2 Kings 4:18-24 — And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.

Sometimes I realize I’ve been missing a big part of the value in a passage in the Bible. This story in 2 Kings is a good example.

Perhaps you know the story of the Shunnamite woman? She had graciously made a room for Elisha and he, in return, has interceded with God for her to lift her barrenness so that she had a son late in life. Now the boy is stricken with sunstroke and seems likely to die. She rushes to to Elisha who once again intercedes, and the boy recovers.

So what’s the story? The miraculous work of God, of course. Today though, as I read it again, the Shunnamite leapt of the page. She is so full of trust in God, such a great mother and such a loving, caring wife.

When her child is sick, she nurses him. Can you see her sitting there, cradling him, not moving until appallingly, terrifyingly, he is dead? Then what? Does she set up an outcry, surrendering to grief? No, instead of that she trusts in God and His prophet and takes the boy to Elisha’s room and lays him on the bed and, closing the door, she goes to find Elisha.

Why do you suppose she closed the door before she left? I think she was carefully not making a fuss so that her husband would not be devastated by the loss of his only son, surely the apple of his eye. For that reason, as she rides off, this loving wife will not let her man think there is anything wrong to cause her to seek the man of God.

It was about a thirty-five mile round trip. That’s a long ride on an ass — but nothing was too much for the loving mother to do for her beloved son who rode without stopping.

The story has a happy ending of course. A Godly woman, a loving wife and a great mother gets her son back. She and her husband and son recede into the background, leaving a great example to follow. I missed it before.