Elisha - Pt 8

Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” (2 Kings 4:1-7 ESV). Most of the global economy is dependent on petroleum or its refined products to a great extent. This has steadily increased in the industrial era. We use some product of oil on a daily basic. Even if you do not use gasoline in any mechanical way, there are many other ways that oil affects our lives. If you are one of those folks stricken with seasonal allergies and you take antihistamine, you use petroleum; if you have carpet or wear synthetic sweaters, you use petroleum; or even if you happen to play some sport that uses an inflatable ball, you use petroleum. There are literally thousands of products that are produced from petroleum. The modern industrialized West is not the only “oil economy” history has known. In fact, many ancient cultures, Israel included, put a premium on oil. The difference is that our oil is petroleum based and theirs was taken from the olive. One of my seminary professors once said: “To Israel, olive oil was seen as a distillation of the glory of God in a jar.” The glory of the sun fell down from heaven on the tree, empowering its growth. The glory of the heavens fell down as rain, nourishing its budding fruit. The glory of the tree fell to the earth in the form of olives. When pressed, the glory of the olives was released in its most concentrated form. This glory of the olive tree, oil, was used for cooking, healing, and burning in lamps. Olive oil literally sustained the life of the community by feeding them, healing their wounds, and lighting their homes. Elisha was sensitive to the spiritual power of oil. When the widow revealed to him that she had a jar of oil, Elisha foresaw what God could do with it. Elisha knew the power that animated the oil was ultimately the power of God and that nothing, not the greatness of her need, not the emptiness of the vessels, not the threat of enslavement, not the small faith she possessed could prevent the power of God from moving in accordance with his purposes. What a lesson for us today! It is not what we do, but what God will do that makes the difference! There is the cornerstone of our hope. Our assurance rests in Him and nothing and no one else.