Transcript
Begin reading at verse 1 of Second Kings chapter 4.
A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.’
So 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 but a jar of oil.’
Then he said, ‘Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors, empty vessels. Do not gather just a few. And when you come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons. Then pour it into all those vessels and set aside the full ones.’
So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her. And she poured it out.
Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, ‘Bring me another vessel.’ And he said to her, ‘There is not another vessel.’ So the oil ceased.
Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debt. And you and your sons live on the rest.’
Over the years I have told you many unusual stories which I found in newspapers. But I doubt very much if I have ever told you a more incredible story than the one that I am about to tell you. Listen to it and decide for yourself.
This story was reported in the Dallas Morning News on the basis of an Associated Press report from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. According to the story, twenty-one-year-old Travis Bogomil was a civil engineering student at the Chippewa Valley Technical College in that part of the country. But in early July of 1998 he was employed as a construction worker.
While he was working at the construction site a fellow worker who had a nail gun accidentally knocked him in the head with the nail gun. The nail gun discharged and it sent a three and one-quarter inch nail into the head of Travis Bogomil so deep that the only sign of it was a small hole in the skull.
And what must have been one of the greatest spontaneous puns in the history of the entire world, Travis Bogomil turned to his fellow worker and said, “You just nailed me in the head.”
Well of course they took him to the hospital and the x-ray showed that the three and one-quarter inch nail had lodged halfway between his ear and the top of his skull in the right side of the brain. Bogomil said it felt like someone was smacking him repeatedly on the head with a hammer.
Needless to say the surgeons got to work and they extracted the nail. And the doctors told Bogomil that he shouldn’t have been able to walk or talk after the accident. And they were baffled by why he wasn’t knocked unconscious. As a matter of fact six days later he walked out of the hospital. And his only complaint was that he wasn’t quite the math whiz that he used to be.
You see the right side of the brain, the place where this nail had lodged, is the portion of the brain that processes math. And Bogomil said before the accident you could have given him two two-digit numbers and he could have multiplied them in seconds in his head. But now you could give him a piece of paper and multiplying fifty-six by twenty-three is still difficult.
A photograph of the x-ray of Travis Bogomil’s skull appeared with the story in the Dallas Morning News clearly showing the outline of the nail lodged in his head. And please remember that a three and one-quarter inch nail is about that long.
Now most of us when we hear this story, if we’re believers in God, we would draw one obvious lesson from this. The occasion of this remarkable accident to Bogomil was obviously not God’s time for Bogomil to go. But don’t you agree that’s a very unusual way of manifesting a fact like that?
And it certainly seems to me that this story reminds us of something about the Lord that we have a strong tendency to overlook. And that is this. You see in our dealings with our Creator, in our relationship to the living God of the Bible, God often acts in ways that we could never ever anticipate. And that leads me directly to what I think is a very, very important lesson this morning. Which is this: With God, expect the unexpected. With God, expect the unexpected.
Now I strongly suspect that everybody in my audience this morning has faced a financial crisis or two or three during the course of your lifetime. We all know how serious a financial crisis can be. But I would be surprised if any of us had ever faced a more severe financial crisis than the woman that we read about a few moments ago in the Word of God.
First of all she was a widow. And the ancient Middle East was not a hospitable environment for widows. They didn’t have any Social Security. They didn’t have any welfare system. They didn’t have aid for dependent children. And unless a widow was independently wealthy or unless she had some very generous relatives and friends she could face a very grim life.
And this woman was a widow. But that’s not all of it. Her husband had been one of the sons of the prophets. And that perhaps means that he was kind of in training, like a seminary student, to become a prophet. And that he served the leading prophets of Israel. And I don’t need to tell you, do I, that there was not a lot of money in being a prophet in those days.
And therefore when this husband had died he didn’t leave behind a bunch of money. Instead he left behind apparently a very large debt. Now it was often practiced in the ancient Middle East that when somebody was unable to pay their debt they could be sold into slavery. And the proceeds from their sale would go into the pocket of the person to whom the debt was owed.
And so this widow’s creditor was pressing her for her two sons so that he could sell those sons into slavery and could put the money in his pocket as a payment for the debt that was owed. Don’t you agree that this was a very serious financial crisis?
But as poverty-stricken as this woman was she had some assets. And one of her assets was that she obviously believed in the Lord God of Israel. And she knew that Elisha was His prophet. But she also had some other assets.
And when she cries out to Elisha notice that she says, “Your servant, your servant, your servant my husband is dead. And you know that your servant feared the Lord.” You see my friends this woman understood that her husband had lived a life in which he was dedicated to God. And that he had served the prophet Elisha. And that his basic spirit was an attitude of fear and reverence for the Lord his God.
