https://odb.org/2025/09/24/no-coincidences
2 Kings 8:1–6 (NIV): 8 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “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.” 2 The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 At the end of the seven years, she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. 4 The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land.
Gehazi said, “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.
Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”
You can read the story of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4 and 8. She was a wealthy woman who invited and later prepared a room for Elisha to stay whenever he was in Shunem. Elisha often stopped at Shunem when he travelled between Mount Carmel and Samaria. She was later blessed with a son because of her kind hospitality and generosity towards the prophet. However, a few years later, the son fell ill and died, and Elisha restored him to life by raising him from the dead.
Interestingly, her story didn’t end there. Later, the prophet advised her to leave Judea as a severe famine was coming. When she left, she relinquished her right to her house and title. She returned 7 years later and appealed to the King for her home and land to be restored to her. Due to her past association with Elisha, as pointed out by the prophet’s servant, the King assigned an official to her case and ultimately returned her home and land.
The Shunammite woman’s story is interesting as quite a bit of biblical real estate was dedicated to her story. Yet she was unnamed. But her story highlights her recognition of who Elisha was as a prophet of God and the respect she bestowed upon him. It also highlighted her sincere kindness and hospitality towards Elisha. As a result, she experienced the providence, provision, and care of God in crucial moments of her life, from the blessing of a son to the resurrection of her son and the restoration of her home and land.
What can we learn and apply from this story? I believe if we are kind and hospitable towards servants and ministers of God, whether in kind or monetarily, God will remember and bless us in His special way. I’ve said before in these pages that our LORD God remembers every single good thing that we have ever done, more so if it is towards His servants and ministers. Often, these exemplary men and women would have given up a lot of the comforts and trappings of life to respond to the calling of God upon their lives. The LORD treasures their obedience and commitment, and so should we in our small gestures of kindness and hospitality towards such mighty men and women of God. Amen! Praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy! His love endureth forever!
Ronnie's Thoughts 