One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.” 2 Kings 4:8-10
“Elisha passed to Shunem–now Sulam, in the plain of Esdraelon, at the southwestern base of Little Hermon. The prophet, in his journey, was often entertained here by one of its pious and opulent inhabitants.
Let us make a little chamber–not build, but prepare it. She meant a room in the porch, or gateway), attached to the front of the house, leading into the court and inner apartments.
The front of the house, excepting the door, is a dead wall, and hence this room is called a chamber in the wall. It is usually appropriated to the use of strangers, or lodgers for a night, and, from its seclusion, convenient for study.”
Robert Jamison in The Second Book of Kings (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary).
If you are reading this and you rank among the pious rich then take note today. We see the wealthy woman makes a chamber for the man of God.
In this dedicated space he could sleep or study. When couple with the generous nourishment of food, it would restore him for another season of service.
How might you make a little chamber for a servant of God?
One of my many mistakes during Covid was working from home. Then a kind pious rich person supplied me office space. It’s been especially good for zooms at odd hours.
The lesson for the wealthy man or woman today is to inquire of the needs of prophets today, that is, those who travel a lot and proclaim God’s truth in an itinerant manner.
Use what you have, fashion it to serve them.
Though I just returned from an overseas trip, I am up in the Rocky Mountains today with Simon Rattray of Project 114. He’s an Epaphras to me, a helper, in global ministry.
He’s visiting from Australia so we did a mini-retreat in the mountains for a couple nights to refresh him for his next season of service. We had no idea we’d be covered with a blanket of snow (pictured above).