"At this season, when the time comes round, you shall embrace a son." (v. 16)
Prayer: Amid all the voices clamoring for our attention in this world, we thank you, O Lord, that your word is still truth. Amen.
One of the hosts of television’s "Tonight Show," preceding Johnny Carson, was the articulate host, Jack Paar. Near the height of his career, Jack Paar wrote a book titled I Kid You Not. This was a phrase Jack Paar often used, to convince the audience that he wasn’t joking, but telling the truth. He said in his book that what has pleased him most about the success of the show is that it is a triumph of honesty. "Whenever I say something and add, ‘I kid you not,’ I’m not kidding! It’s a modest show of light conversation and pleasant entertainment, but it’s live and real and true."1
And what does this have to do with Second Kings? The phrase, "I kid you not," that Jack Paar made famous, is one that fits this episode between the Old Testament prophet Elisha and the wealthy woman of Shunem who furnished an original "Bed and Breakfast" for her holy guest.
This encounter is one of several events recorded in the fourth chapter of Second Kings. It is there with the amazing jar of oil that did not run out, and the sun-stricken boy who was brought back to life. It is there with the poisoned stew that was neutralized by the man of God, and the miraculous feeding of a hundred men with only twenty loaves of bread.
A wealthy woman of Shunem showed hospitality to Elisha the prophet as he passed by. She not only invited him to stop and eat, but arranged for a special room for him to stay. As a sign of gratitude, Elisha offered to do something for her. When she declined his offer to speak a good word on her behalf to the king, he promised her a child.
When she heard this, the childless woman said, "Whatever you do, please don’t lie to me!" This was not a matter to be taken lightly. There are things you can joke about, but this was not one of them. It may be that Elisha could then have said, in a Hebrew equivalent, "I kid you not." He was saying, "I’m not kidding." You can believe this because it’s God’s word.
1. God promises the Unexpected
Here is a rich woman. She has more than most of her neighbors. When she goes to the supermarket, she doesn’t have to worry whether she will have enough money to pay for the groceries in the cart. When she shops for clothes, she doesn’t need to pass up a nice outfit because of the price. But there is something that she doesn’t have and cannot buy. That something is a child.
When she was married, her family and her friends anticipated motherhood with her. But as the weeks and months went by, it became evident that she was not to be favored with a child. When she would go out, she would see other women with their children. When she would meet new people, the inevitable question would come up, "Do you have any children?" She had learned how to answer it politely and to hide her true feelings, but it still hurt every time it happened. She knew how her culture regarded childlessness and was keenly aware of the empty place in her life. She had reached the point of accepting her childless circumstance, and had put out of her mind any hopes of becoming a mother.
However, what this wealthy woman had accepted as certain for her life, was due to be changed. The answer came unexpectedly from the prophet she had befriended. It came from Elisha, who wanted to repay her kindness to him. He could have given her a gift, or spoken a good word for her to the king. His servant Gehazi perceived the one thing that she probably wanted and desired most. When Elisha asked, "What shall be done for her?" Gehazi answered, "Well, she has no son, and her husband is old." Elisha then promised her the birth of her own son.
For a woman who had considered herself barren, this indeed was nothing to take lightly. Here was a promise - unexpected, unsolicited, unasked for. But it was a promise which, if true, would meet one of her deepest needs and desires.
Looking back from our culture, it is somewhat difficult for us to understand this encounter between Elisha and the woman of Shunem. Elisha didn’t ever ask her whether she wanted a child. Isn’t it rather arrogant for a man, even if he is a prophet, to prescribe a pregnancy without first consulting or asking the woman? Many women today would resent that. But this is certainly not a universal answer for every woman in every age. This is an unexpected promise given to one woman, in a particular circumstance, who evidently had a deep yearning for a child.
2. God proclaims the Unlikely
It must have seemed unlikely that the woman of Shunem would ever bear a child, yet Elisha’s word to her came true. We do not know the name of her child, as we know the names of other children whose births were announced in the Scriptures, but her experience is somewhat similar to that of others.
