列王記下 4:1-17 倒不完的油
- 馬克牧師
- Sep 8, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: Sep 9, 2024
以利沙幫助一個窮寡婦
1有一個先知門徒的妻哀求以利沙說:「你僕人-我丈夫死了,他敬畏耶和華是你所知道的。現在有債主來,要取我兩個兒子作奴僕。」 2以利沙問她說:「我可以為你做甚麼呢?你告訴我,你家裏有甚麼?」她說:「婢女家中除了一瓶油之外,沒有甚麼。」 3以利沙說:「你去,向你眾鄰舍借空器皿,不要少借; 4回到家裏,關上門,你和你兒子在裏面將油倒在所有的器皿裏,倒滿了的放在一邊。」 5於是,婦人離開以利沙去了,關上門,自己和兒子在裏面;兒子把器皿拿來,她就倒油。 6器皿都滿了,她對兒子說:「再給我拿器皿來。」兒子說:「再沒有器皿了。」油就止住了。 7婦人去告訴神人,神人說:「你去賣油還債,所剩的你和你兒子可以靠着度日。」
書念婦人接待以利沙
8一日,以利沙走到書念,在那裏有一個大戶的婦人強留他吃飯。此後,以利沙每從那裏經過就進去吃飯。 9婦人對丈夫說:「我看出那常從我們這裏經過的是聖潔的神人。 10我們可以為他在牆上蓋一間小樓,在其中安放牀榻、桌子、椅子、燈臺,他來到我們這裏,就可以住在其間。」
11一日,以利沙來到那裏,就進了那樓躺臥。 12以利沙吩咐僕人基哈西說:「你叫這書念婦人來。」他就把婦人叫了來,婦人站在以利沙面前。 13以利沙吩咐僕人說:「你對她說:你既為我們費了許多心思,可以為你做甚麼呢?你向王或元帥有所求的沒有?」她回答說:「我在我本鄉安居無事。」 14以利沙對僕人說:「究竟當為她做甚麼呢?」基哈西說:「她沒有兒子,她丈夫也老了。」 15以利沙說:「再叫她來。」於是叫了她來,她就站在門口。 16以利沙說:「明年到這時候,你必抱一個兒子。」她說:「神人,我主啊,不要那樣欺哄婢女。」 17婦人果然懷孕,到了那時候,生了一個兒子,正如以利沙所說的。
各位弟兄姊妹,平安!今天我們要讀的是《列王紀下》四章1到17節的故事,關於兩位婦人的事跡。首先是關於一位貧窮的寡婦的故事。她原本是一位先知門徒的妻子,但她的丈夫去世後,留下了兩個小兒子,她無法再維持生計,因此來到以利沙面前求助。
我們看到,以利沙告訴她要做的事,她毫不猶豫地照著去行了。在借器皿的過程中,這位婦人盡可能地多借,並沒有擔心會被鄰居嘲笑,也沒有懷疑說兩三個就夠了。她勇敢地借來所有她能借到的器皿,因為她相信上帝會供應她所需的一切。
從這位婦人的行動中,我們可以看見她的信心是極大的。她並沒有對上帝有所懷疑,認為上帝會供應不足。相反,她盡可能地多準備器皿,期待著從上帝得到更多的恩典。這種對上帝的完全信賴值得我們學習,提醒我們在祈求上帝時,也應當懷有信心和期待。而上帝並沒有讓這位婦人失望,她所借來的所有器皿都被油裝滿了。這裡我們可以推測她裝的是橄欖油,而在當時,橄欖油是一種非常昂貴的產品,因為生產不易,且無法大量供應。橄欖油通常用來點燈,因此在市場上有很高的價值。這位婦人因著多出來的油,賣了以後,不僅能夠還清債務,還剩下了不少錢,足夠她和她的兒子日後的生活所需。
這讓我們看見,上帝所賜的恩典是超乎我們所求所想的,祂的供應不僅足夠,甚至是超出我們的預期。上帝總是以祂豐富的恩典回應我們的信心,並且確保我們有足夠的資源來度過我們的困境。
第二個婦人來自書念,可能是一位有錢的婦人,或者是一位具有地位和影響力的貴婦人。總的來說,她是一個有名望的人,而且非常敏銳地認出以利沙是一位屬於上帝的神人。因此,她不計代價地為以利沙和他的僕人安排好一切,不僅隨時供應飯食,甚至為他建了一間小屋,讓他在路過時能夠進來休息。
這位婦人沒有任何私利或目的,只是盡心竭力地服侍上帝的僕人。她的行為體現了她對上帝的敬畏和信心,並且不求回報地付出,表現出極大的慷慨和對上帝的忠誠。他並無所圖,只為了款待這一個聖潔的神人附上金錢和代價。
以利沙特別為了這件事問婦人:「妳有什麼要求嗎?」以利沙甚至有能力代她向國王或軍隊元帥說話,因為當時他是個名人,所說的話也能夠實現。然而,這位婦人卻誠懇地回答,說她住在自己的民中,別無所求,表明她的服侍並不是為了獲得任何回報。
以利沙看見了這婦人的忠心,便進一步詢問他的僕人:「我們應該怎麼為她做呢?」他的僕人指出,這位婦人和她的丈夫沒有兒子,而這對他們來說可能是一個重要的缺憾。於是,以利沙便為她發了預言。
我們可以推測,這位婦人和她的丈夫年紀已不輕,可能因某些原因多年來一直沒有孩子。然而,我們看到的是,以利沙發出的預言並沒有落空。儘管這位婦人可能抱著無法相信的態度,但上帝藉著以利沙所說的話終究實現了。隔年,這位婦人果真生下了一個兒子,印證了以利沙的預言。
當然,這個故事還沒有結束。明天我們將繼續來聽這個故事的下半段,看看接下來會發生什麼。感謝各位的聆聽!
