The account of Elisha and the Shunammite woman from 2 Kings 4, highlighting Elisha as a type of Christ demonstrating grace and Elisha's miracles as a reflection of God's provision for humanity's needs. The narrative focuses on the Shunammite woman's exceptional faith, hospitality, discernment, generosity, and contentment, even in the face of her son's death. The sermon contrasts Elisha's life-giving power with the ineffectiveness of Gehazi's symbolic staff, emphasizing that true spiritual life comes from Christ's sacrifice on the cross, who stretched himself upon the 'dead corpse' of humanity to bring life and restoration.
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Second Kings chapter four. Second Kings chapter four and beginning at verse eight. I'd say as to the subject of the senior choir, I think we have a lot of excellent voices here off the case of getting it together. that seems as though they can't seem to get together as regularly as they've asked in order for practice. And I think that if they were to concentrate, we'd have an excellent choir. We saw that the funeral of Brother's choir only a couple of weeks ago they can really reduce.
I think that Bill Thomas, Captain Bill Thomas, did an excellent job in getting together. I wish this could be done more often. Now, last week, Brother McNeil, who was here for our week of special meetings, spoke on this chapter. He took out one text and spoke on it, and since then I've been turning the whole incident over in my mind, the whole chapter, and it's so more or less thrilled me this week. I've been meditating upon it. I'll speak on it this morning and tonight. Let us begin then in verse eight. and it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shulam, where was a great woman, and she constrained him to eat bread.
So it was that as oft as he passed by he turned in thither to eat bread. She said unto her husband, Behold, now I perceive that this is an holy man of God which passes by us continually. Let us make A little chamber, I pray thee on the wall. Let us set for him there a bed and a table and a stool and a candlestick, and it shall be when he come to us that he shall turn and fither. And it fell on a day that he came fither, and he turned into the chamber and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunaman.
And when he had called her, she stood before him. He said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care. What is to be done for thee? Wouldest thou be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the host? She answered, I dwell among mine own people. And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily, she hath no child, and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. When he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, About this season, according to the time of night, thou shalt embrace a son.
She said, Nay, my Lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. Or in other words, that's too good to be true. And a woman conceived and bear a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her according to the time of life. When the child was grown, it fell on the day that he went out to his father to the reapers. He said unto his father, My head, my head. He said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon and then died. and she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door upon him and went out.
And she called unto her husband and said, Send me, I pray thee one of the young men and one of the ashes, that I may run to the man of God and come again. And he said, Wherefore would thou go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath. She said, It shall be well. Then she seldom asked, and said to her servant, Drive and go forward, slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. So she went and came unto the man of God to Mount Carmel. It came to pass when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi, his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunemite.
Then now I pray thee to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. That's the text of it. And it really spoke so maybe on last Sunday. And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet of Jehazi came near to thrust her away. The man of God said, Let her alone, for her soul is vexed within her. The Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. Then she said, Did I desire the son of my Lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?
Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way. If thou meet any man, salute him not. If any salute thee, answer him not again, and lay my staff upon the face of the child. The mother of the child said, Does the Lord live it, and as thy soul live it, I will not leave thee. He arose and followed her. Hazai passed on before them and laid the staff upon the face of the child, but there was neither voice nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him and told him, saying, The child is not awake. For when Elias was come into the house, behold, the child was dead and laid upon his bed.
He went in therefore and shut the door upon them twain and prayed unto the Lord. He went up and lay up on the child and put his mouth upon his mouth and his eyes upon his eyes and his hands and his hands. He stretched himself upon the child and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he returned and walked in the house to and fro, went up and stretched himself upon him. And the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi and said, Call this Shunemite. So he called her. When she was coming unto him, he said, Take up thy child.
Then she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her child, and went up. This is a very interesting passage. First of all, I want to notice the prophet. Then we'll notice something about the woman in this incident, and also something about the fruitless servant and his staff, and then we'll know something about how the child was raised, and then the application to this remarkable and amazing incident. In other words, Elisha here is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are wonderful types in your Bible, and here is one. In other words, Elisha's miracles, and he performed fourteen miracles. Elijah, the old man that preceded Elisha, was a legal, hard old character, and more or less represented the law. He performed seven miracles, but Elisha, the younger man, performed twice as many, that is, fourteen. He displays more grace. There's more kindness and sympathetic and love in Elisha, and therefore his miracles were twice as many as Elijah, showing that grace accomplishes far more than law.
