ESOCS Devotional 2 October 2025 – God’s Miraculous Provision Invites Effort on Our Part
MEMORY VERSE:“And Elisha said unto her, what shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil.” 2 Kings 4:2 KJV
TEXT: 2 KINGS 4:1-25
A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”
2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”
5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”
And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”
8 Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. 9 And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. 10 Please, let us make [c]a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”
11 And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. 12 Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’ ”
She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”
14 So he said, “What then is to be done for her?”
And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.”
15 So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 Then he said, [d]“About this time next year you shall embrace a son.”
And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!”
17 But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.
18 And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, “My head, my head!”
So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. 21 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. 22 Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back.”
23 So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.”
And she said, [e]“It is well.” 24 Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 And so she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, the Shunammite woman!
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Elisha’s prophetic ministry, which is especially highlighted in chapters 4-8, clearly demonstrates that God cares for His people and that He sometimes works in sovereign and mighty ways that extend far beyond that which we are able to do or think, as He reaches out to meet needs according to His will.
The creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves: This woman, the widowed wife of one of the sons of the prophets, had debts and no means to pay them. The legal system in Israel would not allow her to declare bankruptcy; she had to give her sons as indentured servants to her creditor, as payment for the debts. The creditor was within his rights; for Mosaic Law allowed him to enslave the debtor and his children as far as the Year of Jubilee in order to work off a debt. She had nothing but a jar of oil.
Elisha made this woman commit herself in faith to God’s provision. To borrow vessels in this manner invited awkward questions, but she did as the word of God through His prophet commanded her in faith; and the result answered the end. God takes care to deliver His servants in ways that exercise their faith.
Elisha told the woman to take what she had – one jar of oil (all that she had) – and pour that out in faith into the borrowed vessels. As she did this, the oil miraculously kept pouring from the original vessel until all the borrowed vessels were filled. At the end of it, she had a lot of oil. Elisha made her do this because but he knew that she had to trust God herself.
The miracle was given according to the measure of her previous faith in borrowing vessels. She borrowed enough, so the excess oil was sold and provided money to pay the debt to the creditor and to provide for the future. Had she borrowed more, more would have been provided; had she gathered less, less would have been provided.
The principle of this miracle was the same as the principle of the ditches dug in the previous chapter. The amount of man’s work with the miracle determined the amount of blessing and provision actually received. God’s powerful provision invites our hard work and never excuses laziness.
CHALLENGES
- Do you fully trust in God’s power to provide by praying enough?
PRAYER POINT
- Lord give me a positive attitude in believing your word, Amen.
FURTHER READING: 2 Kings 3:5-27; 2 Corinthians 3:1-End; 4:1-End
ESOCS Devotional 2 October 2025
