2 Kings 4:1
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.
A widowed wife of one of the prophetic students was left in grief and debt when her God-fearing husband died, with only a single jar of oil in hand and a creditor coming to take her two sons as bondservants under the law's limited service for debt. In her desperate appeal to Elisha he set her a work that tested her faith, telling her to borrow many empty vessels from her neighbors and pour from her one pot into them. The oil kept flowing until every vessel was full, limited only by the vessels she had provided, and by selling it she paid the whole debt, kept her sons from bondage, and had enough left to live on and begin anew. The provision shows God's care for his faithful poor, whose poverty does not lessen his regard, and that his gifts increase as they are imparted, waiting in large measure on those who bring plenty of vessels in faith. It proves how fully he approves honest dealing, working a miracle to provide for the payment of an honest debt rather than leaving it unpaid.
Widow's Plight and Setting
The verse belongs to the section 2 Kings 3-5 within the history running from 1 Kings to 2 Kings 20, a wonderfully interesting account in which Kings gives a fuller history of Israel than of Judah while Chronicles gives a fuller history of Judah than of Israel. It falls within the account of Elisha's godly life, during which God worked notable miracles and Elisha reproved and instructed backsliding Israel. Elisha was Elijah's devout pupil, and his experiences show the development produced by the prophets' educational system.
It comes after Elisha parted the Jordan with Elijah's mantle, healed the bitter waters and barren ground at Jericho, and gave the word by which water came by the way of Edom without wind or rain to supply the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom against Moab. The woman who cries to him is a widow of the wives of the sons of the prophets, one of the prophets' students. Her husband was a servant of God who feared the Lord, whose character and piety were known to Elisha, having served among the prophets.
Her husband has died grieving her and leaving a debt, and the creditor has come to take her two sons to be bondmen to pay the debt. With only a single pot or jar of oil left, in desperate need she appeals to Elisha, pleading her husband's piety and her danger as grounds for his sympathy. The threat reflects the practice of servitude for debt permitted under the law of Moses, which limited service to six years or until the jubilee. Unlike heathen customs, it did not allow children to be sold without limit.
Miracle of Increased Oil
Elisha did not meet the widow's need by a word alone but by giving her and her sons work that tested their faith. He directed her to borrow empty vessels from all her neighbors, to borrow not a few, and then to pour from her one pot into them. She had only a single pot or jar of oil left, yet she was to keep pouring until the borrowed vessels were filled.
Her small supply increased abundantly as she poured until every vessel she had was filled. Its supply continued as long as there were empty vessels to receive it and was limited only by the vessels she provided. If she had provided more vessels there would have been more oil, for the oil never ceased its miraculous flow so long as a vessel remained to be filled.
By selling the oil she gathered enough to pay the entire debt and to keep her sons with her from bondage. What remained after the debt was paid was enough to support herself and her children and to begin life anew without further debt. The debt had been incurred by her husband, but she willingly sought to repay it.
The increase was a real work of God, not a myth or fancy. It stands with the increase of the widow's meal and oil and with the multiplication of the loaves for the multitude as miraculous provision to meet need. It shows that God can supply what His needy children require and that He works with people's feeble efforts.
The account shows God's care for His faithful people including the poor, whose poverty in worldly goods does not diminish His regard for them, and that faith is their true wealth. His gifts increase as they are imparted when directed into channels of good. His large blessings wait on those who bring plenty of vessels, and the large fulfillment of His promises is limited by believers themselves and their own actions. There may be no limit to the results of exercising faith in God's work, and the blessing that came to the family was the reward of faith.
Doctrine Duty and Hope
The account shows how God regards the paying of debts, proving that He so fully approves honest dealing that He worked a miracle to provide for payment. Honest debts must be paid rather than increased, with expenses curtailed and stronger effort put forth in comparatively prosperous times to round up financial matters before troublous times come. This is so that those taken to prison or made to suffer other affliction because of faith are not harassed by unpaid bills and taunts, and paying honest debts cultivates the principle of honesty and strengthens character. The provision is an example of completing the work needed to pay debts, including debts incurred by others and inherited, and of protecting the institutions entrusted to one's care. What is already in hand can, with God's blessing, become enough to meet a need and bring deliverance, which is applied to helping children be delivered from the bondage of sin.
The chapter is used for comfort at a child's funeral, because the later account of Elisha restoring a dead boy to life points to hope beyond death. The chapter records the raising of the Shunammite's son from the dead before the resurrection of Christ, proving that Christ was not the first and only one raised from the dead. His return from the dead was possible through the sacrifice of the Son of God already established in God's purpose though not yet accomplished. The resurrection was not merely a return to mortal life but depended on Christ's power and centered in him, and Christ is the first-fruits in rank and preeminence because the raising of all others depends on his power.