Sermon Notes 9.3.17

Back to Old School:  Elisha 

• Elisha, whose name means "El [God] is salvation"), was a prophet of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He who was active for a period of some fifty years
• Elisha was the successor and disciple of Elijah. He is remembered in the biblical stories as a man of wisdom and a worker of miracles both on behalf of his nation in times of crisis and in the lives of individuals in time of need.
• Elisha was a farmer who lived with his parents
• Since he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen when Elijah met him, scholars have suggested that his father was a wealthy landowner.
• Elisha was bald and carried a staff, which was common to rural residents and aided travel in the rugged hills of Palestine
• Elisha left no written works of his own - the Elisha narratives reflect oral traditions about the prophet that first circulated independently among the people.

Elisha's work within Israel involved two areas: personal and political. As a man easily accessible to the people, he frequently interceded in the ordinary events of life that bring anguish and crisis.

• The purification of a vital spring (II Kings 2:19-22),
• the raising of the Shunammite's only son (4:18-37),
• the provision of an antidote for the poisonous stew (4:38-41),
• the healing of Namaan's leprosy (5:1-19; cf. Luke 4:27),
• the recovery of a borrowed axe head (6:1-7) demonstrate Elisha's ministry on a personal level.

But these stories within the larger context also show the power of God over all aspects of nature,

• an indirect challenge to the worship of idols and the miracle of the water (II Kings 3:13-27)
• the multiplication of grain (4:42-44),
• and the restoration of the Shunammite's land (8:1-6) demonstrate God's power in the economic and social spheres.

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Let’s look at an amazing story found in II Kings 4:1-7
One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”  2 “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”  “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied. 3 And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. 4 Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.”  5 So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. 6 Soon every container was full to the brim!  “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons.  “There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing.  7 When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.”

The situation:
This woman who came to Elisha knew him.  Her deceased husband had been part of Elisha’s group of prophets who served Elisha.  She, obviously through her husband knew how God’s power was unleashed through Elisha, thus she came to him desperate, but optimistic.  It was a common practice for poor people and debtors to pay their debts by selling themselves or their children as slaves to the creditors.

The Widows’ Resources (what she did have):  A far as anything of value, she had only some olive oil.  A much-needed commodity in that time period.  However, she didn’t have much – in fact just one small container called a “flask.”  This would only be enough for limited cooking or lighting a lamp for a short period of time.  

Elisha’s proposed solution:  Grab as many empty containers (jars) as you can find – even borrow as many as possible from friends and neighbors. Then, close your doors – and empty your flask into the jars.  As one jar is filled, set it aside and fill the next jar and the next, and the next, etc.

What did the widow do?  She did as she was told by the man of God.  How I wish sometimes, as a pastor, when consulted by someone as to what to do…  and I share an answer from God’s Word – that folks would actually do what the Bible is telling them to do!

What happened?  The oil continued to flow from the flask until every jar was completely filled.  The widow and her sons now had a prodigious amount of olive oil!  When the widow  told Elisha what had happened, he confirmed what she probably already knew – sell as much olive oil as needed to satisfy the creditors, then sell the rest as needed to live on.

What’s significant about the use of olive oil to meet the widow’s needs?

1. To show God’s power over his created resources.  Olive oil was essential to cooking, serving as fuel for lamps, etc.  It was a necessity.   How amazing it is that this much olive oil was produced by this little flask?  An olive tree can  produce anywhere from 10 – 500 lbs of olives depending on the size of the tree and obviously the weather conditions.  A ton of olives may yield from 35-50 gallons of olive oil.  More than likely, during that time period, it would have taken between 100 and 150 trees to produce a 35-50 gallons of olive oil.  While we’re not sure how many gallons of olive oil the widow ended up with – we do know it was enough that when sold, paid off the creditors as well as provided her and her sons enough resources to live on for some time to come.
2. Olive oil was a symbol of the Holy Spirit.  It was used to anoint those set aside by God for His service.  In James 5:13-15 we find these words:   Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.  Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.  

God will meet all of your needs.  Philippians 4:19 – “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

What is our part in securing God’s provision?

1. Go find God.  The widow in this story had to find Elisha.  Isaiah 55:6 – “Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.”  How many of us want God to provide for us, but we don’t seek him out on a consistent basis?
2. Tell God your situation.  The widow not only had to find Elisha, she had to tell him about her situation.  Philippians 4:6 – “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”  You may think God knows all about your situation, and you’re right, He does.  However He wants you to talk to Him about it.
3. Accept God’s provision as all you need.  The widow did what she was told to do, even though it might not have been how she expected, it worked.  Jesus assures us that God (his fatherly counterpart) will indeed take care of you.  In fact in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tell us these important things about our Heavenly Father.
   1. He knows our needs even before we tell Him and ask Him to meet them.
   2. He knows if your priorities are the pursuit of earthly treasures or eternal treasures.

1. He loves to provide for you, but you must have faith.  In fact here are Jesus’ own words: Matthew 6:24-33   24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money:   “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?  31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.33 Seek the Kingdom of God[e] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.  Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.  “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!  So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”

​Elisha helped people see the all-powerful God.  Do you see His ability to provide all you need?