"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." 2 Kings 4:18-2018And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. 19And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. 20And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. (2 Kings 4:18‑20).
The child was carried to his "mother," not now the "Shunammite," for God was touching the heartstrings.
"Oh," you say, "can't the poor woman be left alone a little while without being tested again?" No, this is the path of faith, a few years here to enlarge our hearts for eternity, the glory ahead, each stone being shaped and prepared for its place in the temple up there. God has great things for His people and will have the inner man prepared in the full counsel, full assurance and full knowledge of God. "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." Phil. 1:66Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (Philippians 1:6).
"Noon," the middle of the day when everything is brightest, suggests the highest point reached in nature's joys and tranquility, with needs filled and life pleasant. It was then, at that moment, that the blow fell. A sunstroke on the child might have dashed a mother's hopes to the ground. It appears to be a hopeless picture, but it is really a blessed one. Why? Because God is a God of hope, and He will complete the work He has begun. When she receives her son back, it will be in resurrection life, a life not subject to change or failure. All will end in glory Oh, that God would wrench our souls from the desire of earthly joys as objects and set our hearts on Christ alone, as seated beside the Father on His throne.
If you do not know Christ as your Savior, now is the time to receive Him, or you can have no part in what we are speaking of.
How beautifully and nobly the great woman acted without a display of discouragement or despair. "And she went up." She was Abraham's daughter by faith. When Abraham gave his son he told his servants, "I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you."
She laid her son on the bed of the man of God. If she had not met the first test she would not have had a place to take her son-hope. Did she not build the room of separation with her own hands? What a comfort for faith to know that her son, her hope, rested on the bed of the man of God.
Whatever might come, this woman was in possession of the enjoyment of communion and peace, and she knew, because of continued experience in communion, that the path the Lord chose for her would end in a perfect day.
Step by step this woman had laid the way for blessing for her own life. Is this what we are told in Philippians, "Work out your own salvation"?
Could you shut the door on your son, lying in death, and go out? This great woman went up, not down, in her trouble. To her all was well.