History of the Old Testament Volume 7, Part 15
ELISHA with the Shunamite.
THE holy Prophets vnderunder the old Teſtament, did not abhorre the marriage-bed; they did not think themſelues too pure for an inſtitution of their Maker; The diſtreſſed widow of one of the ſonnes of the Prophets comes to Eliſha to bemoane her condition; Her husband is dead; and dead in debt; Death hath no ſooner ſeized on him, than her two ſons (the remaining comfort of her life) are to be ſeized on, by his creditors, for bond-men: How thicke did the miſeries of this poore afflicted woman light vponupon her; Her husband is loſt, her eſtate clogged with debts, her children ready to be taken for ſlaues: Her husband was a religious, and worthy man; hee paid his debts to Nature, hee could not to his Creditors; they are cruell, and rake in the ſcarcecloſed wound of her ſorrow; paſſing an arreſt, worſe than death, vponupon her ſonnes: Widow-hood, pouertie, ſeruitude hauehave conſpired to make her perfitly miſerable. Vertue and goodneſſe can pay no debts; The holieſt man may bee deepe in arerages; and breake the banke: Not through lauiſhneſſe, and riot of expence; (Religion teaches vsus to moderate our hands; to ſpend within the proportion of our eſtate) but through either iniquitie of times, or euill caſualties; Ahab and Iezebel were lately in the throne, who can maruell that a Prophet was in debt? It was well that any good man might hauehave his breath free, though his eſtate were not: wilfully to ouer-laſh our abilitie cannot ſtand with wiſdome, and good gouernment; but no prouidence can guard vsus from croſſes; Holineſſe is no more defence againſt debt, than againſt death; Grace can keepe vsus from vnthriftineſſe, not from want. Whither doth the Prophets widow come to bewaile her caſe, but to Eliſha; EueryEvery one would not bee ſenſible of her affliction, or if they would pittie, yet could not releeue her; Eliſha could doe both; Into his eare doth ſhee vnload her griefes. It is no ſmall point of wiſdome to know where to plant our Lamentation; otherwiſe, in ſtead of comfort, we may meet with ſcorne and inſultation.
None can ſo feelingly compaſſionate the hard termes of a Prophet as an Eliſha; He findes that ſhee is not querulouſly impatient, expreſſing her ſorrow without murmuring, and diſcontentment; making a louing, and honourable mention of that husband, who had left her diſtreſſed; readily therefore doth hee incline to her ſuccour: What ſhall I doe for thee? Tell mee, What hast thou in thine houſe? Eliſha, when he heares of her debt, askes of her ſubſtance; Had her houſe beene furniſhed with any valuable commoditie, the Prophet implyes the neceſſitie of ſelling it for ſatisfaction; Our owne abundance can ill ſtand with our ingagement to others; It is great iniuſtice for vsus to bee full of others purſes: It is not our owne which wee owe to another; What is it other than a plauſible ſtealth to feed our riot with the want of the owner? Hee that could multiply her ſubſtance, could know it; God and his Prophet loues to heare our neceſſities out of our owne mouthes (Thine hand-maid hath not any thing in the houſe ſaue a pot of oyle.) It is neither newes nor ſhame for a Prophet to bee poore; Griefe and want perhaps haſtened his end; both of them are left for the dowry of his carefull widow; Shee had not complained, if there had beene any poſſibilitie of remedie, at home; baſhfulneſſe had ſtopt her mouth thus long, and ſhould hauehave done yet longer, if the exigence of her childrens ſeruitude had not opened it; No want is ſo worthy of releefe, as that which is loatheſt to come forth. Then he ſaid, Goe borrow thee veſſels abroad of all thy neighbours, euen emptie veſſels, borrow not a few; and when thou art come in, thou ſhalt ſhut the doore vponupon thee, and vponupon thy ſonnes, and ſhalt powre out into all thoſe veſſels, and thou ſhalt ſet aſide that which is full.
