2 Kings 8 Shunamite Flees

A severe famine is coming in Israel. Elisha warns the Shunamite woman and she flees with her family; just as Elisha instructed her to do.

We might call this one of Elisha’s greatest hits. His role in this story is only one of warning. The Shunamite woman had to act on Elisha’s words to be safe. Elisha didn’t leave Israel during this time though. He trusted God to carry him through what was to come.

There are a couple of things that give me pause in this story. First, I’m wondering where this famine falls in the timeline. When Elisha made stew for the sons of the prophets, there was a famine going on. Is this the same famine?

Second, Gehazi is talking with the king. This had to be earlier in the timeline because I seriously doubt that the king would be spending time with a leper. When Gehazi took gifts from Naaman, his punishment was to be stricken with leprosy for the rest of his life.

With these considerations in mind, I’m pretty sure that this story fits in the timeline a bit earlier. When I put everything together into one book, I will move her story to the right time, but for today, we will take it where it is. Let’s rejoin our journey and see where the Spirit takes us today.

♥ ♦ ♥

Over the years, Elisha and Gehazi have enjoyed spending their time in the chambers the Dina, the Shunamite woman, made for them. They love seeing her son grow in wisdom and understanding. His life is a gift twice over; first, with his birth to a childness couple and second, his resurrection from the dead. Elisha feels a protectiveness over this family.

Elisha is going through the land, calling the people back to the Lord, but few are listening. Some are, some are becoming more faithful, while most are moving farther and farther away from the Lord. Today, the Lord speaks to Elisha about how He is going to act to show them His hand.

“Elisha. The people are far from me.”

“I know this Lord, but I don’t know how to fix it. I keep calling out to them, but they won’t listen.”

“They won’t all listen, but more of them will by the time I’m through with this next lesson.”

“And what is that lesson going to be?”

“I’m sending a famine in the land that will last for seven years. There will be no rain and no relief. Their only hope is to call out to me.”

“I have one family that has been especially gracious to me. May I…”

“Yes, you may warn the Shunamite woman and her family” God answers before Elisha even has time to voice his full question. God knows his heart for this family.

“I will warn them today.”

Without even asking his fate, Elisha sets out on his journey, taking Gehazi with him, to the home of Dina and her family. He knows that he doesn’t have to hurry, for famine is slow in bringing its weight upon the people, but she should not wait until then to escape.

Dina sees Elisha and Gehazi approaching and waves to them in greeting. They young boy is seven years old now, and his is in the fields helping his Abba. They both notice the arrival of Elisha and Gehazi.

“You may go to him if you wish” Timothy tells his son.

The young boy takes off sprinting across the field to see Elisha. Elisha welcomes him with an embrace when he crashes into him.

“It looks like you are having a good day Malachi” Elisha says in welcome to the boy.

“I am! How long can you stay? Do you want to see my new drawings? Can you play…”

“Hold on Malachi. Elisha cannot answer your questions if you don’t even breathe between them” his mother chides.

Malachi drops his head. Elisha reaches down with a finger and lifts his chin. “I love your enthusiasm. I’m sorry, but I cannot stay long. I have something important to discuss with you Ima and Abba. Will you go and get him for me?”

Malachi takes off running like a shot again. The three adults look on. “O the exuberance of youth!” is said almost in unison between them. They all laugh.

“Would you like to come in and have a drink of water while we wait for Timothy?”

“That would be most welcome” Elisha says.

The three adults move into the house and water is brought for their refreshing. It isn’t long before Timothy and Malachi join them.

“Malachi says that you wanted to speak with me” Timothy asks in a quiet voice.

He is not used to speaking with Elisha. He greatly respects him and worships the Lord, but he feels lost in his presence. Give him a field to tend, reapers to direct, or a project to build and he is in his element. But speaking with those who teach the word of God intimidates him.

“Yes, Timothy. This is something that concerns you whole family. I want you to hear it firsthand.” Elisha waits until everyone is seated before going on. “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years” (2 Kings 8:1).

This is the first time Gehazi has heard of what is to come. He is surprised but says nothing. Timothy and Dina take one another’s hands. Dina asks; “Did the Lord tell you where we should go?”

