Elisha, the prophet
As a kid, I remember reading bible stories and I think several of them involved Elisha and Elijah the prophets. The story of Elisha the prophet is an interesting one and it actually starts with Elijah the prophet which is a bit confusing. It becomes even more confusing to tell them apart because similar things happen to both of them. Elijah was a very well-known prophet even up to the time of Jesus. He was the one they thought Jesus was calling for from the cross when he was crying out “Eloi Eloi” [EE-LO-EYE]. The story of Elijah is mainly covered in 1 Kings and that of Elisha in 2 Kings. Elijah lived in during the reign of the evil Israelite king Ahab who was bad enough to sacrifice his own sons. In general, God was with Elijah very closely to the point where Elijah was able to call down fire from heaven on two groups of fifty men who'd come to take him to Ahab. The third group of fifty men were much more humble.
A couple of things to note. Elisha and Elijah were prophets. In much the same way that the apostles performed miracles to prove that they were from God, the prophets also did some miracles Another general thing to know is that the prophets at this point apparently traveled in a pretty large group...perhaps around a hundred.
As we look at the story of Elisha in 2 Kings, we should remember that it switches back and forth looking at Israel and Judah, just so there's no confusion.
2 Kings 2
Around the time just before Elijah was to be taken up to heaven, Elisha was following him. Some of the prophets in the big group told asked Elisha if he knew that Elijah was soon going to be taken from him. Elisha told them yes he knew it. Please don't talk about it. Elijah told Elisha to stay where he was because God was sending Elijah to Jordan. Elisha wouldn't leave his side though. Elijah rolls up his cloak and strikes the Jordan river with it. The ground is left dry for them to walk across.
Let's turn and read about what happens next.
2 Kings 2
9 When they had crossed,
Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I
am taken from you?"
"Let me inherit a double portion of
your spirit," Elisha replied.
10 "You have
asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me
when I am taken from you, it will be yours-otherwise not."
11
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot
of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them,
and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw
this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and
horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took
hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.
This was a close friendship Elisha and Elijah had. This was no small thing for Elijah to be taken from him. But everyone soon realizes that Elisha got what he asked for and that the spirit of Elijah is resting on him. The group of prophets that are with them think that Elijah might have just been taken and placed somewhere else where they could find him. Elisha tells them not to bother searching for Elijah but they insist. They come back three days later without finding them and Elisha says, “I told you so.”
In Jericho they are having a problem with the water being unfit to drink. Elisha throws some salt into the spring and the water becomes safe to drink.
After this, something strange happens. Some youths start making fun of Elisha, calling him a bald head. This is the wrong guy to make fun of. Elisha calls down a curse on them and a bear comes and takes down 42 of them.
2 Kings 3
After this, the king of Moab rebels against the king of Israel. God brings together three other kings from Israel, Judah, and Edom to overthrow him. Unfortunately, they become stranded without any water in the middle of nowhere. They call on Elisha and he brings a message from the Lord that if they fill the valley with ditches, God will fill them all with water for them to drink. Not only that, but God will hand over Moab to them and they'll destroy their land. The next morning, sure enough, there is water all over the place. The Moabites think that the water is blood and that the kings have slaughtered eachother so they move out against Israel. Israel runs over them and their land. At the height of the battle, the king of Moab sacrifices his own son on the city wall. Strangely, we read in 2 Kings 3:27
“The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land. “
2 Kings 4
A man from among the prophets died, leaving his wife and sons to fend for themselves. A creditor was going to take the woman's sons as slaves for payment. She begged Elisha to help her so he told her to take a little oil, which was all she had, and pour it into as many jars as she could get hold of. Because of this miracle of a little oil being multiplied, she was able not only to pay off the creditor but to live off of it after that. This was very similar to a miracle around the time of Elijah in which a woman thought she and her son were going to starve to death. In the same way, Elijah told her that she would miraculously have flour and oil would last through a drought.
And then another thing happens that is very similar between the two prophets. There was a woman who arranged for Elisha to stay in a room on their roof everytime he came through town. For the woman's kindness, Elisha told her she'd have a son though she didn't quite believe him. A year later she had a baby son. The baby grew up into a child but died. Elisha stretches himself out over the boy and he comes back to life and sneezes several times for some reason. This is also really similar to something that happened to Elijah when he was staying with the family of the woman with the jars of flour and oil. The woman's son dies and Elijah cries out to God to save him. Elijah stretches himself out over the boy three times and God returns the boy's life to him.
After this, during a famine, there is a pot of stew being shared by some of the prophets. Someone puts a poisonous plant into the stew thinking it was just an herb. They start eating it and realize it's poisoned. Elisha tells them to put some flour into it and it becomes safe to eat.
