Title: THE SCOPE OF GOD’S SAVING CARE
Focus: The scope of God’s saving work includes God’s people as well as all of creation.
Function: To encourage the people to expand their vision and understanding of God’s saving work for us in Christ Jesus.
Text: II Kings 8:1-6
Sometimes, as a pastor, I want to scream. Of course, that would show my impatience with people, or my lack of understanding people. So, I don’t scream. But I will share with you why I sometimes feel like screaming.
You see, I’m passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I am passionate to share the entire Word of God with anyone willing to hear. So, when I meet other Christians who show—in one way or another—that they are missing the scope of God’s saving work in our lives—I feel a strong urge to expand their vision and understanding of the good news in Jesus Christ.
For example, on countless occasions I’ve asked members of the church what the gospel is: most will say: “Jesus died for me.” And I will respond, “Yes, what else?” Usually, that’s the extent of the answer I get. Again, sometimes I hear Christians say, “When I die, I will go to heaven and live with Christ in heaven forever.” I then respond and ask, “Yes, what else can you say about the future?” Usually, I don’t get much of a response, other than the strange look in the eyes that says: “Is there more to say than that?”
In light of the Scripture reading from II Kings 8, I want to encourage all of us to expand our vision and understanding of God’s saving work for us in Jesus Christ. The scope of God’s saving work, you see, includes God’s people as well as all of God’s creation.
Tonight’s story concludes our reflections upon the life and work of the prophet Elisha. Elisha is a holy man of God; he represents—and in some way—he embodies the Word of God, so much so that when you hear and see Elisha speak, you hear and see God at work. Elisha, then, is the bearer of God’s Word.
The story in II Kings 8 introduces us again to the Shunammite woman. Last week we met her and we noticed how God blessed her with a son. We also learned that her son died of a heat stroke. Elisha, however, through the resurrection power and Word of God, raised up the Shunammite’s son. It’s a gripping story that you can find in II Kings 4. Today, however, we find a follow-up story of the Shunammite woman. And through her story we realize that the scope of God’s saving work includes God’s people as well as all of God’s creation.
As we crawl under the skin of the story (so to speak), I make the following observations:
· The Lord decrees a famine: It turns out that the land of milk and honey will face a drought that leads to a seven-year famine. Crops will fail; animals and people will starve. Sometimes, I hear people say that “all good things come from God; all bad things come from the devil.” But from the text we learn that God has a hand in the famine. I do not understand nor can I explain how and why God works through calamities and disasters. All I know is this: God does. It’s part of his providential care and saving work.
We do well to pay special attention to God’s hand in the midst of trying circumstances. That leads me to make my second observation:
· The Lord makes provision for those on whom his favor rests: The Shunammite woman is a devout person; she provided sanctuary for God’s prophet, and thus the Lord himself came to live under her roof. The Shunammite woman blessed the bearer of God’s Word with a place to rest; and God blessed this woman richly with a future that included a son. Now the Lord blesses the woman again by making provision for her during this period of a seven-year famine.
Elisha had said to the woman: “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.” The famine threatens the livelihood of this woman; it also threatens her life. But the Lord’s favor is on her and her family.
So, the Lord makes provision for her. “Go somewhere else….” The woman and her family travel to Philistine territory (today’s Gaza) and there she manages to live with her family. In a way, they live in exile, far away from their estate, their town. Yet, they live under the umbrella of God’s providential care. The Lord surrounds them with his protection these seven years. So we see that the Lord makes provision for those on whom his favor rests. More than that! We observe that
· The Lord restores this woman’s future: Think about this: when the woman and her family left their town, their property and estate, they had no one to work their land; no one to take care of their belongings in Shunem. In fact, their abandoned property fell into the hands of government officials, so it seems. Thus, the Shunammite woman and her family had lost their house and land.
It also seems that this woman had lost her husband, who was old (to begin with when their son was born). So the future looks again very dim for this woman and her son. How will they scrape a living together in their homeland? Their house and land have been taken, (presumably), by the government.
Seven years ago, the woman’s future was threatened when her son died. And now it seems that their future is threatened again, because they are homeless and without farmland. There’s only one thing to do: Appeal to Israel’s king (Jehu) for justice and mercy! And that’s when we notice how the Lord restores this woman’s future.
