The Gift of a Son

The Gift of a Son

2 Kings 4:11 – One day, Elisha came by to visit and stopped in to rest in the upper chamber. 12 – He told his attendant Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite.” So when he had summoned her, she stood in front of him. 13 – Elisha told him, “Ask her, ‘Look how you’ve gone to all this trouble to care for us! What can I do for you? Do you wish to be mentioned to the king or to the head of the army?’” She replied, “I’m at home living among my own people.”

verse 14 – He responded, “What, then, is to be done on her behalf?” Gehzai answered, “Well, she has no son and her husband is growing old.” 15 – “Call her,” Elisha ordered. After he called her, she came and stood in the doorway, 16 – and he told her, “About this time next year you will be embracing a son.” “No, sir! Please, as a godly man, don’t mislead your servant!” 17 – But the woman did conceive and did bear a son at that very same time the next year, just as Elisha had told her.

Gehazi had perceived that the couple was missing something. Children. More specifically: a son. He also noticed something else – an apparent significant age gap between husband and wife. The husband was growing old and would likely die before the wife and without a son she would be left without anyone to care for her. Elisha had initially asked her what she would like, but her only response was she was at home living among her people. So, without asking, he pronounced that she would be embracing a son in a year. And it happened exactly as he said.

Did you know, there are two great things in life that we didn’t ask for? We didn’t ask to be born and we didn’t ask for the gift of God’s only Son, Jesus Christ. And, yet, here we are – facing these two great truths. Like the woman of Shunem, none of us like to be misled or to have a our hopes raised only to be dashed. But at the time appointed She was embracing a son.

Check out Galatians 4:4 – But when the appropriate time had come, God sent his Son, born by a woman, born under the law, 5 – in order to redeem those who were under the Law, and thus to adopt them as his children. 6 – Now because you are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to cry out, “Abba! Father!” 7 – So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if you are a child, then you are also an heir because of what God did.

At the time appointed God sent His Son – the most precious gift that we did not ask for, not to mislead us, but to give us the hope that everlasting life is real. What was once impossible – like the woman of Shunem having a child – became possible because of Jesus Christ. Imagine the changes that took place in her body from conception through to labor and then delivery – the signs were all there telling her that the words of Elisha were true.

It is the same thing for us today – What was once impossible for us – eternal life – is now possible because of Jesus Christ. We are witnessing in the world around us the labor pains that have been foretold in the Scriptures. Jesus is coming again! The Bible has not misled us. God’s words are true and one day soon, we will see God’s gift of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, coming in the clouds of heaven to take His children home!