The women of faith

The book of Hebrews is unique in many ways. First, the author of the book is not known and the expected audience of the book is not stated as well. However, we know that it was written for a group of believers facing challenges likely to lead them to fall away from their faith. As the author alternates between the Old Testament and the Jesus-believers’ way of life, the author makes the point that the new life in Jesus Christ is worth committing to. In Hebrews 11, the author gives the well defined action of faith. Chapter 11 begins with, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1). Later the author goes ahead to list a group of people whose lives demonstrated their faith. Generally known as the heroes of faith, these people defied the odds and trusted in God even in the most unlikely situations. Let’s consider the women of faith as mentioned in the book of Hebrews. These women were Old Testament women who would have been known to the audience of this book. The author also mentions recent events which would have been known by the recipients of this book.

Sarah
“And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.” (Hebrews 11:11)
As we saw during our overview of Sarah, the wife of Abraham, we identified how God caused her to have a child even when she was far above the age of childbearing. The author of Hebrews makes us understand that although Sarah was quite old and naturally impossible to have a child, she still believed the word of the Lord. Sarah refused to be defined by her age, she had faith in God who had promised her a child.

Jochebed
“By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.” (Hebrews 11:23)
Amram and his wife Jochebed defied Pharaoh’s order to have every male song drawn in the Nile and they hid baby Moses for three months. According to the author of Hebrews, the parents’ boldness to defy the king’s edict was done in faith because they knew that Moses was no ordinary child. This knowledge took away the fear of the punishment they would have received should their plan to keep baby Moses backfire.

Rahab
“By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.” (Hebrews 11:31)
Rahab the prostitute of Jericho and her entire family were spared because she showed kindness to the Israelites spies. Rehab betrayed her own people when she hid the spies away from their own people. The author of Hebrews states that this bold action of Rahab was done in faith and Rahab’s bold step spared her and everyone belonging to her.

Other women
“Women received back their dead, raised to life again.” (Hebrews 11:35a)
In the Old Testament and even during the time of Jesus and the ministry of the apostles, there were women who received their dead back to life. According to the author of Hebrews, these women had faith and their faith propelled their miracles. The widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17) had her dead son restored to life through the ministry of Elijah. The Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4) had her dead son restored to life through the ministry of Elisha. In the ministry of Jesus, Mary and Martha had their brother Lazarus restored to life (John 11). The widow of Nain had her dead son restored to life through Jesus (Luke 7:14-15). The widows in the Church in Joppa received Dorcas (also known as Tabitha) back to life through the ministry of Peter (Acts 9: 38-42).

The author of Hebrews makes a profound statement, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1). The cloud of witnesses refer to those who have passed on to glory, the heroes of faith who defied the odds and whose faith moved dead situations in their lives. These witnesses are watching us from glory and cheering us on to also persevere in faith. We are also admonished to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” After we throw off the loads of sin weight, we can now “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” No athlete runs with a load. If we want to experience the dimensions of higher life of faith, we should do away with sin and its attendant baggage.

In our walk with the Lord, we need to know that God can do the humanly impossible. Knowledge of this should be backed by our faith in God and a life of righteousness. When it is humanly impossible, we should know that God is the impossibility specialist. Whatever situation we might be facing, let us trust God for victory. If God did it for others in the past, did it for people in our lives, and is still doing it for others around us, then He will surely do it for us. Our hope is in You Lord. Do it Lord and let’s all glory by Yours alone.

The Shunammite woman: When testimony becomes a key to restoration

The Shunammite woman in the Bible (2 Kings 4,8) had a good life. She and her husband were rich but they had no children. Through her generosity to the man of God, Elisha, they received a son through prophecy. Sometime later, they lost that son and through the power of God the son was restored to life. The trials of her life (barrenness and death) became the testimony of the Shunammite woman. The Shunammite woman was shown enough mercy and favour from God. Her generosity to the man of God opened up a memorial for her. Her home became the dwelling place for the servant of God and she and her family experienced God’s miraculous powers. Instead of focusing on what she didn’t have (a child), she focused on what she could give (food and accommodation) and she in turn received what she didn’t have. As long as your gaze is on your problems, you fail to see what God can do. But, when your gaze is on what God’s power can do, your mess becomes your message and your tests become your testimony. Instead of a garment of sadness, put on a garment of praise and cast all your cares on God. He is able.

The Shunammite woman and her family continued to serve Elisha, the man of God. When we continue to fellowship in the presence of God, He reveals his mind to us. For example, before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham was told because he was a friend of God (Genesis 18:16-33). 2 Kings 8:1 state this, “Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.” The Shunammite woman and her family were aware of what had been decreed by God. With this knowledge, “the woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years” (2 Kings 8:2). Thus, while another woman became so hungry in a time of famine to the extent of eating her own son, the Shunammite woman and her family were spared. When the famine was over after the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land (2 Kings 8:3). 

