A Shunammite Blueprint For Motherhood
Text: 2 Kings 4:8-37
I would appreciate your attention as we read a rather long portion of Scripture about a very special woman in the Bible; the only woman who is called a great woman in the Bible. We are about to find out why.
READ 2 Kings 4:8-37.
Here we have the story of the Shunammite woman. This text is a wonderful text for Mother’s Day. In fact, I am sure you have heard a Mother’s Day sermon from a preacher using this text. In chapter two of 2 Kings, Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle and became a great man of God. The Bible says that he passed by the Shunammite woman’s house in chapter 4 and she constrained him to stop and eat with her and her husband. In course of time she came to the realization that Elisha was a great man of God. She wanted to do more than just feed him a meal when he came by. So she went to her husband and here was her plan.
2 Kings 4:9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
2 Kings 4:10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
This is the portion of the text that I wish to park at. Even though this woman was not yet a mother, what she did for Elisha creates an excellent blueprint for motherhood. She provided five things for this man of God: a chamber, a bed, a table, a stool and a candlestick. I want to take each of these five things and use them to lay out a blueprint for motherhood.
She Provided A Chamber – This Speaks of A Mother’s Place.
She loved the man of God so much that she made a place for him to dwell. She provided this little chamber so that he could have the comforts of home.
Titus 2:4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
Titus 2:5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Isn’t it amazing that the world thinks a stay-at-home mom is cursed but a stay-at-home dad is cute? In spite of what the world promotes, I’m here to say that no man can do half what a woman does in the home. God never made man to be the keeper of the home. Nobody can keep the chamber like the mother can.
Ask a man to get up in the middle of the night and sit with the fevered child.
Ask a man to rip the sheets off the bed, clean up the vomit, wash the clothes and change the diapers.
There’s no telling what kind of mess you will see. Only a mother can adequately provide a chamber, a place for the family to live in.
The blueprint for motherhood starts with the understanding that God’s plan and desire is for young married women to keep the chamber for her family.
Proverbs 31:27 She [the virtuous woman] looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
I am sure that Elisha never had to change the sheets, wash the dishes or replace the candle. Every time he showed up at the chamber, it was ready for him. The Shunammite woman was there to keep things in order. A mother should desire that for the place of her family as well.
Some mothers today are content to just lay down a meal every once in a while for their family. They aren’t concerned with preparing and maintaining a place the family can call home. What they don’t feel like doing, they dump on their husband. You would be amazed at how many husbands have chore lists given to them by their wife who is seldom at home long enough to write it down. They are too busy with their careers and their lives to be bothered with family and a house. They have accepted the lie of Satan that being a wife. mother, and homemaker is not good enough to make them feel appreciated, respected, and important.
2 Timothy 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, [led away from where? – from the home!]
2 Timothy 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Let me be bold to say that a woman who doesn’t have a secular job may still be a woman who fails to take care of her home responsibilities. The priority for a wife and mother is the HOME ENVIRONMENT. Every other responsibility is secondary to the duties of the home. Don’t let Satan drag you away from your primary duty as a wife and mother. He can do it very easily if you are not careful.
1 Timothy 5:13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
The Shunammite woman saw that she needed to do more for Elisha than give him a meal every now and then. That is why she prepared the chamber.
Every godly mother will desire to provide that chamber – that place for her family to reside and call home. The only way she can do that is to be at home taking care of her God-given duties in the home. Those duties are not easy. They are very, very hard. It takes a woman with courage, determination, desire, zeal, and a vision for pleasing God to be a keeper at home. But that is the desire of God for married women. It doesn’t mean you cannot be successful at doing things. It doesn’t mean you cannot be happy. On the contrary, women and particularly mothers, who take their God-given roles seriously, become the most valuable part of the home life for their family.
She Provided A Bed – This Speaks of A Mother’s Protection.
There’s nothing like the safety and comfort of your own bed. Let’s apply this symbolically to a mother’s protection. It is no coincidence that when a child bumps his head, cuts his arm and scrapes his knee, he comes running home to momma. She is his protection. That is what she ought to be in the home.
1 Timothy 5:14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
This verse speaks of the adversary having occasion to speak against the home. A mother is to protect the reputation of the home from Satan’s attacks. She does this by being the primary guardian and guide of the home. She will be the first to spot Satan’s influence and infiltration into the home environment most of the time because she spends the most time in the home. There is so much advantage in the wife being at home away from the influences of the world. If she is not in the world she won’t become desensitized to worldly influences. This helps her protect the home. There is certainly much to protect in the home.
She is the protector of her children’s affections.
Colossians 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Mother’s have the great opportunity to turn the hearts of their children toward heaven as they see her praising God and serving the Lord with her life. A mother sets the tone in the home.
