Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old
Testament: Miraculous Supply Of
Oil.
Occasion: Miracle
Of God Delivers Widow From Debt.
Location: Moab
Bible Text:
II Kings 4:1-7 NLT
1 One day the widow of a member of
the group of prophets (the sons of the prophets - KJV) came to
Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you
know how he feared The Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening
to take my two sons as slaves.”
2 “What can I do to help you?”
Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
“Nothing at all, except a flask of
olive oil,” she replied.
3 And Elisha said, “Borrow as many
empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors.
4 Then go into your house with your
sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask
into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.”
5 So she did as she was told. Her
sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another.
6 Soon every container was full to
the brim! “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons.
“There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil
stopped flowing.
7 When she told the man of God what
had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your
debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.”
1 One day the widow of a member
of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband
who served you is dead, and you know how he feared The Lord. But now
a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”
Leviticus
25:39-41 NLT
39 “If one of your fellow
Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself to you,
do not treat him as a slave.
40 Treat him instead as a hired
worker or as a temporary resident who lives with you, and he will
serve you only until the Year of Jubilee.
41 At that time he and his children
will no longer be obligated to you, and they will return to their
clans and go back to the land originally allotted to their ancestors.
A widow and her two
sons were in deep poverty, so much so that her creditor wished to
take her two sons and make them slaves. Her husband had been a Godly
man, a prophet and a member of the sons of the prophets.
What would Elisha
do?
2 “What can I do to help you?”
Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
“Nothing at all, except a flask
of olive oil,” she replied.
3 And Elisha said, “Borrow as
many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors.
4 Then go into your house with
your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your
flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.”
What was it the Lord told Moses...
Exodus 14:15,16
KJV
15 And The Lord
said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto Me? speak unto the
children of Israel, that they go forward:
16 But lift
thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and
divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through
the midst of the sea.
Genesis 18:14
KJV (The Lord asked Abraham...)
Is any thing
too hard for the Lord?
The Supernatural is only Natural, with God, for He lives in the
Supernatural.
What do you have? God uses what we have, if we give it to Him.
2 “What can I do to help you?”
Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
“Nothing at all, except a flask
of olive oil,” she replied.
Elisha had a plan...
Exodus 14:16 KJV
But lift
thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea
God would make a miracle out of what the widow had. All she had was
oil, but that would be enough.
5 So she did as she was told. Her
sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another.
6 Soon every container was full
to the brim! “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons.
“There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil
stopped flowing.
II Kings 4:3 KJV
Then he
(Elisha) said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy
neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
One is reminded of the song written long ago by Leila N.
Morris.
Are you longing for the fullness
Of the blessing of the Lord
In your heart and life today?
Claim the promise of your Father;
Come according to His Word,
In the blessèd, old time way.
Refrain
He will fill your heart today to overflowing.
As the Lord commandeth you,
“Bring your vessels, not a few.”
He will fill your heart today to overflowing
With the Holy Ghost and power.
Bring your empty earthen vessels,
Clean through Jesus’ precious blood.
Come, ye needy, one and all;
And in human consecration
Wait before the throne of God
Till the Holy Ghost shall fall.
Refrain
Like the cruse of oil unfailing
Is His grace forevermore,
And His love unchanging still;
And according to His promise,
With the Holy Ghost and power
He will every vessel fill.
Refrain
Words & Music: Leila N. Morris, 1912
(Top left icon-to hear the music)
Oil, in Biblical typology is a symbol of God The Holy Spirit. When
Kings and Prophets were anointed, oil was poured on their heads as a
sign of their being consecrated to the Lord.
Leviticus
8:10,12 KJV
10 And Moses
took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was
therein, and sanctified them.
12 And he
poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to
sanctify him.
Dear friend, is your vessel, your life, filled with the precious presence of God? Filled to overflowing?
I Corinthians
6:19,20 KJV
19 What? know
ye not that your body is the temple (vessel)
of The Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are
not your own?
20 For ye are
bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your
spirit, which are God's.
Psalm 23:5 KJV
Thou preparest
a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my
head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Matthew 25:1-13
KJV (This parable told by
Jesus.)
1 Then shall
the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their
lamps, and went forth to meet
The Bridegroom.
2 And five of
them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that
were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise
took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While The
Bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at
midnight there was a cry made, Behold, The Bridegroom cometh; go
ye out to meet Him.
7 Then all
those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the
foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are
gone out.
9 But the wise
answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you:
but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while
they went to buy, The Bridegroom came; and they that were ready
went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward
came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But He
answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch
therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein The Son
Of Man cometh.
Hebrews 1:9 KJV
Thou hast loved
righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