The Widow’s Oil
1Now one of the wives of a man of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha [for help], saying “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant [reverently] feared the Lord; but the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves [in payment for a loan].” 2Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have [of value] in the house?” She said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a [small] jar of [olive] oil.” 3Then he said, “Go, borrow containers from all your neighbors, empty containers—and not just a few. 4Then you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out [the oil you have] into all these containers, and you shall set aside each one when it is full.” 5So she left him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing her the containers as she poured [the oil]. 6When the containers were all full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.” And he said to her, “There is not a one left.” Then the oil stopped [multiplying]. 7Then she came and told the man of God. He said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”
The Shunammite Woman
8Now there came a day when Elisha went over to Shunem, where there was a prominent and influential woman, and she persuaded him to eat a meal. Afterward, whenever he passed by, he stopped there for a meal. 9She said to her husband, “Behold, I sense that this is a holy man of God who frequently passes our way. 10Please, let us make a small, fully-walled upper room [on the housetop] and put a bed there for him, with a table, a chair, and a lampstand. Then whenever he comes to visit us, he can turn in there.”
11One day he came there and turned in to the upper room and lay down to rest. 12And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her and she stood before him. 13Now he said to Gehazi, “Say to her now, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us; what can I do for you? Would you like to be mentioned to the king or to the captain of the army?’ ” She answered, “I live among my own people [in peace and security and need no special favors].” 14Later Elisha said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son and her husband is old.” 15He said, “Call her.” So Gehazi called her, and she [came and] stood in the doorway. 16Elisha said, “At this season next year, you will embrace a son.” She said, “No, my lord. O man of God, do not lie to your maidservant.”
17But the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at that season the next year, just as Elisha had said to her.
Dear brothers and sisters, peace be with you! Today we will be reading from 2 Kings 4:1-17, which tells the stories of two women. The first story is about a poor widow. She was the wife of a prophet’s disciple, but after her husband passed away, she was left with two young sons and could no longer provide for her family. In desperation, she came to Elisha for help.
We see that when Elisha told her what to do, she did not hesitate and followed his instructions. When borrowing jars, she borrowed as many as she could without worrying about being mocked by her neighbors or doubting that a few jars would be enough. She courageously borrowed every jar she could find because she believed that God would provide for all her needs.
From this woman’s actions, we can see that her faith was great. She did not doubt God, thinking He might provide too little. Instead, she prepared as many jars as possible, expecting to receive abundant blessings from God. Her complete trust in God is something we can all learn from, reminding us to have faith and expectation when we ask God for help. And God did not disappoint her—every jar she borrowed was filled with oil.
We can assume the oil was olive oil, which was a valuable commodity at the time due to its difficulty in production and its use in lighting lamps. The oil had high value in the marketplace. After selling the excess oil, the widow was able to pay off her debts and still had enough money to support her family for the future.
This shows us that God’s blessings exceed our expectations. His provision is not only sufficient but often more than enough. God always responds to our faith with His abundant grace, ensuring that we have enough resources to navigate through our difficulties.
The second woman in this story is from Shunem, likely a wealthy woman or one with influence and status. In any case, she was a woman of great reputation and was very discerning in recognizing that Elisha was a holy man of God. So, without hesitation, she generously provided for Elisha and his servant, offering meals and even building a small room for him to rest in whenever he passed by.
This woman had no ulterior motives; she simply gave selflessly to serve the man of God. Her actions reflected her reverence for God and her faith, showing a great deal of generosity and loyalty to God without expecting anything in return. She spent her own resources and time solely to honor this holy man.
Elisha, in response to her kindness, asked, “What can be done for you?” He even offered to speak to the king or the commander of the army on her behalf, as he had influence and could make things happen. However, the woman humbly replied that she lived among her people and had no special requests, indicating that her service was not motivated by a desire for personal gain.
Seeing her sincerity, Elisha inquired further of his servant, asking, “What can we do for her?” The servant pointed out that she and her husband had no son, which would have been a significant void in their lives. Elisha then gave her a prophecy.
We can assume that the woman and her husband were advanced in age, and for many years had not been able to have children for some reason. However, we see that Elisha’s prophecy did not fail. Although the woman may have initially been skeptical, God fulfilled the words spoken through Elisha. The following year, she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had foretold.
Of course, this story is not yet over. Tomorrow we will continue to hear the second half of this story and see what happens next. Thank you all for listening!
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