Commentary on 2 Kings 4:42-44
Elisha carries on the work of his prophet-mentor Elijah—to counter the powers and principalities of the world with the life-giving justice of Yahweh.
Life abundant for those on the margins
This section of 2 Kings revolves around “themes of fecundity, reproduction, and life.”1 Elisha, who in his pre-prophet life worked as a farmer, is in the midst of these stories. As a prophet and farmer, Elisha co-conspires with God to bring life from compost, a life that provides for the community.
And who is closest to death in these episodes? Those who are victims of systems of the powerful. People on the margins are not given names in these episodes but represent the vulnerable in a society that does not funnel resources that allow for the flourishing of all (women and children, especially widows).
Elisha demonstrates prophetic solidarity with the poor and reveals to us just how close to poverty the prophets at this time were. Prophets of Yahweh do not use their power to get into the economic status of the rich and powerful. Rather, as was foreshadowed in the transition between Elijah and Elisha (2:9b), the prophet is empowered by ruach to feed, heal, and care for those on the margins of society. Their well-being did not come from the systems of political society. It came from God alone. No wonder Elisha’s name in Hebrew means “God is salvation.”
Reliance upon Yahweh persists in this story even though the prophets are living in a state of famine. In the verses preceding 42, Elisha performs a miracle with some flour to rectify an accidental poisoning of stew. The prophets were desperate to gather any growing thing from the ground for the stew, and one man unknowingly added a poisonous plant to the pot. Yahweh, through Elisha, provides for these marginalized prophets, transforming the poisonous forces of political systems into nourishing food.
These are the stories in conversation with this very short story of a miraculous feeding. It may be that the man who came from Baal-shalishah with food (4:42) is a wink to the original audience about the capacity of Yahweh’s prophets to transform the poison of Baal and other idols handed to the vulnerable into life-sustaining abundance.2
Participating in miracles: Echoes of Elisha in John 6
Certainly this text is here in the lectionary to amplify the John 6 feeding story. We are not in a cycle within 2 Kings that tells the full arc of the narrative of the monarchs. This sermon, without also preaching the feeding story in John this week, invites the congregation to know more fully the very prophets and scriptures that would have been on the minds of those who encountered Jesus as he associated with the poor and marginalized, countering the power and principalities of the world with the life-giving justice of Yahweh.
Rather than only preaching the similarities between Elisha and Jesus, we could amplify the co-conspirators who acted faithfully and assisted in the miracles of abundance in both stories. In 2 Kings, it is the servant, who faithfully prepared and shared the first fruits until all were satisfied. In John, it’s the boy (another marginalized person), who gives up his lunchbox contents to Andrew—seemingly unfazed by the masses who no doubt needed more than that to eat and be satisfied. Their faith and action are essential components of the miraculous feedings.
And if you wanted to preach the fullness of 2 Kings 4, you would also see the miraculous outcomes of persistent, faithful women in this book. First, the widow seeks compassionate help from Elisha (not a powerful king) and lets go of the last of her resources (a jar of oil) to provide for and protect her children from being taken into slavery (4:1–7). It should also be noted that her neighbors participate in the miracle as they share their jars with a widow in need. Then, the Great Woman of Shunem persists in receiving resurrection help from Elisha when her child dies (4:8–37). These women, children, and servants know that only Yahweh has the power of regeneration and resurrection. Kings and other idols offer false and empty promises.
The gospel of this text for churches today is that God continues to respond to the cries of those marginalized, starved, and oppressed by false gods and rulers. But we are invited to participate in miracles. It might be more correct to say our participation in miracles of healing in our neighborhoods is necessary. In these texts (2 Kings 4; John 6), God does not act unilaterally without human collaboration to bring life from death.
Notes
- Song-Mi Suzie Park, “2 Kings 4:1–44: Fecundity, Reproduction, and Life,” in Wisdom Commentary (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2019), 39.
- Ibid., 57–58.
July 28, 2024