Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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2 Kings
Book: 2 Kings
Chapter: 4
Overview:
Elisha multiplies the widow's
Oil.
(1-7) The
Shunammite
obtains a son.
(8-17) The
Shunammite's son restored to
Life.
(18-37) The
Miracle of healing the
Pottage, and of feeding the
sons of the prophets.
(38-44)
1-7 Elisha's miracles were
Acts of real
Charity:
Christ's were
So; not only great wonders, but great favours to those for whom
they were wrought.
God magnifies his
Goodness with his power.
Elisha readily received a
Poor widow's complaint. Those that
leave their families under a load of
Debt, know not what trouble
they cause. It is the duty of all who profess to follow the
Lord, while they trust to
God for daily
Bread, not to tempt him
By carelessness or extravagance, nor to contract debts; for
nothing tends more to bring reproach upon the
Gospel, or
distresses their families more when they are gone.
Elisha Put
the widow in a way to pay her
Debt, and to maintain herself and
her family. This was done
By Miracle, but
So as to show what is
the best method to assist those who are in distress, which is,
to help them to improve
By their own industry what little they
have. The
Oil, sent
By Miracle, continued flowing as long as she
had empty vessels to receive it. We are never straitened in
God,
or in the riches of his
Grace; all our straitness is in
ourselves. It is our
Faith that fails, not his promise. He gives
more than we ask: were there more vessels, there is enough in
God to fill them; enough for all, enough for each; and the
Redeemer's all-sufficiency will only be stayed from the
supplying the wants of sinners and saving their souls, when
No
more apply to him for
Salvation. The widow must pay her
Debt
with the
Money she received for her
Oil. Though her creditors
were too hard with her, yet they must be paid, even before she
made any provision for her children. It is one of the main laws
of the
Christian religion, that we pay every just
Debt, and give
every one his own, though we leave ever
So little for ourselves;
and this, not of constraint, but for
Conscience' sake. Those who
Bear an honest mind, cannot with pleasure eat their daily
Bread,
unless it be their own
Bread. She and her children must live
upon the
Rest; that is, upon the
Money received for the
Oil,
with which they must
Put themselves into a way to get an honest
livelihood. We cannot now expect miracles, yet we may expect
mercies, if we wait
On God, and seek to him. Let
Widows in
particular depend upon him. He that has all hearts in his
Hand,
can, without a
Miracle, send as effectual a supply.
8-17 Elisha was
Well thought of
By the
King of
Israel for his
late services; a good
Man can take as much pleasure in serving
others, as in raising himself. But the
Shunammite needed not any
good offices of this kind. It is a happiness to
Dwell among our
own people, that
Love and respect us, and to whom we are able to
do good. It would be
Well with many, if they did but know when
they are really
Well off. The
Lord sees the secret wish which is
suppressed in obedience to his will, and he will hear the
prayers of his servants in behalf of their benefactors,
By
sending unasked-for and unexpected mercies; nor must the
professions of men of
God be supposed to be delusive like those
of men of the world.
18-37 Here is the sudden
Death of the
Child. All the mother's
tenderness cannot keep alive a
Child of promise, a
Child of
Prayer, one given in
Love. But how admirably does the prudent,
pious mother,
Guard her lips under this sudden affliction! Not
one peevish
Word escapes from her. Such confidence had she of
God's
Goodness, that she was ready to believe that he would
restore what he had now taken away. O
Woman, great is thy
Faith!
He that wrought it, would not disappoint it. The sorrowful
mother begged leave of her
Husband to go to the
Prophet at once.
She had not thought it enough to have
Elisha's help sometimes in
her own family, but, though a
Woman of rank, attended
On public
Worship. It
Well becomes the men of
God, to inquire about the
welfare of their friends and their families. The answer was, It
is
Well. All
Well, and yet the
Child dead in the
House! Yes! All
is
Well that
God does; all is
Well with them that are gone, if
they are gone to
Heaven; and all
Well with us that stay behind,
if,
By the affliction, we are furthered in our way thither. When
any
Creature-comfort is taken from us, it is
Well if we can say,
through
Grace, that we did not set our hearts too much upon it;
for if we did, we have reason to fear it was given in
Anger, and
taken away in wrath.
Elisha cried unto
God in
Faith; and the
beloved son was restored alive to his mother. Those who would
convey spiritual
Life to dead souls, must feel deeply for their
case, and labour fervently in
Prayer for them. Though the
Minister cannot give Divine
Life to his fellow-sinners, he must
use every means, with as much earnestness as if he could do
So.
38-44 There was a
Famine of
Bread, but not of hearing the
Word
of
God, for
Elisha had the sons of the prophets
Sitting before
him, to hear his
Wisdom.
Elisha made hurtful
Food to become safe
and wholesome. If a
Mess of
Pottage be all our dinner, remember
that this great
Prophet had
No better for himself and his
guests. The table often becomes a
Snare, and that which should
be for our welfare, proves a trap: this is a good reason why we
should not feed ourselves without fear. When we are receiving
the supports and comforts of
Life, we must keep up an
expectation of
Death, and a fear of
Sin. We must acknowledge
God's
Goodness in making our
Food wholesome and nourishing; I am
the
Lord that healeth thee.
Elisha also made a little
Food go a
great way. Having freely received, he freely gave.
God has
promised his
Church, that he will abundantly
Bless her
provision, and satisfy her
Poor with
Bread, Ps 132:15; whom he
feeds, he fills; and what he blesses, comes to much.
Christ's
feeding his hearers was a
Miracle far
Beyond this, but both
teach us that those who wait upon
God in the way of duty, may
Hope to be supplied
By Divine
Providence.