If Elijah speaks of the law, Elisha speaks of grace. The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. What the law could not do, grace did. And so it goes to show how important grace is. So we find in these miracles the measure of divine grace that hastens to the help of needy and sinful men. For instance, if you go over these various paroles or miracles, you'll find that thirsty are refreshed in the chapter preceding this, in chapter three, the poor and needy are provided for, In the beginning of this chapter, and the child childless, that is this woman, is made the joyful mother of a child, that they are raised to life because this child died, and the broken-hearted are bound up, the hungry are healed and fed, and the lepers are cleansed, and victory given over all the powers of the enemy.
Such is Christ to broken humanity. You see all this in the various miracles of Elisha. But let us notice this woman. This is one of the things that kind of struck me as I was meditating on this chapter during the week. There are seven things said about this remarkable woman of Shunem, this Shunem. The first thing is it says she was a great woman. You find that in verse eight. It says here that it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunem where was a great woman. Wherein was her greatness.
If you return to Hebrews chapter eleven, where you have a list of those worthies, those great men and women who exercise such wonderful faith in God, and all their achievements and their accomplishments are there recorded, you'll find tucked away in that list someone who had the dead raised to life because of her great faith, and it's this woman. And so she was a woman great in faith. Now it's wonderful to see women today who are great in faith. But she was great in hospitality, too. Great in hospitality.
You see that in verse one. Now they're proud of a certain women of the wild. No, we won't read that. Verse eight. And it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shudem where was a great woman, and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was that as often as he passed by, he turned and did it to eat bread. Here you see this woman's hospitality. She was great in hospitality. She just wanted to invite the preacher in every day. That's something, isn't it? The next thing you notice about her is her discernment. in verse two, or rather in verse nine.
And she said unto her husband, Behold now I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Here is this woman's discernment, showing she was watching this man from day to day. And she said to her husband, she was in perfect accord with her husband, and her husband's in perfect accord with her. And so they discussed the matter together, and she said, let's invite this man in. And then you see the discernment that she exercised. He's a holy man of God. Who is a man of God? Or the woman of God, if you will.
A man of God is a man who believes in God. He belongs to God, and he behaves like God. That is a godly man, the man of God, or a woman of God. She believes in God. And because she believes in God, she belongs to God. Not only does she belong to God, she behaves like God. She's a godly woman, a godly man. It's wonderful to notice here this is not just a title. She says, this is a holy man of God. A man of God, yes, that are a number in the Bible spoken of as a man of God.
That's not a title. No, that is a genuine character, a man of God. It's very remarkable that this testimony was from his landlady. This is a man of God. Notice the generosity, too. seen in verse ten. Not only had she entertained him and giving him a meal day by day as he passed by on his visitation, but she says, Let us make a chamber, I pray, beyond the wall, and let us set for him there a bed, a table, stool, and candlestick, and it shall be when he come unto us that he shall turn and thither. Here is her generosity. She was going beyond just giving him a meal.
She says to her husband, Now let's build them. a nice house, a little chamber on the wall. That's where the prophet chamber comes in that you often hear about. You know, many, many years ago when a young couple, godly young couple decided to settle down and build a home, many of them built an additional room and said, that's the prophet's chamber. They used to do that. In fact, I can give you a personal illustration. When I came down to North Carolina, thirty-one years ago to preach, I went to Raleigh, North Carolina, and I was entertained in the home of a Mr.
and Mrs. Chapel. Known to some here, Mr. McNeil, if he were here, would know them well. Well, I stayed there in their home for a little while. Eventually, it turned into three years. But one morning at the breakfast table, They spoke up and they said, Mr. Wilson, you know so many years ago we built this home. And that room you're sleeping in, and it's nineteen oh nine sunset drive, a lovely two-story house. She says, you know, we built that room up there as a prophet's chamber. And we built it hoping that God would send along someone, especially someone who was single.
to occupy that room and preach the gospel around this area. You know, she said, we've had quite a few preachers occupy that room, but most of them have been married men. Some of them were so Scotch or Irish, the people couldn't understand them. Others had little characteristics. We didn't think that the people would appreciate. But you know our husband, Jimmy and I, have been praised as you've been here, and you're the first one we've been free to ask to occupy that room. Will you do? Well, you know, when we built it, we planned it that way. Jimmy's brother, Billy, built the house, and that's been called the Prophet's Chamber ever since.
