Try this as an experiment: line up II Kings 4 with I Kings 17. In both chapters, the prophet miraculously multiplies a quantity of oil for a widow. With Elijah, the widow of Zarephath had a jar of meal and a jug of oil that never ran out. In Elisha's time, a widow of one of the company of prophets came to him seeking assistance. He told her to get as many jars as she could find. Then she was able to fill all of them from one jar of oil. She then sold the oil to make some money.
Both of these stories are immediately followed by an account of a miraculous resurrection. In Elijah's case, it is the son of the same widow he helped with the meal and oil with whom he was staying. When her son died, Elijah carried the boy to an upper room where the prophet's bed was, stretched himself out upon the child three times, and the boy revived. Elijah gave the boy back to his mother.
In a story with startling similarity, Elisha often stayed as a guest at the home of a Shunnamite woman. In gratitude for her hospitality, Elisha tells her she will have a son. Sure enough, a son comes along. But tragedy strikes when a severe headache leads to the boy's death. The mother takes her son's body and lays it in the prophet's bed. She finds Elisha and begs for him to come help her. When the prophet arrives, he stretched himself out upon the child twice, and the boy awoke with seven sneezes! Then, just like Elijah, Elisha gives the resurrected boy back to his mother.
Later, when Jesus ministered upon the earth, he would practice similar miracles. He multiplied loaves and fishes to feed a multitude, and the food never ran out. He returned a widow's son to life and gave him back to his mother (Luke 7:15). I guess some miracles are just too good to enjoy only once!
No comments:
Post a Comment