“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.” (2 Kings 4:34)
For one brief moment, I thought about putting the above Bible verse on a slide to make a point about a man’s relationship with a boy. It was for a presentation in church on Father’s Day. But I hesitated. Somehow I felt there would be gasps and even looks of disgust.
What was going on here? This is how it all began.
There was once a very wealthy woman living in a town called Shunem. As a committed believer and follower of the God of Israel, she was generous and gracious. Her husband, on the contrary, was nonchalant about his faith and passive in his ways. Attending temple service with his wife was done out of habit; his heart wasn’t really in it. Over time, she had come to accept him for who he was. Deep down in her heart, she knew she wanted more out of this life.
One day she found out Elisha, a well-known prophet of God, would often pass through her town during his travel. She birthed an insane idea and was instantly consumed by it. She wanted to convert their rooftop loft into an apartment just so that Elisha would have a place to stay.
What would we do if we were in her shoes? A married woman was not free to make such a major financial decision. A modern woman like us would probably leave hints here and there to get our husband’s attention and his buy-in. Or we probably would gear up for a shouting match, or an all-out emotional tear fest, if our husband was to object to our ideas.
How about this Shunammite woman? What did she do?
Her approach surprised me. She simply made an announcement.
“Honey, this is what we are going to do. We will make a small private upper room and furnish it with a bed, table, chair, and lamp for Elisha, the prophet.” (2 Kings 4:10)
I was surprised that there was no mention of any objections from her husband. Perhaps this was another sign of his passivity?
The Shunammite woman received her wish. A condo was built on top of their home.
As a recipient of such a kind gesture, Elisha was not going to freeload on the Shunammite woman. Seeing that she did not have a child, he told her flat out that he’d bless her with a son.
There is something unique about a saintly woman that has no children of her own. She exudes an air of grace stemming from years of acceptance. She hopes people can see her contentment and spare her needless words of sympathy or pity. As long as you don’t brag about your children in front of her, she will carry on just fine.
Perhaps this is how the Shunammite woman wanted things to be. Her childlessness was not to be drawn out in the open. But it didn’t work out this way. Elisha’s servant noticed she had no children and brought it to his master’s attention. Elisha knew exactly what he had to do to return the favor.
You’d think the Shunammite woman would be excited. Far from it. She was ticked off. She already told Elisha she was content and didn’t need anything, and now he wanted to grant her a son? How presumptuous! She protested, “No, my lord! Do not mislead me!”
Her response, however, betrayed her and revealed a side of her that was complex and extremely vulnerable.
The prophecy came true and she gave birth to a baby boy the following year. Fast forward a few years, and we are near where we were at the beginning of this writing.
One day, her school-age boy was working with his father in the field. Suddenly, he was hit with a throbbing pain in his head. He cried out hysterically, “My head! My head!” His father froze and didn’t know what to do. “Carry him to his mother, quickly!” he instructed one of his servants. Maybe his very capable wife would know how to help their boy.
Not this time. Helplessly, the Shunammite woman watched the life of her boy slip away as he drew his last breath. She could hardly breathe. It’s beyond grief. She was irate, and she trembled in disbelief. “That Elisha… It’s all his fault. I was fine without a child. And he had to assume I was ashamed of it? And he had to ask God to give me a child? Now, what do I do? NOW, WHAT DO I DO?!?!” It was a deafening scream only she could hear.
Fighting back tears, she saddled her donkey and raced out of her ranch. Forget about her inept husband. She’s mad at him too. She didn’t even want to tell him their son had just died. She’s got something more urgent to do. And she’s got someone to confront.
While she was still a long way off, Elisha saw her galloping towards his home. Instinctively he knew something was wrong. He sent his servant to see the Shunammite woman, but she ignored him. She was not going to waste her breaths talking to anyone else besides Elisha.
As soon as she saw Elisha, the Shunammite woman thought she would punch his face. Instead, she fell on the ground and grabbed onto both of Elisha’s feet. She simply didn’t have it in her to hate; all the violence she wanted to commit only existed in her imagination.
“Did I ask you for a son? Didn’t I tell you not to mislead me?” she wailed, “NOW MY SON IS DEAD. Was it some kind of sick joke? Was it?!”
Taken aback by her bitter tone, she softened slightly. “Please, my lord, please, come back with me,” she muttered under her breath, “As surely as the Lord lives, and as you live, please come.”
Elisha didn’t think he needed to go. He had already trained up his servant to handle an emergency such as this one. But he was moved by the Shunammite woman’s desperate plea. He changed his mind and went with her.
Elisha saw a lifeless body lying on the same bed he had slept on many times. He knew he had no power of his own to bring the boy back. It’s all in God’s hands now.
He asked to be left alone with the boy. He knelt down and prayed. And he thought he could warm up the corpse by lying on top of him.
If we take the opening verse out of context, we might have been left with innuendoes in our twisted minds. It would hint at acts of indecency between a grown man and a boy. But the truth was…Elisha had just given this boy another chance to live.
Fatherhood extends beyond biology, especially in our time. Countless children do not have father figures in their lives.
My husband recently experienced a sort of attachment from a young boy after he spent some time playing ball with him. He didn’t know the boy’s father had had trouble with the law and that he was in prison, and that he had just left his son and wife.
Someone once said, “If you connect a boy to the right man, he seldom goes wrong.”
The Shunammite woman connected her son with a man of God without any concerns for the village busybodies and gossipers. A miracle was witnessed and recorded. The name of God was lifted up. Forever she’s known as The Shunammite Woman – her faith and determination have made her known throughout the world.