Questions for Thought
- Why do people sometimes resist doing what God says for them to do?
- Is it wise to resit God?
- What lessons did Naaman learn?
Beginning in 2 Kings 4 and going through 5 are several miracles performed by God through Elisha. The first one is concerned with a widow of one of the prophets. The creditors were coming to collect and since she had nothing with which to pay, they were going to take her two sons. Elisha asked her what she had in the house. All she had was a pot of oil. Elisha told her to go and borrow all the empty containers she could find and fill them up with that oil. She did and then Elisha told her to sell it and pay the debt and she and her children could live off the rest. While we know God does not work in the same way today as He did through the prophets, this is a very good account to use in teaching the children how God takes care of His own people.
The next miracle recorded as performed through Elisha also takes place in 2 Kings 4. In this account, it seems Elisha frequently went through a place called Shunem on his way to Mount Carmel. A lady there realized Elisha was one of God’s prophets so she started fixing him a meal and he stopped in to eat on his trips. This lady had her husband make Elisha a small room in the upstairs with a bed, table, stool, and candlestick. On one of his stop overs, Elisha told his servant Gehazi to call the Shunammite woman to come upstairs. When she came, Elisha asked her what he could do for her. She didn’t want anything but when Elisha asked Gehazi what he could do for her, Gehazi said she didn’t have any children and her husband was old. Elisha called her again and told her she would have a son. She told Elisha he was a man of God and not to lie to her. Just as Elisha said, the woman had a son. When he was old enough to be out in the fields, one day he cried to his father with pain in his head. His dad sent him home with another lad. He sat on his mom’s knees until noon and he died. She took him up to Elisha’s room and laid him on the bed and told her husband to send her a servant to take her to the man of God. Her husband questioned her concerning why she needed to go. She did not tell him why, but she went. She told the servant to go fast.
Before the woman got to the mount, Elisha saw her and told Gehazi to run and see why she was coming. When she got to Elisha, she asked him if she had desired a son of him and she reminded him she had told him not to deceive her. Elisha did not know what had happened as God had not revealed it to him. He told Gehazi to take Elisha’s staff in his hand and go to the child not stopping for anyone. He was to lay the staff on the child’s face. Gehazi did so, but the child did not wake up. When Elisha got to the house, he saw the child was dead. He went in and shut the door and prayed to the Lord. Then he laid upon the child and his flesh warmed up and Elisha walked back and forth in the house and then laid upon the child again and the child came back to life and sneezed seven times. He gave the child back to his mother who fell at his feet in thanks. We will see this woman one more time before Elisha dies.
In another miraculous account, Elisha went to Gilgal where there was a famine. The sons of the prophets were gathered together and Elisha told his servant to put on a pot of pottage for them. He did and someone put in wild gourds, not knowing what the result would be. As they were eating the pottage, they cried out to Elisha there was death in the pot. He told them to bring him meal and he put it in the pot and there was no harm in the food.
Finally in chapter 4, a miracle similar to one Jesus performed with the bread and fish was done through Elisha. A man gave Elisha 20 loaves of barley and grain in a sack (King James Version says corn in the husk). Elisha told his servant to feed the people but his servant asked how that could feed 100 men. Elisha told him to set it before them and he did and they all ate and left some.
2 Kings 5 has the account of Naaman, the captain of the host of the king of Syria. Naaman was a very important man, but he had leprosy. This made him an outcast. Naaman’s wife had a slave girl from Israel. She told the wife about the prophet in Samaria, Elisha, who could heal Naaman. When the Syrian King heard about this prophet, he wrote a letter to the king of Israel asking him to heal Naaman. Of course the king could not do this and he thought the king of Syria was trying to pick a fight. Elisha heard about the situation and he sent a message to the king of Israel and told him to send Naaman to him and he would take care of it.
Naaman went to Elisha’s house and stood at his door. Instead of Elisha going out and healing Naaman, Elisha sent a messenger to tell Naaman to go and dip in the Jordan River seven times and he would be clean. Naaman was very angry. He left and complained because he thought Elisha would come out and strike his hand over the place and he would recover. He also complained about how much better other rivers were than the Jordan. Finally, one of his servants went to him and asked him if the prophet had told him to do some great thing would he not have done it. So why not go try what the prophet said. Naaman did. He went to the Jordan and dipped seven times and he came out clean.
Naaman went back to Elisha and told him he knew there was no other God in all the earth but in Israel. He wanted to give Elisha a blessing. Elisha refused but when his servant Gehazi saw Elisha would not take anything, he decided he would get something. He went after Naaman and told him Elisha had sent him because two young sons of the prophets had come and he wanted Naaman to give him two changes of garments and a talent of silver. Naaman insisted he take two talents and the garments. When Gehazi returned to Elisha, Elisha asked him where he had been. Gehazi said he had not gone anywhere and Elisha told him what he had done and said the leprosy of Naaman would be upon him and his seed forever.
In 2 Kings 6, is an account of another miracle where an ax floated. Some of the prophets wanted to build themselves another dwelling place. They asked Elisha and he told them to go ahead and build it. While they were cutting a tree, the ax came off of its handle and fell into the water. It was a borrowed ax and the one who was cutting the tree cried to Elisha. Elisha cut a stick and threw it to the water and the iron attached to it and swam to shore.
Continuing in Chapter 6 of 2 Kings, we find the King of Syria warring against Israel. Elisha kept warning Israel concerning where the Syrians were going to be making camp. The king asked his men who was telling the King of Israel of Syria’s plans and they told him it was Elisha. The king had his men search to find out where Elisha was and they reported he was in Dothan. The Syrians surrounded Elisha during the night and the next morning, Elisha’s servant was scared. He asked Elisha what they were to do. Elisha told him there were more with them than those in the opposing army. Elisha prayed for the Lord to open the servant’s eyes so he could see the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire. Then Elisha prayed the opposing army would be blinded and they were. Elisha then led them into Samaria where the King of Israel asked if he should kill them. Elisha told him not to kill them, but to feed them and send them home and he did.
In 2 Kings 6:23-24 we have an excellent example of why some people claim to find contradictions in the Bible. In verse 23 it says the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel or Samaria but in verse 24, it says the King of Syria gathered his men and besieged Samaria. So which is right? Can both be right? Sometimes you have to dig to understand. In my searching, one of the best explanations I read came from The Conciliator of R. Manasseh Ben Israel: The prophets and hagiography. According to his explanation, the roving bands no longer secretively tried to attack Samaria, but instead the full army came out openly in attack.
We will have one more blog devoted to the miracles of Elisha. Then we will move on to other prophets.
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