Wonder-Full
2Kings 4:8-37
Introduction. This morning we jump ahead to chapter four. One of the patterns which emerges in the Scripture is the pattern of the forerunner and the fulfiller. You see this over and over again. Moses and Joshua, David and Solomon, and particularly here in Kings. In Kings you see it play out in the accounts of Elijah and Elisha in how the miracles are mirrored by each but you also see it in the number of miracles performed. Kings records Elijah performing seven miracles. Elisha, however, performs fourteen. This pattern and reflection is particularly evident in 2 Kings 4. Though we won’t read the first miracle, you should be able to recognize Elisha’s healing of the Shunamite’s son as reflecting Eljah’s healing of the Widow of Zerephath’s son. 2 Kings 4 though has more to show us. Over the passages we have been considering, the question has been about which god is the true God. Is it Baal or Asherah, or is it the Lord of Israel who is the true God? Beginning with last week and continuing through these next couple of chapters we begin to see the difference between the true follower of the Lord…how true religion, true faith, and true living plays itself out in one’s life. The Bible talks about this difference in terms of worldliness and true faith or worship. As we look at 2 Kings 4:8-37, we will be looking at: 1. The Marks of Worldly Worship, 2. The Marks of True Worship, and 3. The One Who Fills Full Our Worship.
Read Sermon Passage: 2Kings 4:8-37 (ESV). “One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.”
One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she stood before him. And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” And he said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.” He said, “Call her.” And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway. And he said, “At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your servant.” But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time the following spring, as Elisha had said to her.
When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. And he said to his father, “Oh, my head, my head!” The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door behind him and went out. Then she called to her husband and said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again.” And he said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath.” She said, “All is well.” Then she saddled the donkey, and she said to her servant, “Urge the animal on; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, there is the Shunammite. Run at once to meet her and say to her, ‘Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child?’” And she answered, “All is well.” And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.” Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me?’” He said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply. And lay my staff on the face of the child.” Then the mother of the child said, “As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her. Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. Therefore he returned to meet him and told him, “The child has not awakened.”
When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the LORD. Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. Then he summoned Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.”
Let’s begin by looking at 1. The marks of worldly worship. You see worldliness rear its head in several ways in the passage. Notice how Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, responds to the Shunemite when she comes running to Elisha. When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant (2Kings 4:25-27), “Look, there is the Shunammite. Run at once to meet her and say to her, ‘Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child?’” And she answered, “All is well.” And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away.” Why does Gehazi do this? It seems to be a matter of propriety. Elisha sends Gehazi to ask if everything is okay. How does she answer him? “All is well.” But is all well? Has she lied? Has she sinned? How do you imagine how Gehazi receives this? Does he feels slighted? Passed over? Ignored?
In the world, social capital has to be managed and leveraged. If someone is a gatekeeper, you will never get through the gate if you offend them. This is why as a young public school educator I was encouraged to not get on the bad side of the school’s support staff whether that was the school secretary, the custodial staff, or the cafeteria workers. Why? Because at some point I was going to need their help, and when I needed their help, I would need for there to have been a foundation of good will. This wasn’t bad advice or even foolishness. But to believe that this is all that matters? To believe that God’s kingdom is like that? To believe that you and I are the gate keepers to God’s blessing? This is the oft-repeated sin of those who have been blessed by God. Rather than our being one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread, we imagine ourselves as being the ones who get to decide who gets to ask for bread and who doesn’t. Well, it’s like being offended when we see others healing the sick in Jesus’ name and they aren’t one of us. Who do they think they are anyway? So, (1.) With worldliness, the management of my status must be defended and protected, and it is oftentimes done over the backs of those who need the mercy and grace of God.
Second, (2.) Worldliness works to eliminate the margins of what we do not know. On the one hand, it’s very helpful to be able to forecast what is coming. We like certainty, and will do everything we can to insure things go as we plan. But look at the Lord’s prophet. Does he know everything? When Gehazi pushes her away he says (2Kings 4:27), “...Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.” He doesn’t know. What do you make of that? God’s creation is wonder-full. At other times, life is completely confounding. Worldliness does not like confounding, and in order to eliminate it, worldliness sacrifices the wonderful.