Will you fill it? You know, the unusual thing is they built that house the same month that I was saved the way up in Canada. We didn't know anything about it. I said, yeah, I'll occupy it. And I did for three years live in their home, and they were like a mother and father to me. And I preached the gospel around there when hundreds of people found Christ. Well, that prophet's chamber is still there. But that was an illustration. And that happened time and time again. How God led a young couple to add a prophet's chamber. And how God sent along the prophet. and fill that room and how God has blessed many hearts as the result.
So preachers are not so bad to get along with after all. So you find the generosity of this woman talking to her husband. She says, now let's put a bed in there. That speaks of rest. Let's put a table. There's food and fellowship. Let's put a little stool there. That means learning, where he can sit and study. And now he needs some light. We'll put a candlestick there. so he can sit and beneath the rays of that light he can study the law he can study the word of God so the four things are put in there the bed and the table and the stool and the lamp but there's something else about this woman not only is she great in her generosity she's great in her content such was her care for the prophet that he said now we've got to do something for this lady she's been so considerate and so careful of looking after us He said to Gahedah his servant, he says, Ask a woman what we'll do for her.
We appreciate all she's done. Will she be spoken for to the of, to the king, or will we speak to her to the captain of the host? In other words, in those days, when one was spoken of in that fashion and spoken for before the king or someone of high honor, it usually meant being moved to a place of privilege, possibly nearer the capital, In other words, they were promoted as you were in the realm and given special privileges. And so a Gehazi went to this woman and said, now will you be spoken of for the king or before the captain of the host?
What did she say? She was a great woman in her contentment. She says, I dwell among my own people. You see that in verse thirteen. No. I'm not interested. I'm perfectly happy being here in my little house with my husband. I dwell among my own people. I'm not thinking about moving. I'm doing this as unto the Lord. I don't want any material favors or recognition. She was perfectly contented and happy among her own people. But then her greatness comes out in the next day. Try it. As we'll see. child died as she had lived it the child died and if ever you see the greatness of a woman come out and shine it here even when she was notified the child is dead and she went to the prophet and the prophet said he had well with thee is it well with my husband is it well with the child Why you would normally thought she said, no, it's not well.
It's all wrong. It's all evil. The child did. She says, it is well. Great in trial. She knew that God was going to be glorified in this. Something good was going to come out of it. The next thing, she's great in appreciation because at the end of the last verse that we read, you'll notice how she fell down and she thanked the prophet and she was so profuse with her appreciation, great in her appreciation. But now here's the story. We've noticed seven things about this great woman. So when she wouldn't be spoken of for the king and the captain of the host, Gehazi, the servant said to the prophet, Elisha, you know, they don't have any children.
Her husband's an old man. Elisha says, call that woman. She comes to the door of the little chamber, the father's chamber. He tells her some wonderful news. This time, according to the time of life, you shall embrace a son. That's our payment. That's God's payment. And only God can do this. You've been wonderful for the king who have favored you. You've been wonderful for the captain of the host who have favored you. But God's going to favor you. But only God can give life. And you're going to have a son.
Oh, she said, go, life. That's too good to be true. I've given up hope long ago of ever being a mother. The prophet says, it shall be so. That's how God honored this woman for her care for his servant. Did you know the time comes when the boy goes out into the field? And in your Bible, the field oftentimes is likened unto the world. You find that in Matthew thirteen, the field is the world. This little lad grows up and now he's able to go out and work with the rest of the workers and with the fathers. Likely was an unhappy day for this woman, the only child, the only son.
She saw him go for the first time, like many a mother has seen her child, her only child, go off to school. We hear this boy, he's big enough now, he's going out to work, and it was quite a trial for her. In other words, you might say the boy came of age. She was accountable now on what a trial that is for many a mother. When a boy or a girl goes up and they become accountable, responsible to God, then they go out in the world. And that's a sad day with many a boy and many a girl. When they get out from under the shelter of home, parental control, and they go out into the world and with many of them it's a sad day, not only for them but for mother and father too.
For then they begin to hear things about how that boy and girl is beginning to act. And so it was a trial when her son left. He went out into the field. Something happened. He got sunstroke. I don't know if any of you have ever been sunstroke. I had. I was in charge of a boys camp up in North Carolina. About eighty boys in that summer camp. And it was down in Canova Hall, Camp Nahuatl. And I used to go around there, and it didn't have quite as much hair on my head as I got now. That seems strange, doesn't it? But I used to have quite a bald spot up there, and I've grown hair, whether you believe it or not, I had.
