2 Kings 4:8-37: Taking the Initiative

For more context before you begin studying, read this introduction to the book of 2 Kings.

"I thought he must be a Christian when he took me to his home for dinner and overnight," said a visiting Chinese scholar, recounting how a stranger at the airport had offered him hospitality when he was stranded. Hospitality is a trait repeatedly commended in the Bible. God is hospitable, and he wants his children to be also. In this story a woman welcomes "the man of God" into her home and is rewarded for doing so—or so it seems until the day her son dies. The initiative she shows in offering hospitality leads her to a deeper faith in expecting God to act on her behalf. Her faith and boldness, as well as her generosity, are a model for us.

Warming Up to God

When is it hard for you to show hospitality?

Read 2 Kings 4:8-37

Discovering the Word

• What do you know about the life circumstances of the woman from this story?
• Why did the woman use her resources to help Elisha?
• What do you think Elisha's concern for her needs (vv. 12-14) meant to the Shunammite woman?
• After being given a son and raising him to boyhood, the woman now faces a terrible loss (vv. 18-20). How does she respond to the death of her son (vv. 21-30)?
• What is the woman's strong resolve in the face of her son's death?

Applying the Word

• Compare your own use of resources to that of the woman in this story. How can you show hospitality even with limited resources?
• When have you spoken "accusing words" like these to Godor to others?
• Why is it important for us to lay a foundation of faith and trust in God before times of crisis come to us?

Responding in Prayer

What wonderful works has God done on your behalf? Offer him your praise.