My Sons are Taken Care Of!

Working in a law firm makes the realities of day-to-day living even more real for me.

If I only taught music, I would seldom come across the harsh side of life, such as joblessness, serious illness and death. Wisdom tells us to be aware of these realities and prepare for them. We are to give thought to estate planning, to ensure we leave a good inheritance to our children (Proverbs 13:22) and to prepare at least one alternative income channel (Proverbs 27:23-24) in case of financial reversals (job loss or economic downturns).

But sometimes life hits us when we are unprepared. Take the example of the widow who approached Elisha in the following passage.

2 Kings 4:1-2 (ESV) – Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves." And Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?" And she said, "Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil."

We see in this situation a devout man, who maybe wasn’t as careful with his money as he ought to have been, or may have been cut down in the prime of his life through sickness. You think such things don’t happen to godly people? Go have a heart-to-heart chat with your pastor and you will find out the truth. It is one thing that I don’t think I will ever understand this side of heaven, how mighty men of God, some greatly used by God to bring healing miracles to others, can sometimes die of illness too. 

So when human effort fails us, does God leave us to our own devices? Or does he intervene to help his people and show us mercy?

2 Kings 4:3-7 (ESV) – Then he said, "Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside." So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not another." Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest."

It is easy for me to get this miracle by Elisha mixed up with the one by Elijah, when he met the widow of Zarephath, described in 1 Kings 17:9-15. In a nutshell, God directed Elijah to Zarephath, where he met a starving widow who only had enough for one meal. She gave a small portion of it to Elijah, and God multiplied the rest to last them for the rest of the famine.

As a Word-of-Faith person, I saw in that account Elijah teaching the widow to use the law of sowing and reaping for her benefit. She sowed a token amount of food into Elijah’s life, and she received enough food to sustain her son and herself for possibly two to three years.

But the widow in Elisha’s case received a lot more than that. She received enough for her sons and her to not only pay off debts but even last until her sons grew up and started working. The Bible doesn’t give us the details, but I would not be surprised if this provision miracle was at least twice as rich and twice as long in duration as the one given to the widow of Zarephath.

Why did this disparity? I personally believe it is because of the difference in the seed sown. The widow of Zarephath sowed a token amount of food to a man of God. The prophet who died before his time sowed his life to seeking God. He feared the LORD and lived in a community of people who sought the LORD too.

And the issue of community is very important. We are not called by God to seek him by ourselves. We are to live in community with other believers, knowing that we can mature only in fellowship with other believers…

Ephesians 4:15-17 (ESV) - speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

And that also means being willing to supply the needs of other believers also.

Ephesians 4:28 (ESV) -  Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

The connection between sharing with others and receiving provision is clearly stated in the following verse.

2 Corinthians 8:14 (ESV) - your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.

This is a verse that does not get preached about very much. Think about it. The lazy, who want to find ways to sponge off others, want verses that tell them that they can expect to receive money without having to labour for it and without having  to sow financially into the lives of others first. The diligent who are prosperous and giving to church and the poor don’t want to hear that someday they may lose the material possessions they have laboured for and have to depend on the generosity and kindness of others

How often do you find a verse that manages to offend two very different groups of people?

Conclusion:

I am not sure what God will speak to you from this passage. For me, however, this is very assuring. I know I live my life as unto the LORD, but I have made financial mistakes before. Frankly, I end up worrying about how to provide for my sons. Will they have to suffer for my mistakes and wrong decisions?

So this account in Scripture tells me that no matter how I may have messed up financially, God is still there. He still has the desire to provide for my sons. And knowing that just gives me the assurance to just keep living my life for serving God. I know that my sons will be taken care of!

And I am also firmly reminded to look for opportunities to give, to sow financially into the lives of others. And I am especially serious about sowing into the bereaved families of servants of God. Like it or not, there will be men and women of God who have given their lives to serving the Lord, but have been taken from this life before their time.  They will leave behind families who need help and it is our role, our responsibility and our privilege to be used by God to supply for their needs.

What then are the lessons in this that God wants you to take to heart? Do share, that I too may be edified and encouraged by your faith. Be blessed!