By Grace Alone

Introduction

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. 2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. 3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. 4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. 5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. 6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.[1]

If you have your Bibles with you, open in them to 2 Kings 4:1-7. Infirmities are not uncommon, both to the Biblical people and our culture today. Every Culture has experienced droughts, famines, war, and poverty. It has not been uncommon for people to be in debt they can no longer afford to pay out of.

Today we will read of a widow who found herself in a unfortunate circumstance. We will read of God’s providence, but we will also discover the grace of God in the process. Todays message hits me in a time where many want the “proof”, the “smoking gun” that either proves God to exist, or proves that our God exists. In discovering Gods providence and grace today, we will also discover faith and proving God, not by evidence that we will debate back and forth with secularists, but by proving the very word of God.

As we read through the widows story, we may find similarities between our own natural afflictions, but we will also discover a spiritual parallel between her story and the condition of our spirits prior to salvation. Let us examine seven realities to our condition and how each play an important role in our relationship to God and His salvation He offers to us.

Need Realized v.1

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.[2]

Prior to asking for, or receiving help, the first step realizing your need. Our widow finds herself in a unfortunate circumstance – Her husband and provider is dead, and her children, her only hope of a future will be taken by her creditors as bondservants to settle the debt of her passed husband. It is in these conditions the widow comes to a realization of her despair and cries out to God, through the prophet as was custom in the day.

In a message of grace, you may not initially find God’s grace in allowing for a widow to be left in such despair. At this moment, her creditors are in her home and will be satisfied with nothing less than full repayment or her children. The often, I would say, nearly always, overlooked aspect in lives trials is that it is in the lowest of moments God may work through us. We are reminded, as we were a few weeks ago, that God’s strengths are made perfect in our weakness –

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [3]”

We shall find that piety rarely finds itself in the proud, in the well-to-do, but it readily comes out in the lowly and the poor. The conditions this widow found herself in led her to trust in God for immediate providence.

We should observe then, that prior to asking for help to a need, we must first observe that we have a need. It is hard to be saved from sin when we do not observe that we have sin eating away in our lives. It is hard to be saved from hell when we do not see that our path is heading towards those pits. It often becomes then, that God reaches us and causes us the realization of our needs through our lowest of moments.

For me, these lowest of moments came at a time of losing my job, my truck, becoming depressed and wanting suicide as my answer. It was in my lowest moments that God was able to speak to me and revive my soul. Like this widow, I was indebted (though for vastly different reasons) and entered into bankruptcy. For others, they find God in prisons, in sickness, in homelessness. It is when we are at our low that we are most apt to listen to God.

Offer of Grace v.2

And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.[4]

I just love reading this! The Bible puts it so bluntly, “what shall I do for thee?” I can almost imagine this said in a sarcastic “and what can I do?” However, this is not the case. I find that as with texting and email, some emotion and human context becomes lost. It is certain the Elisha responds with love and compassion for the widow. “How can I be of help?”

“Tell me, what hast thou in the house?” – Elisha offers grace unto the widow, and he asks, what do you have? What we learn from this is God works with us as we are. I remember some time ago, I preached a message where we discussed God using what is in our hands.

When Moses was called in Exodus chapter four, does God not say unto Moses, “what is that in thine hand?” God works with the sinner as he is, but God does not leave the sinner as he is. God begins with what we have and then moves us into different place and equips us with different tools.

In the widows despair, and in her time sensitive hour of need, surely Elisha would not have required of her what she could not provide. It is but a little pot of oil she has in her house.

I am reminded here of two New Testament scriptures dealing with little and the little becoming much.

Matthew 6:41-44 “And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 42 And they did all eat, and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.[5]”

and Matthew 17:20 “20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21[6]”

It is not at all uncommon for God to take what we have, which is often little, even as little as a mustard seed or five loaves of bread, and then multiply it exceedingly to bless us. Did the same not happen with Elijah when he blessed the widowed women and her son’s flour jar and oil cruse?

