Neville Goddard on 2 Kings 4:18-44 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read 2 Kings 4 in context

Scripture Focus

18And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.

19And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.

20And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.

21And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.

22And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.

23And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

24Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.

25So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:

26Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.

27And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.

28Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?

29Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.

30And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.

31And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.

32And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.

33He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.

34And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.

35Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

36And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.

37Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.

38And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.

39And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.

40So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.

41But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

42And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.

43And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.

44So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.

2 Kings 4:18-44

Biblical Context

A Shunammite woman's son dies; she seeks Elisha and he revives him. Later, Elisha purifies a pot of pottage and feeds a hundred using loaves and firstfruits, demonstrating providence.

Neville's Inner Vision

Your consciousness opens to life when the inner voice of the man of God—your higher state—enters your house and is believed. The child represents a held notion of life already given, now 'dead' under the weight of fear and doubt. When the mother says, 'It shall be well,' she is not speaking of conditions but invoking a fixed inner assumption. Elisha's act of laying himself on the child, mouth to mouth, hands to hands, is the symbolic method by which the I AM—your mindful life—reunites the separated states of consciousness. The delay of answer, the staff placed on the face, and the lack of response until the inner alignment shifts, show that the miracle arises from inner works: belief, patience, and fidelity to the inner prompt. The later episodes—the pot of pottage with death in it, then the remedy of meal—and the bread from firstfruits—illustrate that abundance is already inside your being and simply needs proper revision. When you act from the one presence, you feed many; when you see only lack, you starve the soul. The miracles occur as you persist in the inner agreement that 'The LORD liveth, and thy soul liveth.'

Practice This Now

Close your eyes, place a hand on your chest, and declare 'It is well with me now.' Feel the life returning as if the 'child' in you awakens; revise any sense of lack by repeating 'The LORD liveth, and thy soul liveth' until the feeling of abundance is real.