ELISHA - MIRACLE MAN OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

ELISHA: MIRACLE MAN Of THE OLD TESTAMENT

Some prophets of the Old Testament are well-known, and some are not. Some have much written of them, even have books named for them, but even though Elisha was involved in 14 miracles, not much is said of him, nor studied about him.  Shall we look in the book of 2 Kings and see why I think he seems underrated or overlooked among the prophets?

Elisha's first miracle was a copy of the last miracle of Elijah; the parting of the Jordan river.  "He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, 'Where is the LORD God of Elijah?'  And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. " (2 Kings 2:13 - 14)  This is the 4th and final time a body of water is parted in the bible.  First Moses in the Exodus with the Red Sea, then the priests, then Elijah, and lastly, Elisha with the Jordan.

His next miracle occurred at the spring of Jericho.  "And the men of the city said unto Elisha, 'Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren.'  And he said, 'Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein.'  And they brought it to him.  And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, 'Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.'  So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake." (2 Kings 2:19 - 22)  Now as we know it is not natural for salt to make water taste good, nor is it natural for it to make ground fertile (because it is typically found in herbicides), yet it was used by Elisha to prove this was a miracle from the Lord.

His next miracle was more of a cursing than a miracle, although it was seemingly unnatural of an occurrence.  It is a good story to tell youngsters, that they might not mock or make fun of their elders!  "And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, 'Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.'  And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD.  And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them." (2 Kings 2:23 - 24)  While it doesn't say whether any survived the bear attacks, imagine the story from the survivors!

His next miracle was against the Moabites concerning ditches.  In 2 Kings 3:1 - 27, 3 kings sought Elisha's help against the Moabites, and out of respect for only one of them, he called for a minstrel, and the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha as the minstrel played, and Elisha said that the Lord said to make the valley before them full of ditches, and that the Lord said they would not see rain nor wind, yet the ditches would fill with water.  True as His word, the ditches did fill with water, but when the Moabites saw it as the sun shone on it, it appeared red like blood, and they made a fatal assumption that the Israelites fought amongst themselves, and they could go for an easy booty, but boy, were they fooled!  The Israelite army was well prepared, and when the Moabites came upon them, they beat them so soundly, the Moab king sacrificed his own son as a burnt offering, causing Israel to turn away!

The bible has a number of places speaking of favoring the widows and fatherless, and Elisha's 5th miracle was to the aid of a widow.  "Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, 'Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.'  And Elisha said unto her, 'What shall I do for thee?  Tell me, what hast thou in the house?'  And she said, 'Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.'  Then he said, 'Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.  And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.'  So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.  And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, 'Bring me yet a vessel.'  And he said unto her, 'There is not a vessel more.'  And the oil stayed.  Then she came and told the man of God.  And he said, 'Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.'" (2 Kings 4:1 - 7)  God, through Elisha, had multiplied the widow's oil so that it was plenty for selling to cover her debt!

His next miracle was the blessing of a barren couple.  Imagine not being able to have children, but wanting to.  Her kindness to Elisha and thoughtfulness on his behalf earned for her the favor of being blessed with the conception of a son!  "And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread.  And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.  And she said unto her husband, 'Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.  Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.  And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.  And he said to Gehazi his servant, 'Call this Shunammite.'  And when he had called her, she stood before him.  And he said unto him, 'Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee?  Wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host?'  And she answered, 'I dwell among mine own people.'  And he said, 'What then is to be done for her?'  And Gehazi answered, 'Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.'  And he said, 'Call her.'  And when he had called her, she stood in the door.  And he said, 'About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son.'  And she said, 'Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.'   And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life." (2 Kings 4:8 - 17)  Despite her disbelief, yet she conceived.  Perhaps this reminds you of Sarah and Abraham, in that Sarah laughed in disbelief?

This next miracle would mark half of those he performed, and the 7th was a big one; he resurrected the same son he prophesied would be born to the Shunammite woman!  2 Kings 4:18 - 37 explains the story, which may seem odd, because there is no other resurrection of anyone performed as this one; "And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.  He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.  And 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.  Then 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.  And 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.'  Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out." (2 Kings 4:32 - 37)

The rest of his life is written in 2 Kings, one miracle after another.  He purified poisoned stew in 2 Kings 4:38 - 44, and healed Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, and what an interesting story this is, because while Naaman gained faith in the true God of Israel, he asked pardon for sins he knew he would commit in bowing before a god he knew to be false, and Elisha told him to go in peace, as if to say God would understand his situation.  Unfortunately for Elisha's servant, Gehazi, the next miracle was a result of Gehazi's greed.  He followed after Naaman for silver and clothing, and on returning to Elisha, he lied that he went nowhere, but Elisha told him his heart went with him, and condemned him to the leprosy that Naaman had just been cleansed of! (2 Kings 5:1 - 27).

His 11th miracle was to float an axe handle; "And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, 'Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.  Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell.'  And he answered, 'Go ye.'  And one said, 'Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants.'  And he answered, 'I will go.'  So he went with them.  And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.  But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, 'Alas, master!  For it was borrowed.'  And the man of God said, 'Where fell it?'  And he shewed him the place.  And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.  Therefore said he, 'Take it up to thee.'  And he put out his hand, and took it." (2 Kings 6:1 - 7)  I challenge anyone to find a repeat of this miracle in the bible!

Elisha's next two miracles are opposites, in that for the first he gives a unique sight to Elisha's servant, "And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.  And Elisha prayed, and said, 'LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.'  And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." (2 Kings 6:16 - 17), while in 2 Kings 6:8 - 23, he blinds the Syrian army, and when they can see again, they are in Samaria, but he denied the king of Israel to smite them, but rather told him to feed and give them drink, that the Syrian king might acknowledge the mighty power of the true living God of Israel!

Elisha's last miracle is the most amazing, because he caused it to come about while he was DEAD!  "And Elisha died, and they buried him.  And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.  And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet." (2 Kings 13:20 - 21)

So here we have a man of God who has 14 miracles documented during his lifetime (and even shortly thereafter!), he resurrected two people, took one man's disease away, and gave it to another shortly afterward, temporarily blinded an army, caused another army to be confused with water and ditches, made iron float, and more; yet, almost never does anyone use his section of the bible to speak about. God greatly used this man during his lifetime, yet he has gone neglected...until now.