You don't believe that, Brother Gunnels. He saw me in a picture, and saw how bald I was up there. But I grew hair. Of course, you have to have something beneath the skin before you can grow anything on the other side. Well, anyway, I was at that camp when I had the least hair I ever had in my life. I got sunstroke, and I'm going to tell you it's not flat. I thought someone was standing over me with a sledgehammer pounding me on top of the head. My head was just thumping, thumping, thumping, and every time I get out in the sun, it would hit again. I go back in. One night I couldn't sleep at all. I found out I had sunstroke. This boy took sunstroke, and he said, my head, my head.
Paul says, get him to his mother. When the boy got home, the mother took the lad, sat him upon the knees, and he died. Quite an answer, quite a grief to her, quite a trial. But I believe her answer in this case in verse twenty-six proves something remarkable. What does she say in verse twenty-six? Well now I pray thee to meet her and say unto her, Here is Elisha sending his servant. Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with that child? And she answered it is well. How could you say that? It is well. Would this indicate her conscience was clear?
In what way? She had been faithful in bringing up that child in the neutral admonition of the Lord. She had undoubtedly taught him the law. the word of God which they had in those days. And she brought this child up the way he should have been brought up, not only by teaching him the word, but by example. You know that's something that's needed today. Parents who are not only taking their children to Sunday school, but bringing them to Sunday school and setting the example. And when she went to meet the prophet, the prophet asked the question, is it well with a child? Yes, it's well, as far as I'm concerned.
I've done my duty. I fulfill my obligation. I've been faithful to that boy and he's dead. I have no regrets. As far as I'm concerned, I did my best. My conscience is clear. How many of you parents can say that? I've brought my child up. Suppose news came to you of the death of your son or daughter. Could you say it is well? My conscience is clear. I did my best. I brought that child up in the nutrient admonition of the Lord. Not only so, I set the example before that boy and that girl.
I not only took them to Sunday school and left them outside the door, but I went in and I sat there. while they heard the word. She says, it is well. You know, sometimes I think parents are very selfish. You see, some parents take off for the weekend, especially with summer, they go down at the beach, and they take their children along, take the kids away from some of these schools. That's selfishness. They don't even think that their children You don't realize those children need the word of God.
And I've known it and have been told me that the children have objected. The children said, I don't want to miss Sunday school. You're gone. That's selfishness and parents will live to regret it. Many parents will see their children grow up to be delinquents because they took them away from the influence of the word of God and took it out of Sunday school. just because they wanted that day off. This woman could say, it's wet. Whether that child is given back to me or not, in this case she only had no idea it would be, she said, it is wet.
I wonder if you could say that about your child. Have you ever had the misfortune, the sadness of looking on the face of your child in the coffin? Could you say it as well? I did my part. I did my best. I have no regrets as to my child. You notice here the fruitless servant. Elisha says to get his eye, he says, you go off and take my rod, my staff, and lay it upon the face of the child. the fruit of the serpent. And he turned out to be just that. Furthermore, in the next chapter, you find out that what he was doing, he was doing for money.
Because when the prophet healed Nehemiah, you remember how when Nehemiah went on his way healed? Why, the prophet wouldn't take anything for it. But after a while, Gehemiah sneaked out of the back door of Elijah's house, and he took off after Nehemiah, and he got some money. Remember he got the garments and the sequels of silver and so on. He got the money. And when he came back in, Elisha says, where did you go? He said, I didn't go anywhere. Yes, you did. I went with you. My spirit went with you. And the leprosy of Nehemiah will show cleave unto you. He's a man who wanted the money.
Serving the Lord for money. That this Gehazah. In other words, you see in him one obedient in a measure because Elisha says, go to the Shunemites' home. He went and he took Elisha's staff, but he was unsympathetic because when the woman fell at the feet of the prophet, he came to pull away. He wasn't sympathetic with the pain of her heart and what she was suffering. He was prayerless. You never read of him praying. He was powerless. He was lifeless spiritually. person dead in sin, spiritually, just like this boy was dead physically.
He certainly didn't impress that dead child any, nor did he help the dead child. Why am I saying this? Just because there are a lot of Sunday school teachers, and I'm going further, and a lot of preachers, just like this fruitless circle. They go through the formalities, but there's no prayer or light behind their ministry. They don't give themselves to prayer. They're powerless in their preaching. There's nothing that drips the heart. They're no more than the snap laid upon the face of this child did anything toward the dead child's welfare. How sad today there are so many fruitless servants and they're after this.
