=ELISHA A MAN OF MIRACLES=

The Container of Oil

1. THE OF THE WIDOW (890 BC)

II Kings 4:1
A. Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the
prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and
thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is
come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen (II Kings 4:1).
B. The widow was in great sorrow because of the death of her husband who
had died while he was a student preparing for the ministry.
1. The phrase, of the prophets, refers to those
who were students in the school of the prophets (II Kings 2).
2. When the husband died, he left the widow with .
a. The debt was incurred because of sinful
living since her husband had a testimony of fearing God
- Thou knowest that thy servant did
the Lord (verse 1).
b. As a widow, this presented a challenge since she could
not get a job in the work force as a secretary, teacher,
nurse, or other position; neither was there any
government welfare program to help her financially.
3. Three things accompanied the debt which brought great distress
to the widow and caused her to cry out to Elisha for help.
a. There was her husband had died.
b. There was she had very little of this world's goods.
c. There was the creditor was about to take her two sons into
slavery to satisfy the debt.
C. Bereaved of her husband and destitute of earthly goods, she is now threatened with the loss of her two sons so she
turns to the prophet, Elisha.
1. According to Hebrew law, a creditor could take the debtor and his children as ,
but he was not to treat them like slaves (Exodus 21:1-11; Leviticus 25:29-31; Deuteronomy 15:1-11).
2. The creditor could force the debtor to serve as a hired servant until the was relieved.
3. But God is the judge of the widows (Deuteronomy 10:18; Psalm 68:5; 146:9) and He sent Elisha to
help her.

2. THE FOR THE WIDOW (890 BC) II Kings 4:2-5

A. In coming to Elisha to find help in her troubles, the widow evidenced great .
B. 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 any thing in the house, save a pot of oil (II Kings 4:2).
1. After the widow had poured out her problems to Elisha, he said to her, What shall I do for thee? Tell
me, what hast thou in the house?
a. These questions were to further her situation and needs and to
see what assistance she herself could give to help her situation.
b. Elisha will help to help .
2. The widow responded to his questions by reporting, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house,
save a pot of oil, Elisha then gave her some advice which guided her in solving her problem.
a. The word is a translation of a Hebrew word which occurs only here in the Bible.
1) It was a flask, cruse or jar.
2) It was used for the oil necessary for anointing the body.
b. The was olive oil which had many uses besides the anointing of the body.
1) Because of its many uses, it was much in .
2) If one had olive oil to sell, it would not be difficult to market.
C. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all
those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and
upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out (II Kings 4:3-5).
1. The is the testing of her faith.
 a. It may have seemed very foolish to the widow to borrow, for it was borrowing which caused her
debt problem.
b. She could argue that people would not lend to her because she was already in debt beyond her
means.
c. When Elisha told her to borrow from thy , she would face
the test of ridicule.
d. She was to borrow not a and from her neighbors would be
another test to borrow every vessel she could possibly borrow.
2. The of the door is the instructing for her faith.
a. When she had borrowed all the vessels she could, she was to take her sons and herself into her
house; then she was to shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons (verse 4) before she
proceeded to pour out of her cruse into the vessels.
b. Only the widow and her sons had the privilege of the miracle take place.
3. The is the dedication of her faith.
a. When all the vessels had been borrowed and the door shut, the widow poured out (verse 5)
from her cruse of oil into the vessels until all the vessels were completely filled.
b. This widow demonstrated strict to Elishas orders.

3. THE OF THE WIDOW (890 BC) II Kings 4:6-7

A. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said
unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said,
Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest (II Kings 4:6-7).
1. The widow experienced an amazing deliverance from her problems through this miracle of the
multiplying of the oil.
2. The amount of oil she received was limited by the number of vessels she had, and that was controlled by
her (verse 6).
a. The oil was limited to the number of vessels she .
b. She determined how much oil she would receive by the number of vessels she provided.
3. When the vessels were all full, the widow came and told the man of God (verse 7).
4. Elisha told the widow to Go, the oil, and thy debt, and live thou and
thy children of the rest (verse 7).
B. There is a beautiful Gospel picture in this whole experience of the widow and her problem and her deliverance
from it.