And she believed that was worth something. And she was right. Because the Bible says that the mercy of the Lord is upon those who fear Him from everlasting to everlasting. And His righteousness to children’s children. Not only does God honor those who fear Him, He looks out after their children.
Now let me pause to say something to the parents that are in the audience this morning. If the Lord tarries for a few more decades sooner or later every parent in this audience will pass into the presence of the Lord through the doorway of death. I’m assuming that you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for the free gift of eternal life. If you have you will pass through death into the presence of God.
But my question to you is what will you leave behind to your children? Now there might be some people in the audience this morning who would tell me privately I’m going to leave my kids a house and property that is bought and paid for. Or maybe you’re going to leave your kids a bank account, stocks and bonds. I don’t know whether anybody in this audience has stocks and bonds or a trust fund.
But you know what? If that’s all that you can leave for your children you are leaving your children in spiritual poverty. And you are making them a prey to enslavement to the passions of sin. And I want to submit to you that the best inheritance that you can possibly leave your kids is the example, the model, the memories of a life that is truly devoted to the Lord.
If you leave your children that they are very, very rich indeed. The family of Andrew Murray of South Africa had eleven children. When grown to adults five of his sons became ministers and four of his daughters became ministers’ wives. But the next generation of Andrew Murray’s family did even better. Ten of his grandsons became ministers. Thirteen of his grandsons became missionaries.
Now I ask you, did Andrew Murray give something of value to his family or did he not? And how different, how different is the case of the little boy who said to his mother, “When I grow up I’m going to be a Christian like father.” Nobody knows whether their father is a Christian or not. There’s a kid already spiritually impoverished by the example of his father.
Make no mistake about it my friends. The fear of the Lord is something that God considers not only in the individual but in the concerns of his children and grandchildren. You see the widow appealed to Him. She thought it mattered and it did.
But as sure as my name is Zane Hodges I don’t think the widow ever dreamed she would get an answer from Elisha like she got. Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you?” And then apparently without waiting for an answer he said, “What do you have in the house?”
And the widow replies, “Your maidservant has nothing except a jar of oil.” Folks it was a poor household. She didn’t have any silver and gold vases. The way I see it she didn’t have any family jewelry in a jewel box. And all her furniture and other implements would be worthless on the open market.
The only thing she had in her house that was worth anything was that jar of oil. Because oil was used in cooking and in oil lamps and in anointing the face. It was commercially valuable. And she told him that she had it.
And then he said to her, “Go, borrow empty vessels everywhere you can. Pitchers, jars, pots, everything from all your neighbors. Don’t just borrow a few. Borrow a whole lot. And when you’ve got them all go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you and pour out the oil. And when you fill a vessel set it aside.”
Now I happen to think that whatever she thought Elisha would say to her she wasn’t expecting that. She wasn’t expecting that. And I can imagine that when she did her household tour she would often look at that jar of oil and she wondered how it was going to last and when they ran out what would she do for cooking, for lighting the lamps, for the things she used it for.
And I don’t think it entered her wildest dreams that that jar of oil was the secret of paying off her debt. But don’t you see? With God expect the unexpected. With God expect the unexpected.
Do you remember that beautiful little story that we read in the New Testament? Jesus has been teaching a large crowd of people and it’s getting toward evening. And the disciples advised Him to send them away into the surrounding villages before the markets closed so they can buy a little something for food on their way home.
And Jesus says to them, “You give them something to eat.” And one of them explains, “What if we bought two hundred denarii worth of bread? It wouldn’t be enough for each one of them to have a little.” And then one of them knew that there was a little boy in the audience who had five barley loaves and two fishes. But he said, “What are these among so many?”
You know the story don’t you? They brought the little boy to Jesus with his lunch. And before the startled eyes of the disciples and that little boy Jesus gave thanks for the barley loaves and the fishes. And He began to break the loaves. And He broke and He broke and He broke and He broke. And He did the same thing with the fishes.
And when it was all over the whole crowd not only had something to eat, they were full. There were five thousand men not counting women and children. That may have been as many as fifteen or twenty thousand people. And when they collected the leftover fragments there were twelve baskets full.
Now I ask you, when the little boy left home do you think for one single moment he said, “This little lunch that I am carrying is going to feed fifteen thousand people”? No. No folks. But with God expect the unexpected.
Perhaps you are here this morning and you are bringing one of your problems or needs to God in a regular manner. And you know you’ve got to kind of figure it out in the back of your head what God is going to do to answer your request. Well He will probably surprise you.
