Lesson 6: Elisha Raises a Dead Boy to Life

Elisha Raises a Dead Boy to LifePre-Session Warm Up(2 Kings 4:8-37)Have you ever made a promise you knew you couldn’t keep? (“If youbuy me this, I’ll never ask for another thing the rest of my life, Ipromise!”) It’s easy to make promises, and it’s easy to break them.God gives you and me lots of promises in His Word, the Bible.Although some may seem impossible for Him to keep, God is faithful;He will always keep His promises.One day a promise was made to a woman in the Bible that seemedtotally impossible for God to keep. God’s Word doesn’t tell us hername – only that she lived in the town of Shunem.Opening PrayerFather, thank You for being a faithful God who never breaks Hispromises. I pray that you will inspire us with the desire to be faithful,too. Please Lord, teach us to be honest and thoughtful in everythingthat we do. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.Memory VerseRemember that the LORD your God is the only God and that he isfaithful. (Deuteronomy 7:9a)LessonTwo weeks ago we learned that a man by the name of Elisha becamethe Prophet of God after Elijah was miraculously taken up to heavenin a chariot of fire by a whirlwind. Elisha had been a farmer, but nowhe traveled through the country teaching people about God andhelping them.2 Kings 4:8Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there wasa notable woman, and she constrained him to eat some food. So it was,as often as he passed by, that he turned in there to eat some food.Elisha often visited a town called Shunem. A woman who lived thereinvited Elisha and his servant, Gehazi, to eat dinner with her and herhusband whenever Elisha traveled through Shunem.One day the woman shared an idea with her husband.2 Kings 4:9-10And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy manof God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upperroom on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and achair and a lamp stand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he canturn in there.”This Shunammite woman was so fond of Elisha that she and herhusband decided to build a guest room for him and furnish it with abed, a table, a chair and a lamp. They wanted to show Elishakindness and hospitality.2 Kings 4:11-12And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to theupper room and lay down there. Then he said to Gehazi his servant,“Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stoodbefore him.The next time Elisha arrived, the lady showed him his new room.Elisha was so thankful for her kindness, he asked the lady what hecould do for her.2 Kings 4:13And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned forus with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak onyour behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” And sheanswered, “I dwell among my own people.”Prophets Lesson #6 Page 31

Elisha Raises a Dead Boy to Life 2 Kings 4:8-37Elisha wanted to return kindness to the woman, but she told him thatshe was happy with what she had and didn’t need anything else.2 Kings 4:14So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered,“Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.”Even though she told Elisha that she didn’t need anything, he stillwanted to do something for her. When Gehazi told Elisha that thewoman was childless, it gave him an idea of how to bless her.2 Kings 4:15-16And he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in thedoorway. Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace ason.” And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to yourmaidservant!”The prophet promised the birth of a son. The Shunammite womanand her husband were old; they had given up all hope of ever havingchildren. This news was too good to be true! Children are a gift fromGod. She said to Elisha, “Don’t be kidding me about this!”Then it happened just as Elisha promised. The Lord gave her a sonas a special gift. Can you imagine how very happy this made thewoman? God had promised her a son and He was faithful to keep thatpromise.But that’s not the end of the story. The baby grew into a boy. Then,one morning something terrible happened to this little boy.2 Kings 4:18-19So the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to hisfather, to the reapers. And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” Sohe said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.”Quickly a servant carried the boy back to the house.2 Kings 4:20-21When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on herknees till noon, and then died. And she went up and laid him on the bedof the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out.The woman held her son on her lap. But about noontime, the boydied. How sad, her promised son was dead.What went wrong? Had God broken His promise? When somethingbad happens that you don’t understand, is God still in control?[Teacher, discuss hard situations the children are facing at home,school, and so on.] Even in these hard situations, God is faithful, Healways keeps His promises. God has promised to love us with aneverlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3) and that He will never leave us(Hebrews 13:5).God loves you and is always with you, no matter what happens.Hebrews 13:6 says, “The Lord is my helper.” He will help you throughthe hard times. He promises that “all things work together for good”(Romans 8:28). Somehow, some way, He will cause good to comeout of the worst situation.Do you think the Shunammite woman wondered what good wouldcome out of this situation as she held her dead son in her arms? Thismother was so sad! She carried the boy upstairs to Elisha’s room andlaid him on the bed.Then she decided to get on her fastest donkey and go find Elisha.She hadn’t lost hope; she trusted that God had a plan.2 Kings 4:24Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive and goforward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.”She wanted to get there as fast as she could.When the mother arrived, she told Elisha all that had happened, andabout the cold little form that lay on his bed.Page 32 Prophets Lesson #6

