2 Kings 4 Devotional

Oil Until the Jars Ran Out

“So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.”2 Kings 4:44 (BSB)

This chapter is a string of rescues for people at the end of their resources. A prophet's widow is about to lose her two sons to a creditor, and all she has is one jar of oil (4:1-2). She borrows empty jars from her neighbors, and the oil flows until there are no more jars to fill (4:6). A woman of Shunem receives a son she never asked for, and when the boy dies, the LORD gives him back to her after Elisha prays (4:33-36). A poisoned stew is made harmless, and twenty barley loaves feed a hundred men with some left over, as the LORD had said (4:41-44).

Debt, grief, and hunger are ordinary needs, and the LORD meets each one. Centuries later Jesus took five barley loaves, fed a crowd, and gathered twelve baskets of leftovers (John 6:9-13). The same compassion was at work, now in person. Whatever is empty in your life today can be brought to the God who notices widows and hungry prophets.

To think about: What empty place in your life have you been hesitant to bring to God, and why?