She that owed much, and had nothing, yet muſt borrow more, that ſhe may pay all: Pouertie had not ſo diſcredited her with her neighbours, that they ſhould doubt to lend her thoſe veſſels emptie, which they had grudged full: Her want was too well knowne; it could not but ſeeme ſtrange to the neighbours, to ſee this poore widow ſo buſily peſtring her houſe with emptie tubs; which they knew ſhe had nothing to fill; they knew well enough ſhe had neither field, nor vineyard, nor orchard, and therefore muſt needs maruell at ſuch vnprofitable diligence; If their curioſity would be inquiring after her intentions, ſhee is commanded ſecrecy. The doores muſt bee ſhut vponupon her ſelfe, and her ſonnes; whiles the oyle is increaſing; No eie ſhall ſee the miracle in working, enow ſhall ſee it once wrought; This act was no leſſe a proofe of her faith, than an improuement of her eſtate, it was an exerciſe of her deuotion, as well as of her diligence; it was fit her doores ſhould be ſhut, whiles her heart and lips were opened in an holy inuocation; Out of one ſmal Iarre was powred out ſo much oyle, as by a miraculous multiplication filled all that emptie caske: Scarce had that pot any bottome: At leaſt the bottome that it had, was to be meaſured by the brims of all thoſe veſſels; this was ſo deepe, as they were high; Could they hauehave held more, this pot had not beene emptie: Euen ſo the bountie of our God giues grace, and glory, according to the capacitie of the receiuer; when he ceaſeth to infuſe, it is for want of roome in the heart that takes it in; Could wee hold more, O God, thou wouldſt giuegive more; If there be any defect, it is in our veſſels, not in thy beneficence; How did the heart of this poore widow run ouer, as with wonder, ſo, with ioy and thankfulneſſe, to ſee ſuch a riuer of oyle riſe out of ſo ſmall a ſpring; to ſee all her veſſels ſwimming full with ſo beneficiall a liquor; Iuſtly is ſhe affected with this ſight, ſhe is not tranſported from her dutie; I doe not ſee her runne forth into the ſtreet, and proclaime her ſtore, nor calling in her neighbours, whether to admire or bargaine; I ſee her running to the Prophets doore, and gratefully acknowledging the fauour, and humbly depending on his directions, as not daring to diſpoſe of that, which was ſo wondrouſly giuen her, without the aduice of him, by whoſe powerfull meanes ſhee had receiued it; Her owne reaſon might hauehave ſufficiently ſuggeſted what to doe; ſhe dares not truſt it, but conſults with the Oracle of God; If we would walk ſurely, we muſt doe nothing without a word; EueryEvery action, eueryevery motion muſt hauehave a warrant; We can no more erre with this guide, than not erre without him.
The Prophet ſets her in a right way; Goe ſell the oyle, and pay thy debt, and liue, thou, and thy children, on the reſt; The firſt care is of her debts, the next, of her maintenance; It ſhould be groſſe iniuſtice to raiſe meanes for her ſelfe, and her charge, ere ſhe hauehave diſcharged the arerages of her husband; None of the oyle was hers, till her creditors were ſatisfied; all was hers that remained; It is but ſtealth to inioy a borrowed ſubſtance; Whiles ſhee had nothing, it was no ſinne to owe; but when once her veſſels were full, ſhe could not hauehave beene guilt leſſe, if ſhe had not paid, before ſhe ſtored. God and his Prophets were bountifull; after the debts paid, they prouide not onelyonly againſt the thraldome of her charge, but againſt the want. It is the iuſt care of a religious heart to defend the widow and children of a Prophet from diſtreſſe and penurie.
Behold the true ſeruant, and ſucceſſour of Elijah; What hee did to the Sareptan widow, this did to the widow of a Prophet; That increaſe of oyle was by degrees, this at once; both equally miraculous, this, ſo much more charitable, as it leſſe concerned himſelfe.
He that giues kindneſſes, doth by turnes receiue them, Eliſha hath releeued a poore woman, is releeued by a rich. The Shunamite, a religious and wealthy matron, inuites him to her houſe, and now after the firſt entertainment, finding his occaſions to call him to a frequent paſſage, that way, moues her husband to ſet vp, and furniſh a lodging for the man of God; It was his holineſſe that made her deſirous of ſuch a gueſt; Well might ſhe hope that ſuch an Inmate would pay a bleſſing for his houſe-rent; Oh happy Shunamite that might make her ſelfe the Hoſteſſe of Eliſha! As no leſſe dutifull than godly, ſhe imparts her deſire to her husband; whom her ſuit hath drawne to a partnerſhip in this holy hoſpitalitie; Bleſſed of God is that man, whoſe bed yeelds him an help to heauen. The good Shunamite deſires not to harbour Eliſha in one of her wonted lodgings, ſhe ſolicites her husband to build him a chamber on the wall apart: ſhe knew the tumult of a large family vnfit for the quiet meditations of a Prophet; retiredneſſe is moſt meet for the thoughts of a Seer; Neither would ſhe bring the Prophet to bare walls, but ſets ready for him, a bed, a table, a ſtoole, and a candleſticke, and what euer neceſſary vtenſils for his entertainment: The Prophet doth not affect delicacy, ſhee takes care to prouide for his conuenience; Thoſe that are truly pious, and deuout, thinke their houſes, and their hands cannot be too open to the meſſengers of God; and are moſt glad to exchange their earthly commodities for the others ſpiritual. Superfluity ſhould not fall within the care of a Prophet; neceſſitie muſt; hee that could prouide oyle for the widow, could hauehave prouided all needfull helpes for himſelfe; What roome had there beene for the charitie and beneficence of others, if the Prophet ſhould hauehave alwaies maintained himſelfe out of power?
