1 A certain woman, the wife of one of the disciples of the prophets, cried out to Elisha: “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know how your servant revered the LORD. And now a creditor is coming to seize my two children as slaves.” 2Elisha said to her, “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She replied, “Your maidservant has nothing at all in the house, except a jug of oil.” 3 “Go,” he said, “and borrow vessels outside, from all your neighbors, empty vessels, as many as you can. 4 Then go in and shut the door behind you and your children, and pour [oil] into all those vessels, removing each one as it is filled.” 5 She went away and shut the door behind her and her children. They kept bringing [vessels] to her and she kept pouring. 6When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” He answered her, “There are no more vessels”; and the oil stopped. 7She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your children can live on the rest.”
We broke into small groups to discuss this passage and its relation to our theme of "Poverty and the Poor." Those who were at the meeting can use the Comments function to share some of the ideas that your small group came up with regarding this passage.
2 comments:
we talked a bit about how God uses what you have. first, elisha asked the woman what she had in her house, then he used whatever she had to provide all that she needed. we are created with everything we need to find peace from God; even if it seems like we have nothing, if we give it to God He will work miracles.
peace,
meg
I would never think that such a story indeed teach us how to view poverty. My focus before was only that miracle happens. Our discussion had led me to think that giving charity is not as easy as it sounds. There are ‘rules’ and ‘limitations’ so we can give to the right person, in the right way, with the right amount. I also thought about how “miracles” are different from “magic”. In this story, God performed miracles but not magic. I feel that miracle requires our active effort, in which God will turn what we have into something that’s much much bigger. The widow didn't just stay home and pray but she sought help, so God helped her.
Grace
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