1.

Put yourself in the shoes of the wife of the man described in verse 1.  How must she have felt about: 1) herself; 2) her two sons; 3) her husband; 4) Elisha; and 5) the Lord?  What do you think she might have meant when she said to Elisha: 1) “Your servant, my husband is dead;” 2) “you know that he revered the Lord;” 3) “But now his creditor is coming to take my two sons as his slaves”?  Why do you think the Lord allowed this to happen even to a man who served Him wholeheartedly? 

2.

Consider Elisha’s reply in verse 2a.  It seems like he could have stopped after saying, “How can I help you?”  So why do you think Elisha added, “Tell me, what do you have in your house?” (Mark 6:38)  What wisdom can we learn about how to overcome the dire circumstances of our lives?

3.

Consider what the woman said in verse 2b.  What do the following tell about her: 1) “Your servant has nothing there at all;” 2) “except a little oil.” 

4.

Elisha issued the woman some very unusual instructions.  What can we learn from the orders he gave her: 1) “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars;” 2) “Don’t ask for just a few;” 3) “Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons;” 4) “Pour the oil in the jars;” and 5) “as each is filled, put it to one side.”

5.

Verse 5 says, “She kept pouring.”  What do her actions teach us?

6. 

Consider the conversation between the woman and her son in verse 6.  When did the oil stop flowing?  What message can we learn here?

7.

When the woman reported back to Elisha, he instructed her further.  What do these instructions tell us about how to meet the needs we have in life? 1) “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts”;  2) “you and your sons can live on what is left.”