Neville Goddard on 2 Kings 4:1-17 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read 2 Kings 4 in context

Scripture Focus

1Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

2And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

3Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

4And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.

5So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.

6And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.

7Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

8And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.

9And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.

10Let 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.

11And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.

12And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.

13And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.

14And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.

15And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.

16And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.

17And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.

2 Kings 4:1-17

Biblical Context

A widow asks Elisha for help; she is told to borrow empty vessels and pour oil, which fills each vessel until no more can be found. The surplus oil is sold to pay debts and provide for her family.

Neville's Inner Vision

Picture the widow as your current state of consciousness within the I AM. Fear of lack presses in, yet there lies a small pot of oil—the symbolic presence of infinite supply. Elisha asks, What do you have in the house? The answer is not wealth but potential; borrow vessels from the neighbors—opening yourself to every facet of life where life can flow. When you retreat behind the door of quiet attention and pour, the consciousness pours into each vessel, filling them one by one. The oil holds when no vessel remains, teaching that your interior life is not dependent on outside abundance, but on the release of awareness already within. Sell the oil, pay the debt—your debts dissolve as you recognize provision is the nature of your I AM, and you and your children live on the rest. The Shunammite's act of building a chamber for the man of God becomes your inner space for inspiration; as you invite the holy presence to dwell in you, the promised son—your sense of future fulfillment—arises in due season. In short: belief, not circumstance, births provision.