Sarah, the wife of Abraham, was an unlikely candidate for motherhood. When the announcement was made by three strangers that she would bear a son, she laughed because of her age. The son born to her was called Isaac, a name which means "laughter."
Rachel was the wife that Jacob loved most, but she was unhappy without children. At one point she entreated Jacob, saying "Give me children, or I shall die!" (Genesis 30:1) When she finally gave birth to Joseph, he immediately became the favorite of his father and the envy of his brothers.
First Samuel, Chapter one, is the poignant account of the woman named Hannah, who was deeply distressed because she had no children. If you read between the lines, you can sense the tension between Hannah and the other wife, Peninnah who had children. "Peninnah (her rival) used to provoke her sorely to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb." (1 Samuel 1:6) You can imagine Peninnah fussing with her babies in front of Hannah, feeding them and fixing clothes for them. You can imagine her day after day, rubbing it in that Hannah has no children.
Hannah went to the temple and, in her deep distress, prayed for a child. Eli the priest mistook her for a drunken woman, but she explained to him, "I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation." (1 Samuel 1:16) When Hannah finally conceived and bore a son, she named him Samuel and gave him to the Lord as she had vowed.
Elizabeth, another woman advanced in years, became the mother of John the Baptizer. During her pregnancy, she said, "Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men." (Luke 1:25) By speaking of her reproach, she meant her shame or disgrace. How sad. It seemed that the one and only way a woman could gain respect was to have children, and especially sons.
These women - Sarah, Rachel, Hannah and Elizabeth - appeared to be unlikely prospects for motherhood. But God intervened in their lives. He made happen what seemed unlikely to happen.
3. God programs the Unfeasible
The word "feasible" refers to something that is possible, probable, and within reason. Conversely, the word "unfeasible" is like the description a man gave about his chances of being elected to an important post at a large convention. He said he had two chances; "Slim and none." When we speak theologically, it really doesn’t matter if something is unfeasible or not. God has never been hindered by what seems unfeasible.
When the angel Gabriel was telling the virgin Mary that she would be the mother of a special child, Mary said, "How can this be?" The angel spoke of the power of the Most High, and assured her "With God nothing will be impossible." (Luke 1:37) Think about that startling statement! With God, there is no "Mission Impossible."
Today, computers can be programmed to perform tasks and to make calculations which would have been impossible years ago. God, however, has always been able to program his purposes. From the days of Abraham to the birth of Christ, and to the present time, God has led and prepared his people. In our time, through his Holy Spirit, he works in and with the church. The unfeasible becomes attainable, and as the Marines say, "The impossible takes just a little longer."
One commentator sees Elisha’s word as a prophetic intervention. He says:
It is the word or act or person of the prophet which drastically changes situations which seem hopelessly closed. The church now has no more important preaching to do than to articulate that openness because the freedom of God comes embodied in such unacceptable ways.2
The church, as part of the prophetic succession, is called to point to those things that are possible with God. But the church cannot be satisfied just to sit back and challenge others to do the work. The church needs to take God at his word and to be instrumental in changing those situations which seem hopelessly closed.
An almost unbelievable story recently appeared in the newspapers. A skydiver’s nightmare turned into an amazing rescue, when Greg Robertson plunged for more than a mile, aiming for an injured woman whose parachute failed to open. He reached her just seconds before she hit the ground. The woman, Diane Williams, had been knocked out when she collided with another skydiver. Robertson, a safety instructor, pursued the woman, diving head-first, pinning his arms to his sides to reduce the wind resistance. When he caught up to her, he pulled her ripcord, and when her chute was safely open, he opened his own and both landed. The woman was hospitalized with injuries, but Robertson went back up to do some more skydiving.
Life inevitably presents us with surprises - opportunities - and blessings. Through it all, God’s will continues good and trustworthy. It is the Lord God who promises the Unexpected ... who proclaims the Unlikely ... who programs the Unfeasible.
It is the Lord who says to you and me, "I kid you not." You can believe him because he gives you his word.
1. Jack Paar, I Kid You Not, Little, Brown & Co., 1960, p. 79.
2.Walter Brueggemann, 2 Kings, Knox Preaching Guides, John Knox Press, 1982,p.18-19.