The object of this story is to demonstrate that the person who obeys God never really loses. Perhaps, at first, it might seem he is on the loser side, but before the story is over you will always see him rejoicing in victory. This happy ending is seen throughout the Scriptures and expressed in multifarious forms. In this brief series we will look to three people who dared to trust God’s leading in spite of the apparent losses it presupposed.
The value of a field in the ancient world
In the context in which the Old Testament was written, a field was a great way to invest your money. For as we all know, in those days, there was no bank where to keep your money safe. So it had to be invested in something that could not be stolen. Therefore gold, silver or jewels were not the best options. The safest way was to buy lands, because no thief could steal such properties. It simply didn’t fit in their pocket or in their bag. Added to it, a field offered provision and revenue, i.e., stability and security. Socially speaking it was beneficial for the poor as well, for although he could not buy a field of his own he could work in one, as the servant of Boaz and the reapers did (Ruth 2:5).
The testimony of the Scriptures
The Bible attests explicitly what we have just seen. For instance, we read in the book of Proverbs:
“Prepare your outside work, make it fit for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house.” (Proverbs 24:27)
Here the accent is put on the outside work which was most of the time carried out in the field, not on the house. For what is the point of having a house if a person doesn’t have food to eat. Likewise we read:
“The lambs will provide your clothing, and the goats the price of a field” (Prov. 27:26)
Here again the hierarchy is clear: First, make sure you have clothes to put on. Second, if you can, invest on a field.
The Shunammite’s field
Before we embark on the matter, let me introduce the Shunammite. The Scripture tells us she was a notable woman (2 Kings 4:8), married to a wealthy man. They had lands and servants (2 Kings 4:18,19) and everything was going fine for them. They were blessed in multifarious ways. But among all the blessings she experienced one stood above all the others, i.e., she dwelt among her own people (see the context of 2 Kings 4:13). For her, this coexistence was particularly important and greatly satisfactory. Added to it, the Shunammite was a generous and discerning woman (2 Kings 4:9,10). But one day, in obedience to God, she had to leave the way of prosperity and forsake her fields as well as her own people which she cherished very dearly. Here we have it:
Then Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the Lord has called for a famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.” So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years.” (2 Kings 8:1,2)
The consequences of such a move were quite obvious, for after seven years it was nearly certain that the Shunammite was going to be dispossessed from all her properties, including her house and her fields. Yet she yielded to the counsel of Elisha although there were no signs of a famine yet, and she yielded because the more she was in the presence of the prophet the more she realized he was a holy man of God (2 Kings 4:9). Here the pertinent question is: What do people realize when they are frequently in my presence—not in church, mind you, but in my every day life? What do they see? The question is worth considering.
After seven years
The obedience of the Shunammite made it so that her entire household was saved from the severe famine her people experienced. So far so good, but at what cost? After seven years, when she returned to her own people, she had lost everything, all what she had worked for during several decades. All her possessions had been confiscated by the crown or her kindred. Therefore, at her arrival, she went to the king with a petition:
It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land.” (2 Kings 8:3)
Here she was, hoping against hope. But God was not going to leave her destitute. He had synchronized everything and was about to recompense her obedience. At the precise moment she entered the king’s palace, the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of Elisha. Here is the report:
Then at the end of seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to appeal to the king for her house and for her field. 4 Now the king was speaking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please report to me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 And as he was reporting to the king how he had restored to life the one who was dead, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord the king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 When the king asked the woman, she told everything to him. So the king appointed an officer for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now.” (2 Kings 8:3–6)
The Shunammite could not have entered the king’s palace at a better time. God had orchestrated everything meticulously and the king’s heart was now predisposed to yield to her appeal. She had trusted God’s servant and He was not going to let her down. Not only did she and her household escape the famine, she also got all her possessions back, including what the field had produced from the day she left the land until her entrance in the king’s palace. This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Yes! The person who trusts and obeys God in spite of apparent losses will never really lose. It is so because obedience always engenders blessings, and the blessed person is always on the winning side.
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