The Tupelo journal., 1904-10-14
THE SUNDAY BIBLE SCHOOL
Lesson in the International Series
for October 16, 19O4-"Elishn
and the Shunammite."
prepared by the Highway and By
wavv Preacher.1

OF God to Mount Carmel. And. 1t came to
pass, VIXEN the man OF God saw her afar
off, that he said to Gehazi his servant: Be-
hold. yonder is that Shunammite:
70. Run now | pray thee, to meet her, and
say unto her. Is 1t well with tree! Is X
well with thy husband? is 1t well with the
child? And she answered: 1t is well.
q. And when she came to the man or God
to the hill, she caught him by the feet, but
Gehazi came near to thrust her away. Anc
the man of God said: Let her alone: for
her soul is vexed within her; and the Lord
hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
IS. Then she said: Did / desire a son OF
my lord? Did l not say: Do not deceive
me?
20. Then he said to Gehazi: Grid up thy
loins, and take my staff in thine hand, ana
90 thy way; IL thou meet any man, salute
him not; and If any salute thee. answer
him not again; and lay my stan upon the
face of the child.
80. And the mother of the child said: AS
the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liyeth, l
will not leave thee. And he arose anu
followed her.
81. And Gehazi passed on before them,
and laid the staff upon the face or the chllu'
but there was neither voice, nor nearing:
Wherefore he went again to meet him, ana
told him, saying: The child Is not awaKeo.
81. And when Elisha was come into the
house, behold, the child was dead. and laio
upon his bed.
80. He went in therefore, and shut the
door upon them twain, and prayed unto the
Lord.
"a. And he went UP, and lay upon inc
child, and put his mouth upon ms mouth
and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands
upon his hands; and he stretched himself
upon the child; and the flesh of the child
waxed warm.
80. Then he returned, and walked in the
house to and fro; and went up and stretched
himself upon him; and the child sneezed
seven times. and the child opened his eyes.
SO. And he called Gehazi, and said: Can
this S~hunammite. So he called her. Ana
when she was come in unto him, ne saiu;
Take up thy son.
81, Then she went in. and fell at his feet,
and bowed herself to the ground, ard TOOK
up her son, and went out.
SCRIPTURAL SECT1ON.-The whole
story of the ~Shunammite woman, beginning
at verse s.
GOLDEN TEXT.-"The gift of God is
| eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD
Rom. 6:23.
T1ME.-Uncertain. :.
PLACE.-Shunem. a few miles south OK
Nazareth; Samaria. the probable home
| of Elisha, and Mount Carmel, where the
prophet often sought retirement.
Burdened Souls Succored.
PROPHETS Presence Gained Tvs. 25
2O.-The first thing that impresses IT.
self upon US in connection with thls
lesson is the desperate need or THIS
broken-hearted mother. Her only BOY,
| the gift of God to her for her kindness
to the prophet Oh Kings a: SD, mad
died suddenly, probably from sunstroke
(Vs. 1920. All, what a heart-breaker
death is. And God is the only One
who can heal the cruel wounds Inc
| Shunammite would not carry her our
den alone. She must go to the prophet
| of God. The sisters in the stricken
home at Bethany would not carry their
burden alone. They must tell Jesus
John 11:3).
In her sorrow the Shunammite was
not rebellious. There is a beautifully
| touching suggestion in verse Il, Where
she took her ~lifeless darling and laid
him on the bed of the prophet, Of
faiths submission to God. God had
| given and God had taken away tJoD
1:21).
Prophets Services Won (Vs. 2S-31.
-Gehazi would not do! The Shunam-
mite must have Elisha. GehazIs part
in this story is suggestive of the him
| ORANGES which may lie in the pathway
| of the seeker after God, of the futillty
of human means to restore life. 1t re-
minds us of the disciples failure to
heal the demoniac son n OF the final
appeal to Jesus luke 9: 37-43). Why
| should we be content with the GehaZl
when we may have the Christ HIMSELF?
| Note three things in connection with
| the Shunammite's interview with the
| prophet:
/. The soul unburdened-she told
the prophet all.
2. The soul hanging on-"As Jeho-
| yah liveth and as thy soul liveth, will
not leave thee" The Jacob spirit Gen.
32:26) is the spirit that always OBJ
| tains the cooperation and help of God.
| Note the parallel in this particular be-
| tween the Shunammite woman and the
| Syrophenician woman Mark 7; 1920.
g. The soul triumphant-"And he
| arose and followed her"
The Blessing Obtained Tvs. 32-37).-
| The prophet saw the need before him,
| he heard the mothers sobs, he knew
| her desire, but before he could serve
her he must seek the Lord in prayer;
| he must learn Gods will. Then he was
| ready to lay out his life for the life of
| the child. Mouth to mouth. eye to eye,
hands to hands. His vitality going
into the cold, dead frame of the boy.
And at last the responding life-life
| given from God in response to faiths
| plea and loves sacrifice OF self. Here
is a lesson for every servant of God.
| With dead souls all about and Christ
waiting to give life, we need to get into
| close contact with them; we need to put
mouth to mouth, and eye to eye, and
hands to hands in order that we may
warm to the l~ife-giving power OF Jesus.
Faiths plea and loves sacrifice will
bring the awakening thrill, and the
opening eye, and lost souls all about
us will be saved. Let us give ourselves
to the task as unreservedly and earn
estly as did the prophet.
Nuggets from the Rams Horn.
A. true saint never needs to seek per-
secutiOn.