This earnest woman was not satisfied with having Elisha’s servant put his staff upon the face of her dead child, and so she said to Elisha, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” These words must have touched the heart of Elisha in a special way, for he had said the same thing to Elijah long before, when Elijah suggested that he tarry behind. No doubt he thought of what he would have missed had he stayed behind then, and so he rose up and followed the poor sorrowing mother to her home. To lay his staff upon the dead boy’s face did not give life for we read here that Gehazi soon came back to tell that the child had not moved. No form or ceremony can give life to a dead soul, not even to the smallest child. They may be under the sound of the Word, like the child under Elisha’s staff, but the Lord alone can give that new life.
It is interesting at this point, to look at the dead child here as a picture of a child brought up in a Christian home, where all seems well for a time, but soon the parents realize that their child is dead in sin and needs new life. Faith can count upon the promise, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house,” Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31), but such faith is not negligent, for “faith without works is dead.” James 2:2626For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26). True faith will manifest itself, and will be deeply concerned over our children’s salvation. It will not rest until it knows that God has given that new life, as this mother would not until her child was given back its natural life. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23). Faith lays our children bore the Lord and then earnestly seeks the fulfillment of the promise. Just as this woman was not satisfied with having Elisha’s staff laid on the face of her dead child, so a Christian parent should not be satisfied merely to know that his child goes to Sunday school, or is brought under the sound of the gospel in other ways. This mother would not rest until her child was alive. This was her all-absorbing desire for him.
Her reply here, “Did I desire a son of my lord?” has instruction for us too. If the Lord has given us children, we should be exercised that we have His will in all things, bearing in mind the solemn position of responsibility in which He places us. We should seek His help in training our children for Christ, rather than that through our neglect they should be lost forever.
Before this woman had a child at all, her life was one of useful service to the Lord, and now, after the Lord had given her a son, the same devotedness is seen in her new responsibility. The root of all sin is our own wills, and if we are restless and unhappy in the circumstances where God has placed us, it is self-will that makes us so, and a change of circumstances will not bring about happiness. It is the sense of God’s love and grace in the soul that gives submission and happiness. What lessons there are in this little story for our home life in its various exercises!
When Elisha arrived at his room in the Shunammite’s home, he found the dead child laid upon his bed. The very first thing he did was to shut the door and pray. He knew he could not do anything of himself, so he turned to the Lord. After prayer he lay upon the child, putting his mouth upon the child’s mouth, his eyes upon the child’s eyes, and his hands upon the child’s hands.
ML 12/30/1956