Third, (3.) Worldliness makes timeliness the most important factor. Now this doesn’t mean that timeliness is of no importance. We joke around here about “grace time,” and I always want to remind you that the Scriptures say that the “grace of God appeared at ‘just the right time’” (Romans 5:6-8) See how Elijah urges Gehazi along( 2Kings 4:26 and 29), “Run at once to meet her and say to her…” and then following, “He said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply.” In this instance it seems and in many instances it is, that timeliness is of the utmost importance. Responding to events with quick and decisive action is necessary. Obedience is to be both joyful and quick – that is what we call, [“bright alacrity”]. Bright alacrity is the virtue of an obedient heart. However, in our day and age time can be and idol. We view time as a commodity. We work “time-hacks” into our life. We demonstrate our devotion and signal our virtue by the ways we sacrifice it and not waste it or broadcast how much it cost us. Time’s primacy in our life is exposed in our impatience when we are asked to wait. But know this. Time is a created thing. None of us would say that the material world is all that matters. In the same way, time is not all that matters. God is not subject to time. And one day we will be taken out of it. The Lord does not serve time, nor must he work according to its limitations. And to believe that God must work according to your timeline? That’s foolishness.
Fourthly (4.) Worldliness assumes that doing “the thing” always leads to the desired outcome. Elisha instructs Gehazi to (Verse 29), “lay my staff on the face of the child,” but when Gehazi arrives and lays Elisha’s staff on the face of the child (verse 31) “there was no sound or sign of life.” What do you do when you are confronted by times when you did the thing, the thing you were told to do, the thing you thought would bring about the desired result, and it did not work? It’s heartbreaking, isn’t it? It leaves you with empty hands hanging at your side, filled with a sense of powerless, and a kind of wonder – which is to say, a wonder that asks, I wonder if its worth it? What comes next? Skepticism? Cynicism? Doubt? Deconstruction? Despair? We can throw the rocks of sarcasm at faith, but that kind of tearing down is only our last attempt to maintain control over what we have no control over.
Worldliness, false worship offers a promise of security or troublessness by rigorously managing one’s social capital or being in the know about what’s worth knowing or managing the sequence of events according to one’s sense of timeliness or doing the thing that will get it done. But, what we need more than any of those is that we need a heart true faith that worships the true God.
So, 2. What are the marks of true worship? Firstly, (1.) True worship is marked by humility. Humility is the virtue which allows for the presence of every other virtue. See, there is no social status whether widow, Shunamite, poor, wealthy, religiously close, in, or out. You and I are neither below anyone in God’s eyes nor above them. The problem is that we are conditioned through what we believe will bring us blessing, to live as if the Lord’s opinion of us can’t be counted on to do anything for us. Look at Gehazi, he’s looking for a pecking order with respect to his achievement or social connection. He’s the gatekeeper. It’s like Michael Scott trying to take credit for Dwight Schrute’s success at the Northeastern Pennsylvania Sales Convention, “I captivated the one who captivated thousands.” When you enter a room, is the pecking order or the food chain what you are looking to in order to find a place of confidence or at least safety? Maybe your tact is the exact opposite: it’s not about achievement but it’s about not being noticed…making yourself small. Either way, many of you come into this place…this place we call a “sanctuary”... a place that should be a place of safety and peace from all that is going on outside there, and you confront it as if you’ve walked into a courtroom. And not surprisingly, you hate coming to church because you believe you are being judged. Friends, people who believe they are always being judged are people who can very easily become? [Judgey]. That should not be us. That’s out there. That’s worldliness.
When you are counting on yourself by either saying, I’m going to do what’s expected and be commended for my good performance or I’m going to be invisible and not found at fault for anything OR even if you take the tact, I’m just going to stick my finger in the eye of any judging and do whatever I like, you are still only relying on yourself to secure blessing. You are setting yourself up to be like Roger.
If you are looking for rules to perform or invisibility to not be at fault or bigness to show your faith, you are like a man trying to play a cymbal. It won’t keep you screwing up, and in the end, there will always be pain.