We must not say, “I cannot come to God, for I have nothing to work with.” Rather, let us realize that God works best in us when we come to Him and say “This is all I have to work with.” In our weakness, in our lack, God will be made perfect and will be manifested.

I maintain the best thing that has happened to me was the thought of losing all I had. I maintain, the best thing to happen is going from my sweet, high paying job as a programmer to what I have now. In my lack, I have learned to trust in God. In my lack, I have learned that God will provide. In my lack, I have found more happiness than I ever could have had in my prior life. The most graceful thing God has ever done for me was allow me to go so far into that debt and lose my job, that I had to turn into Him. When I came to Him, I came as one who had no will left, only to desire before I died where I would go. It was with that little that God worked a miracle in my own life.

Faith Acted Upon v.3, 5

Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. 4[7]

Have you ever heard that faith without works is dead? I have noticed I’ve been using this scripture a lot lately, and I have noticed recently it has been very applicable. It started with a conversation I had with some LDS missionaries who consistently used this verse out of context. Anyways – Valid faith will produce works. When Elisha required of her to borrow empty vessels, he says, “and don’t borrow a few, borrow a lot, as many as you can get”, was with the purpose of allowing her to exercise faith. A faithless person would have laughed at Elisha, would have mocked him, “what good are empty vessels if I have but a little oil?” They would have said to Elisha “you must be deaf! Or are you stupid? Did you not hear when I said I have ‘a pot of oil’?”

The amount of vessels the widow gathered to borrow was equated to the faith she had that God would provide for her need. Elisha, for this reason, specifies “not a little” because he wants for the widow to develop a great faith. The gathering of the vessels represents, then, faith.

As is true with us – God offers freely His grace to us, but it requires of us faith to receive of it. The grace we receive unto salvation is different, in that we do not work to receive it, but we do need to believe to receive it. The gathering of empty vessels was nothing more than the outward expression of the inward faith. God offers to all, as He offered to the widowed women, grace, but you must determine to trust God, or to laugh at God.

So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.[8]

And now, the works that follow. If the widow would have said, I have faith, but acted not on her faith in this command, her faith would have been, as it were, dead. While this would not change her salvation, it may have affected her earthly and physical debts owed. It is a lesson to be learned, that true faith will prompt works, as Christ taught, whosoever abideth in I and I in him, it is he that will bear much fruit.

It was by faith this young widow closed the doors to keep prying outs out, and it is by faith that she poured, and continued to pour, and pour, into each vessel, one after another. I am reminded of a story from another preacher, while he was young and low on money, he needed gas in his fuel tank. I recall him telling how he heard God tell him to fill the gas tank up with water, and so he did. He ran that car for a week on water.

We have all heard countless stories where God has had someone do things contrary to human logic. It makes no sense, but that is how our God works. I love how Spurgeon said on this exact topic:

Expect, O tried believer, that God will bring you through, but do not expect him to bring you through in the way that human reason would suggest, for that would provide no development for faith. Be not laying tracks for God: “He plants his footsteps in the sea, Provide no chariots for the Eternal One: “He rides upon the storm.” God has a way of his own. He doeth his wonders as he pleaseth. Be you content often to stand still and see the salvation of God. Be you ready to obey him, and that will be far more in accordance with your position as a finite creature than the vain attempt to map out a course for your Creator. Keep you to the obeying, and rest assured he will not be behindhand with the providing.[9]

Fulness of Grace v.6a

And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. [10]

I want to split verse six up into two separate points, because it covers two separate topics fully. The first we shall examine is the fulness of God’s grace. The text says that “all the vessels were full” implying, this was a fullness of the blessing. God did not partially provide, but God fully provides.

There is an awesome parallel in the story to the grace God provides for each of us. The widow women could not manufacture the oil, but she continued to pour. For as many vessels as she had, she found the providence of God. Likewise, we cannot manufacture God’s grace nor salvation. We cannot make it, we cannot earn it, and we do not deserve it. And yet it is there.

