2 Kings 4:1-37

4:1-7 | The amount of oil the widow received was limited only to the number of vessels she collected. God met her needs both for the present and the future.

4:8-14 | Elisha wanted to thank the Shunammite woman for all this care and hospitality she had shown him and his servant. The absence of children in the OT was interpreted as a curse or, at best, a sign of shame. And with no son, she would likely end up impoverished once her husband died.

4:18-23 | Based on her actions, the woman may have been trying to keep the boy’s death a secret from her husband until Elisha came.

4:24-28 | Her few words to Elisha’s servant Gehazi suggest that the woman wanted only the prophet to know her distress. Elisha’s statement that the LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told me is a reminder that prophets possessed no special power or insight on their own, but were dependent on the Lord’s revelation.

4:26-30 | At first, the Shunammite woman’s response to Elisha seemed to resemble the bitter response of the widow of Zarephath to Elijah (1 Kgs. 17:18). But her determination to speak to Elisha suggested her confidence in his willingness and ability to act. The woman believed the Lord could work through the prophet to bring about her child’s recovery, just as He had done when she conceived. Her faith stands out in a time of national disbelief and disobedience.

4:29 | The staff was the symbol of God’s power and Elisha’s authority (Ps. 23:4). Laying it on the face of the child signified Elisha’s intention to personally come to the woman’s home and expressed faith that God would restore the child’s life.

4:32-37 | God’s prophets were not only preachers of sin and repentance but also agents of His healing mercy and compassion (1 Kgs. 17:23).