The holy man is ſo far ſociable as not to neglect the friendly offer of ſo kinde a benefactor: Gladly doth he take vp his new lodging; and, as well pleaſed with ſo quiet a repoſe, and carefull attendance, hee ſends his ſeruant Gebezi, with the meſſage of his thankes, with a treatie of retribution; Behold, thou haſt beene carefull for vsus, with all this care; What is to bee done for thee? Wouldſt thou be ſpoken for to the King, or to the Captaine of the Hoſt? An ingenuous diſpoſition cannot receiue fauours without thoughts of returne: A wiſe debtor is deſirous to retribute in ſuch kinde, as may be moſt acceptable to his obligers: without this diſcretion, we may offer ſuch requirals, as may ſeeme goodly to vsus, to our friend, worthleſſe: EueryEvery one can chooſe beſt for himſelfe; Eliſha therefore (who had neuer beene wanting in ſpirituall duties to ſo hoſpitall a friend) giues the Shunamite the election of her ſuit, for temporall recompence alſo; No man can be a looſer by his fauour to a Prophet; It is a good hearing that an Eliſha is in ſuch grace at the Court, that hee can promiſe himſelfe acceſſe to the King, in a friends ſuit: It was not euer thus; the time was, when his maſter heard, Haſt thou found me, O mine enemy: Now the late miracle which Eliſha wrought in gratifying the three Kings, with water, and victorie, hath endeared him to the King of Iſrael; and now, Who but Eliſha? Euen that rough mantle findes reſpects amongſt thoſe ſilkes and tiſſues: As bad as Iehoram was, yet he honour'd the man of God; Hee that could not preuaile with an Idolatrous King, in a ſpirituall reformation, yet can carrie a ciuill ſuit; Neither doth the Prophet, in a ſullen diſcontentment, flie off from the Court, becauſe he found his labours vnprofitable, but ſtill holds good termes with that Prince, whom he cannot reclaime, and will make vſe notwithſtanding of his countenance in matters, whether of courteſie, or iuſtice; We may not caſt off our due reſpects euen to faultie authoritie; but muſt ſtill ſubmit and perſiſt, where we are repelled: Not to his owne aduancement doth Eliſha deſire to improue the Kings fauour, but to the behoofe, to the releefe of others; If the Shunamite hauehave buſineſſe at the Court, ſhe ſhall need no other Solicitor; There cannot bee a better office, nor more beſeeming a Prophet, than to ſpeake in the cauſe of the dumbe, to befriend the oppreſſed, to win greatneſſe vntounto the protection of innocence.
The good matrone needs no ſhelter of the great; I dwell among mine owne people; as if ſhe ſaid; The courteſie is not ſmall in it ſelfe, but not vſefull to me; I liue here quietly in a contented obſcuritie, out of the reach either of the glories, or cares of a Court; free from wrongs, free from enuies: Not ſo high as to prouoke an euill eie, not ſo low as to be trodden on; I hauehave neither feares, nor ambitions; my neighbours are my friends; my friends are my protectors; and (if I ſhould be ſo vnhappy, as to bee the ſubiect of maine iniuries) would not ſticke to be mine Aduocates; This fauour is for thoſe that either affect greatneſſe, or groane vnderunder oppreſſions; I doe neither, for I liue among my owne people. O Shunamite, thou ſhalt not eſcape enuy! Who can heare of thine happy condition, and not ſay, Why am not I thus? If the world affoord any perfect contentment, it is in a middle-eſtate, equally diſtant frō penury, from exceſſe; it is in a calme freedome, a ſecure tranquillitie, a ſweet fruition of our ſelues, of ours; But what hold is there of theſe earthly things? How long is the Shunamite thus bleſſed with peace? ſlay but a while, you ſhall ſee her come on her knees to the King of Iſrael, pitifully complaining that ſhe was ſtripped of houſe, and land; and now Gehezi is faine to doe that good office for her, which was not accepted from his maſter, Thoſe that ſtand faſteſt vponupon earth hauehave but ſlipperie footing; no man can ſay that hee ſhall not need friends.