Later, a man comes and offers twenty loaves of bread to Elisha but Elisha tells him to give it to the hundred men who were there. The man thinks it's impossible to feed all these men with so little. But Elisha tells him that the Lord says not only will it be enough, but there will be some left over. Sure enough, there is. This reminds us of Jesus' miracles, turning a small amount of food into a much greater amount. Jesus did even more with even less food.
2 Kings 5
After this, there is a powerful army commander, Namaan, who is sent by the king of Aram to ask Elisha to heal him of leprosy. Namaan becomes angry when, instead of doing something majestic to heal him, he sends a messenger to tell Namaan to bathe seven times in the Jordan. He didn't even come out to meet him in person! Namaan is initially too proud to do this but his servant talks him into it. Sure enough, he's healed of his leprosy and praises God for it. He offers a gift to Elisha but it's refused and he goes on his way. Elisha has a servant named Gehazi who does something foolish at this point. He thinks that Elisha let Namaan off too easy without taking a gift from him so he goes after Naaman to get a gift from him. Namaan gives him some money and clothes and Gehazi returns to Elisha. Elisha asks him what he was doing. “Oh, nothing. Nothing.” Elisha tells him exactly what he was doing and that he knows all about it and bribe he took from Namaan. You can't fool God's prophet. Elisha tells Gehazi that he will inherit Namaan's leprosy. Sure enough, his skin becomes white with leprosy.
2 Kings 6
The company of prophets that was with Elisha decided that the place where they were meeting with him was too small for them. They decided to build a place for themselves to meet near the Jordan river. As one of them was chopping wood with a borrowed iron axe, the axe head fell off. Elisha threw a stick there on the water and the iron floated to the surface.
Around this time, the king of Aram was at war with Israel. This king would talk to his officers about where they would set up camp. Elisha would send word to the king of Israel about where the king of Aram was setting up his camp and that he sould avoid that place. This happened time and again and the king of Aram became suspicious that he had a traitor in hs hands. One of his officers told him about Elisha and how he was telling the king of Israel what the king of Aram was saying in his bedroom. The king of Aram told them to go Israel and capture Elisha. They sent a big force out to surround the city during the night. Elisha's servant was very frightened and asks what they're going to do. But, strangely, Elisha says that there are more with them than with the king of Aram had surrounding the city. Elisha asked God to open his servant's eyes so that he could see. The hills were covered with horses and chariots of fire. As the army of Aram came to attack, Elisha prayed that they be struck blind and that's what happened. Elisha told them they were in the wrong place and he would lead them to the man they were looking for. He took them to Samaria. Elisha asked God to open there eyes. A very unpleasant surprise was waiting for them. The king of Israel was there and he was asking Elisha if he should kill them. Elisha told him not to, but to give them food and water and send them on their way back to Aram. Aram quit raiding Israel's territory after that.
Some time after this, Ben-Hadad who was the king of Aram sent his entire army against Samaria in a siege that lasted so long that the price of food became so inflated that hardly anyone could afford it. They were running out of food. It was terrible. The king of Israel sees the terrible state that they're in and becomes angry with Elisha for some reason. He confronts Elisha and Elisha tells him that this time tomorrow, that food would be affordable again. One of the king's officers asks how this would be possible even if God were to open heaven's floodgate. Elisha says not only will there be food again, but that this officer wouldn't eat any of it.
There were four men with leprosy outside the city gates. They weren't allowed into the city because of their leprosy. They were trying to figure out what to do...they figured they'd die either way. So, they decided to go to the Aramean camp and surrender to them, depending on any mercy they might show them. They headed over there and were amazed to find the camp empty. God had frightened the Arameans out with the sound of horses and chariots and a great army. The Arameans thought that the king of Israel had hired the Hittites and Egyptians against them so they had fled. These four lepers not only found the camp empty, but were eating and drinking there and carrying away silver, gold, and clothes. They began to fill guilty about not immediately telling the rest of the people who were blockaded in the city, so they went and told the men at the gate about it. The gatekeepers told everyone else and the news got to the king of Israel. The king suspected an ambush. He sent out some scouts to see what was going on and the scouts found clothes and equipment on the road. The Arameans must have been very frightened. You can only imagined what God must have made them hear. The scouts returned to the king with their report and the people of the city plundered the Aramean camp. The officer who hadn't believe this would be possible was put in charge of the gate and the people trampled him on the way out. So, it was true what Elisha had told him.
2 Kings 8
There was the woman who's son Elisha had raised from the dead. Elisha warned her about the 7 year famine so she went to the land of the Phillistines for 7 years. Incidentally, 7 years later, the king is talking to Elisha's servant, Gehazi. I'm not sure if this was before or after Gehazi got leprosy....but anyway, Gehazi is telling the king how Elisha raised a woman's son from the dead. Who walks in the door but that same woman. The king assigned someone to see that the woman's property and all the income from her land during the 7 years is given back to her.
Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram was ill at this time and Elisha is headed out there. The king sends out forty camel loads of gifts to Elisha with a servant, Hazael, to ask the question, "will I recover?" Elisha tells the messenger that the king will recover but that God had revealed to him that the king would die. Elisha was staring at the messenger Hazael until Hazael became embarassed. Elisha started to cry and Hazael asked him what he was crying about. Elisha says it's because of the harm that Hazael will do to Israel when he becomes king of Aram. Hazael can hardly believe it. Him? King of Aram? So Hazael goes back to the king and tells him Elisha said he'll recover. But the next day, Hazael puts a thick cloth soaked with water over the kings face. The king passes away and Hazael does indeed become king.
Jehoram became king of Judah. He was an evil king but God didn't want to destroy Judah for this for David's sake. He had said that he would maintain a lamp for David and his descendents forever. Edom rebelled against Judah and Jehoram went out with his army and chariots. He was surrounded but escaped during the night. His army also fled back to Judah. Edom continued in rebellion against Judah. Jehoram's evil son, Ahaziah reigned briefly for about a year after that.
2 Kings 9
Elisha sent one of the prophets to secretly anoint Jehu king of Israel. Jehu was going to overtake Ahab as the king of Israel and God would cut Ahab off as well as his wife Jezebel. The prophet anointed him and told him about all of this and fled as Elisha had told him to. When Jehu's companions asked what the man had said, he just said the man is crazy...you know the sort of things he'd say. The companions knew it was more serious than that and they asked him to tell him what he said. Jehu gives in and tells them that he was anointed king of Israel and they blow a trumpet and shout that Jehu is king. Imagine how nervous Jehu probably is at this point to have people openly saying that he's going to be king and overthrow the current king. Perhaps you've seen that kind of person. "Hey, whatcha got in the bag? Is that fishing pole a surprise birthday present for Timmy over here?"
Anyway, Hazael is now king of Aram and Jehoram and his son Ahaziah were fighting against him. Jehu whom the prophet had just anointed king of Israel rides toward them in the city of Jezreel. They send out a messenger to ask him if he comes in peace. Jehu asks the messenger what he has to do with peace and tells him to fall in behind them. The lookout in Jezreel reports that the messenger went out to him but isn't coming back so Joram and Ahaziah ride out to meet him to ask if he's come in peace. Jehu asks how there can be peace when the land is full of idolatry and witchcraft. Jehoram and Ahaziah realize it's a trap and try to flee but they don't escape Jehu. Jezebel, Ahab's wife comes to a gruesome end herself. And so an end comes to several evil but powerful people.
2 Kings 10
Not only this, but Jehu sees that the whole house of Ahab is wiped out as the prophet Elijah had prophesied.
Jehu comes to the ministers of Baal with a trick. He said, "Ahab served Baal (a false god) a little. I will serve him a lot." Jehu tells them to arrange for all the prophets and ministers and priests of Baal to have an assembly. He has them all crowded into the temple of Baal, making sure there are no servants of the Lord and has them destroyed. Unfortunately, even after he does all of these things that God had wanted him to do, he still doesn't turn away from the sins of earlier kings. God tells him that he will allow his descendants to sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. God begins to reduce the size of Israel because Hazael overpowers the Israelite territory.
2 Kings 11
After this, Joash, the son of Ahaziah is rescued from a plot against the royal family. He becomes king of Judah.
2 Kings 12
Joash arranges for the repair of the Lord's temple which is good. However, he fails to take down the high places where sacrifices to idols were made. When Hazael, the king of Aram comes to attack Judah, he uses what was in the treasuries of the Lord's temple to buy him off. In the end, his own officials conspired to assassinate him and his son, Azamiah succeeds him.
2 Kings 13
Jehoahaz becomes king of Israel. He does evil in God's eyes and God allows Hazael to overpower Israel. Jehoahaz seeks God and asks for help and God helps them. But they don't turn away from their idolatry.
Jehoash [these kings need more original names, don't they?] becomes king of Israel in Samaria. He's an evil king.
We'd gotten sort of sidetracked away from the story of Elisha here so now we get back to him.
Elisha is ill near the end of his life here. Jehoash comes to him and weeps over him worried about the state that Israel is in because of Aram being against them. Elisha tells him to shoot an arrow out of the window and says it is the Lord's arrow of victory over Aram. He would see that the Arameans are completely destroyed. Then he tells Jehoash to strike some arrows on the ground. Jehoash knocks the arrows three times. Elisha becomes angry and says that he should have struck them six times. Because he only struck them three times, he will defeat Aram only three times instead of completely.
After this, Elisha dies.
We've seen Elisha go through some interesting times. They were not good times. He saw Israel in such hard times of famine and also as the vicitims of their own evil. But he knew what was right all along. He knew what was best for Israel...that they should follow the Lord if only they would do it! We might imagine his frustration with them. And likewise today, as Christians, we can read in the bible about what is best for us if only we would do it. Will we?