“No. He only said the I could warn you of what is to come. No others has He commanded me to tell.”

The couple look at one another and nod. “We will leave as soon as possible. Thank you for your words of warning. We will leave the upper room open for you, if you so choose to pass by.”

“I will have to consider this. It may afford me the ability to look after things while you are gone, or it might invite others to seek shelter her in your absence.”

“I will lock it then. You still have the key. Do as you think best.”

“Shalom my friends. We will be on our way so that you may attend to the things that need your attention.”

Malachi jumps up and runs to his room to retrieve one of his drawings. He brings it back and pushes it into Elisha’s hand as he is walking out the door.

“Take this so you will remember me!”

Elisha turns and squats down to the boy’s level. “Nothing on earth could make me forget you, but I will treasure this in your absence. Be safe and honor your Ima and Abba.”

“I will” promises Malachi.

After Elisha and Gehazi are out of sight, Dina and Timothy begin to discuss what needs done. “The first thing we need to do is decide where we will go” offers Dina.

“This is true” agrees Timothy.

They begin talking about the different options and finally settle on the land of the Philistines. Timothy has distant relatives who may be able to help them when they arrive. “I will send word to them first thing tomorrow.”

While Dina and Timothy are talking over their future, Gehazi asks Elisha about their own. “What is to become of us, father? Are we to sojourn elsewhere also?”

“No. We are to continue calling the people back to the Lord.”

“But, what about the famine?”

“What about it” asks Elisha.

“How are we to survive it?”

“The same way we survive every other day. Trust in the Lord.”

“Will we suffer along with the people? You are a man of God and I am your servant.”

“That does not make us immune to suffering. It means that we know where out true source is and we trust in Him to meet our needs. And whatever suffering we do go through, we hold fast to our God.”

It takes a full month before Dina and Timothy have shut up their home and seen to their servants. Only three will accompany them on their journey to safety. The others, they have given a full year’s wages to care for them in the days to come.

Two days before they are to leave, word comes from Timothy’s family in Philistia. “They say that they would be honored to have us sojourn with them. They assure us that there are homes that we could rent in the area.”

Elisha decides not to avail himself of the upper room while the family is away. It doesn’t feel the same without them.

The years go by and Elisha works drawing the people to the Lord. Some listen for the first time, some cling tighter to the Lord, and many become angry that He would do such a thing to them.

When the time of the famine has finally passed, Dina and Timothy bring their family home to Israel. It is a long, but happy journey. When they reach their home, they find that others have taken it in their absence. Timothy goes to those who are reaping in his fields.

“This is my inheritance from my Abba. We have come home to reclaim it.”

“No one was here when we came. Only an empty home and abandoned fields. I put the work in to it, for the past two years. I claim it as my own, for my family.”

“This is wrong and you know it. Such things are not done in Israel. No one takes another’s inheritance” Timothy argues.

The man turns his back on Timothy and walks away. He doesn’t even respond when Timothy tries to call him back. Timothy is angry, and if not for Dina and Malachi, he would physically remove the man from his property.

Dina puts a hand on his arm. “You stay here and watch over things, while I go and see the king. He will put this right.”

“Take Malachi with you. He does not need to be here if trouble should arise.”

“He is 14 now. He could be of help to you.”

“No. I want him out of harm’s way; with you.”

“As you wish. We will return as soon as possible.”

Dina and Malachi return to the donkey cart, carrying all their possessions, and turn it towards Samaria. They arrive two days later. Dina leaves the cart in care of one of the guards and the two of them make their way to the palace.

While the king is out walking through the city, he sees Elisha engaged in teaching a group of people. His servant, Gehazi is standing idly by. Jehoram approaches him.

“Walk with me.”

Gehazi looks to see if the king might be addressing someone else. Seeing no one nearby, he looks over at Elisha for permission. Elisha catches his eye and nods. Gehazi takes this as consent to go with the king.

As the two stroll the city, the king begins to ask questions about Elisha. He knows that Elisha is a mighty man of God, but he is curious to learn about the miracles Elisha has done in his ministry.

“Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done” (2 Kings 8:9).

