2 Kings 4:1 - Meaning and Application

Elisha’s miracles were meant to help people, not to impress them. This miracle was a real act of kindness. In the same way, Christ’s miracles were not only great signs, but also great mercies to those who received them. God shows his goodness through his power.

Elisha quickly listened to a poor widow’s complaint. She was the widow of a prophet, so where else should she go but to the man who cared for the families of the prophets? It seems prophets had wives, just as priests did, though the prophetic office was not passed down by family birth the way the priesthood was. Marriage is honorable for everyone and does not clash with the holiest work.

From this widow’s complaint (Kg2 4:1), we learn several things. Her husband, one of the sons of the prophets, was well known to Elisha. Ministers with great gifts and high standing should still know the poor and humble, and understand their condition. Elisha also knew that this man feared the Lord. He was a godly man who stayed faithful in a time of widespread rebellion, one of the 7,000 who had not bowed to Baal.

Yet this good man was dead. The prophets do not live forever. Those who had the gift of prophecy were still subject to death. He also died poor, owing more than he owned. This debt did not come from wasteful living, luxury, or wild behavior, because a man who fears the Lord would not dare live that way. Religion itself teaches people not to live beyond their means or spend more than God gives them, even on things that are lawful. Otherwise, they cannot later pay what they owe, and they become guilty of ongoing wrong.

Still, people who fear God may end up in debt through hard providences, losses at sea, bad debts, or their own poor judgment, because God’s people are not always wise in worldly matters. This prophet may even have been made poor through persecution. When Jezebel ruled, prophets had a hard time surviving, especially if they had families.

The creditors were harsh with the widow. She had two sons to support her in her widowhood, and their labor counted as part of her resources. But now they were about to be taken as bondmen for seven years (Exo 21:2) to work off the debt. People who leave their families with debts far beyond what they can pay do not realize what trouble they are passing on. In this trouble, the poor widow went to Elisha, trusting the promise that the righteous will not be forsaken. The children of the upright may expect help from God’s providence and kindness from his prophets.

Elisha then fully relieved her distress and put her in a way to pay her debt and support her family. He did more than say, “Be warmed and filled.” He gave her real help. He did not hand her a small gift for the moment. Instead, he set her up with oil so she could sell it and begin again. This was a miracle, but it also shows the best kind of charity. The greatest kindness we can do for poor people, if possible, is to help them use what little they have through their own work and skill.

He first told her what to do after thinking carefully about her case: “What shall I do for you?” The sons of the prophets were poor, so it would not have helped much to collect money from them. But the God of the holy prophets can supply all her need. If she had even a little to manage, his blessing could make that little enough. Elisha asked what she had that could be turned into money, and found that she had only one pot of oil (Kg2 4:2). If she had any silverware or furniture, he would have told her to sell it so she could pay her creditors. We cannot truly count anything our own, or feel secure in it, until our debts are paid.

If she had had no oil at all, God could still have supplied her. But since she had this little, he would work through it and teach us to make the best use of what we have. Elisha knew she had some standing with her neighbors, so he told her to borrow empty vessels from them (Kg2 4:3). It seems she had already sold her own goods toward paying the debt. He told her to shut the door on herself and her sons while she filled the vessels from that one pot. The door was shut so that creditors and others would not interrupt, and also so they would not seem proud of this miracle. It also gave them quiet time for prayer and praise to God in that extraordinary moment.

The oil was multiplied as it was poured, just as the other widow’s flour was increased as it was used. The way to increase what we have is to use it. To the one who uses what he has, more will be given. Talents are not doubled by hiding them, but by using them. And she herself had to pour it, not Elisha or one of the prophets. This shows that God’s blessing usually comes along with our own careful and diligent effort. What we have is most likely to increase when it is in our own hands.

She did exactly as she was told. She did not accuse the prophet of mocking her. Instead, trusting God’s power and goodness, and obeying the prophet, she borrowed many large vessels from her neighbors and poured out the oil. One son brought her the empty vessels, and the other set aside the full ones. They must have been amazed to see her little pot, like a spring of living water, always flowing and yet never empty. They could not see the source, but they knew it came from the one in whom all our springs are.

Job’s picture was now true in plain fact, “The rock poured me out rivers of oil” (Job 29:6). Perhaps this happened in the tribe of Asher, since one part of Asher’s blessing was that he would dip his foot in oil (Deu 33:24).

The oil kept flowing as long as there were empty vessels to receive it. When every vessel was full, the oil stopped (Kg2 4:6). It was not right for such precious oil to spill onto the ground, where it could not be gathered up again. We are never limited in God, in his power, his kindness, or the riches of his grace. Our limits are in ourselves. It is our faith that runs short, not his promise. He gives more than we ask. If there were more vessels, there would be enough in God to fill them, enough for all and enough for each.

Was this pot of oil used up as long as there were vessels left to fill? And should we fear that the golden oil flowing from the very root and fullness of the good olive tree would run out as long as there are lamps to supply from it? (Zechariah 4:12)

The prophet then told her what to do with the oil she had (2 Kings 4:7). She was not to keep it for herself to make her own life easier or more pleasant. Those whom providence, God’s care in daily life, has made poor should be content with simple needs for themselves. They should not think that when they get a little more than usual, they may spend it on luxury.

Instead, she was to sell the oil to those who were rich and could afford to use it themselves. Since it came by miracle, we may suppose it was the best oil of its kind, like the wine at Cana (John 2:10), so she would have a good price and an eager market for it. Likely the merchants bought it for export, since oil was one of Israel’s trade goods (Ezekiel 27:17). She was then to use the money to pay her debt. Even though her creditors had treated her harshly, they still must not lose what was owed to them.

Her first duty, now that she had the means, was to clear that debt before making any other provision for her children. One basic rule of our faith is that we give everyone what is due, and pay every fair debt, even if that leaves us with very little. We should do this not by force, but willingly and without resentment, not only to avoid punishment, but also for conscience’ sake. A person with an honest heart cannot enjoy daily bread unless it is truly his own bread.

The rest was not to be saved up. She and her children were to live on it, not on the oil itself, but on the money from it, which would put them in a position to earn an honest living. No doubt she did exactly as the man of God told her.

From this we should learn two things. First, those who are poor and in trouble should be encouraged to trust God for what they need while they obey him. Truly, they will be fed, even if they are not given luxury. We cannot expect miracles now, but we can expect mercies if we wait on God and seek him. Widows especially, and in a special way prophets’ widows, should depend on him to keep them and their fatherless children alive, for he will be a husband to them and a father to their children.

Second, those whom God has given plenty should use it for his glory and according to his word. Let them do what is right with it, as this widow did, and serve God gladly in using it. Like Elisha, let them be ready to do good to those in need, to be eyes for the blind and feet for the lame.