2 Kings 4:8-17 (NKJV) 8 Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. 9 And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. 10 Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”

2 Kings 4:8-17 (NKJV) 11 And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. 12 Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” 14 So he said, “What then is to be done for her?”

2 Kings 4:8-17 (NKJV) And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!” 17 But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.

The Nameless Woman II Kings 4:8-17

The Nameless Woman Sometimes being a mother is a thankless job It does not mean that the duties of a mother are any less important Our mothers are very special women with wonderful qualities that we love and admire

The Nameless Woman There is a special woman we read about in the Old Testament The Bible does not even mention her name However, it does say that she was a “notable” or “great” woman (v. 8) What a legacy!

The Nameless Woman Notice that the Bible never describes her as the following: A woman from royal blood A woman of great rank or high social status A woman of great knowledge or skill A woman who was beautiful

The Nameless Woman Notice that the Bible never describes her as the following: A woman who saved her people like Esther A woman who was a great leader or judge like Deborah A woman who had a child to become great like Hannah

The Nameless Woman So if she was none of these things, then what was she? What was it that made her so great? There were some very simple things about her that we can learn from Let’s notice them and look to apply…

A Servant One of the first things we notice is that she was a servant (vs. 8-10) She was willing to take care of Elisha, a man of God She persuaded him to eat (she wouldn’t take “no” for an answer) He eventually got comfortable there (v. 8)

A Servant She truly followed what Paul had spoken of in Gal. 6:9-10 She even went so far as to make him a small place in their home All this probably didn’t make the front page of the Shunem Daily News (Matt. 6:1-4)

A Servant Our acts of service don’t have to be the “greatest act ever” They can be small simple things that mean a lot to just one person Isn’t that what Jesus was indicating in Matt. 25?

Content In Life Another indication of her greatness was the fact that she was content with God’s blessings (vs. 11-13) So Elisha is very appreciative of all she’s done He wants to know what he can do for her (v. 13)

Content In Life Her response was very simple and direct She basically said, “I’m good” She could have taken advantage of this offer She could have at least bettered herself in some way

Content In Life She truly understood what it meant to be “content with such things as you have” (Heb. 13:5) Being content is a matter of perspective (Phil. 4:11-13) It’s choosing to focus on what you do have vs. what you do not have

An Incredible Faith As the story goes, she is blessed with a child (vs. 14-17) One day that child goes out to his father in the field and becomes sick (vs. 18-19) He sends him in to his mother, and there a few hours later, he dies (vs. 19-20)

An Incredible Faith She asks her husband for a servant and a donkey to run to the man of God (v. 22) He asks her why she is going and her response is, “It is well” (v. 23) What incredible faith she had in God that everything would be alright!

An Incredible Faith It’s almost as if she must have been prophetic to have been able to know that Paul would write… “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” (Rom. 8:28)

An Incredible Faith This is probably the #1 reason she was called “great” in this passage What incredible faith to know that whatever God’s answer is, everything is going to be alright Once again she even tells Elisha that “it is well” (v. 26)

Committed To God Another reason behind the greatness of this woman was her personal commitment to God Notice the first person she went to (wasn’t a doctor) Elisha was a man of God; to her, he was her direct link to God

Committed To God Elisha tried to send her on with his servant, but she replied, “I will not leave you” (v. 30) She knew God’s power would be in Elisha and she wasn’t about to leave God’s servant or the presence of His power

Committed To God What we need to do is to determine for ourselves that we will never leave God! (I Pet. 2:21-23) Too many times we continue to wander away from Him, away from His presence, away from His power We need to honor our commitment to Him!