Now the wife of a member of the company of prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.” Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house, except a jar of oil.” He said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not just a few. Then go in, and shut the door behind you and your children, and start pouring into all these vessels; when each is full, set it aside.” So she left him and shut the door behind her and her children; they kept bringing vessels to her, and she kept pouring. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” But he said to her, “There are no more.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your children can live on the rest” (2 Kings 4:1-7).
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3).
Those who are poor in spirit comprise individuals who are utterly devoid of material benefits and who know their compete dependence upon God for their daily bread and their spiritual needs. The Greek word ptōchos for “poor” refers to the destitute, the homeless. How true it is that more than anyone, the truly needy know their need for God more than those who have plenty. God warns his people in the Old Testament not to forget God in times of prosperity...
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