Note: there is a new king (King Jehu?) in Israel. He seems unfamiliar with the mighty works of Elisha, the bearer of God’s Word. But it turns out that this king is eager to hear the stories of how God’s prophet worked in the “olden days.” “We find Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, telling King Jehu all kinds of stories about God’s Word at work through Elisha. No doubt, Gehazi told King Jehu about Naaman and his leprosy—how the Lord, through Elisha, healed this Syrian military commander. Gehazi also told King Jehu about the Shunammite woman and the miraculous birth of her son and the wondrous resurrection of her son.
It’s just at that moment (how providential!) that the Shunammite woman, along with her son, appear at the King’s palace. They have come to “beg the king for her house and land.”
Gehazi sees them, recognizes them, and says to the King: “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.”
Isn’t this amazing? The woman and her son show up in the king’s palace. They think that they have come as beggars, but it turns out that they are witnesses—for they are able to testify to the truth of Gehazi’s stories. They are witnesses to the truth of God’s Word at work in Israel.
King Jehu asked the woman about the resurrection story of her son, and “she told him,” says the text. King Jehu is so impressed with the truthfulness of the story, and so eager to begin his reign in Israel positively, showing good will to God and God’s Word, that he “assigns an official to her case” with the instruction “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”
The result is that through King Jehu God restores this woman’s future. Isn’t this amazing? First, God gave her a son; then he resurrected her son from the dead, so that her future would be secure. Then, God provided food and safety for seven years while she and her family are in exile. Then when there seemed to be no future left because she has no house or land to claim, the Lord again restores her future by returning her house, her land. And yes, the Lord also rewards her with “income from the land from the day she left the country until now.”
Such is the scope of God’s saving work for this Shunammite woman and her family. First God provides her with a son to enter the future; then God restores her estate to inherit the future. Such is God’s providential, saving care.
Now what do we do with these observations in this story? First of all, we pick up the message in this story—a message that the Israelites in the days of the O.T. kings would understand and get: Namely, God’s saving work and care for his people concerns not only their personal lives but also their livelihood. God not only saves people (as he saved the son of the Shunammite woman); God also restores the estate of his people, so that they may have a future.
However, today we must view this story in light of the greater story—the story of how Jesus Christ came to seek the lost and save sinners; how Jesus came to restore all God’s real estate, all of creation; and how God will usher in the future when all God’s people shall live with God on the restored, renewed heavens and earth.
Here’s what we do:
Learn from the Shunammite’s story that God’s saving care and work concerns not only people but also creation. God is not just interested in saving our souls, but also in restoring all of his real estate, his creation. The gospel, then, demands a deeper response from us than a simple answer such as “Jesus died for me. Period!” Oh, yes, that’s true. Jesus died that you and I may live. But more must be said: Jesus died that you and I may live and have an eternal future on a restored new heavens and earth.
It’s true: Jesus died for people. But he also rose from the dead. He also opens up the future; He also will renew all things.
A while ago, I talked with a devout, godly man who all his life sat under the preaching of God’ Word. We talked about death and dying, and I explored with him what the Bible tells us about our future and how that makes a difference to us in the way we live today. I told him that we would be working, and playing and talking with people as part of our worship of God. I told him that our bodies would be fully restored, glorified. We would be fully human, and live on God’s restored real estate.
He looked at me as if he saw water burn. He said, “I’ve never thought about that. I’ve never heard about that. You mean that I will get my body back?” he said. Now it was my turn to look astonished. So I asked him, “Do you believe in the gospel as summarized by the statements in the Apostles’ Creed?” “Yes, I do,” he said. “Well then,” I asked, “what do you profess when you say ‘I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting?”
I could see and hear the “wheels” turning, so to speak. Then he smirked and said, “my goodness, I never thought about that!”
Folks, the scope of God’s saving work and care includes God’s people as well as God’s creation. Christians are pilgrims; right now we are in exile—on the way—to the Promised Land. We shall not lose sight of the grand story of God’s salvation. We shall learn from Elisha, and the Shunammite woman. We shall take our cues from Jesus Christ, our Savior. And we shall rest in God’s providential care and saving work. In Christ Jesus, the future is ours already today!
Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and always shall be: world without end! Amen!