prophet, and nothing else than the prophet, must go.
Her refusal was not stubbornness. It came from what she had learned near the prophet, and it left him no answer.
Will the Shunammite accept the emblem of the prophet's walk, carried by someone other than himself, as the remedy for her distress? No, her faith accepts no intermediate agent, for it is not Gehazi who will save, or who can save. She had learned in the prophet's school that blessing comes by staying in constant relationship with the One who is its source. "As the LORD lives," she says, "and as you yourself live, I will not leave you!" These were the very words Elisha had spoken to Elijah. How could the man of God resist this faith which took him as its model? How could he refuse to go?
Twice that day someone stood between her and the man of God. First her husband, then Gehazi.
The worldly wisdom of the husband must be set aside. He could see no reason or use in drawing near to God or seeking Him at such a time. So, too, must the zeal of Gehazi for his master be disowned. It would have kept her away from the Lord she sought. Delegated power or authority breaks down and completely fails to meet her case. She never trusted it. The words, "As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you," proved that her faith was real. They showed the depth and intensity of her spiritual convictions. … Her words are not mere sentiment. They are the unmistakable signs of God's own work in a person. Where all collective testimony is lost, that work makes the individual stand on divine principles and say to the Lord Jesus, "Come what may, I will not leave You."
The Lord kept the child's death from the prophet. One writer gives three reasons for that silence.
If he had known the danger, he would have run there, and the child would not have died. So his dependence on God would have been put to the test… Also, if Elisha had known the danger, the Shunammite would never have seen the glory of God, who raises the dead. There was a third reason for hiding this event from the prophet. It was to test the Shunammite's faith to the full… in this way her faith had its perfect work.
Commentators differ in emphasis here. Some read her refusal as faith holding to the prophet. Another sees a danger in the very man she held to.
If there was anyone or anything in danger of coming between her soul and God, it was the prophet, the man of God… But it was possible then, and it is sadly possible now, for the channel to take, in some measure, the place in the soul. That place belongs only to the source that supplies it. At any rate, the Shunammite is to learn that even the man of God can do nothing for her of himself… Elisha's staff in Gehazi's hands is as powerless as any other piece of wood. The prophet's staff without the prophet's faith accomplishes nothing.
Three things had to be shut out before the child could be raised. Each of them looked like help.
All must be shut out: the husband with his talk of new moons and Sabbaths, the servant with his staff, and the woman with her sorrow. Religious observances will not bring the child back. The staff may meet everyday needs, but it is no use in this hard place. Grief, however real, will not recall the child. It must be the Lord alone who can raise the dead.
- Substitute refused. Elisha offered a staff and a servant. She would have neither. The prophet himself, and no one else, had to go.
- Model borrowed. Her oath repeats Elisha's own words to Elijah, so her faith took him as its model and he could not resist it.
- Obstacles cleared. Her husband's reasoning and Gehazi's zeal both stood in her way. Borrowed authority failed, and she had never trusted it.
- Silence explained. God hid the child's death from the prophet. That tested her faith to the full and let her see God's glory in resurrection.
- Person required. Elisha shut religious observance, borrowed power and honest grief outside the door. Only the Lord raises the dead, and her words fit every believer: "Come what may, I will not leave You."