“Then Jesus declared, “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry and whoever believes in Me will never go thirsty” (John 6:35 NIV).
This morning my reading came from Second Kings 4 centering around the “Shunammite wife” in verses 8-36. She was a well-to-do woman who made the most of her resources for the Kingdom of God. She shared what she had with Elisha, the man of God, and went the extra mile to care for the prophet’s needs. Consider the words of Second Kings 4:8-10, “One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. She said to her husband, “I know that this man who comes our way is a holy man of God. Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us” (NIV). What a beautiful picture of our Savior’s kindness to us. He came to her and she provided him with food and drink. Jesus declared in John 6:35, “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry and whoever believes in Me will never go thirsty” (John 6:35 NIV).
“The Shunamite woman realized that Elisha was a man of God, and so she prepared a room for him to use whenever he was in town. She did this out of kindness and because she sensed a need, not for any selfish motives…(NIV LASB Commentary 2 Kings 4:9).
One thing that I noticed as I read the story of the Shunamite wife in 2 Kings 4:8-37 was the resemblance of a widow. The word “widow” in the Hebrew is defined as “widow (as lacking a husband), literal or figurative.” In light of this definition, consider, with me, the Shunamite woman’s husband’s lacking involvement in his wife’s life (and in the life of his child).
- She said, “Let’s make a room for the man of God to stay when he comes our way.” He said nothing, gives no response in Scripture (2 Kings 4:8-10).
- When Elisha calls for the Shunamite woman, he calls for her alone (and not for her husband) (2 Kings 4:11-13).
- Her husband was old (2 Kings 4:14).
- When their son was in pain and went to the husband, his father, the father told his servant to take him to his mother (2 Kings 4:18-21).
- The Shunamite’s husband passively resisted his wife’s plea to go to the man of God for help (2 Kings 4:23). He was absent from this point in the story on.
Like the Shunamite wife, many wives today are not “widows” in the literal sense of the word, but in the figurative sense of the word. I am sure many women reading this can relate with a husband who may not want to show hospitality; women who feel alone and can relate with being often spoken of as singular instead of in conjunction with her husband. Maybe your husband is sick with illness or age interferes with his activity in your life and the life your children. Or, perhaps he is a hands off kind of husband and dad; or he resists you when you want to go to church or read your Bible or even pray. This Shunamite woman dealt with all of these things however, she remained faithful. In this, I believe God’s Word reminds us that being a widow in the figurative sense does not release us from being faithful to seek God (as the Shunamite wife did), from being faithful to our husbands (as the Shunamite wife was), being known for good-deeds (as the Shunamite wife was), bringing up children (as the Shunamite wife did), showing hospitality (as the Shunamite wife did), washing the feet of the saints, and helping those in trouble and devoting ourselves to all kinds of good deeds (as the Shunamite wife did). The apostle Paul gives the church advice about widows, “No widow may be put on the list* (see definition below) of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds” (First Timothy 5:9-10 NIV).
In conclusion, I believe that these character traits Paul speaks of in his letter to Timothy in regards to “the qualification of widows,” speak to us in regard to the outcome of the life of the “kind wife” widowed or not widowed. How do we come to the place that these characteristics define our living now and later as “the kind wife”? We can see very clearly in this story that the Shunamite woman was not perfect, she gave way to doubt and bitter distress, but she earnestly sought after God as her Remedy and she was blessed in the midst of her affliction. Like she came to the man of God, we also must come to and believe in the Man of God, Jesus Christ, as though He is our only food and our only drink. He knows what it is like to be married to someone who doesn’t always respond to the call to be hospitable (His Church, the Bride of Christ); to being spoken of as singular and set apart from His Spouse, not because of His actions but because of hers (His Church, the Bride of Christ). He knows what it is like to have a bride (his church) who is often sick with illness and weakened by age. He knows what it is like to be married to someone who is often a hands off parent or spouse when He calls them to be a hands on parent or spouse. He knows what it is like to be married to someone who often resists Him when He calls us to go to church, read our Bible, or pray. He knows what it is like to have a sometimes “absent” Bride (the Church). He knows and yet He is faithful to His Bride. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin. Let us then approach the Throne of Grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV). Through Him, and His kindness to us, we can live “out of Kindness” growing into the place where these qualifications or characteristics mark our lives. “The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives” (First Timothy 5:5-6).
Dear Jesus, holiness and godliness are a mark of kindness. I am reminded of what Your Word says in Second Peter 3:10-11, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming” (NIV). The only way I can live a holy and godly life is to keep my eyes on You Jesus, Your life, Your death, and Your resurrection. Out of Kindness, You have given me forgiveness of sins so that today I can have the fresh start I need to become the “kind wife” you call me to be. Show me areas of my life where I have been partaking of the pleasures of this world instead of coming to You and believing in You. I lay them at the foot of the cross. Do a new thing in me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
*”Apparently some older widows had been “put on the list of widows,” meaning that they had taken a vow committing themselves to work for the church in exchange for financial support. Paul lists a few qualifications for these church workers” (NIV LASB Commentary, First Timothy 5:9-16).
The Kind Wife 