3). When The Son Grows To Boyhood He Dies Suddenly, And On The Woman Appealing To Elisha, He Raises Her Son From The Dead (2 Kings 4:18-37).
One thing worse than not having a son and heir, especially in the circumstances of those times, was to have one and lose him while he was still a boy. That was what happened in this case. For during harvest time the son, who was the joy of the family, went out to join his father and his fellow-reapers in the fields, and collapsed and was taken home dying.
But the woman had faith in YHWH and she immediately set out to find Elisha. On arriving where he was she informed him of what had happened and Elisha immediately responded and sent his servant with Elisha's own staff to lay it on the boy's face. The servant, however, could only report failure. Elisha meanwhile was proceeding towards the house with the woman, and when he arrived at the house he went up to his room where the boy lay, and brought him back to life, after which he brought the son back to his mother, thereby demonstrating the unique life-giving power of YHWH.
Analysis.
a And when the child was grown, on a particular day, he went out to his father to the reapers, and he said to his father, “My head, my head.” And he said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother” (2 Kings 4:18-19).
b And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat (or ‘lay') on her knees until noon, and then died (2 Kings 4:20).
c And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door on him, and went out (2 Kings 4:21).
d And she called to her husband, and said, “Send me, I pray you, one of the servants, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.” And he said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath.” And she said, “It will be well.” Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward. Do not slow down the riding, unless I bid you” (2 Kings 4:22-24).
e So she went, and came to the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came about, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, yonder is the Shunammite, run, I pray you, now to meet her, and say to her, “Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?” And she answered, “It is well.” And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet (2 Kings 4:25-27 a).
f Gehazi came near to push her away, but the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is vexed within her, and YHWH has hidden it from me, and has not told me” (2 Kings 4:27 b).
g Then she said, “Did I desire a son of my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?” (2 Kings 4:28).
f Then he said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go your way. If you meet any man, do not salute him. And if any salute you, do not answer him again. And lay my staff on the face of the child” (2 Kings 4:29).
e And the mother of the child said, “As YHWH lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” And he arose, and followed her (2 Kings 4:30).
d And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was neither voice, nor hearing. For which reason he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child has not awoken” (2 Kings 4:31).
c And when Elisha had come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid on his bed (2 Kings 4:32).
b He went in therefore, and shut the door on both of them, and prayed to YHWH. And he went up, and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him, and the flesh of the child grew warm. Then he returned, and walked in the house once to and fro, and went up, and stretched himself on him, and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes (2 Kings 4:33-35).
a And he called Gehazi, and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she had come in to him, he said, “Take up your son.” Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and she took up her son, and went out (2 Kings 4:36-37).
Note that in ‘a' the mother receives her son dying, and in the parallel she receives him alive and well. In ‘b' the son has died, and in the parallel Elisha brings him back to life. In ‘c' the woman lays her child on the bed of the man of God, and in the parallel the man of God found him lying on his bed. In ‘d' the woman goes with her servant urgently to see Elisha, and in the parallel Elisha's servant urgently goes on ahead in order to see if he can ‘awaken' the child. In ‘e' the Shunnamite arrives and catches hold of Elisha's feet, and in the parallel she will not leave him. In ‘f' Elisha is deeply concerned about what the woman wants, and in the parallel his servant is urgently sent to deal with here ‘want'. Central in ‘g' is her complaint that Elisha has not dealt fairly with her in giving her a son only for her to lose him while still a boy.
‘And when the child was grown, on a certain day, he went out to his father to the reapers.'
Year passed by as the son grew to boyhood, and one day he went out to see his father who was at work among the reapers in his fields, where he no doubt wanted to ‘play his part'. Again the timing of the incident is vague, ‘on a certain day'. As the son of wealthy parents he was not automatically called on while still young to himself help in the fields.
‘And he said to his father, “My head, my head.” And he said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” '
But as he was present in the fields he cried to his father, ‘My head, my head', and presumably collapsed. The father immediately ordered a servant to carry the boy to his mother. He was probably not over-concerned, thinking that it was heat exhaustion or something similar. But the fact that he did not go himself suggests that he was overseeing a number of workers.
‘And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until noon, and then died.'
The servant brought the boy to his mother who took him on her knees, but at noontide he died. The speed of the death is against it merely being sunstroke, especially as he would have been suitably dressed, and used to the sun. It rather suggests something like cerebral malaria. (A similar case is described in Jewish tradition in Jdt 8:3, although there the man had been out in the sun much longer).
The blow to the mother can be appreciated. But in this case the son was a special gift from God, and she was therefore sure that the man of God who had promised her the son would be able to do something about it..
‘And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door on him, and went out.'
