The Prophet ElishaShembull

Taking God’s Instructions Seriously

“Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, ‘Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.’ So, the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God.” (2 Kings 8:1-2)

Today’s story returns once more to the Shunammite woman who had received a child when she had already given up hope of getting pregnant, and later received the child back from death (see 2 Kings 4:8-37). Back then, this woman was wealthy and “dwelt among her own people” (2 Kings 4:13), indicating that she was well taken care of. Her family and fellow Israelites were all she needed. However, today’s passage tells us how Elisha advised her to give up all of this, since the Lord would send a famine for seven years, as a punishment on the people’s sins. Elisha’s warning came before the famine, when everything seemed to be okay. It required faith in the prophet’s words to move to a foreign country to flee a famine that was not even there yet. Even more so since there was a risk that the woman’s farm would be taken over by others during her absence. But this woman had learned to trust the Lord, and she “did according to the word of the man of God”.

Do you take God’s Word seriously as well, including the parts that are about “events as yet unseen”? How does this impact your choices and priorities in life?