The account of the multiplication of the oil by Elisha draws our attention to an interesting detail. The oil stopped flowing when the widow and her son ran out of vessels to contain it. Is this just an incidental circumstantial detail or is there a message in this? We need to be careful about reading too much into an event like this, but we should also expect to see more in a biblical miracle than just a miracle. These works of God were never just wonders, they were also signs. Given the fact that oil was often used as a symbol for the Holy Spirit the narrator may be giving us something to think about here. This is what the story made me think about: throughout the Bible, God’s act of giving is always concurrent with a willingness to receive. God wants to give his greatest gift, the gift of his Holy Spirit, to us in abundance (Luke 11:13). But as Jesus teaches us in Luke 11:9-13 this gift requires receptive vessels. We receive to the extent that we are receptive. Being receptive means recognising how much we need what God wants to give. If God’s gift is only relatively important to us, then we cannot really accept it for what it is. Only those who hunger and thirst will be filled (5:6). There were not many receptive people in Israel during Elisha’s ministry. But all those who came to God with willing hearts were filled. The blessings flowed so long as there were willing hearts to fill. The widow in this story was one of these willing few.
How desperate are you to walk with God and be filled by his Holy Spirit? Seek him.
Read 2 Kings 4:1-7