“There have been SO MANY. I don’t know where to begin.”

“Begin with the ones you have personally witnessed” instructs the king.

“Al right. I have seen his purify deadly stew.”

“Tell me of this.”

“During the famine, my father visited some of the sons of the prophets and commanded me to make a stew for them. Everyone began gathering whatever they could to include in the stew. One man brought gords, and not knowing they were poisonous, he prepared them and put them in the stew. When it was discovered, my father had someone bring a handful of flour. He put it in the stew and it was made safe.”

“Did anyone die from it? Did he raise the dead?”

“No. No one died from it, but he did raise the dead on another occasion.”

“Tell me about this time.”

“It starts a little earlier than the day when he raised the dead. It started with a Shunamite woman who gave with all her heart to the Lord and to Elisha. My father desired to bless her, so he called on the Lord to give her a child; as she was childless. After a year, we returned and the woman presented her child to Elisha. He was a beautiful son. About five years later, she came rushing out to my father on Mount Carmel. Her son had died. She did not say so at the time, but my master knew it in his spirit. He sent me to lay his staff on the boy but he did not rouse. When Elisha got to the house, he locked everyone out of his room and prayed to the Lord until He answered him. After he awoke, Elisha presented him to his Ima.”

“That is an amazing story! What became of the boy?”

As Jehoram is voicing his question, Dina and Malachi come into view. Gehazi recognizes them and gets excited. “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life” (2 Kings 8:5).

The king has Dina escorted to his side. “This man tells me that Elisha raised your son from the dead. Is this true?”

“It is indeed true my king. And this is my son Malachi, who the man of God Elisha gifted me with twice.”

“I am very pleased to meet you both. I have been talking over Elisha’s deeds with his servant.”

“Shalom Gehazi. It is good to see you again.”

Dina does not move along after this short exchange. Jehoram realizes that she has something on her mind.

“Is there something troubling you, daughter?”

“There is indeed, my king. My husband and I went to sojurn in the land of the Philistines during the time of the famine. The very man of God that you have been inquiring about warned us of what was to come. We have just returned home to Shunem and found another family has taken possession of our lands and property. I ask that you might restore our inheritance to us.”

King Jehoram snaps his fingers and an official comes over to him. “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now” (2 Kings 8:6).

Dina bowed low to the king and gratefully goes with the official. On the way out of Samaria, the official commissions two guards to accompany them. They all travel at the speed Dina and Malachi can handle with their wagon.

Upon reaching Shunem, the official stops at the gate to gather the town elders. “You will come with me and bear witness to the king’s decree concerning this woman and her household.”

As they near the place where Timothy has been watching from, he sees Dina and Malachi as they come closer. He comes out to the road to meet them. Dina hops down from the wagon and embraces her husband. Then she turns to the official and introduces him. “This is my husband, Timothy. He has been watching over our inheritance since we discovered the theft.”

“Let’s get this settled now” barks the official.

The official leads the guards, the elders and Timothy through the field directly to the man who is working there. “You there! By what right do you claim these lands as you own?”

The man straightens up and looks at the group approaching him. He straightens his back, throws his chest out, and proclaims his ‘right’. “I claim them by the sweat of my brow. When my wife and I came here, they were abandoned. We took possession and began working the land. I have repaired the house as well.”

“Did you build the house yourself?”

“No. We repaired it though.”

“So, there was a house standing when you arrived?”

“There was.”

“And you took it and lived in it?”

“We did, but we repaired it ourselves.”

“And what kind of ‘repair’ did you do on the house?”

“There were broken windows, and a leak in the corner of the roof.”

“How many broken windows?”

The man rubs the back of his neck before speaking. “One.”

“ONE window and a leak in the roof you consider enough repair to claim ownership of all that was here? What of any other buildings?” He points over to the stable, the barn, and the toolshed. “Did you repair these as well; make them usable?”

“No, my lord. They needed no repair.”

“And was there anything them when you ‘claimed’ them as abandoned?”

“They were stocked with tools and some non-perishable goods.”

“And what became of these ‘tools’ and ‘non-perishable goods’?”