We can rest in peace, having the knowledge of the fulness of His grace. We can rest, knowing that as sure as God feeds to fish of the seas, and the birds of the air, He will provide, and fully so, for His people. Which leads me to the second half of verse six.

Requirements v.6b

And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.[11]

This may seem counterintuitive to what we believe about grace, which is freely given. “Pastor, what do you mean ‘requirements?’” The reality is, there is a requirement for God’s grace, and that is a vessel to receive the grace of God. In verse six, it tells us when there were no more vessels, the oil stayed. For as long as there will remain a vessel willing to receive, there will be an outpouring of God’s grace upon the people. For as long as there remains a soul willing to be saved, God’s redeeming grace will continue to save souls.

And while we can apply that to salvation, we can also apply that to our physical lives while we dwell upon the earth. Though we are saved, I find it still appropriate to describe God’s blessings as the outpouring of His grace. There are people who talk, of a time in the past where they received blessing after blessing, and now, it seems as if they no longer receive. And why is that?

You must be willing to receive the blessings of God. We can be saved and experience a period of dryness, where it seems the miracles have stopped. God’s grace is infinite, but it shall not be poured upon the ground. Let us then, be willing vessels of God’s grace, that we don’t experience a stay in his outpouring, but He may fill us up continually. Let us not become prideful, that we believe we no longer need the blessings of God, but let us rejoice in our infirmities, in our weaknesses, that we can experience the greatness and perfection of God over and over.

Grace Realized v.7a

Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt[12]

The grace has already been received the moment she asked for it. It is now, however, the grace has been realized. Go, says Elisha, and sell the oil, and pay thy debt. By grace alone has this widows debts been settled and she has been freed from the turmoil that she had suffered. It is through this love and mercy of God that each of us have been or could be saved. It is through this grace of God that all believers, Old and New Testaments, have received providence from the Father.

The sons, who were being taken into bondage as bondservants, could then say, it was by the grace of God that I was a captive and am now free. It was not of their works or labors they received this earthly manifestation of salvation, but truly of the gifts of God.

I am reminded of Ephesians 2:8-9 while we are discussing this “8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.[13]”

Surely, if they had to work for their freedom, this would not be a gift of grace, but would have been earned and deserved, in which, the young men could boast. But through the gift of God, they can boast in their freedom, not of themselves, but they can boast of their God who freed them that others would look to God and live.

Throughout the message, I have referred back regularly to my loss of property and bankruptcy. And now would be a great place in the message to mention that God has restored me, and by His grace have I been able to keep the property that I once lost. In a great journey, I have gone from despair and loss, to salvation, and to restoration. I have, by the grace of God, been delivered.

I am also reminded of Romans 11:6, which teaches us “ And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work[14]”

And so we can see, that salvation is the free gift of God, but that free gift, as we had seen earlier, will result in works. As we had discussed earlier as well, God’s grace does not end at salvation, but for as long as we remain willing, He continues to pour into us as we will identify in the last portion of verse seven.

Grace Continued v.7b

and live thou and thy children of the rest.[15]

God’s grace, after paying the debt of the widow and freeing the children from bondage, was enough also to sustain the family. Though the text does not indicate for how long the money held them over, we do learn that God’s grace, in its infinite-less power does not end with salvation, but continues through our physical, earthly existence.

I am reminded of Matthew 6:33 “33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. [16]” and how God promises to add to His people food, and clothing, and earthly necessities.

I am reminded also of the saying “you have not, because you ask not” which is taken from James. In God’s great love for us, when we become His children, He seeks to take care of us throughout our existence. God wants for us to be happy, to be provided for, and to be a good Father. God seeks, not only to deliver us from bondage, but to satisfy us daily.