So she took her son up to the man of God's room and laid him on the man of God's bed, and then shut the door on him, closing it behind her. A number of suggestions have been made for why she did this:
1) In order that the man of God might feel guilty when he arrived and found him there. This to us, however, appears very unlikely as she intended to go and see the man of God with expectation that he could do something.
2) In the hope that by his being shut in on the man of God's bed his spirit might somehow be kept near the body until the man of God could come. Certainly the later Jews believed that the spirit did not desert the body for three days. (This does not indicate that it was true, only that it was what people believed).
3) Her wanting to bring her son into as close a contact with the man of God as she could, so that somehow he might be under his protection. It was probably the holiest place that she knew of in the vicinity. It was thus in itself a cry of faith to God. We can compare how people would later touch the hem of Jesus' robe.
4) There may, of course have been a combination of reasons. She was probably greatly distraught and not thinking too clearly and simply wanted her dead son as near to the man of God whom she was about to seek, as possible.
‘And she called to her husband, and said, “Send me, I pray you, one of the servants, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.” '
We are not told whether she sent a message to inform her husband of the boy's death, or whether she hoped to spare him grief by obtaining the man of God's help before he knew. (He would not know where the boy was when he got home). But she sent a message to her husband asking him to send her a servant, and one of the asses, so that she could go and see the man of God and return.
‘And he said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath.” And she said, “It will be well.”
The message puzzled her husband who sent a reply asking her why she was going to visit the man of God on a day which was not a special day, like a new moon or sabbath. Both the day of each new moon (the commencement of each ‘month') and the seventh day (the Sabbath) were looked on as ‘holy days', and it would appear that people had the custom of visiting prophets on these days, possibly with petitions, and presumably with the hope of learning more about God and His word. (Compare how in Saul's day all the courtiers were expected to attend at court for a feast at the new moon - 1 Samuel 20:5). Note how this indicates that there was at this time no restriction on travel on the Sabbath, as long as it was for a holy purpose. (There was no restriction to ‘a sabbath day's journey'). For the association of new moon and Sabbath see Amos 8:5 (note the restrictions); Hosea 2:11; Isaiah 1:13. The Sabbath was unique to Israel and by occurring every seven days was deliberately disconnected with phases of the moon. We must not therefore read into it any connection with ideas at Ugarit or Babylon. The Law of Moses specifically connects it with God in His creative work (Exodus 20:11), and with the deliverance from servitude in Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:15). It became generally recognised in Israel because of the procedures on the collecting of the manna (Exodus 16), which instilled it into them for ‘forty years'.
Her laconic reply, ‘all will be well', was a general reassurance without explaining anything. It was important to the author as an expression of her faith.
‘Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward. Do not slow down the riding, unless I bid you.”
This does not necessarily mean that she saddled the ass herself. She would probably get the servant to do it, although she was under such constraint that she might well have tried to do it herself in order to hurry things up. Then she told the servant to proceed as quickly as possible, driving the ass at speed unless she said otherwise.
‘So she went, and came to the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came about, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, yonder is the Shunammite, run, I pray you, now to meet her, and say to her, “Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?” And she answered, “It is well.”
In this way she proceeded towards Mount Carmel at a rapid pace. The man of God was on Mount Carmel and spotted her at a distance, and the speed of her approach made him recognise that something was wrong. So he sent his servant Gehazi to enquire whether all were well. Her reply to him was a non-committal, ‘All is well'. She wanted to speak to the man of God personally.
Note the continual emphasis on ‘the man of God' (true prophet of YHWH). It was the fact that he was a ‘man of God' that gave her hope, and that would be evidenced by what he was about to do. (He is mentioned by name in 2Ki 4:8; 2 Kings 4:17; 2 Kings 4:32, embracing the whole story).
‘And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to push her away, but the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is vexed within her, and YHWH has hidden it from me, and has not told me.” '
On arrival at where Elisha stood on the hill, she hurriedly dismounted and ran and, falling before him, seized his feet, at which Gehazi sought to constrain her and push her away. But the man of God told him to desist, because it was clear that she was under some deep emotion about something that YHWH had not divulged to him. This suggests that he was in fact used to YHWH revealing to him facts about the needs of the people whom he served.
‘Then she said, “Did I desire a son of my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?” '
Her deep distress comes out in these words. They were probably not the only ones that she spoke, but they went to the heart of her distress. She and her husband had become reconciled to their childlessness, and she had made no attempt to ask the prophet for such a gift. But he had insisted, and now she was worse off than if he had not done so, for she had lost her young son and was totally bereft as only a mother can be. Had he not then in the end deceived her, as she had asked him not to? But behind her complaint lay the cry of a heart in pain that yet still believed that he could help her, a plea that he discerned.