Or maybe you are bringing to God a problem that is so complicated and so complex that you haven’t the remotest idea what God will do to solve it. Relax. He knows what He wants to do. Let Him surprise you.
There was an elderly gentleman one time who overheard his granddaughter. We’ve got some grandparents in the audience this morning so I’m sure they will all appreciate this story. He heard his granddaughter reciting the letters of the alphabet in very reverent tones.
So he said to his granddaughter, “What in the world are you doing?” And his granddaughter replied, “I’m saying my prayers.” But she said, “Tonight I just can’t think of the right words so I’m saying all the letters to God. Let Him put them together because He knows what I mean.”
Now I don’t really recommend that you recite the alphabet to God. But I do recommend that you let Him put all of the aspects of your problem together and to come up with the solution that accords with His perfect wisdom and grace. Let Him surprise you.
Now you know I am really glad that this little woman when she heard the instructions that Elisha gave her didn’t break out into hysterical laughter. “Ha ha ha that is the funniest advice that I have ever received in my entire life. That is absolutely absurd. And Mr. Prophet if you think that I’m going to make a fool of myself in this neighborhood by going around and collecting a bunch of empty vessels when the most I can probably get into these vessels is a drop or two from my little jar of oil, well you are mistaken.”
I’m glad she didn’t do that. Because remember Sarah the wife of Abraham laughed at God because God told her she would become a mother when she was ninety-nine years old. But this woman knew that the word of Elisha was the Word of God. And she went right out and she did what he told her to do.
And she and her sons shut themselves in. And each son rolled a pitcher or a vase or a jar to her. She would fill it with oil. And finally she said to one of her sons, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said, “Mom I can’t. There aren’t any. They’re all full.” And that’s when the oil stopped.
I want you to try and imagine how I visualize the woman’s house now. I think there were so many pitchers and vessels and jars and bowls spread over her little house that there was hardly any place to walk or to sit down. And you know why I think so? You know why? Because when this was finished she went to Elisha and she said to him, “It’s done.”
And Elisha said to her, “Go, sell the oil, pay your debt. And you and your sons live on the rest.” Wow! That’s a lot of oil. Not only had she poured out enough oil to meet the debt that threatened her sons with slavery, she had enough oil left over for she and her sons to live on for a long, long time.
I submit to you that this woman learned a very important lesson which we also have to learn. She learned that God’s capacity to meet our needs is measured by the faith that we have to receive His provision. May I repeat that? God’s capacity to meet our needs is measured by the faith that we have to receive.
So I say to you when you come to God with a need let Him surprise you. Not only with the way He answers but let Him also surprise you with the abundance, the liberality and the generosity of His grace and provision. The Bible says that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think.
Or to put it another way, with God expect the unexpected.
Lewis Sperry Chafer was one of the first founders of Dallas Seminary, its first president. I never knew him but from what I heard about him he was a man of great faith and prayer. Very early in the seminary history they ran into a financial crisis. But it was so severe that it threatened to close down the seminary.
Dr. Chafer met in his office for a meeting with the small group of men who served as the faculty of the school in those days. And in the prayer meeting that day was one of the great Bible teachers of the last generation, a man whose books are well worth reading, Dr. Harry Ironside.
And during the course of this prayer meeting Dr. Ironside prayed in what I think must have been his typical straightforward way. And he said something like this. He said, “Lord we know that the cattle on a thousand hills are Yours. Please sell some of them and send us the money.”
Well while this prayer meeting was going on a man from Texas walked into the business office at the seminary. And he said something like this. He said, “I just sold two carloads of cattle over in Fort Worth and I couldn’t have done it by myself. And I feel compelled to give the money to the seminary. So whether you need it or not here’s the check.”
And the person in the business office went over and knocked quietly at the door of the prayer meeting and handed the check to Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer. And he found it was for the exact amount that the seminary needed. So he turned to Dr. Ironside and he said to Dr. Ironside, “Harry, God sold the cattle.”
Now I happen to think that Dr. Harry Ironside was one of the most surprised people in the whole prayer meeting. He was using a familiar biblical phrase but I don’t think for a minute he thought that God was actually going to sell cattle to get the money. But that’s exactly what God did.
And isn’t it a shame folks that we often come to a God like this and our faith is so small we don’t expect anything at all? Oh no. No indeed. When you bring your needs to God you should bring them in faith. You should be prepared to do what the Word of God tells you to do. And you should always, always expect the unexpected.
Let us pray. Father You are such a great God. Your wisdom is infinite. Your resources are infinite. And our tiny little needs are as nothing in Your sight. Help us, those of us who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life, to believe in You as the provider of every good thing. And we ask this in Christ’s name. Amen.