God's Solution - Elisha and the Widow's Oil - Lesson 4

In our last lesson about Elisha and the Widow's Oil we saw that a widow was in distress because of a debt, and she reached out to the church for help.We looked at her situation and the main points to consider for us today:

1. She does not have any close family and so she comes to Elisha as her pastor and in the role of kindsman redeemer. Leviticus 25 describes this process.
2. Her husband was a Godly man, "one of the sons of the prophets" part of Elisha's team. Bad things can happen to godly people.
3. The young couple had gotten into debt, perhaps student loans to tide them over until he could get a job as a prophet, or a home loan that was underwater. 
4. The seriousness of debt hits home. The children are to be sold to pay the debt obligation.
5. The young husband did not have adequate life insurance or an emergency fund to care for his young family.
6. Elisha asks the widow to identify her need. 
7. Elisha asks what resources she has inside the house. He asked her to make a simple budget. 
8. Elisha asks the widow to go outside the house for part of the solution. Seems like an odd request. Go get some empty containers from your neighbors
9. She is responsible for both the searching the house for resources and for going outside the house to find vessels. 

In this lesson, let's look at  how God provides for the widow.

Elisha's Identifies the Need - Elisha and the Widow's Oil - Lesson 3

In our last lesson about Elisha and the Widow's Oil we saw that a widow was in distress because of a debt and reached out to the church for help.We looked at her situation and the main points to consider for us today:

1. She does not have any close family and so she comes to Elisha as her pastor and in the role of kindsman redeemer. Leviticus 25 describes this process.
2. Her husband was a Godly man "one of the sons of the prophets" part of Elisha's team. Bad things can happen to godly people.
3. The young couple had gotten into debt, perhaps student loans to tide them over until he could get a job as a prophet or a home loan that was underwater. 
4. The seriousness of debt hits home, the children are to be sold to pay the debt obligation.
5. The young husband did not have adequate life insurance or an emergency fund to care for his young family.

In this lesson let's look at  how Elisha handles the situation.

Debt In the Old Testament - Elisha and the Widows OIl - Lesson 2

The cultural parallels to young people today who are deeply in debt are stark and startling in the story of Elisha and a young widow in 2 Kings 4:1-7. Debt is as old as history itself and legally has had serious consequences, including enslavement of the debtor. The young widow's husband was in seminary in Elisha's "school of the prophets" he was under Elisha's authority and was Elisha's "servant or apprentice". She does not have any close family and comes to Elisha her pastor and as a stand-in for the role of "kinsman redeemer". He is not obligated legally in this role but he has a moral obligation as the young man's mentor and calls on God to help.

Israel had a revolutionary set of laws, given by God, about debt that were a much more civil approach than the oppressive laws of the countries around them. Let's take a look...

Provision - Elisha and the Widow's Oil - Lesson 1

I have been doing some study on one of my favorite topics generosity and the provision of a loving God. I was reminded of the story back in 2 Kings 4:1-7. The story is about Elisha and the widow's oil.

It says...