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Notes and References for Sunday, 3/2/00
What do these stories have in common?Below are several stories, all of which were in this week’s lesson. What was the common thread in each: The three kingdom of heaven analogies; and the three stories about Elisha and the Shunammite woman? Matthew 13
The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field;
the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: II Kings 4:1-7
Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest. II Kings 4:8-17
And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life. II Kings 4
And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her. And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the Lord. And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite, So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. hen she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out. The common denominator is the declaration of the true value or life within before it is seen humanly. Call it a pearl, a net of fishes or your son or daughter as of yet unseen. It might be you health, home or supply (in a single pot of oil). No matter God has established the complete idea first. We are simply uncovering more of our understanding of it. When there is a storm in your life; it might be fear or anger, a lack of confidence perhaps, sickness, failure or despair, right then, at that moment you have a choice. Will you react tot he material claim or quietly hold to an inner sense of peace wherein lies your power to overcome every material obstacle. Look at this passage: My 204: My faith in God and in His followers rests in the fact that He is infinite good, and that He gives His followers opportunity to use their hidden virtues, to put into practice the power which lies concealed in the calm and which storms awaken to vigor and to victory. Let the storm roar without you. It’s only effect on you is to awaken your power of dominion. You can rest in the assurance that good is already established in your life. S&H 125: The mariner will have dominion over the atmosphere and the great deep, over the fish of the sea and the fowls of the air. The astronomer will no longer look up to the stars, he will look out from them upon the universe; and the florist will find his flower before its seed. Stay with the idea. Don’t let you thought wander away from it under any condition.
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