She is the protector of her children’s associations.
Because she is with her children she can protect them from becoming associated with other children or people who would be negative influencers in their life. We are forced to do this with our children even on vacation when we visit relatives. There are some in our family that we don’t want anywhere near our children because we know the kind of life they are living. Children need protection from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Fathers are usually not as sensitive to those influences as mothers are.
Proverbs 31:14 She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
Proverbs 31:15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She Provided A Table – This Speaks of A Mother’s Provision.
A Godly mother is truly a master of many trades.
As a teacher she instructs her children in the ways of life. Those that home-school must also supervise the learning environment.
As a housekeeper she has to provide an organized healthy home for her family.
As a seamstress she has to sew and hem and patch up holes.
As a beautician she has to cut hair, clip nails and clean dirty ears.
As a baker she has to prepare meals two or three times a day and make sure there are groceries in the cabinets to do it with. That’s an amazing feat when you consider how little money some women get from their husbands. Sir, you ought to give your wife all the funds and means she needs to do what God has called her to do. She is not a miracle worker. Dollars do not always stretch as far as you want them to. Give her enough to take care of you and your children and your home. Let her be what God called her to be, a provider!
As a nurse she has to tend to scrapes, scratches and cuts. She has to tend to fevers and aches and pains. She has to put up with whining and crying. And she has to do that for the children too.
As a therapist she has to sit and listen to all of his gripes and complaints about work and bills and everything else.
As a secretary she has to help him with various tasks that he would have her do throughout the week.
On top of all of this she has to be his friend and mate.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I praise God I am not a mother. I think I would drop dead if I had to do all of that!
It has been proven that women who leave the home to help support the family end up being more of a financial strain on the family than what she is bringing in. But money is not the important thing – at least it should not be. God made her to be a provider of many needed things in the home and He has equipped her for those tasks.
She Provided A Stool – This Speaks of A Mother’s Preparation.
Proverbs 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Proverbs 1:9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
Proverbs 1:10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
I mentioned a teacher in my last point. A mother is responsible to prepare her children for life outside of her home. She must mold the hearts and minds of her children in such a way that when the children reach the age where they will be around bad influences, they will be much more prepared to say no to sin. Let me show you something.
Proverbs 6:20 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Proverbs 6:21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
Proverbs 6:22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp [that’s the father]; and the law is light [that’s the mother]; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
What good is a lamp if there is no oil in it to give it light? What good is a father’s commandment if the mother is not there day after day to enforce those commandments? Those little minds need to be instructed in the things of God. The father is to provide the teaching for the family. That is the lamp, but the mother is the oil that allows the lamp to shine to provide light. She lights the flame.
Somebody said the dreams of children are in the hearts of mothers. A mother’s preparatory role in the home environment provides untold amounts of light to guide children into adulthood.
Proverbs 31:26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She Provided A Candle – This Speaks of A Mother’s Persistence.
Proverbs 31:17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
It takes a lot of physical strength to lug around babies and take care of the chores of the home.
It takes a lot of spiritual strength to bear the responsibilities of guiding the children in the home.
It takes a lot of emotional strength to deal with the crying of children and the crashing of broken dishes and all that happens in the home each and every day.
I will say one thing about men and women. Men get to come home from a day of work and relax, but it seems as though a woman’s labor is never done. She works hard all day and just when she thinks all of the laundry is caught up, in comes the children from playing outside. They jump in the shower and before she knows it, there is another laundry basket of clothes to be washed. But she persists and keeps on going. Just when she finishes cleaning up the kitchen, in comes her husband plopping another plate or glass, or whatever into the sink or on the counter. But she persists and keeps on going.
Proverbs 31:18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
That is probably why her candle goeth not out by night. It takes her that long to keep one step ahead of the chores and the children and her husband! The persistence of a godly mother is rewarded with the praises of her children and her husband. That makes it worth it all, doesn’t it?
Proverbs 31:28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
The Shunammite woman provided five things to the man of God. She gave him a chamber, a bed, a table, a stool and a candle. For all her work and faithfulness, God eventually gave the Shunammite woman a man child because of her desire to be a blessing to a man of God. Her actions have given us a great blueprint for motherhood. Each mother should provide her children a place, protection, provision, preparation and persistence.
If you are mother and you are providing these five things to your children, you have much to be praised for, and you should be praised. It is not easy or even popular to do right by your husband and children. In fact, over in chapter 8 the Shunammite woman was presented to the king just as he had learned of her son and the miracle that Elisha had done in raising him from the dead.
2 Kings 8:5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.
2 Kings 8:6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.
She was blessed by the king with a great reward. When the King of kings returns, every mother that has provided these five things to her children will be greatly rewarded as well!