Summary

Today we followed a widowed women, who after losing her husband in death, was left with a debt she could not settle. Her debtors, in accordance with the law and practices of the time sought to take her children as bondservants to settle the unpaid debt. In distress, she calls out to God through the prophet Elisha, pleading for help and grace. God answers the call, delivering the family through the means she has available, even a pot of oil and bunch of empty vials. Acting out in faith, she obeys Elisha in borrowing many vials, and begins to pour oil into each as the grace of God, in God’s fullness, fills each vial up, until they are out of empty vessels and the oil stays. Our historical story ends with the selling of the oil and the deliverance of a family from bondage. The stages, or steps as it were, came as follows – that she realized her need, grace was extended, faith was practiced and then rewarded, grace was realized and grace continued. Though our historical narrative ends here, our spiritual narrative has begun.

Application

The widowed women was left with a debt she could not pay, but like her, we all have incurred a debt we can not settle. God’s perfect law demands justice, a penalty for breaking it and that penalty is death. Because the penalty itself is death, the only way to settle the debt is through eternal death (on our own). We cannot “pay” God for our charges, and we cannot work our way out of them.

God, in his infinite love and mercy, has extended to each of us grace – the undeserved, unearned gift of God to us. For “God so loved the world, He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life.”

In our application today, we must each realize our own need of a Savior. We must each come to this realization of the despair, of the travail of the soul from the sin condition imparted to us by Adam. Like the women, we must realize the sensitive need, that the bondsmen are here to take us and deliver us, and escape must happen immediately.

We must cry out to God, and see through our condition that He has extended His arm of grace and compassion to us. He said, whosoever believes. Our spiritual story takes a slightly different turn than the historical, in that, God does not ask us, “what shall I do for you” but He says “I have already performed for you the saving act, if you would only accept it.” We must realize, the debt has already been paid, if we would only ask to have it applied to our account.

Let us develop our faith, and let our faith develop in us good fruits unto the Lord. For the perishing, for the unsaved, for those who are waiting for that undeniable proof, let me share with you how to get it. Start with faith, start with the Bible and be content with that as enough, and then try God. Put your faith in Him, put your trust in Him and watch as He turns your life around. The proof you are looking for will become evident in your own walk as your relationship grows with God. The evidence is all round us now, for creation itself is the very proof of God.

And then, allow for us to be willing vessels, that God will continue to pour into us daily and satisfy our needs. God wants to bless us, and He wants to send blessings so great we cannot contain them. But we must be willing, not arrogant, nor boastful, but meek and lowly. Let us seek after our God’s kingdom and allow Him to bless us in the process. Let us, like the widowed women, sing out and boast in our God, for we have been delivered, not by our works, not by our money, but by the grace of God.

Invitation

To the unsaved, I now speak to you. Are you in despair? Do you need an act of mercy, of grace, of love? God has already settled the debt. His grace is infinite, there is enough for every willing vessel to receive of the fulness of that grace. Are you willing?

If you call out, as the widow women did, God will hear and will provide. He says, “whosoever will confess me before man, I will confess before the Father above.” Paul writes that whosever confesses with his mouth the Jesus is Lord and believes in his heart that God raised Him from the dead, would be saved.

Let us help you – It begins with admitting that Jesus is Lord, God in the flesh. With admitting the situation you find yourself in. Then believing that Jesus came, and died on the cross for the remission of your sins, rising again the third day. And then confessing that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself. Confess that you have a debt that can only be paid by the blood of Christ, and confessing that you want to be His.

If you are ready to do that, Let me help you today. When we close in prayer, please repeat the first portion with me, where we will admit, believe, and confess, and then we will ask Jesus into your heart. After that, continue in that faith, and allow Jesus to give you a new heart and a new purpose, and go, confess Him before men and make Him your Lord.

***Lets pray***

[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 4:1–7). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 4:1). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Co 12:9). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[4] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 4:2). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[5] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mk 6:41–44). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[6] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 17:19–21). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[7] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 4:3–4). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[8] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 4:5). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[9] Spurgeon, C. H. (1889). The Filling of Empty Vessels. In The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons (Vol. 35, pp. 15–16). London: Passmore & Alabaster.

[10] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 4:6). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[11] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 4:6). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[12] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 4:7). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[13] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Eph 2:8–9). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[14] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ro 11:6). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[15] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ki 4:7). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[16] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 6:33). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.