Elisha and this woman have a bond—the strings-attached kind of bond that we in the West sometimes avoid. This bond ties them together so that years later, Elisha protects her again. First, Elisha tells her to leave the land for seven years because a famine is coming. Second, in her absence, others seize her house and lands. When she returns to the land, she appeals to the king (2 Kings 8:3). Elisha steps in to intercede on behalf of his client; he provides a service as her patron.10 His servant Gehazi tells the king that she is the woman for whom Elisha worked miracles. The king sees she is
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