2 Kings 4 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

2 Kings 4 Short Summary:

2 Kings 4 is primarily about the prophet Elisha helping two women. The first woman was a widow with two sons. Her husband died and the creditors were after her. Elisha helped her by miraculously refilling a jar of oil in her house. She was able to sell the oil and pay back her debts. The second woman is commonly called the Shunammite woman. Her son died of a sudden illness, but Elisha raised him from the dead.  

2 Kings 4 Extended Summary

WHEN:

• According to the timeline we are using for this study, the kingdom of Israel and Judah divided in 975 B.C. The period that followed, sometimes called the period of the “Divided Kingdom,” lasted the next few centuries. Israel remained a cohesive nation until 721 B.C. (Assyrian captivity), while Judah lasted until 607 B.C. (Babylonian exile).

• The events of 2 Kings 4 probably took place between 900-885 B.C.

CHARACTERS:

• Elisha – The student of Elijah who replaced his master as the prophet of God.

• Gehazi – Elisha’s servant.

• Shunammite Woman – A generous woman who extended hospitality to Elisha during his travels.

• The Sons of the Prophets - These were men who were students of the prophets. They probably received religious education. Not much is known about them.  

WHERE:

• Mount Carmel and the towns of Shunam and Gilgal are central to the narrative of 2 Kings 4.

OUTLINE:

• ELISHA AND THE WIDOW’S MIRACULOUS OIL (4:1-7):

  • One of the “sons of the prophets died and left his widow and 2 children behind.

  • The debt collectors were threatening to take her children as payment for the family debts.

  • The widow went to Elisha for help.

  • When Elisha asked her what she had in her house, she responded that she only had a jar of oil.

  • Elisha told her to gather empty containers from her neighbors and then to pour oil from her jar into the empty jars.

  • When she did, her oil jar never got empty, and she filled all the available empty containers.

  • Elisha told her to sell the oil to pay her debts and she would have money left over to live on.

• ELISHA PROPHESIES A SON FOR THE SHUNAMMITE WOMAN (4:8-17):

  • Elisha often passed through the city of Shunem, and a woman and her husband built a small addition to their house for Elijah’s use when he visited.

  • The women didn’t have any children and her husband was old.

  • As a gift for her generosity, Elisha blessed the woman and promised that God would give her a son.

  • Her son was born the following year in the spring.

• ELISHA RAISES THE SON OF THE SHUNAMMITE WOMAN FROM THE DEAD (4:18-37):

  • One day, after the child had grown up, he fell sick and died.

  • The Shunammite woman took a donkey to find Elisha at Mount Carmel.

  • When she found him, she fell at his feet in distress and told him what had happened to her son.

  • Elisha returned with the Shunammite woman to her house where the boy’s body lay lifeless.

  • Elisha prayed to God and then laid on top of the boy, “putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands.”

  • Then he got up, walked across the house one time, and repeated the process.

  • The boy sneezed 7 times and opened his eyes. Elisha, with the power of God, raised him from the dead.  

• THE POISON STEW (4:38-41):

  • There was a famine in Israel, and one day, a servant was preparing stew for the sons of the prophets.

  • He accidently added a poison gourd to the stew, and it wasn’t discovered until the men were eating.

  • Elisha miraculously purified the food by adding flour to the mixture.

• ELISHA MULTIPLIES LOAVES OF BREAD (4:42-44):

  • On another occasion, Elisha miraculously multiplied 20 loaves of bread to feed 100 men.

  • It not only fed the men, but they had leftovers.

APPLICATION:

• The miracles of Elisha, along with the miracles of Jesus, are wonderful illustrations of God’s ability to fix a world plagued by poison, corruption, death, and scarcity.

• Elisha purified the corrupted spring of water in chapter 2, and he cleansed the poison stew in chapter 4.

• God’s power over death is seen in Elisha raising the Shunammite woman’s son.

• Elisha multiplied loaves of bread during a time of scarcity in Israel.

• Jesus performed very similar miracles. He multiplied bread, He raised Lazarus from the dead, He healed the sick, He fixed what was corrupted.

• There is a better world coming. A world where we will get to live in the presence of the power that fixes what is broken. Where there will be no scarcity, no sickness, and no death.

• These miracles are windows into that world.