I was reading this passage of Scripture today (I'm usually in the Old Testament). I am always drawn in to how God provides in the physical and in the Spiritual. I love it when He reveals secret things.
The Shunammite woman was providing for the man of God on a continual basis. I'm sure that was very helpful to him as he went about doing the LORD'S work. One day, her son died and the prophet Elisha raised him back to life. Wonderful! (Sometimes there are perks like that when you are close with the man of God!)
As time went on, the prophet let her in on a little something. A famine was coming so go live somewhere else for a while. (Another perk!) She obeyed and went. After the 7 years had passed, she went back to her land. The king appointed for her an officer and instructed him to give back all that she had owned PLUS all of the produce that she had lost out on from the day that she left!
God is so loving! He is a God who restores. The woman got favor from man (the king), restoration of her land PLUS BACK-PAY! Amen? Amen!
Isn't that so encouraging? Not only can God restore to you what you have lost, what has been stolen, or what has been sacrificed, but he can even retro-act it!
Isn't that what Jesus came to do, restore us to God? He is in the restoration business!
2 Kings 8:1-6 (NASB)
1Now (A)Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, "Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for the (B)LORD has called for a famine, and (C)it will even come on the land for seven years."
2So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3At the end of seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to appeal to the king for her house and for her field.
4Now the king was talking with (D)Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, "Please relate to me all the great things that Elisha has done."
5As he was relating to the king (E)how he had restored to life the one who was dead, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, "My lord, O king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life."
6When the king asked the woman, she related it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, "Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now."
1 comment:
Thank you so much for sharing this story. I have been looking for stories of hope and restoration to share with my husband. He is on his 4th day of not smoking after being a smoker for 11 years. He really feels the devil attacking him, but I keep reminding him he is stronger than the devil with the LORD on his side!
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