Section 954
The Elect Of God, Chosen Vessels Of Salvation, Filled With The Oil Of Grace
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—2 Kings 4:6
IN the context is related a very remarkable case. A certain widow of a prophet, applied unto Elisha for relief in her distressed circumstances; and in a very wonderful manner was delivered. Her husband was one of the sons of the prophets. Who he was, cannot with certainty be said. The Jews commonly suppose he was Obadiah; for no other reason, I conceive, but that of his fearing the Lord. Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest, that thy servant did fear the Lord. (2 Kings 4:1) It is said of Obadiah, that he feared the Lord from his youth; (2 Kings 18:12) otherwise, he was a steward of Ahab's family, and so does not appear to be the son of a prophet. Be this as it may, the prophet, the husband of this woman, was dead. This is the lot of prophets, as well as others. Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? (Zechariah 1:5) This prophet, it seems, was a poor man; which was very frequently the lot of such persons. More than this, he died insolvent. His widow and children were therefore in great distress, on that account. The creditor, who was a severe man, took the two sons of the widow for bondmen, to sell them, in order to pay the debt; which was usual in those countries, at that time. To which our Lord seems to refer in the parable of the king, who called his servants to account: one of whom owed ten thousand talents, and had nothing to pay. He therefore commanded him, his wife, and children, and all that he had to he sold, and payment to be made. In like manner the creditor of the husband of this poor widow was about to proceed. Therefore she applied to Elisha, being the chief of the prophets in those days, and who had great interest with God in prayer, and great gifts in performing miracles; so that she might conclude from one, or both these circumstances, that she might meet with relief from him. After she had told her case, thus, 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. Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? what do you expect from me, a poor prophet? Tell me, what hast thou in thine house? and she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he orders her to go to borrow of her neighbours, empty vessels; and of those, not a few. Then bids her, when she had got as many as she could, to go into the house, with her two sons, and pour out the oil into these empty vessels. She did so, and it was multiplied, as she poured it out. The pot, or vessel, was, no doubt, a small one; yet so miraculously was the oil multiplied, that it filled all the vessels she could get together. When she had filled them all, she asked for another vessel; one of her sons tells her there is no more. They were all full; and then the oil was stayed.
Now this being done, the prophet ordered her to sell this oil, to pay her debt, and live upon the rest. Thus she was extricated out of her present difficulties, and had a sufficient maintenance for herself and sons. A most wonderful event this!
Having stated to you the connection of the text, with the preceding verses, and given you a short account of this remarkable part of Scripture history, what I shall endeavour further to do is, to accommodate the subject in the following way.