It falls to this generation, to be the generation that brings a revelation of love to a world hungry for it. It falls to you and I to be the ones who walk out of the room with our lamps blazing and into the dark.
A study from 2 Kings 4:1-7
The church throughout the ages has looked forward, with the hopes that the future would bring brighter days. As I have written about before, the time and condition of Noah’s day, as well as the days of the birth of Christ, we have discovered the very same condition. A forward-looking hope, for a kingdom that would empower man to live over his circumstances, rather then under them.
When I make a study of scripture, often times it includes much ado about nothing. I mean, simply sitting in quiet meditation on the verses and listening. Listening to what the Holy Spirit has to teach me from the verses. We need to listen more and talk less, which is ironic considering how many words I am about to write.
2 Kings 4: 1-7
1Now 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.
2And 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.
3Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
4And 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.
5So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.
6And 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.
7Then 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.
Now here are some things to think about. Here we have the story of a widow, left destitute by the death of her husband. She viewed her husband as her source. He was her source for income and security. She felt safe and provided for as long as he was in their family. With the sudden death of the provider she, quickly found herself in a situation where making ends meet was impossible for her. Whether the debts were there before or after the husband passes away we are unclear. But what is clear is that she makes every attempt to solve her problems in the natural. She has two children to care for and she is desperate. Debt is a merciless task master. It takes no prisoners and shows no compassion.
Finally, after a number of garage sales... she has nothing left. She has sold everything of value that she every had. A lifetime of 'stuff'. Her neighbours have combed through her collection of earthy possessions. Rummaged through all she had of value, until nothing remained. It was a fire sale. Everything must go! Yet, it is still not enough. She had a debt that she could not pay, and the creditor is coming. The bank was coming to foreclose on her house so to speak. She was going to lose her children, her future, her hope. The security of being cared for in her old age. Her inheritance. He is coming for her children!
Have you been in a position similar to this dear lady? Where you have felt like your losing everything? Perhaps you have. I know I have. I can so relate to how she must have been feeling.
She has exhausted every effort in the natural and still she comes up short. Her last possession is the last reminder she has of the man she loved. It is a small jar of anointing oil.
(Interesting note: the Hebrew word used here for oil: Shemen. (Strongs #8081). It is the same Hebrew word used in Isaiah 10:27, speaking of the anointing which breaks the yoke. It is the same anointing oil used to anoint a king. 1 Samual 10:1. It was a perfumed, rich oil extracted from olives. This was no mere cooking grease, for she was to sell this oil and live on the proceeds. Her and her sons. To the second generation. To sell something which could sustain you for this long, it must have been of value and harder to come by than simple cooking grease. The rarer a commodity the higher the asking price. Common cooking grease was derived from the fat of animals and was much easier to come by for any house wife of the time. This was something far more special than that. This was a symbol of the Holy Spirit and there was nothing common about it.)
This was a possession that she was not willing to part with. A good thing too. For when she realizes that she is at the end of her rope. She knows she needs to call out to God. Normally she would have gone to her husband with her concerns. Now with him dead, she does not realize that she can as a daughter of Abraham, call out to God herself. So she seeks out a source. A source she is used to going to. A man. She seeks out the head of the prophets. Elisha. She cries out to Elisha her problems, making sure that he understands that her husband was his servant. Perhaps in an effort to create some personal responsibility for her current plight.
What I want you to understand is that no matter what your circumstances are, you have a direct line to The Source. Your Father has all that you need to meet any challenge or need. Philippians 4:19, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
Elisha asks her what she has, and her response echos how she felt, not the reality of what she possessed. "I have nothing, except a jar of oil" Nothing. That is how she saw what she had. She had sold everything else. Anything she thought she had that could help. I am sure she was thinking, "What is he asking me that for? If I had anything I would have already sold it! If I had anything that could help I wouldn't need to be here asking him for help! Perhaps she is thinking what many of us think, "I am a good person, I am doing everything I know to do and still I am not getting ahead of my problem. Why is this happening to me?"
Yet God does not view your needs in light of what you have, but in light of His abundance. All things are possible to him who believes. There is no limits on God.
Simply being told what to do next and acting on it. That is what we are expected to do. But it's that one word from God that we need to unlock the doors to the solutions to our problems. Hearing His voice and doing what we are asked to do.
To her credit the widow does not seem to question the word of God from the man of God, but does what she is told. Now I want you to consider something. If you were going to your neighbours to ask for pots, jars, containers of any kind... that's what your going to get. Here these kids run door to door in the same neighbourhood, who just days ago were walking through their yard and house buying everything the widow had at rock bottom prices. Neighbours who were either unwilling to or unable to help any more that they did. She still had a debt that she could not pay. Now they are collecting. Not selling. Borrowing vessels. Whatever for? What is that widow up to now? You know how people will talk. I am sure the rumours were flying. Nevertheless, these young lads are asking for anything that'll hold water... or oil in this case.
