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2 Kings 4:1-7

Listen to 2 Kings 4:1-7

The Widow's Oil

1 Now a certain woman of the wives of 1the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD; and 2the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves."
2 Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" And she said, "Your maidservant has nothing * in the house except * 3a jar of oil."
3 Then he said, "Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few.
4 "And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full."
5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured.
6 When 4the vessels were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not one vessel more." And the oil stopped.
7 Then she came and told 5the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, 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 5

  • 1. 2 Kings 2:3
  • 2. Lev 25:39-41, 48; 1 Samuel 22:2; Nehemiah 5:2-5
  • 3. 1 Kings 17:12
  • 4. Matthew 14:20
  • 5. 1 Kings 12:22

Footnotes 1

  • [a] Lit "Elisha, saying"
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org

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