John 4:1-30
A Samaritan woman meets the Messiah at a watering well. Jesus reveals Himself by operating in words of knowledge, telling the woman about her personal life. She believes and goes and shares the new of Christ with her city.
2 Kings 4-5
Josephus, a Jewish historian, says that this widow was prophet Obadiah’s wife. Elisha. She gathers vessels and God continues to fill them all with oil, providing money to care for the widow and her sons.
In verses 8-37, Elisha raises a Shunammite’s son from the dead. The Shunammite woman had been providing housing for the prophet. When we honor those that God honors, God will honor us.
In verses 38-41, Elisha performs a miracle of purifying a pot of stew, and in verses 42-44, God multiplies food to feed 100 people.
In chapter 5, God heals a Syrian commander named Naaman from leprosy. The prophet required the king to wash seven times in the Jordan River. God was looking for obedient action to be applied to reliant faith. We should do the same.
Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, sees the commander wanted to compensate Elisha for the miracle God performed, and Elisha refused to profit from the miracle. When Gehazi sees that Elisha refused to profit from the anointing, he decided he would. When he tried to gain from the anointing, Gehazi received the same sickness Naaman had. The sin was greed. The sin was trying to profit from the anointing.
The Bible is also very clear that someone who gives their life’s work to the church or ministry should receive wages from those people. The difference between Scriptures on compensation? One is about greed and manipulation of the power of God. The other is honor for leader and their position to serve our King and His kingdom.
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