False Hopes
One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.”
One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. Elisha said to him, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you?’”
She replied, “I have a home among my own people.”
“What can be done for her?” Elisha asked.
Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”
Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.”
“No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!”
-II Kings 4:8-16
The story of Elisha and his encounters with the Shunammite woman in II Kings 4, are a tale of God’s provision. God puts on the heart of this woman to provide a safe and comfortable place for this “holy man of God” to stay with them whenever he is traveling in their town. At Elisha’s word, God also provides a son for the woman, since her husband is old and she has no children. Her response to this news seems strange, however, “No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!” Why would she react in seeming rejection of this news? She was afraid of false hopes. We know from the story that she was “well-to-do” and with many resources at her disposal, the fact that she had no son, indicates that she had tried everything in order to have a child and had been unsuccessful. Her future security was at stake with an older husband and no son.
The news from Elisha that she would finally have a child sounded too good to be true to the Shunammite woman. She wouldn’t allow herself to believe it, because she didn’t want to get her hopes up again, only to be devastated once more. How often in our own lives do we fail to believe the good news that God has for us, because it might lead us to disappointment? What is the long hoped-for word from God that you just can’t believe? What false hopes are troubling you in your life of faith?
The Shunammite woman’s story is brief and yet complex. We will dig deep into the range of emotion this Sunday as we explore Elisha and the Shunammite woman. Please join us in worship this summer as we explore some perhaps unfamiliar stories from the Old Testament. They may bring insight and challenge our understanding of God’s work in the world… There’s trouble brewing in the Old West-ament.
Holy and Beloved God, Sovereign of the Universe, we pray for forgiveness. It is so easy to lose your way—even with the light of the sun and the moon to guide us, we often prefer to turn our backs and head out on our own path. Then, when we have adjusted to the darkness, turning back to your light seems to hurt our eyes, and we squeeze them shut to block out our pain and the pain around us. Help us to open our eyes again. To trust that the pain of seeing the world as you see it is reduced when we do your work. Hear the pains and burdens we bear—and take them from our hearts, that we may instead be filled with your heavenly joy and love. Amen.