The man is completely deflated. He looks down at the ground as he answers. “We use them, and ate what was available. I had to sell a few of the tools to buy seed.”

“You neither built the house, filled its storehouses, nor purchased the tools, yet you say it is yours” the official roars. “You are nothing but thieves!”

The official points to the man with an accusing finger. “Arrest this man! Find his wife and drag her from the house if you must. This land is to be restored immediately to the Shunamite woman and her family. THIS is by order of the king. He has also commanded that she be compensated for all the produce form the fields, from the day she left until now.”

The elders of the city look at one another. They know that this restoration of funds will fall on them. They nod their understanding.

Timothy has been watching all this take place. He is grateful for all the king has done. Yet, his heart goes out to the man and his wife. He knows what it is to struggle. He can also see the fine crops that the man was currently harvesting. He looks to Dina and pleads with his eyes.

It is as if she can read his thoughts. She nods to the offer she knows is coming.

Timothy takes a deep breath and steps forward. “My lord, if I might have a word.”

“Speak” the official says.

“I would like to offer this man a place as a hired hand in my fields. He obviously knows how to coax good from the soil. He could repay me for the use of my property for the last two years and have a place with the other hired workers. That would save the king from having to provide for him and his family while in his jails, and would restore our land to us with help reviving it again.”

The official turns to the man, who is being restrained by the guards. “What is your choice? Serve in this man’s service, or go to prison for robbery. If it were not for this man’s generosity, you would likely not see the light of day again. Make your choice known.”

The man looks at Timothy and Dina with shame. “I cannot take your money. I would be a slave to you instead for sparing my life. And I will serve you all of my life.”

“We can talk of ‘wages’ at a later date. Are you agreeing to serve me and my family faithfully on my property?”

“I am, my lord. Forgive me for my earlier arrogance. And I will repay all that I have taken, if you will spare my life.”

“It is agreed then” the official announces in front of the elders. “This man will serve the rightful master of this land until such time as the master closes the debt or until his death.”

The elders nod that they will watch that this agreement is enforced. The official orders the guards; “Release the man into the care of this Shunamite’s husband.”

After all the officials leave, Timothy steps over and shakes the man’s hand, and introduces himself. “I am Timothy. This is my wife Dina and our son Malachi. I believe it is time we learned your name and met your family. We will be working with one another for quite some time.”

The man smiles dimly. He knows the choice he has just made. His dream was to have his own land, but his Abba had no inheritance to pass down to him. Shame for his actions weighs on him. It takes him a minute to speak. “My name is Nathaniel. My wife is Azrel. We have no children.”

“Let’s go and meet her, and welcome her to our household” suggests Dina.

“A grand idea indeed” replies Timothy.

Azrel is a lovely young woman who has made Dina’s house shine in her absence. Dina immediately offers her the position of housekeeper. Azrel looks to Nathaniel before answering. Nathaniel nods and so does Azrel.

It takes a few months, but the two couples become more than employer and employee or slave and master. They become friends. Their friendship grows over the years to the point that, when Timothy passes from this earth, he leaves half of his property as an inheritance to Nathaniel, with the condition that he helps Malachi care for his inheritance.

♥ ♦ ♥

I don’t know if the Shunamite had to fight for her land back or not. I’m assuming that she did, because she appeared before the king. I LOVE how God works by piquing the king’s curiosity of Elisha’s deeds at the perfect time. If not for Gehazi’s telling of the tale, who knows how the king would have responded to her request. I wonder if the king ever thought it strange that Elisha warned only this family. Or did Elisha warn the people and they ignored him? That would be about what I would expect from the people of his time.

Father God, thank You for Your protection. For Your preparation. For putting things just how they need to be for Your perfect result. And for Your warnings. I PRAY I heed them all! Elisha and Gehazi weathered the storm of the famine with Your hand over them.

Thank You also for caring about those whom I care about. You allowed Elisha to tell the Shunamite woman to flee with her household and when to return. I pray those that I love will listen as clearly as she did. I know that I can’t personally turn my children’s hearts back to You, but I trust You to bring someone who can. Bring that person or situation SOON please Father God. I trust You with their futures and their eternal souls.