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Taking the initiative

 [WOMEN of the Old Testament] 

THE SHUNAMMITE WOMAN: Taking the initiative_ 

2 Kings 4:8-37 

 

[Discussion starter] What are the ingredients of hospitality? 
 What happens when you feel welcomed into someone’s life or home?  
 

 
In this story a woman welcomes a “man of God” into her home and is rewarded for doing so – or so it seems, until the day her son dies. The initiative she shows in offering hospitality leads her to deeper faith in expecting God to act on her behalf. Her faith and boldness, as well as her generosity, are a model for us... 

 
[Read 2 Kings 4:8-37] 

 

How does the Shunammite woman take initiative here? 
 
 

 

Why did the woman use her resources to help Elisha? 

What do you think her generosity meant to Elisha and his servant? 
 
 

 

Compare your own use of resources. 
How can you show hospitality even with limited resources? 
 
 

 

In verses 12-14, what do you think Elisha’s concern for her needs meant to the Shunammite woman? 

Why do you think the woman didn’t initiate her own request to Elisha?  
 
 

 

After being given a son and raising him to boyhood, the woman now faces a terrible loss (verses 18-20). In verses 21-30, how does she respond to the death of her son? 
 
 

 

In verse 28, how do you account for the implied accusation the woman makes against Elisha? 
 
 

 

What is the woman’s strong resolve in the face of her son’s death? 

What alternative action might she have chosen? 
 
 

 

When you feel distressed about something in your life, how do you react? 
 
 

 

How can we develop a foundation of faith and trust in God before times of crisis come to us? 

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