The Shunammite woman: Taking advantage of opportunities

Many women have been influential in the ministries of many men and women of God. With their financial support, such women contribute to the advancement of the kingdom of God. In the days of Jesus, there were women who supported the ministry from their earnings (Luke 8:1-3). Similarly, in our days, many churches have thrived on the generosity of women. Obviously, kingdom financiers have not only been women. There are men who have contributed immensely towards the growth and development of different ministries. Since this series focuses on women, we would focus our attention on the women. However, both men and women can be kingdom financiers. Elisha, the prophet, also benefited from the generosity of a woman. This woman went out to provide for the man of God and she received the blessings of  a prophet.

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. (2 Kings 4:8)

Elisha’s ministry involved a lot of traveling and one of the places he visited often was Shunem. 2 Kings 4:8 quotes that, “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.” Thus, Elisha was originally invited for a meal and the woman’s home became his constant stopover place for food. The woman  identified another need. If she could make a sleeping place for the prophet,  she was likely to have the prophet stay over instead of just eating and continuing his journey. The woman saw this as an advantageous opportunity not a worrisome task. She was not forced into making the decision,  she came up with the idea. Her type of generosity extended beyond food. She wanted to give more. She desired to sow more blessings into the man of God. She was rich (well-to-do) so she could have easily taken that step. But, she had a discussion with her husband about it. She submitted to her husband’s authority and leadership. She went to her husband and said to him “I know that this man who often 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” (2 Kings 4:9‭-‬10). 

With the support of her husband, they made an upper room for Elisha. She wasn’t bound by any law to provide for the prophet. She saw an opportunity not a chore. She identified a need and availed herself to provide it. As long as the prophet was just stopping over to eat, the woman was never asked if she needed something but as soon as the prophet was given a room in her house, it opened doors for further conversations. One day when Elisha came to the house of the woman, he went up to his room and lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. Elisha said to him, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’ ” She replied, “I have a home among my own people” (2 Kings 4:11‭-‬13). The woman had a need but she was unable to share it with the prophet. She was childless and her husband was old (2 Kings 4:14). Prophet Elisha said to her, “About this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my Lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!” However,  true to the word of Elisha, the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son (2 Kings 4:16‭-‬17).

The Shunammite woman went out of her way to be a blessing to a man of God. She provided food and even added accommodation. She housed a prophet and received a prophet’s reward. Her own need was met when she provided for the needs of a man of God. When we go out of our way, with genuineness to serve others, we shall also be satisfied.  

Rebekah and the stolen blessing

Rebekah and Isaac as we saw earlier, had their favourite sons. Esau was for Isaac and Jacob was for Rebekah. Now, “when Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” he answered. Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.” (Genesis 27:1‭-‬4). Isaac’s love for Esau was so tied to wild game that before he could give his son his final blessing, Esau had to first hunt for a game and make food for his father. That doesn’t sound like unconditional love. “No meat, no blessings”, kind of love is not the one God has shown to us. And this is where it gets messier. Rebekah loved Jacob and would do anything for him. “Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back” (Genesis 27:5). “Will Rebekah pretend she didn’t hear what Isaac said?” You know the answer, right?

Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.” (Genesis 27:9‭-‬10)

What a bag of mess? The couple’s public display of favouritism was about to generate a family feud. After recalling the instruction Isaac gave to Jacob, “Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau…Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.” (Genesis 27:6‭, ‬8‭-‬10). Rebekah wanted Jacob to steal the blessing meant for Esau. Although Jacob protested against the idea because of their physical differences, Rebekah had the perfect work plan to disguise Jacob to make him look like Esau. After Rebekah cooked the food just like Isaac loved it, she went ahead to disguise Jacob to look like Esau. The plan worked and Jacob presented the food to his father. Isaac was surprised at the speed of making the food. Since Isaac was blind, he was deceived by the smell of Esau (Jacob was in Esau’s clothes) and the goatskin body of Jacob. The blessing was given to Jacob fullscore. Isaac blessed him from his heart. Afterall, He thought he was blessing Esau, his firstborn and favourite son. Jacob  through the orchestrated effort of Rebekah stole the blessing meant for Esau.

