Message of the Week

Scripture: II Kings 8:1-6 July 16, 2023

Message: “God’s Timing!” by Pastor George Gnade

Intro.: 1. The passage we are studying today is based on other stories we have already studied. This story is not about another miracle that Elisha would do, but about miracles he had already done.

A. Consider the people involved in this story.

1. It is primarily about the Sunammite woman who helped Elisha by building a room for him where he could stay when he was passing through her village (II K. 4:8-36).

a. In return, Elisha asked God to give her a son, knowing her husband was too old to do this. God did.

b. But at a young age, the boy got sick and died, and Elisha actually was used of God to restore him to life.

c. In our story today, the husband is never mentioned, implying he may have died. But she had servants who were still part of her household.

2. This story is also about Elisha’s servant named Gehazi.

When Elisha healed Naaman of his leprosy, Gehazi got greedy and asked Naaman for the gifts he had brought. If you remember, after Elisha had heal him, Elisha had refused to take these gifts because God’s grace and salva-tion are free. When Gehazi lied to Naaman to get them behind Elisha’s back, he became a leper instead (II K. 5).

3. “Leprosy” in the Bible includes all kinds of skin diseases, some more dangerous than others. Naaman had been in the service of his king in spite of his disease. Gehazi is found in this story telling the king of Israel all about the miracles Elisha had done while working for him.

4. In II Kings 8:16, we are told about “Joram, a son of Ahab, who reigned over Israel for five years.” I assume he is the king mentioned in this story.

B. Now let us consider the story itself.

1. Wars and famines are often sent by God to discipline His people. There was a famine in the days of Elijah, and in this passage we are told of another famine that lasted seven years in the days of Elisha.

2. Before the famine began, Elisha had told the Shunam-mite woman along with her son and her household to leave the country during the famine for her own protection. She obeyed Elisha and had just returned, only to discover that others had confiscated her property while she was gone!

a. That is how fast things can change. Before the famine, she was well off and saw no need to ask the king for anything (II Kings 4: 11-13). Suddenly she found herself with very little and felt she had no other recourse but to ask the king for help.

b. Has something like that ever happened to you? Sometimes an illness or death in the family can cause serious financial problems. I know someone who had her income cut in half when the business she worked for was sold to another company. In India, I told you how rioters have burned down houses and churches, forcing many people to relocate. Things like this can really challenge your faith.

3. Before, when she had money, the king may have listened to her. Would he listen to her now? Before, she had a husband to represent her. Who would speak for her now?

C. But God was one step ahead of her.

1. Do you know the story of Esther? Remember when Haman was going to see the king and ask to have Mordecai hung on gallows he had prepared for him? But the night before, the king could not sleep, and looked into the archives and remembered how Mordecai had warned him of a plot against his life! So when Haman came the next day, instead of giving permission to have Mordecai killed, the king was led by God to honor him instead (Esther 6).

2. In the same way, for reasons we do not know, the king in our story today had an interest in learning more about Elisha. He didn’t have a book of archives to study, but he did know Gehazi had been Elisha’s servant.

a. If this is the same king who received a letter from the king of Aram (II K. 5:7), asking him to help Naaman get healed of his leprosy, it would explain why he had an interest in learning from Gehazi more about Elisha.

b. Amazingly, while Gehazi is talking to the king and telling him stories about Elisha, the woman and her son approach the king for help with her land!

c. And when Gehazi sees the woman, he turns to the king and says: “This is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life” (II Kings 8:5).

3. What amazing timing! The world thinks these things are just pure luck. The Christian knows in his heart when God has heard his prayers. God had heard the prayer of this woman.

D. Finally let us consider what the king decided to do.

1. First he listened and asked questions to make sure he understood her case.

2. “Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him: ‘Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.” So all her needs were met.

3. The Bible teaches us that this world is not our home. “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our earthly bodies to be like His heavenly body” (Phil. 3:20-21).

a. Jesus will not need someone like Gehazi to explain our problems to Him or vouch for us. He loves us and knows all about us.

b. He has the power to restore to us all that this world takes away. And we will spend the rest of eternity sharing His wealth and living with Him forever.

In Conclusion: 1. This is what this story means to me. Listening to the Lord and obeying the Lord is always the best thing to do and the right way to live.

2. If the world robs us of what we have down here, or if we lose everything due to hardships beyond our control, Jesus will still take care of us and reward us in His time and in His way. May God give us the faith to believe and find rest in Him.