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2 Kings 4:1-7

Listen to 2 Kings 4:1-7

Elisha and the Widow’s Oil

1 Now the wife of one of the 1sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, 2but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves. ”
2 And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house? ” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil. ”
3 Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few.
4 Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside. ”
5 So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her.
6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel. ” And he said to her, “There is not another. ” Then the oil stopped flowing.
7 She came and told the 3man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest. ”

2 Kings 4:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 4

This chapter treats of the miracles of Elisha, of his multiplying a poor widow's pot of oil for the payment of her husband's debts, 2Ki 4:1-7 of obtaining a son for a Shunamitish woman, who had been very hospitable to him, 2Ki 4:8-17, of his raising up her son to life when dead, 2Ki 4:18-37, of his curing the deadly pottage made of wild gourds, 2Ki 4:38-41, and of his feeding one hundred men with twenty barley loaves, 2Ki 4:42-44.

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2 Kings 4:1-7 Study Resources

Sermons

Not the End Part 1
Not the End Part 1
James Kaddis

In the last several months, we have experienced an immense amount of loss. In the midst of that loss, it is very easy to be distracted by the things that we no longer have. But God wants to use that to draw our attention to what we actually do have. He takes what we often perceive as little, but what is actually abundant, and uses it to bring even greater fruitfulness and blessing. Today on Light on the Hill we are going to talk about that, as pastor James Kaddis opens Second Kings chapter four.

A Little Pot of Oil
A Little Pot of Oil
Stuart and Jill Briscoe

Scripture tells a story about a widow who has run out of options on how to pay her creditors. She’s facing the real possibility that she will lose both of her young sons to slavery as a means of paying her debt. This desperate woman is out of money, out of hope, and out of faith. She’s angry at God for the situation she’s facing with seemingly no way out.Have you ever felt that way?How do you find peace when your faith is completely out of focus? When the sheer weight of the moment has blinded you to the Holy Spirit at work on your behalf, Jill’s message will remind you that God is sufficient. You have all you need when you have all of Him in all you.

A Little Pot of Oil
A Little Pot of Oil
Jill Briscoe

In 2 Kings 4, there's a story about a widow who has run out of options on how to pay her creditors. She's facing the real possibility that she will lose both of her young sons to slavery, as a means of paying her debt. This desperate woman is out of money, out of hope, and out of faith. She's angry at God for the situation she's facing with seemingly no way out. Have you ever felt that way? How do you find peace when your faith is completely out of focus? When the sheer weight of the moment has blinded you to the Holy Spirit at work on your behalf? Jill's message will remind you that God is sufficient. And you have all you need when you have all of Him in all you.

Cross References 3

  • 1. 4:1 See ch. 2:3
  • 2. 4:1 [Lev. 25:39-41; 1 Sam. 22:2; Neh. 5:5; Matt. 18:25]
  • 3. 4:7 See Deut. 33:1
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025

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