2 Kings 4:8-37 Elisha Raises a Dead Boy to Life2 Kings 4:29Then he said to Gehazi, “Get yourself ready, and take my staff in yourhand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, do not greet him; and ifanyone greets you, do not answer him; but lay my staff on the face of thechild.”Elisha told his servant to run as fast as he could to the dead boy andnot to get distracted by anyone along the way. Then he tells him to doa strange thing: lay his staff across the boys face.2 Kings 4:31Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of thechild; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back tomeet him, and told him, saying, “The child has not awakened.”As soon as Elisha got to the house he went upstairs. He entered hisroom, shut the door and prayed.2 Kings 4:32-33And when Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead onhis bed. He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, andprayed to the Lord.He knew that only God had the power to bring this promised son backto life, and he believed that God would.Hard things will happen in your life that you won’t understand. ButGod is faithful—that means He will always do what He has promised.You can depend on Him no matter what. He is in control of everysituation. Sometimes things don’t always turn out the way you want orexpect. But you can still thank God that He loves you and that He iswith you and will help you. You can trust that He has the power tocause good to come out of bad situations.As Elisha stood by the bedside of the dead little boy, he believedGod’s power could bring this boy back to life.2 Kings 4:34And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, hiseyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himselfout on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm.The body of the boy began to grow warm. But, there was still no signof life.2 Kings 4:35He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went upand stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times,and the child opened his eyes.Elisha stretched himself again upon the child. Suddenly the boyawoke, sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.2 Kings 4:36-37And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So hecalled her. And when she came into him, he said, “Pick up your son.” Soshe went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she picked upher son and went out.Elisha, by God’s power, brought this little boy back to life! Herpromised son was alive! What other promised Son did God bring backto life? (Jesus!)The Shunammite woman had trusted God even in this hard situation.When you are having a hard time at home or school, you can trustthat God will cause good to come out of what seems like a badsituation. God is faithful.The woman fell at Elisha’s feet and bowed to the ground to show hergratefulness to God. Then she picked up her son. God had given himto her once and now He had given the son back to the mother asecond time. God is a faithful God! He always keeps His promises.Prophets Lesson #6 Page 33

Elisha Raises a Dead Boy to Life 2 Kings 4:8-37Closing PrayerFather, we want to thank You for always being there for us when wego through difficult situations. Teach us to trust that You can turn thebad things in our lives into blessings. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.Learning ActivitiesCraft CornerThank-You CardsMaterials: Construction paper; markers, variety of materials todecorate cards (stickers, glitter glue, puff paint, ribbon, decorativeedgescissors, textured paper, dried flowers, buttons, etc.)In our lesson today, Elisha said Thank you to the Shunammite womanby asking God to give her a son. What are some ways we can sayThank you and show God’s love to someone who has been kind tous? (Bake cookies for them. Give them a present. Invite them to dosomething fun with you. Help them with something they have to do.)Today we’re going to make Thank-You cards for someone you’d liketo bless.[Teacher, send home a letter to the parents explaining that the cardmade in class is meant to be sent to someone the family wishes tothank. Encourage parents to work with their child to do something kindfor the person they wish to thank.]Game CenterUse the following questions in a game of your choice:1. What was the name of the town where the woman lived thatElisha often visited? (Shunem.)2. What did the woman and her husband do to show God’s love toElisha? (They built him and his servant a guest room and invitedhim to stay with them.)3. What did Elisha do to show God’s love to the Shunammite family?(He thanked them and asked God to give them a son.)4. In what ways can we show God’s love to each other? (Pray foreach other. Help each other. Think about other’s feelings. Do whatsomeone else wants. Give up something you care about to helpsomeone else. Be kind.)5. What terrible thing happened to the little boy? (He died.)6. Does God ever break a promise? (No!)7. What are some of the promises of God? (He will love us with aneverlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3); He will never leave us or forsakeus (Hebrews 13:5); that He’ll be our helper (Hebrews 13:6); allthings work together for good (Romans 8:28))8. What did the woman do with the body of her son after he died?(She carried him up to Elisha’s room and laid him on the bed.)9. After she laid the boy on Elisha’s bed, what did the woman do?(She saddled up her fastest donkey and went to find Elisha.)10. What did Elisha tell his servant to do? (Run as fast as he could tothe dead boy and lay his staff on the face of the child.)11. What did Elisha do when he got to the house? (He entered theroom, shut the door and prayed.)12. After he prayed, what did Elisha do to bring warmth back to theboy’s body? (He lay on the child and put his mouth on his mouth,his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. He stretchedhimself out on the child.)Page 34 Prophets Lesson #6

Elisha Raises a Dead Boy to Life 2 Kings 4:8-37Page 36 Prophets Lesson #6