Year 8, Day 2: 2 Kings 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Here is another chapter of God’s unique provision.   I am struck by the odd nature of the way that God provides.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that God’s work is odd.  I’ll explain below.

First, there is the case of the widow’s oil.  Don’t get me wrong.  Neither the oil nor God’s ability is strange.  Neither is it strange that God would intervene so that a widow’s sons would be able to avoid the fate of slavery and separation from their mother.  What is unusual is the way that God solves the problem.  God causes the woman’s oil to spontaneously increase so that she can sell it and pay off her debts.  That is such a unique means of solving the woman’s problem!

Then, there is the Shunammite woman.  Elisha tells her that she will have a child after many years at being barren.  She does conceive and have a son.  As the child grows, he is injured and dies in a field.  Yet, Elisha raises him from the dead.  Again, nothing here is beyond God’s power.  God’s raised people from the dead before and He will do it again.  What’s unique is that God chooses to do it in the first place.  The woman doesn’t ask of the favor from God.  But God gives.  He gives lavishly.  He twice gives life in the presence of a woman who didn’t know it was there in the first place!

Then, there is the odd story of the poisonous stew.  Again, this certainly is not surprising as it is well within God’s power to purify food.  What is surprising is that it is done.  Elisha could have simply made different stew.  The people could have just not eaten it – they already discovered that it was bad before there was injury.  Yet, God purifies the stew and the people consume it purely as a display of His power. 

This story is unique in contrast to the others.  In one case, a woman’s sons avoid slavery.  In another case life is restored.  Here is a case where God’s power is put on display in fairly innocuous circumstances!

Yesterday I remarked at how God’s power is surprising in His creativity.  Today I find more of the same.  God’s power is surprising in how it happens, where it happens, and why it happens.

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