What was Rebekah’s motivation for helping her son to deceive her husband? Was it because of the prophecy given to her that the oldest will serve the youngest? Was it because of her love for Jacob? Ultimately Rebekah was totally wrong for initiating the biggest sibling rivalry. God didn’t seek for her hand to bless Jacob. Her actions had further consequences. “Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob” (Genesis 27:41). When Rebekah got to know of Esau’s plan, she hitched her plan B. She told Jacob, “Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?” (Genesis 27:43‭-‬45). The fact is, Rebekah never saw her loving son again. By the time Jacob returned from his long journey,  Rebekah had already died. The stolen blessing rid her of her beloved son and officially gave Jacob the tag, “the deceiver”. For most part of Jacob’s adult life, he went through a circle of deception, either from him, from the people around him or from his own children. Years later, Esau would forgive Jacob for stealing his blessing but it took them over 20 years to fix the mess caused by Rebekah. 

Rebekah was beautiful, hardworking, strong, resilient, loving but she had her own flaws that generated into a family feud. Whenever we work on ourselves, we should not only be interested in building our strengths. We should find the best ways to overcome our weaknesses. If we overlook our weaknesses, they will move from a tiny serpent to a big dragon dragging us far away from God’s perfect plan for us. Every lie told is a step away from God and a step closer to the devil. Thou shall not lie!

Sarai: Obeying the call of God

When God calls a married person into ministry, the whole family is involved. He doesn’t call the man or the woman alone. Both couples are ultimately involved and if they have children, the kids are not left out either. That is why the marriage partner and the children of a minister are under society’s watchful eyes. If any of them should misbehave, it is automatically counted by society against the minister of God. For every minister, your home is your first congregation and shepherding your family well is a sign of good leadership. As we continue the series on Sarai (Sarah), let’s consider the call of Abram (Abraham). First, Sarah was dealing with life’s issues, then she had to travel to another place and the journey got aborted midway. All this time, we are yet to see the involvement of God in their lives. Suddenly, there was a turning point in their lives. Abram received an important call that changed their lives forever. What was Sarai’s response to that call?

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. (Genesis 12:1, 5)

As the couple continued to live in Haran, Abram had a supernatural encounter. God called Abram to begin a permanent friendship with him. Genesis 12:1-3 records that, “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”  God indeed had big plans for Abram and Sarai. First, the couple were called to leave the country, people and family to a new land that God Himself will show them. Their obedience to that command will see them becoming a great nation and a blessing to the world. It sounds good right? Yes, it does! Looks like finally God has come to change the story. Abram and Sarai obeyed the voice of God and set out on their new journey to God’s own land. 

“So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.” (Genesis 12:4‭-‬5). Finally, they arrived in Canaan, the place Terah (Abram’s father) had planned to take the family. In Canaan, “Abram travelled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12:6‭-‬7). What a joy? Did God just say offspring? Is He going to bless Abram and Sarai with  children? Abram was Seventy-five years at this time and Sarai was probably sixty-five years old. Even in our day, it takes scientific help to make a 65 year old woman conceive. However, the couple believed God, obeyed his words and even raised an altar of sacrifice for God. 

Sarai has begun a new chapter with God and it already looks promising. She left everything behind and followed Abram to the land God promised. As she stepped into this new relationship with God, she still had her issues. However, holding on to God’s promise, “I will make you into a great nation”, Sarai’s shattered hope of being a mother was restored. She was confident that in any way, God will come through for them. Thus, she went about her life, taking good care of herself and radiating beauty that catches the eyes of kings. Remember, she was 65 years old!

Greetings, you who are highly favored!

Mary the mother of Jesus Christ received an unusual greeting from the messenger of God. The young woman, possibly a teenager, was greatly troubled by this kind of greeting. She was going about her usual activities and did not know that she had been chosen by heaven to carry a divine assignment. A task of great value, the possibility of being stigmatized for getting pregnant before moving into her husband’s house and what if Joseph her betrothed spouse divorce her? “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34). She did not refuse this great task, she just asked “how will this be?”

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28)

The obedience of one young woman to the voice of an angel finally led to the salvation of mankind. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, know that the birth of Christ has changed history forever. He changed the world calendar. His birth is celebrated in most nations of the world and the school calendar is mapped around his birth. Of course, we cannot claim December 25th as the exact birthday of Jesus, but the memorial for Christ’s birth reveals to us the love God has for mankind. Most importantly, His birth brought salvation to mankind.

Mary received a message that transformed her life forever. This Christmas, I pray that we receive that good news that will cause us to be transformed forever. I pray that doors of opportunities will be opened for us. I pray that God will make a way where there seems to be no way. I pray that we will meet our destiny helpers this Christmas. May the message we receive read…Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” May we be favored in our going out and coming in. May the God of peace grant us peace as we celebrate this Christmas. Oh…Joy is come to us!

Let us sing together!
Joy to the world! The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New year!