The author of Hebrews refers specifically to this event in Hebrews 11:35 when he writes, “Women received back their dead by resurrection.” Why is it that, “women received back their dead?” Why is it that women experience the greatest of all possible miracles? The wealthy husband is working in his field, conspicuously absent, and seemingly unaware. Gehazi is full of self-importance. Elisha, the seer, is in the dark. Why is it that women are more predisposed to this receiving? For the same reason that the poor are. The women, the socially unconnected, the widows, are on the outside. They don’t have the capital to leverage. They have their need, and they more quickly come to the last straw, to the end of their rope. They are already humble. They are the ones who more easily grasp grace. Their only option is most often to look to the Lord to provide. Faith drives a desperate person to ask for the impossible. And what that means is, getting the blessing is not about one’s execution of a plan or the speed with which they act. It is solely up to Him. And where is God’s office? Where is there help to be had from the accusations? Outside of yourself.
And the second mark is that, (2.) True worship trusts in the man of God’s own choosing. New Life comes through the intercession of the man of God (2Kings 4:33), “so he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the LORD.” It’s not her husband’s wealth that gets things done. It’s God’s intercessor. And does the man of God’s own choosing only ask? What else does he do? The Man of God’s man pleads by offering himself as a substitute. (2Kings 4:34), “Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands.” The blessing which you seek which is not dependent upon your social status or performance, your knowledge, your timeliness, or your stuff is secured by the one who intercedes for you and gives himself for you.
Now, let’s turn last to 3. The One Who Fills Full Our Worship. In Luke 7, we find a sequence of events which lays out for us the information we need in order to understand the significance of who Jesus is. In this passage, things do not seem to be going as planned. John the Baptist is in prison. What was wonder-full when the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and hovered above Jesus as the voice of the Father spoke, “You are my beloved son in whom I am well-pleased” has turned into wondering what in the world is going on? This doesn’t seem to be the way it should be playing out. John the Baptist sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus a question, “Are you the one or should we look for another?”
Look at the sequence of events. (Luke 7:11f), “Soon afterward [Jesus] went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.” Is Jesus concerned about his social status? How much time is this taking? Is he concerned for his ceremonial cleanliness? For whom is he concerned? (Luke 7:13-16), “And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” What kind of great prophet do you think the people had in mind? They are thinking of Elijah and Elisha. They are saying, “God has visited his people!” And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
We read in Luke 7:18 that, “The disciples of John reported all these things to him.” But John still does not see it. So John, (verses 19-21), “calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord,...And when the men had come to [Jesus], they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” Jesus, however, does not first answer them with words, instead, he shows them. We read next (verses 21-22), “In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.” Now, the question for us, is do we see it? Each of these miracles take place in the story of Elisha. In our next sermons, a leper will be cleansed and the blind will receive sight, but in 2Kings 4 and here in Luke 7 the dead are raised. But notice this: the last in the list, the ultimate work is, not any of those, but that the good news is preached to the poor. And brothers and sisters, that is the great work to which we have been commissioned.
Conclusion. We have been commissioned to tell the world that the man of God, God who has visited his people, our Lord Jesus Christ, humbled himself and became both our servant and our substitute. His righteousness, life, work, and love covers us. Jesus is the one who follows after. John the Baptist was the forerunner, and Jesus Christ is the fulfiller who fills full the ministries of Elijah and Elisha. He is the helper of the Shunamite. He is the life-bringer for the boy, and if he will have it, he humbles himself to save the proud like Gehazi. He substitutes himself – the Righteous One for the unrighteous whether they are religious or irreligious. He makes righteous and delivers all those who turn to Him in faith.
Brothers and sisters, this place is not a courtroom where you give evidence to justify your existence. It is more like the place outside the courtroom after the acquittal has been pronounced. We have not merely been declared, not at fault. We have been declared righteous. We are free from all the self-righteous worries and strategies of the world. We have stepped into the good news of the Kingdom of the Son of Love, and we are safe in him for nothing can separate us from the love of God and an eternity with Him. And until that time, we humbly walk by faith in him who will bring us safely home and who renews us day by day, until we stand with him before his throne, seeing everything and full of joy.
References
Dillard, Raymond B. Faith in the Face of Apostasy: The Gospel According to Elijah and Elisha. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1999.
Davis, Dale Ralph. 1 Kings: The Wisdom and the Folly. Focus on the Bible Commentary Series. Fearn, Ross-shire: Christian Focus Publications, 2002.
Davis, Dale Ralph. 2 Kings: The Power and the Fury. Focus on the Bible Commentary Series. Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2005.
Larson, Gary. The Far Side: “Roger Screws Up.” Cartoon. First published c. 1980s. Accessed November 23, 2025.
