2 Kings 4

Since some time last year I have been reading in the old testament in my morning devotion time. Why? Because I've been a Christian a long time and I had found that when reading familiar passages in the new testament I would immediately think of all the sermons I'd heard before, or commentaries I'd read on that passage previously...I'd grown stale in my daily readings. So, I started reading unfamiliar passages. It's been good. Recently, I was reading in 2 Kings 4 and was fascinated by some of the things in that passage.

First, God's provision. He provided food in a famine. He provided children to the barren. He brought the dead to life. That is the God I serve...one who cares about the needs of individuals and has the power to change things even in the most impossible circumstances.

Second, (and something I can't get out of my brain) is the parallels between the circumstances in the Bible and the places I visit for work these days. For instance in 2 Kings 4 there is a woman who shows kindness to Elisha the prophet. She has never had a son and her husband is old. Why does the Bible bother to mention those details? Because in that culture these details matter. My commentary explains that without a male heir the woman is vulnerable to land grabbing and division of her husbands property upon his death without the protection of a male in the household. This isn't ancient history, this still happens today all over the world - maybe not in your neighborhood if you live in a Western civilization, but outside of that - a woman goes from the protection of her father, to a husband and if she out lives him, to a son...often unable to own property on her own. The end of this story is that God gives this woman a son and raises him from the dead. God cares for this womans needs in a very tangible way.


Another circumstance in 2 Kings 4 is a widow who comes to Elisha for help because her sons are in danger of being enslaved by a debt collector. My commentary explains that in those days it was law that a debtor could take a son to work off the debt. This law was created to protect the families assets so they didn't loose their home, but could still pay the debt. However, this law was often abused and the temporary arrangement turned in to long-term slavery. This is another practice that happens all over the world today. The end of this story is that God took a small amount of oil that the widow had and multiplied it so she could sell it and pay the debt, sparing her sons from slavery. God cares for this family in a very tangible way.

When I was younger I used to think the old testament was boring, irrelevant, and full of uninteresting stories. Passages like this have changed my mind. I see how it is still relevant today. These circumstances didn't just happen in the past, some people are still living with these customs, in famine, or struggling with infertility...and God still has the power to change their circumstance.

Have you had any interesting times with God lately? Has he shown you something unexpected?