Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 4
In the Bible, on some very special occasions, God has given a child to a woman who was unable to have children (Genesis 18:10-12; Judges 13:2-5; 1 Samuel 1:1-20; Luke 1:5-45). The fact that God does such an act, is special evidence of his kindness (Psalm 113:9).
It astonished the woman in Shunem to hear that God would do this wonderful thing for her. She seemed not to believe it. However, she still believed that Elisha was a very holy man. She called him a ‘man of God’, in other words, a prophet, someone who spoke messages from God. If God truly had declared this, then it would certainly happen. God always speaks the truth.
The months passed; and it became clear that the woman was expecting a baby. That was the first piece of evidence that Elisha had truly spoken God’s word to the woman. The second piece of evidence was that the baby would be a boy. The last piece of evidence was that the boy was born a year later, at the same time of year. All these things happened, even as Elisha had said. Clearly, God had answered Elisha’s prayers for the woman.
That son’s birth gave the woman faith (belief and trust in God) for the events that would happen a few years later. The woman had learned that she could trust God about her son. She had also learned something of what it meant for Elisha to have a close relationship with God. When Elisha prayed, God acted powerfully. That was important for the woman to know during her later troubles.
Next part: The child dies (2 Kings 4:18-21)
Please use the links at the top of the page to find our other articles in this series. You can download all our articles if you go to the download page for our free 1000+ page course book.
© 2025, Keith Simons.