Week 19 2 Kings 4
I’m reading the story of Elisha & the Shunamite woman and notice how similar it is to the story of Elijah & the widow of Zarephath.
Each of the women had a son
Both of those boys died
Each mom was completely devastated by the loss of her boy
Both moms appealed to the prophets
Both prophets prayed to the Lord for an intervention (Elijah & Elisha both came to where the bodies lay – they didn’t heal from a distance – and they both used a similar technique of lying down against the dead & cold body)
The boys came back to life!
Both moms had similar reactions. The widow of Zarephath told Elijah: now if know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you. The Shunamite woman didn’t – or maybe couldn’t – speak. But she: fell at (Elisha’s) feet, overwhelmed with gratitude.
I wonder for a minute why the writer told two stories that were so much the same. I wonder if he was making some point about Elijah & Elisha both being great & powerful prophets – and roughly equal in miraculous capacity.
But mostly I just like these two stories. Great Story #1a & Great Story #1b. They’d both have to be considered for any list of Top Stories of the OT.
Note: the stories are in 1 Kings 17:7-24 & 2 Kings 4:18-37. Quotes are from 1 Kings 17:24 & 2 Kings 4:37 (NLT)