‘Then he said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go your way. If you meet any man, do not salute him. And if any salute you, do not answer him again. And lay my staff on the face of the child.” '
So Elisha turned to Gehazi, and told him to tuck his robe in his belt and hurry on his way with Elisha's staff in his hand. He was not to salute anyone on the way, or acknowledge a salute (formal salutations were a lengthy affair and could have caused considerable delay). Such behaviour would make clear to all that he was on an urgent mission (compare Jesus' similar words to His disciples - Luke 10:4). And when he arrived at the woman's house he was to lay his staff on the child's face.
The staff was, of course, the symbol of Elisha's authority (compare the staff of Moses) and therefore of his authority under YHWH. It was therefore seen as a means of conveying Elisha's God-given authority to the situation in hand, and of bringing the dead son within the range of Elisha's power. There was no idea of magic involved. It was little different to the sending of handkerchiefs through which healing was dispensed in Acts 19:12, a practise which has also resulted in healings in modern times (my uncle had a gift of healing and used the method successfully a number of times. He did not believe in magic, but in the power of the God Who had given him his gift).
‘And the mother of the child said, “As YHWH lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” And he arose, and followed her.'
The woman, however, was not content with this. She was convinced that what was needed was the presence of Elisha himself. And so she declared with a most solemn oath that she would not leave Elisha until her son was cured. Thus Elisha arose and went with her.
‘And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. For which reason he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child has not awoken.” '
Gehazi had gone on ahead of them, and when he reached the woman's house he went to Elisha's room and laid the staff on the boy's face, but with no response. He did not speak, and he did not move. So Gehazi returned to report failure, declaring, ‘the child has not awoken'.
We are not told whether Elisha was actually expecting the child to be cured by this method, or whether it was intended to be but a preliminary to his own coming, part of the procedure of healing, which in fact took some time.
‘And when Elisha had come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid on his bed.'
The distance between Shunem and Mount Carmel was around thirty two kilometres (over twenty miles). Thus by this time the child had been dead for at least two days, even granted that the ass had been pressed hard. It would certainly have needed rest periods in the burning heat, or it would have come to a halt. And there had been preparation time at the beginning, and the time needed to explain things to Elisha. So when Elisha came into the house the child was clearly dead, and was still laid out on his bed.
‘He went in therefore, and shut the door on both of them, and prayed to YHWH.'
Wanting complete privacy for what he was about to do, Elisha went into the room, shutting both the mother and the servant out, and there he prayed to YHWH.
‘And he went up, and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him, and the flesh of the child grew warm.'
Then he went up to the child who was cold with the cold of death (in spite of the hot climate). He had been lying there for over two days. And Elisha went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him. There was no question of ‘mouth to mouth resuscitation'. He had been in this state for too long. The point was rather to communicate to the child the power of Elisha in every part of his body. We can compare how when the woman touched the hem of Jesus' garment ‘power went out of Him' (Mark 5:30). Compare also ‘the laying on of hands to heal the sick' (Mark 5:23; Mark 6:5; Mark 16:18; Luke 4:40; Luke 13:13; Acts 28:8). This was how God healed through His servants. It is a reminder that divine healing was demanding on the healer (after a period of healing my uncle would be totally exhausted). It is, however, important to note that it follows the fact that he had ‘prayed to YHWH' (2 Kings 4:33), and was still no doubt doing so in his heart. Elisha was looking to the power of YHWH not to ancient beliefs about life.
At length he recognised that the child's body had become warm again. A semblance of life had been restored. The miracle had taken place.
‘Then he returned, and walked in the house once to and fro, and went up, and stretched himself on him, and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.'
Elisha then arose and walked up and down once. He had just completed a long journey in the heat, and had then accomplished what he had on the boy. It is thus quite probable that he felt that he had to ‘stretch his limbs'. Then he once more went and stretched himself on the boy, and the child ‘sneezed seven times' and opened his eyes. He had come back to life.
‘Seven times' probably simply means ‘a number of times in accordance with God's perfect plan'. It is doubtful if Elisha was counting.
‘And he called Gehazi, and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she had come in to him, he said, “Take up your son.”
Elisha then summoned Gehazi and told him to call the no doubt anxious Shunnamite. And when she came in he said, ‘Take up your son,' This remarkable healing was one of the examples that Gehazi recounted to the king of Israel when he had asked about the wonderful things done by Elisha (2 Kings 8:5).
‘Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and she took up her son, and went out.'
Full of gratitude the woman fell at his feet, and bowed herself before him, and then she took up her son and went out. She could probably tell that Elisha was exhausted, and may well still have felt uneasy about being in that holy room when the prophet was there.
The lesson of the passage is clear, and it is that the living God had the power of life and death. He had brought about the birth of the boy, He had allowed the boy to die, and He had raised him up again. All life was in His hands from the cradle to the grave. There was thus no need for a multiplicity of gods and goddesses. YHWH was totally sufficient for His people's needs.