There is Always Enough in God's Kingdom

Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” - 2 Kings 4:1‭-‬7 ESV

Rev. Ryan Egli

Elisha demonstrates the Kingdom to those who are in difficult situations. 

US Christians, in a poll by the Washington Post, were twice as likely to believe that poverty came from lack of individual effort. Why is this? Poverty comes from a intricate web of causes. 

A cry for help

A widow and her sons are in financial trouble because the husband, the provider has died. He was one of these sons of the prophets who backed Elijah & Elisha against the prophets of Baal. Because he had died, there was a creditor coming to take her sons into slavery. How did widows and the fatherless pay off their debts? Slavery was the norm in those times. In Deuteronomy, God warns that Israel was to care for the fatherless and widows. This widow's tribe was supposed to be cared for by her tribe. But during this time, the kingdom was so divided that this family was falling between the cracks. Elisha replies to her by asking two questions. What does she want from him? And what does she have? She has a little oil. Elisha does not assume that she has nothing to bring to the table.

Kingdom community

Elisha sends her back to her community. She is told to ask them for jars. This is perhaps a nod to the brokenness in the community of Israel. God's Kingdom is not a political kingdom. Others said that the liberation of oppressed people was the kingdom. Another mistake is to think that the church is the kingdom. Yet another overly spiritualized the kingdom as something to come when Jesus returns. These are all mistakes. The kingdom is God's reign over God's people in God's place. The church already exists, but the kingdom is still becoming. It is task of the church to bring the invisible kingdom into visibility. 

Kingdom of plenty

The widow gathers the largest vessels she can find. The widow takes this small vessel and pours it into the larger vessels. This miracle is the pouring of oil from a small vessel to many larger vessels. Elisha isn't even there. She goes to tell the prophet what had happened. He tells her to sell this oil to provide for her and her sons into the future. This is an echo of Elijah and the widow at Mizpah. But not only that, this also points forward to Jesus. The miracle of the bread and the small fish feeding thousands. But not only feeding the thousands but twelve basketfuls left over. What does it mean? God's Kingdom always has enough. 

If you are a Christian, I challenge you to make visible the invisible kingdom. To find the widow, the fatherless and meet them where they are. To ask good questions and do good for them.