DEBT FREEDOM

1. The Widow's Oil (2 Kings 4:1-7 NLT)

1One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord . But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”

2"What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied.

3And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. 4Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.”

5So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another.

6Soon every container was full to the brim! “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons. “There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing.

7When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.” (NLT - New Living Translation)

@1. Highlights:

a) This story is about 'oil kept flowing' to settle debts to a creditor because the widow was about to lose her two sons.

b) A similar miracle about 'oil kept flowing' is found in 1 Kings 17: 7 - 16: Elijah & the widow of Zarepthath and in this case is about starvation.

2. What can we learn?

a) Facts:

i) The debtor (a prophet) died and he did not settle his debts. The outstanding debts were passed on to his family (a wife & 2 sons) who had to service it. The deceased prophet did not leave any inheritance except a flask of olive oil. That's what the widow got!

ii) The creditor had come threatening to take her 2 sons as slaves. The widow was in no position to settle the debts. In Leviticus 25:39-43, poor people and debtors were allowed to pay their debts by selling themselves or their children as slaves.

@1. 39“If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell himself to you, do not treat him as a slave. 40Treat him instead as a hired worker or as a temporary resident who lives with you, and he will serve you only until the Year of Jubilee. 41At that time he and his children will no longer be obligated to you, and they will return to their clans and go back to the land originally allotted to their ancestors. 42The people of Israel are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, so they must never be sold as slaves. 43Show your fear of God by not treating them harshly. (Leviticus 25:39-43 NLT)

iii) In desperation, the widow came to prophet Elisha for help as she had no one to turn to.

b) There are specific instructions given.

i) The first instruction given to the widow from Elisha was, "What do you have in your house?" The widow replied, "Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil."

ii) What was Elisha's second instructions?

@1. The widow was instructed to borrow as many empty jars as she could from her friends and neighbors. (Make sure that we have many good and reliable friends and neighbors).

@2. The widow was instructed to go into her house with her sons and shut the door behind them and poured olive oil from her flask into the jars, setting each aside when it was filled. Why? Because when people knew of what she and her sons would be doing, they would laugh at them! That's why they needed to do behind closed door.

c) The widow''s faith & obedience releases a miracle.

i) Did the widow have faith in Elisha and obey every of his instructions? The answer is definitely "Yes". Because she obeyed and did exactly what Elisha, the prophet had said, she experienced a miracle of oil kept flowing into the empty jars.

@1. Jesus said to his 12 disciples, 40"He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:40-42 NKJV)

@2. So they (Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem) rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Te-kōa; and as they went out, Je-hosha-phat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” (II Chronicles 20:20 NKJV)

ii) When every empty jar was filled to the brim, the widow asked one of her sons to bring one more empty jar. The son replied there weren't anymore and then the olive oil stopped flowing.

@1. Because the sons could not borrow any more empty jars, the miracle stopped. If we do not want our miracles to stop, we need to continually do what the Lord has asked us to do even we see the facts in front of our eyes that are just the opposite. When we have admitted our limitations, the miracles will stop flowing! The fact is not about our limitations, but his strength and abundance in resources.

d) The widow seeks further advice.

i) The widow went back to Elisha and told him what happened. She received further advice to sell the olive oil and pay her debts, and she and her sons could live on what was leftover.

e) Conclusion

i) Not only a miracle of oil kept flowing to settle the widow's debts but also provided her daily needs. When God performs a miracle, that miracle will always be more than enough.

3. Prayer focus

a) Pray that God will give us debt free anointing so that we can truly experience financial favors, and debt freedom.