Modeſtie ſealed vp the lips of the good Shunamite; ſhe was aſhamed to confeſſe her longing; Gehezi eaſily gueſſed that her barrenneſſe could not but be her affliction; ſhe was childleſſe, her husband old; Eliſha gratifies her with the newes of a ſonne: About this ſeaſon according to the time of life, thou ſhalt embrace a ſonne; How liberall is God, by his Prophet, in giuing beyond her requeſts; not ſeldome, doth his bountie ouer-reach our thoughts, and meet vsus with thoſe benefits, which we thought too good for vsus to aske. Greatneſſe and inexpectation makes the bleſſing ſeeme incredible, Nay, my Lord, thou man of God, doe not lie to thine hand-maid: Wee are neuer ſure enough of what we deſire; Wee are not more hard to beleeue, than loth to diſtruſt beneficiall euents: She well knew the Prophets holineſſe could not ſtand with wilfull falſhood; perhaps, ſhe might think it ſpoken by way of triall, not of ſerious affirmation; as vnwilling therefore that it ſhould not be, and willing to heare that pleaſing word ſeconded, ſhe ſaies, Doe not lie to thine hand-maid. Promiſes are made good, not by iteration, but by the effect; The Shunamite conceiues, and beares a ſonne, at the ſet ſeaſon: How glad a mother ſhe was, thoſe know beſt, that hauehave mourned vnderunder the diſcomfort of a ſad ſterilitie. The childe growes vp, and is now able to finde out his father in the field, amongſt his Reapers: His father now grew young againe with the pleaſure of this ſight; and more ioyed in this ſpring of his hopes, than in all the crops of his harueſt; But what ſtabilitie is there in theſe earthly delights? The hot beames of the Sunne beat vponupon that head which too much care had made tender, and delicate; The childe complaines to his father, of his paine; Oh that grace could teach vsus, what nature teaches Infants, in all our troubles to bemoane our ſelues to our heauenly father! He ſends him to his mother; vponupon her lap, about noone, the childe dies; as if hee would returne his ſoule into that boſome, from which it was deriued, to his; The good Shunamite hath loſt her ſonne, her faith ſhee hath not loſt; Paſſion hath not robbed her of her wiſdome; As not diſtracted with an accident ſo ſudden, ſo ſorrowfull; ſhee layes her dead childe vponupon the Prophets bed, ſhe lockes the doore; ſhe hides her griefe, leſt that conſternation might hinder her deſigne; ſhe haſtens to her husband, and (as not daring to be other than officious in ſo diſtreſſe-full an occaſion) acquaints him with her iourney, (though not with the cauſe) requires of him both attendance, and conueyance; ſhee poſts to mount Carmel; ſhe cannot ſo ſoone finde out the man of God, as hee hath found her; Hee ſees her a farre off; and like a thankfull gueſt, ſends his ſeruant haſtily to meet her, to inquire of the health of her ſelfe, her husband, her childe; Her errand was not to Gehezi, it was to Eliſha; no meſſenger ſhall interrupt her; no eare ſhall receiue her complaint but the Prophets; Downe ſhe fals paſſionately at his feet, and, forgetting the faſhion of her baſhfull ſtrangeneſſe, layes hold of them, whether in an humble veneration of his perſon, or in a feruent deſire of ſatisfaction. Gehezi, who well knew how vncouth, how vnfit this geſture of ſalutation was, for his maſter, offers to remoue her, and admoniſheth her of her diſtance; The mercifull Prophet eaſily apprehends that no ordinary occaſion could ſo tranſport a graue, and well-gouerned matrone; as therefore pittying her vnknowne paſſion, hee bids, Let her alone, for her ſoule is vexed within her, and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told mee. If extremitie of griefe hauehave made her vnmannerly, wiſe and holy Eliſha knowes how to pardon it; Hee dares not adde ſorrow to the afflicted; he can better beare an vnſeemelineſſe in her greeting, than crueltie in her moleſtation; Great was the familiaritie that the Prophet had with his God; and as friends are wont mutually to impart their counſels to each other, ſo had the Lord done to him; Eliſha was not idle on mount Carmel; What was it that he ſaw not from thence? Not heauen onelyonly, but the world was before him, yet the Shunamites loſſe is concealed from him; neither doth he ſhame to confeſſe it; Ofttimes thoſe that know greater matters may yet bee ignorant of the leſſe: It is no diſparagement to any finite creature not to know ſomething. By her mouth will God tell the Prophet, what by viſion he had not; Then ſhee ſaid, Did I deſire a ſonne of my Lord? Did I not ſay, doe not deceiue me? Deepe ſorrow is ſparing of words; The expoſtulation could not be more ſhort, more quicke, more pithy; Had I begged a ſonne, perhaps my importunitie might hauehave beene yeelded to, in anger; Too much deſire is iuſtly puniſhed with loſſe. It is no maruell if what we wring from God, proſper not; This fauor to me was of thine owne motion; Thy ſuit, O Eliſha, made mee a mother: Couldſt thou intend to torment me with a bleſſing? How much more eaſie had the want of a ſonne beene, than the miſ-carriage? Barrenneſſe than orbation? Was there no other end of my hauing a ſonne, than that I might loſe him? O man of God, let me not complaine of a cruell kindneſſe; thy prayers gaue me a ſonne, let thy prayers reſtore him; let not my dutifull reſpects to thee be repaid with an aggrauation of miſery; giuegive not thine hand-maid cauſe to wiſh that I were but ſo vnhappy as thou foundeſt mee; Oh wofull fruitfulneſſe, if I muſt now ſay, that I had a ſonne.