Let's take a closer look at the word Shemen for a second. Used 218 times in the old testament. To many scriptures to list here, but just for example; Lev. 2:15, oil and frankincense poured on the offering as a sweet aroma to God. 1 Samuel 16:13, the anointing oil over the head of King David. The purity and value of this oil is not something to be taken lightly. This was a valued item by any prophet as the use of this oil was very sacred. I am sure it was the item of most value to the widow's deceased prophet/husband. This would be why the widow keep this item above all else. It meant something to her.
Can you picture these excited young boys bringing in any vessels they could find. I can see them asking neighbours for anything. Shaking out plants and flowers just to get another pot. Asking folks to toss the flour into something else just to get an extra pot for mom. Running home with all the pots they could scrounge. Now.... wait a minute. There is no way anyone would simply start pouring this oil into dirty pots. She understood the vision. The word. The importance of what was about to happen. The sense of anticipation in the air was thick. Like the way you feel as the Spirit is moving through a service and you can feel that the atmosphere is thick or heavy, pregnant even with the miraculous.
The first thing they did with these empty vessels was to clean them. Inside they were to be spotless. They scoured these pots and were sure that there were no impurities that could taint the anointing oil that was to be poured into them.
2 Timothy 2: 20-21 "In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work."
Now once prepared for the honour, the vessels were filled. The pouring began. Picture the scene. There you are in the room as the boys bring you pot after pot, jar after jar. Many of these pots do not have lids and the fragrance of that anointing oil is filling the air. As you hold your little jar aloft your struck with the miraculous and recognize that God is giving you the answer to your prayers. You know that there is value here! You begin to sing and dance as you keep pouring into all the vessels over and over. This is a remarkably emotional time. Your boys are laughing as they witness the every flowing jar in your hands filling pot after pot. I can just see her dancing around pouring into pots all around her in a circle. Singing the song of Deborah, about triumphing over her enemies. The atmosphere in that little house changed. Heaven invaded earth, and nothing was going to be the same again.
She began by seeking the source to her problem. God revealed that what little oil (anointing) she had was sufficient for her needs if she would mix it with faith and obey the voice of God. Once we act in obedience to the Father, the flood gates of heaven open up the possibilities of the impossible.
Are you ready for the outpouring that has begun already for our generation? Ask God to purify you, the vessel of His choosing. For He has predestined you to good works.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,"
Ephesians 1:4 "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,"
Romans 8:28-29 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."
When all the vessels were full it was time to honour God by not acting presumptuously. She goes to the man of God, announcing she has done all that was asked of her. His instructions are simple. Sell it. There is value. You have value. An abundance of anointing to meet any need. More so, she became the source for others seeking the anointing! God puts her into business, selling this valuable anointing oil, the proceeds of which were to last and sustain her and her children all of their lives. This is God. Whatever your needs He is there to meet and exceed your expectations.
Where she was hoping to have her needs met, God vision was so much bigger. Not only meet your needs but those of the next generation. Not just for you and your family, but she went from being the needy, to providing for others. She was the source for so many others who were seeking anointing oil. God wants to fill you. You are the vessel. But the purpose of the being filled is not just to meet your needs. His vision is so much bigger than that. He wants you to be the vessel now that is pouring out into your neighbourhood. The same neighbours who before saw no hope and no future for you. Now they witness the miracle hand of God as you move from a position of need to that of a source. You see, as we seek the source, and gain access to Him, He fills us and uses us to be the source for a sick and dying world, hunger for the things of God.
My cup runneth over. Why? So you can share in the abundance. The abundance of His Grace. The abundance of His provision. The abundance of His healing. To you and your children's generation!
God is pouring out His Spirit. His Anointing today. He is seeking those who will simply be obedient to the voice of God to purify your minds, your bodies - to walk before Him upright. 2 Corinthians 2:16, teaches us we are to have the mind of Christ.
Romans 12:1-2 "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Simply put, it is walking in the closeness and intimacy that makes hearing His voice easier and easier. He is not far that He cannot hear us.
Deuteronomy 4:7 "What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him?"
He is hungry for your attention and presence with Him. This is the time to be a vessel ready and willing to be filled with His Anointing for good works that He has prepared for you. Don't miss what God is doing today. He has provisions for your needs, answers to your questions, healing for your body and wisdom for your situation. For He is the God of this universe and the Father of life. He is your Father and like any good father He is waiting for you to come home.
Blessings Mark Hutzler, Eschatologist www.FullBibleTimeline.com