The king asked the woman about it, and she told him. Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.” (2 Kings 8:6)

Elisha was no ordinary prophet, through him, God performed marvelous signs and wonders in the land. He was known by the king and the power of God in him was visible. The king had experienced the different ways God’s power had been revealed through the ministry of Elisha. At the time the Shunammite woman went to the king to make an appeal, the king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done” (2 Kings 8:4). Thus, the king was also searching to know the power of God that has been revealed through Elisha. Then, just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the Shunammite woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land. The woman was just in at the right time. The testimony of her life was being shared with the king. Gehazi saw the woman and said, “This is the woman, my Lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life” (2 Kings 8:5). Right in front of the king was a living testimony of God’s power. Instantly, the king asked the woman about it, and she told him. The woman shared her testimony with the king. When the king heard her testimony, he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now” (2 Kings 8:6).

For the Shunammite woman, the key to the restoration of her property was her testimony. She didn’t have to say much. She was a living testimony of what God had done. She did not just receive her properties, she also received all the income from her land. All these different doors of favour became accessible to the woman and her family because she opened her home to a man of God. She diligently served a prophet and for the rest of her life, she and her family enjoyed the blessings of a prophet. 

Like the Shunammite,  many of us have received great testimonies of what God can do. We have been shown mercy, we have been favoured and we have been forgiven. Your personal testimony is a message that can restore others to God. Your personal testimony can bring kings to the knowledge of God. You have a message and a testimony. Don’t keep it. God can use your message to restore others, to save others and to give you all that belongs to you. 

The Shunammite woman: Divine restoration

Imagine praying for a miracle for several years and then one day, you receive a prophetic word that your miracle is on the way and you will have it in a year’s time. It might sound so surreal but if you surely receive that miracle your heart so desires, it will definitely increase your faith in God. Elisha the prophet of God was blessed by the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:8-10) and Elisha declared to the woman that her single most important need would be met. True to the words of the prophet, “the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her” (2 Kings 4:17). The Shunammite woman would have been so grateful, extremely excited and blessed by the arrival of her son. This blessing would have also increased her faith in God and her trust in the servant of God. She offered hospitality and she received her heartfelt prayer request.  Such a joy!

However, the devil had other plans. The scripture indicates that “the child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. He said to his father, “My head! My head!” His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother” (2 Kings 4:18‭-‬19). The boy complained of headaches and the father, knowing that headaches would not lead to death, sent the child to the mother for her attention. The father continued his work on the farm. The servant carried  the boy to his mother and the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died (2 Kings 4:20). The Shunammite woman might have been afraid, horrified and sad. What kind of headache can suddenly take the life of a child? Her child she received through prophecy was just gone as a result of a short headache. Instead of screaming, wailing and shouting her loss to the whole world, she exercised her faith. She knew that the God of Elisha who gives babies is also able to restore her dead son to life. 

When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why.” (2 Kings 4:27)

Without calling the professional mourners, “she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out. She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return” (2 Kings 4:21‭-‬22). By faith, she didn’t disclose the bad news to her husband. When her husband asked for the reason for the visit,  she indicated that “It shall be well” (2 Kings 4:23b KJV). She placed her faith over her fear and worry. The Shunammite woman saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the Shunammite!” (2 Kings 4:24‭-‬25). Elisha was surprised to see her and the Lord hid from him the reason for the woman’s visit (2 Kings 4: 27). Elisha told his servant to run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’ ”  and the Shunammite woman replied, “Everything is all right” (2 Kings 4:26). She had just left her dead son in the room she made for the prophet, but she kept replying that “It is well”. The woman knew something about divine gifts and divine restoration. When she finally reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why.” “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?” (2 Kings 4:27‭-‬28). She never said, “my child is dead” but she said, “did I ask you for a son, my Lord?” She intentionally avoided using words that would jeopardize her faith. 

Elisha knew what to do. He sent His servant ahead with his staff to be placed on the boy’s face. The Shunammite woman held on to Elisha and said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her (2 Kings 4:30). Elisha’s servant, Gehazi ran ahead and laid the staff on the boy’s face but there was no response and the boy didn’t wake up, he reported to Elisha. 2 Kings 4:32-35 states this: “When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord. Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.” The dead boy was brought back to life. What a joy! Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.” She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out (2 Kings 4:36‭-‬37). 

The Shunammite woman went out of her way to bless a man of God. She received an answer to her prayer. God gave her a son. When the son died, she went back to the man of God and through the power of God, the boy was brought back to life. The Shunammite woman received divine restoration. Her faith was over her fear. Even when all was not well, she kept professing that “it shall be well”, “everything is well”. She did not allow her pain to define her faith. In an act of extreme faith and total dependence on God, she had her dead son brought back to life. 

Many of us, just like the Shunammite, have hit rock bottom situations in life. Our faith has been smashed by trials, worries, pain and fear. We are just hanging on. But, God is still waiting on us to fully trust Him even at the lowest points in our lives. Whatever is dead can receive divine restoration only if we fully trust in God to bring divine restoration. May we put FAITH over FEAR.

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.