I know not whether the mother, or the Prophet were more afflicted, the Prophet for the mothers ſake, or the mother for her owne; Not a word of reply doe we heare from the mouth of Eliſha: his breath is onelyonly ſpent in the remedy; Hee ſends his ſeruant with all ſpeed, to lay his ſtaffe vponupon the face of the childe; charging him to auoid all the delayes of the way: Had not the Prophet ſuppoſed that ſtaffe of his able to beat away death, why did he ſend it? and if vponupon that ſuppoſition he ſent it, how was it that it failed of effect? was this act done out of humane conceit, not out of inſtinct from God? Or, did the want of the mothers faith hinder the ſucceſſe of that cure? She, not regarding the ſtaffe, or the man, holds faſt to Eliſha; No hopes of his meſſage can looſe her fingers: As the Lord liueth, and as they ſoule liueth, I will not leaue thee; Shee imagined that the ſeruant, the ſtaffe might bee ſeuered from Eliſha, ſhe knew that where euer the Prophet was, there was power; It is good relying vponupon thoſe helpes that cannot faile vsus.
Merit and importunitie hauehave drawne Eliſha from Carmel to Shunem: He findes his lodging taken vp by that pale carkeiſe; he ſhuts his doore, and fals to his prayers; this ſtaffe of his (what euer became of the other) was long enough (he knew) to reach vp to heauen; to knock at thoſe gates, yea to wrench them open; He applies his body to thoſe cold and ſenſeleſſe limbs; By the feruour of his ſoule he reduces that ſoule, by the heat of his body hee educeth warmth out of that corps; The child neeſeth ſeuen times; as if his ſpirit had beene but hid for the time, not departted, it fals to worke afreſh; the eies looke vp, the lips and hands moue; The mother is calld in to receiue a new life, in her twice-giuen ſonne: ſhe comes in, full of ioy, full of wonder, and bowes her ſelfe to the ground, and fals downe before thoſe feet, which ſhee had ſo boldly laid hold of in Carmel. Oh ſtrong faith of the Shunamite, that could not bee diſcouraged with the ſeizure, and continuance of death; raiſing vp her heart ſtill to an expectation of that life, which to the eies of nature had beene impoſſible, irrcuocable; Oh infinite goodneſſe of the Almightie, that would not ſuffer ſuch faith to be fruſtrate, that would rather reuerſe the lawes of nature, in returning a gueſt from heauen, and raiſing a corps from death, than the confidence of a beleeuing heart ſhould be diſappointed.
How true an heire is Eliſha of his maſter, not in his graces onelyonly, but in his actions? Both of them diuided the waters of Iordan, the one as his laſt act, the other as his firſt; Elijahs curſe was the death of the Captaines, and their troups; Eliſhaes curſe was the death of the children; Elijah rebuked Ahab to his face, Eliſha Iehoram; Elijah ſupplied the drought of Iſrael by raine from heauen; Eliſha ſupplied the drought of the three Kings by waters guſhing out of the earth; Elijah increaſed the oyle of the Sareptan, Eliſha increaſed the oyle of the Prophets widow; Elijah raiſed from death the Sareptans ſonne; Eliſha the Shunamites; Both of them had one mantle, one ſpirit; both of them climbed vp one Carmel, one heauen.