Whether people get saved or whether people don't, it's this. Think of a stand. What does that staff speak of? That staff speaks of the office of the prophet. He had the prophet's staff. And he turns this symbol of office over to the servant. Now he says, run to the Shudemai's house and put this staff on the face of the dead child. That's what a lot of doing today. Remember, friend, the symbol of office will not accomplish anything. You may be called a reverend, although I never accept that name. I don't wish to be called, reverend.
My Bible says that holy and reverend is his name. God is the only one the Bible speaks of as reverend. I would no more thinking of myself as a reverend than I would say I am holy. He is holy. Holiness belongs to him. He is almighty. Would I take the name Almighty? No. Why would I take this name reverend? When holy and reverend is his name, the Bible says, why take God's official titles to yourself as a man? And so he took this stand. Friend, let me tell you, you can take the official title of reverend or right reverend or the doctor of divinity if you like.
That's not going to accomplish that. You may have the cap and you may have the gown and the name and the degrees and the titan if you will, but that won't save anyone so. Not for a second. You may be able to take that staff indicative of an office that you hold, a title that you have, and you may put that dead staff of education, of philosophy, formality, or ritual before the face of your congregation. and there'll be no return spiritual. Others can put the rod of their paddles and their experiences on the face of their congregation or before the face of their audience.
That won't accomplish any. Others may also put the dead staff of a social gospel before their congregation. Or we might say modernism. A lot of them are doing that today. But they're not affecting the dead in sin. They're not helping them one second. Others are able to put that piece of wood, that staff, of the law, the Ten Commandments before the face of the congregation. That's not going to save them. Nor a powerless gospel. You know, a man can repeat the gospel, and yet no one will be blessed because it's not being preached in the power of the Holy Spirit. My Bible says the letter killer.
It's the spirit that give it life. A man may just quote the gospel, and the gospel is a wonderful story. But if he just repeats it, not in the spirit, it has a deadly effect upon the audience. The letter of it, just the words of a killer. But it's the spirit that giveth life. It's the spirit in the gospel that creates conversion in the soul. You may lay the staff then of a law and a powerless gospel before an audience. It won't impress them no more than this piece of wood impressed that young boy there. Others may use modern quarterlies. I'm sad to say they're becoming more modern every day.
modern quarterlies, unscriptural stories. I've heard of Sunday school classes being taught by a teacher, and all she talked about was her dates during the week on what she did or told some story. And I really heard some whoppers stories that had been told children in Sundays of what they'd come home and told their parents. I can tell you of a church right in this town and I could give you the man's name. He told me only three weeks ago his child came home from Sunday school. He said, what did you get taught today? We were taught that we should play with colored boys and girls and have them into our home and have dinner with them and go to their home.
You know what he was teaching? Well, that Sunday school teacher was teaching. I know God loves the colored people and gave Christ a die for them just as much as he did the whites. But I firmly believe that there are social barriers. I agree with all my heart. When it comes to a person needing salvation, I care not the color of his skin. I take my Bible and sit beside him and show him how God loved him. Christ died for him. How he can be saved just as much as a white man. I'll show him the way of salvation. But when it comes to social life, that's another question. When Sunday school teachers are teaching this instead of the gospel, they're not improving them.
You're not going to improve your racial situation by that kind of stuff. The only way to improve your racial situation is give the colored people the gospel. Let us see them save. That will change the atmosphere entirely and bring it out of the political into the spiritual. And yet there are those today who will talk like that to children. They can't open their Bible and talk that stuff. That's politics. Unscriptural stories and games. I've actually known some teachers to have games with a class. Nothing of Christ above the thought. Church membership, good works, ordinances, baptism and Lord's Supper.
This is more of a staff that was put before the many an audience today. by a powerless preacher and there's nothing accomplished. All these things are paralyzed in the presence of debt. Here is to his and he's putting a dead staff on the face of this child, this dead boy. And the Bible says there's neither voice nor hearing, nothing resolved. Friend, some of these things are good in themselves, but they won't save. You might say the staff of religious upbringing is good. The staff of godly parentage is good. I had that. The staff of a fair knowledge of the word of God.
