God’s work sometimes requires our patient trust, even when initial efforts seem to fail.
“Then Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the lad’s face, but there was no sound or response. So he returned to meet him and told him, ‘The lad has not awakened.’” (2 Kings 4:31)
In this passage, we see Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, acting under the prophet’s directive as he hurries ahead of Elisha and the Shunammite woman in an effort to raise her son (2 Kings 4:29). Elisha, who ministered to the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the mid-ninth century B.C., had received a plea from the Shunammite woman to help her child, who had tragically died (2 Kings 4:20). “Then Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the lad’s face” (v.31) reveals Gehazi’s faithful attempt to fulfill Elisha’s command by using the prophet’s staff—an object that sometimes served as a representation of God’s power working through His chosen messengers (Exodus 4:2-4). The location, near Shunem in the Jezreel Valley, was home to the Shunammite woman, who had shown hospitality to Elisha earlier in the chapter.
However, “there was no sound or response” (v.31) when Gehazi placed the staff on the boy, demonstrating that no change occurred at this point. Gehazi’s quick return to Elisha suggests an urgency in seeking a solution to the unresponsive child. “So he returned to meet him and told him, ‘The lad has not awakened’” (v.31) underscores not only the continuation of the problem but also sets the stage for Elisha himself to intervene. This moment highlights that while God sometimes uses people or objects to enact His miracles, the outcome always remains under His sovereign power—an important reminder of the Lord’s authority over life and death.
This foreshadows Elisha’s direct involvement in raising the child to life (2 Kings 4:34-35). The narrative also reminds us of related miracles of resurrection in Scripture, such as Jesus raising the widow’s son at Nain (Luke 7:11-17), which further emphasizes God’s compassion for the hurting and His power to restore. Elisha’s ministry here foreshadows Jesus’ own miracles over death, reinforcing the overarching biblical theme that God holds authority over every circumstance, no matter how final it may seem.
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2 Kings 4:31 meaning
“Then Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the lad’s face, but there was no sound or response. So he returned to meet him and told him, ‘The lad has not awakened.’” (2 Kings 4:31)
In this passage, we see Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, acting under the prophet’s directive as he hurries ahead of Elisha and the Shunammite woman in an effort to raise her son (2 Kings 4:29). Elisha, who ministered to the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the mid-ninth century B.C., had received a plea from the Shunammite woman to help her child, who had tragically died (2 Kings 4:20). “Then Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the lad’s face” (v.31) reveals Gehazi’s faithful attempt to fulfill Elisha’s command by using the prophet’s staff—an object that sometimes served as a representation of God’s power working through His chosen messengers (Exodus 4:2-4). The location, near Shunem in the Jezreel Valley, was home to the Shunammite woman, who had shown hospitality to Elisha earlier in the chapter.
However, “there was no sound or response” (v.31) when Gehazi placed the staff on the boy, demonstrating that no change occurred at this point. Gehazi’s quick return to Elisha suggests an urgency in seeking a solution to the unresponsive child. “So he returned to meet him and told him, ‘The lad has not awakened’” (v.31) underscores not only the continuation of the problem but also sets the stage for Elisha himself to intervene. This moment highlights that while God sometimes uses people or objects to enact His miracles, the outcome always remains under His sovereign power—an important reminder of the Lord’s authority over life and death.
This foreshadows Elisha’s direct involvement in raising the child to life (2 Kings 4:34-35). The narrative also reminds us of related miracles of resurrection in Scripture, such as Jesus raising the widow’s son at Nain (Luke 7:11-17), which further emphasizes God’s compassion for the hurting and His power to restore. Elisha’s ministry here foreshadows Jesus’ own miracles over death, reinforcing the overarching biblical theme that God holds authority over every circumstance, no matter how final it may seem.