Empty Vessels

2 Kings 4:1–7 NKJV

1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” 2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

There are a number of things that we can learn from this passage, one of them being that God brings relief from distress to anyone who calls upon His name (as illustrated by the widow who would have been considered as forsaken, oppressed, or classless in society).

Another thing that we can learn, and what we are going to focus on today, is the power of positioning ourselves to experience the presence and power of God in our lives.

There comes a point in all of our lives, many actually, where we need the anointing of God. The anointing breaks the yoke and lifts the burden and releases blessing (Isaiah 10.27). And we need that anointing for ourselves and for the people that God sends us to.

There have been times in my life where we needed a miracle. Like the time when our son was conceived and the doctors said that there was a mass growing alongside him. We needed God to intervene. We needed the anointing. And God did. And through that testimony our faith grew and we have prayed with others who needed a miracle and have seen that same anointing work in their lives.

The good news is that with God, we can experience supply in times of scarcity. If we have a physical need, God is our Healer. If we have a material need, God is our provider. If we have a spiritual need, God is the Father of spirits. He is our Source, our Strength, and our refuge.

We need to understand that we are living in a time where there is a famine of the worst kind—not of food or water but of hearing (and doing) the words of the LORD (Amos 8.11). We have more access to the Scriptures than any previous generation, but less people truly know the word of God and the God of the word.

And this is the great need in the midst of uncertain and tumultuous times. We must continue to trust God in the face of unsettling news and broken supply chains, in wars and rumors of wars. And to do that, we need to create space for God in our lives.

When this season passes, and it will, we want to be found walking in a faith that has more than enough (2 Corinthians 4.17-18). If we stand firm in this season and make room for God, we will personally know and experience the faithfulness of God and become a light and a testimony to others of the abundant life of Christ working in the soul of man.

Faith for Today

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

When the woman brought her need to the prophet, she was so focused on the past and the future that she could not exercise her faith. In her past was the death of her husband and the loss she experienced. In her future she saw the prospect of losing her children and being alone.

But the prophet focused her attention to the now. Now faith is. In other words, we have to have faith today, now, in this moment if we want impact our tomorrows.

In natural things experience precedes faith. But in spiritual things, faith precedes experience (cf. John 17.7-8).

Truthfully, we need to develop the kind of spiritual attitude and appetite that creates an expectation that draws the attention of God (cf. Matthew 9.2).

That means that we need understand that God satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with His goodness (Psalm 107.9). Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled (Matthew 5.6).

Just like this widow, we can create space for God to move in our lives. Christians trust God and seek Him and expect to find Him moving in our place of need. Not only that, but we know that God wants to do exceeding abundantly more than that because of who He is (Ephesians 3.20).

Gathering Empty Vessels

When it comes to positioning ourselves to receive from God and to have an overflow, this story of the widow and the prophet offer us some powerful keys.

There are three things we need to cultivate faith that experiences God’s power and provision.

Proximity

2 Kings 4:1 NKJV

A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”

The woman was in a crisis. She needed God to move. Where did she go with her problem? She went to the prophet to get a word from God.

She went to where there was a relationship. Notice that her husband was one of the prophets and that she said that Elisha knew him. Elisha could attest to his service and worship of God.

She came close to where she would encounter God.

The prophet would later tell her to shut the door behind her and pour the oil into the vessels. This “shut the door behind you” is repeated in the prophet’s ministry and even referred to by Jesus in the context of prayer (2 Kings 4.33, Matthew 6.6).

Draw near to God (James 4.8). Draw near to hear His word (Ecclesiastes 5.1). Draw near to come into His presence (Psalm 95.2).

In a time when people are looking all over for answers to their deepest questions and for something that will break them free from the bondage of sin and desire, there is One who has the balm of Gilead (cf. Jeremiah 8.22, Jeremiah 46.11), One who has the anointing that breaks the yoke, One who sets the captives free (Luke 4.18).

Do you know Him? Do you have confidence to come boldly before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4.16)?

When you have proximity to God you are able to hear His voice and receive His blessing.

Availability

2 Kings 4:2–3 NKJV

2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few.

This might surprise you but one of the most important qualities you possess may be availability.

What do you have? the prophet asked. Not “what will you have” or “what did you have at one time” but “what do you have now?”

The woman had a vessel of anointing oil. This likely wasn’t oil used for preparation of food, but oil used for anointing.

The prophet told her to find empty vessels so that the anointing oil could be multiplied. As long as she had an empty vessel, God supernaturally filled it. When she ran out of vessels, the oil ceased (2 Kings 4.6). Literally that word is the oil stood in position.

The Bible uses the anointing heavily as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. As long as we make room for Him in our lives, He’ll keep coming. He’ll keep bringing the presence and power of God into our lives. But when there is no room, no more hunger, no more space, no more availability in our schedules or in our lives, He stands in place. He waits for us to make room.

Is He waiting on you to be available? Is He waiting on you to make room for Him to come?

If you want to see God move and have faith that has supply in the face of scarcity, make room for God. Get empty vessels. As long as you stay hungry and make room, God will come and He will fill you.

Responsibility

Finally, the woman took responsibility for what God was giving her.

2 Kings 4:7 NKJV

Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

Once the oil ceased, she told the man of God. And he told her to pay her debt and then her and her sons could live on the overflow.

This will surprise you—God always blesses you with more than enough so you can be a blessing (2 Corinthians 9.8). We are to use the anointing of God for the purpose in which God gives it.

The woman owed a debt to others. In other words, she needed God to enable her to meet their needs first, even before she could see her needs met.

Zechariah 8:13 NKJV

And it shall come to pass That just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not fear, Let your hands be strong.’

God saves you so that you can be a blessing. We are called to share the gospel with others, to share our gifts with others, to love others.

And as we give, it will be given to us good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over (Luke 6.38).

Conclusion

You were meant for an abundant life where you have supply in the midst of scarcity (cf. John 10.10). When we draw near to God and make room for Him, we will discover that God will not only meet our need but through us meet the needs of others—remember that as we are faithful with the little, God will bless us with the much (Luke 16.10).

As followers of Christ who understand the importance of proximity, availability, and responsibility we will continue to experience the supernatural grace and provision of God to meet our needs and those around us.

Draw near to God.

Make room for Him.

Be a good steward of His gifts.

Live in the overflow.

Pray for God to help us do these things so that we can be His representative people in the world—not focused on our need, but full of the Holy Spirit and power to meet the needs of those around us in Jesus name.