And he called Gehazi, and said, call this Shunammite ,.... To come up to the chamber to him: so he called her: and when she was come in unto him, he said, take up thy son ; from off the bed, alive, safe, and sound. read more
TYPICAL MIRACLES WROUGHT BY ELISHA . General introduction . The miracles of this chapter are all of them miracles of mercy. The first and last consist in the multiplying of food, and thus belong to the same class as our Lord's feeding the four and the five thousands, and Elijah's increasing the meal and oil of the widow of Zarephath ( 1 Kings 17:10-16 ). It serves no useful purpose to ask how miracles of this class were wrought. The inspired writers have not told us; and... read more
2. The promise of a child to the Shunammite woman, and the restoration of the child to life. read more
Godliness has, to a large extent, the promise of this life, as well as of the life to come. The "good Shunammite" and her husband are examples of the union, which is more common than men are apt to allow, between piety and prosperity. They have nothing heroic about them, nothing out of the common. They are substantial middle-class people, dwelling in a quiet country-side, farming on a moderate scale, with a comfortable house of their own, dwelling contentedly amid their laborers and their... read more
Death and restoration. This is a touching story. It is a story for children. It is a story for parents. It is a story for every one. The circumstances of this little boy's death were peculiarly sad. He had been an unexpected gift of God to his parents. His mother had not sought for him; but God sent her a son as a reward for her kindness to his servant, and in answer to the prophet's prayer. Perhaps when this sudden stroke came upon her, and she watched the little fellow pine away and die in... read more
The lady of Shunem: 2. The son taken and restored. A lapse of several years occurs in the story, during which time the child had grown, till he was able to go out to his father to the harvest-field. I. THE UNEXPECTED STROKE . 1. A boyhood of promise . Everything combined to invest this Shunammite's son with interest, and to make him the idol of his parents' heart. He was an only son, the son of his father's old age, a child of promise—almost of miracle. He would be the... read more
The relation of prayer to secondary causes. "And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead," etc. The death of the Shunammite's son, as we have seen in the preceding verses, was in many senses to her a very severe trial—a trial from which we have inferred that great trials often spring from great mercies ; that great trials should be patiently endured ; and that great trials might have a blessed end . By prayer Elisha now raised the woman's dead boy to life.... read more
And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite ; i.e. tell her to come here. No time was to be lost in restoring the child to his mother, now that he was alive again. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son ; i.e. lift him up, take him in thine arms, feel him to be all thine own once more. read more
Take up thy son - Compare Elijah’s action (marginal reference “t”) and our Blessed Lord’s Luke 7:15. read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 4:18-37
We may well suppose that, after the birth of this son, the prophet was doubly welcome to the good Shunammite. He had thought himself indebted to her, but henceforth, as long as she lives, she will think herself in his debt, and that she can never do too much for him. We may also suppose that the child was very dear to the prophet, as the son of his prayers, and very dear to the parents, as the son of their old age. But here is, I. The sudden death of the child, though so much a darling. He was... read more