A historical faith in Christ, believing in Jesus Christ like you believe that Columbus discovered America. Yes, it's true. But that won't save us. Love of good, hatred, and evil. That's good. But that won't save us. Not for a minute. The staff of church loyalty or even the tithe. won't say. Lots of congregations today are being preached, and the staff of church loyal loyalty, and it's a dead staff. I'm only to be loyal to a church in the measure that church is loyal to this book and to Jesus Christ. Many are being preached today this very morning with the staff of church loyalty and the time of a friend you'll not save a soul that way.
not for a second. None of these things will give life to those dead in sin. And you know, the servant didn't deceive this woman either. Because when Elisha says, take my staff and go and put it on the face of the child, the woman says, I won't leave you. She didn't go with the servant. You read that yourself in verse thirty. What is it she says in verse thirty? And the mother of the child said, As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. She wasn't leaving a living prophet for an old worthless servant who was serving for pay with a dead staff in his hand.
He's some official title. No. How was the boy raised? One could go into the subject of these wooden methods, this staff, a little more, and either hearing or speaking. The child didn't hear anything, and he didn't speak anything. Because of the wooden staff laid on his face, that didn't accomplish anything. Well, how was the boy raised? Very strange thing happened. Here is the property goes along, and he's a living man. A man with life. A living man contacted that dead boy on that bed. strange thing, he stretched himself upon that corpse.
But before he did, he prayed. He really shut the door. He prayed to God. He realized as far as he was concerned, he couldn't do anything. He likely recoiled from what God said, stretch yourself upon the corpse. That seems kind of an unpleasant thing to do, but preachers have to do lots of things that are long threatened sometimes. The gospel has an offense Paul says the offense of the gospel and I tell you the gospel has an offense to proud people to intelligent people they don't want the old-fashioned gospel you've got to preach things sometimes you don't altogether relish such as judgment it's that time we've got to do it and so God says now stretch yourself upon the child and he did and there is nothing happening And he got up and he walked to and fro.
And he prayed some more. And the second time he stretches himself upon the lad. In other words, more prayer, more patience. Walking to and fro. Remember, friend, you cannot force divine issues. You've got to wait God's time. And so he walked the floor and he prayed. And again he stretched himself upon the child. It says, and the flesh became warm. the flesh became warm. The very warmth of Elisius' body warmed that corpse. It was now dead. And an amazing thing happened. The child sneezed seven times.
Tonight, I'm going to speak on those seven sneezes. The trouble was in his head. The head still. Thou here's life, the head is clear. All the comrades are gone out No more fogginess, no more misunderstanding. He sneezes and his head's clear. He understands. What does all this mean? What's the application? The application is simply this. Elisha, a beautiful type of Christ. Remember, it was Christ who stretched himself upon the cold, lifeless corpse of Adam's fallen race of Calvary. That's the application.
Live eyes look into dead eyes. When Elijah put his face upon the face of the dead child, his living eyes looked into the eyes that were closed by death. When he put his warm lips upon the lips that were cold and stiff, and he put his hands upon the hands of the dead child. What did Jesus Christ do at Calvary? Let me say, friend, live eyes, live mouth, and live hands contacted the dead. His hands, the hands of Jesus Christ, were nailed where my hands should have been.
Before God, I was just a dead sinner, dead in trespass and in sin. Live eyes looked into my dead eye. On Calvary's cross, his eyes closed in death. They should have been my eyes. My eyes should have closed forever in death. I never should have seen the glory of God and all the glories of heaven. That's what I deserve. But his eyes, living eyes, met my eyes and took the place of my eyes and his eyes closed in death. His warm lips contacted my dead ones, for I couldn't speak, I couldn't pray.
I was a sinner. Hands that were alive took the place of my hands that were dead in light. That's what Jesus Christ did at Calvary. His body hung where my body should have hung. The crown of poems that were on his head should have been put on my head, because it was me who had sinned, not he. The spear that split his heart in twain should have split my heart in twain. The blood that flowed from him should have been my blood. I should have died at Calvary. For my sin!
For Jesus Christ died in spit. He died for me. on the cross. That's the meaning and significance of Elisha, a living man lying upon, stretched upon a corpse. Jesus Christ taken the place of the dead at Calvary, coming into contact with those dead in sin at Calvary, stretching himself upon the cross of a lost race, a world dead in trespasses and in sin. Now lifeless eyes can see, and also silent lips can speak, idle hands can work, dead legs and feet can walk, and furthermore a loveless heart can love.
Because that warmth gave place to light. And by my miracle, the life of the prophet seemed to enter into the life of the lad, and he sneezed. He received life.