1The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”
2Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”
3Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
5She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
7She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
The pastor of my church preached on this old testament story, the other day, and I found it so inspiring, I just wanted to share it. A recently widowed woman came to the prophet Elisha. Her husband, who must have been working in ministry with the renowned man of God, had died leaving her penniless with two young sons. They were in hock to some creditors, who wanted their payment NOW. If she didn’t cough up the cash, they would take her boys. Desperate, afraid and maybe even somewhat annoyed, she explains her plight to Elisha. Her need was obvious, and Elisha, being a wise, Godly man could have gone to the coffers and handed her some money, or offered to help her in some other charitable way, but he didn’t. The first words he speaks, inquire as to what she wants him to do. Instead of waiting to hear her reply, he immediately asks her what she has in the house. If the woman hadn’t been annoyed up to this point, I bet she was now. Hadn’t she made it clear that she had nothing? Had he forgotten about the threat of losing her sons? What part of desperate didn’t he understand She restates the fact that she has squat, but then seems to remember the small jar of olive oil. Maybe that was said to emphasize how destitute she was, but Elisha, working through God, saw something valuable in what she considered puny. Employing all the members of the family, he told them to collect as many jars, bottles, urns etc. that they could find, and bring them back to the house. At this point the woman could have lost it. Why should we collect empty containers, didn’t he hear my sad story? Luckily she didn’t, instead she obeyed. Out of that obedience, behind the closed doors of their home, away from nosy, mocking neighbors, the oil flowed, and continued to flow until all the vessels were full.
Do you wonder why the oil stopped? Was it because they ran out of pots? On the surface that seems to be the obvious reason, but look closer. It says that by selling the accumulated oil, she could pay off all the debts, and live on what was left. Her need was met, not exceeded, but it was more than sufficient. Are you desperate today? Is there a need that you want God to fill? Listen closely, he is asking you what you have in your house. No matter how small, or inconsequential we think our talents are, God can and will multiply them. God could have simply given the widow the money, but no, he asked her to work with him. Perhaps he’s asking you to do something that looks silly on the surface, but believe me, God is not silly. Put aside your fears, pride, annoyance, or whatever else is holding you back, and obediently gather up those empty pots and pans. God will meet your needs, but he must have your full cooperation to fill those empty jars.
No comments:
Post a Comment