Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20031207.htm

1 AND 2 KINGS: ENJOYING GOD'S BLESSINGS IN AN APOSTATE ERA
Part XXXIV: Enjoying God's Blessing To The DEGREE We Obey God
(2 Kings 4:1-7)
  1. Introduction
    1. Most believers may not habitually glaringly rebel against God and His Word, but then many believers are not "totally sold out" to obeying Scripture fully; rather, most heed God "moderately-well"!
    2. Such a "moderately-well" level of obedience displeases a holy God, and He can arrange for a situation that causes the believer to see his need to increase the degree he is committed to obeying Scripture as follows:
  2. Enjoying God's Blessing To The DEGREE We Obey God, 2 Kings 4:1-7.
    1. When a widow of the prophets who was in deep financial trouble came to Elisha for help, her words revealed she and her husband were under discipline for a partial obedience to God's Word, 2 Kings 4:1:
      1. A widow of a deceased prophet approached Elisha, claiming that he had known her deceased husband had respected God; she then explained she had been left vulnerable to a creditor who had come to take her two sons into bondage since she had been unable to pay off her debt, 2 Kings 4:1.
      2. This God-fearing widow's words in light of Scripture revealed this widow with her deceased husband had experienced God's discipline for their partial commitments to heed God's Word (as follows):
        1. Under the Mosaic Covenant, God promised the people of Israel alleviation from having to borrow from others were they to heed all of God's laws, Deuteronomy 28:1-2 with 28:12b.
        2. However, for failing to obey all of God's laws, people would experience such disciplines from God as a shorter life span (Deut. 28:15, 20b) and oppressive debt problems (Deut. 28:15, 44).
        3. Hence, as this prophet and his family lived during the dispensation of the Mosaic Law, (a) though he had respected God (2 Kings 4:1b) but had died while his sons still lived in his home, he had died prematurely, meaning he had kept some but not all of God's commands! (b) Then, as the God-fearing prophet's widow faced an oppressive debt, she (possibly along with her husband) had thus not heeded all of God's laws, and so had suffered a loss of divine blessing!
    2. Hence, as Elisha himself fully followed God, God used him to MOTIVATE the woman to INCREASE the DEGREE of her OBEDIENCE to God's Word in the way her needs would be met, 2 Kings 4:2-6:
      1. As we learned in a previous lesson, Elisha fully heeded God by following the precedents of Elijah's ministry (2 Kings 2); thus, he used Elijah's miracle of multiplying the Zarephath widow's food in 1 Kings 17 as a precedent to ask the prophet's widow if she had any like item to multiply, 4:2a.
      2. The prophet's widow replied she possessed a pot of olive oil, 2 Kings 4:2 ESV.
      3. Elisha then urged her to go and borrow from her neighbors lots of empty vessels and bring them into her house with her sons and shut the door so the apostates in Israel outside would not see God's blessing , and begin pouring out her oil into these vessels, 4:3-4. Elisha's directive was designed to MOTIVATE the widow to HEED God's word through him to the FULLEST, for she would gain the amount of oil equal to the DEGREE she OBEYED God's Word to borrow MANY vessels!
      4. Accordingly, when she and her sons had acquired the vessels, she poured out the oil, 2 Kings 4:5.
      5. When the oil multiplied so she could fill the collected vessels, the widow expressed disappointment in not having borrowed more vessels so the oil could have kept multiplying, 4:6a; to the degree she heeded God's command from Elisha in acquiring "many" vessels, God blessed her with oil, 4:6b!
    3. From that point on, the widow fully heeded Elisha for guidance, and she then FULLY obeyed the word of the Lord by Elisha in paying of her creditor and living off of the rest of the multiplied oil, 2 Kings 4:7!
Lesson: Where (1) the apostate people were shut out from even SEEING the multiplication of the oil, (2) and where the widow who was PARTIALLY obedient to God saw a DEGREE of God's blessing to the DEGREE she OBEYED the God's word, (3) Elisha who FULLY heeded God in FULLY heeding the PRECEDENT of his godly mentor, Elijah was USED by God to PRODUCE the MIRACLE!

Application: (1) [Though the godly in our era may face trials, cf. 2 Cor. 11:23-33], if WE face stiff trials, we should CHECK to see if we fully obey God, and confess any sin causing God's discipline of us, 1 Cor. 11:29-31; 1 John 1:9. (2) If we see OTHERS in partial obedience, like Elisha, may we OURSELVES FULLY heed God's lead so God can USE us to DISCIPLE them to enjoy God's blessing!