We’ve been looking at the various kings, both of Israel and Judah, and the nation of Israel, as we’ve been studying, has been very turned against the Lord and following false gods ever since the two portions of Israel separated, and you have the kingdom of Judah, the southern kingdom, and the kingdom of Israel, the northern kingdom, ten tribes in the north, two in the south. And ever since Jeroboam established the kingdom and wanted to make sure that the people didn’t go back to Jerusalem, even though the Lord told them that they were to go there during the major feasts to celebrate together as his people. And he told Jeroboam, as long as he worshipped him, he would give him the crown, but it didn’t take him long, and he brought in false worship, established two centers of worship where they worshipped golden calves, which were exactly what they worshipped when they were coming out of Egypt, and that worship went all the way back to Egypt and beyond, where they worshipped false gods.And we see that Jeroboam introduced this. God specifically had two prophets that were very well known that ministered to the northern kingdom and called them to repentance. The first one we’ve studied somewhat on, and that was Elijah.
And Elijah interacted with Ahab and actually prophesied the death of Ahab and the death of Jezebel because of their rebellion against God, and things happened exactly like he prophesied. Well, Ahab had another prophet that was with him and studying with him, and his name was Elisha, not Elijah. And Elisha, we’re going to introduce Elisha tonight.
And Elisha was at the same time that we see that at the end of Jehoshaphat’s reign in the northern kingdom, and became during Jehoram’s reign in the southern kingdom, and at the same time there was a Jehoram reigning in the northern kingdom. And sometimes it gets a little confusing because they have the same names, which kingdom are they ruling in. Those two overlap just a little bit, but Elisha’s ministry began during the reign of Jehoram in the northern kingdom.
And I want to look at Elisha’s beginning of his ministry tonight, and then also, if we have time, a couple of his miracles that he performed. Let’s begin at verse 12, and I’ll just give you the summary of what happened before that. Elijah was told by the Lord that his ministry on earth was coming to an end.
And Elijah began to go on a pilgrimage, if you would, or a trip around Israel. And Elisha followed him. And Elisha asked that he could be blessed by the Lord and by Elijah.
And so Elijah told him, if you’re there when I am called home to be with the Lord, the blessing will be upon you. And Elisha stayed with him. And we see that when Elijah was translated, Elijah’s mantle fell on Elisha.
The thing that Elisha asked God to give him was a double portion of the blessing that Elijah had. And although Elisha was not the dynamic prophet that Elijah was, he also performed twice as many miracles that are recorded in the scriptures that Elijah did. And so in a real sense, a double portion did fall on him.
A double portion would be the blessing that would be given in the home of a Jewish person to the blessed son. And Elisha received a double portion from the Lord of God’s blessing upon him. So let’s pick it up at verse 12.
2 Kings 2:12-25
Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
14 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.
He just was whenever you lose someone that’s been your mentor, your teacher, the one that you’ve looked up to, the one that’s helped you to grow in your knowledge and wisdom of the Lord, and the Lord calls them home, it’s a great loss. And this is a great loss for Elisha. You see his response where he rents his clothes in sorrow at Elijah going home.
It’s not that he was sad that Elijah went home, that God called him home, but he’s not going to be there any longer. And so when he goes back from the east side of the Jordan back over to the west side, he takes Elijah’s mantle and puts it on the water just as Elijah had done. And the Lord separates the water the same way.
So Elisha walks across on dry land just like he had. It was the way of God showing Elijah, I’m with you just as I was with Elijah. And I will bless you just as I blessed him.
So Elijah goes across and in verse 15,
15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
16 And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
17 And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
18 And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?
Let’s go look for him and find him. And Elijah said, No, don’t go. There’s no point in going.
Why? Because Elisha had seen Elijah caught up in the chariot of fire by the Lord into heaven. Elijah was only one of two men that are revealed in the Old Testament that did not die. The other being Enoch.
And it says that when Enoch lived, he walked with the Lord and then the Lord took him. And Elijah was caught up by the Lord. Those are the only two men in Scripture.
There are some people, and there’s speculation in the book of Revelation that talks about in the last days there’s going to be two prophets that will come from God. And they will be during the Great Tribulation. At the midpoint of the Tribulation, they’ll come and speak against the Antichrist, speak against all that he is doing and call people to repent and turn to the Lord.
And some people believe that it could be Enoch and Elijah. Others believe that it could be Moses and Elijah, simply because of the miracles that are recorded in the book of Revelation are closely affiliated with Moses and Elijah. But we know that there are two men that do come.
And then they are killed at the midpoint of the Tribulation by the Antichrist. And then God raises them from the dead and catches them up into heaven. And so we see that there are people that are caught up into heaven, but in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, there’s only Enoch and Elijah.
And so there’s precedent for the rapture just in those two men, because that’s similar to what God says is going to happen to all believers that are alive when he comes and calls the church home and we’re caught up to be with him. And looking from what happened with Elijah and also the response of Elisha, there’s nothing to fear, but only joy and hope knowing that you’re going to be with the Lord. And some people say, well, you know, I’m a Christian.
I believe in Jesus died for my sins. I want to serve him. But I’m afraid of the rapture.
I’m afraid of why would God… And there’s nothing to fear. It’s a time of joy and hope as we no longer have to be caught up in the daily trials and tribulations of this world. And that’s what happened with Elijah.
And Elijah says, there’s no sense going and looking for him. God caught him up and God’s not going to bring him back down simply so you can find him on a mountain or in the valley. And when they came again to him, for he tarried at Jericho, he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, go not? They couldn’t find him.
19 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.
20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
21 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.
22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.
23 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.
24 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.
25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.
And so Elijah is going to deal with this. In verse 20, and he said, Bring me a new cruise and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
And so 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.
Now, why would God put this in the scriptures? Why do we record these barren waters that brought only death? And Elijah put salt in them and they come to life. The water becomes a living source of water instead of a source of death. Well, really, it’s a picture of what happens in every person’s life that comes to know Jesus Christ.
That’s why Jesus, when he came to the well at Jericho and he found the woman at the well at Shechem. When he came to that well, this woman was there in the middle of the day, all by herself, no other women around. And to draw water at the well was a communal activity.
It was one of the things that the women would get together in the morning and the evening at the cooler times of the day, draw the water for the daily activities in the morning, draw the water for the evening. And this woman was out there all by herself in the heat of the day. Why would that be? Well, Jesus discovers it, points it out to her very quickly.
She had had five different husbands and the man she was living with now was not her husband. In other words, she was looking to find something in men that they couldn’t give her and that could only be found in the Lord. And the interesting thing is she was totally baffled why Jesus, who was a Jewish rabbi, would come out and talk to her, a Samaritan woman, who the Jews had nothing to do with the Samaritans and especially religious Jews.
They looked down upon the Samaritans and viewed them almost as bad as Gentiles. And yet Jesus was talking to her and Jesus told her that he would give her living water. And if she would take this water, she’d never have to drink again.
And she thought he was talking about physical water initially, but then he begins to show her this is spiritual water. I’m going to satisfy your soul because what I’m going to do is reveal to you who I am. And he revealed to her that she’s the first person in scripture that we see that he actually told, I’m the Messiah to a Samaritan woman who was looked down upon by all Jews.
That’s the first person Jesus conveyed that to. And as he’s telling her this, then she understands that he’s speaking about spiritual water. This is an example of a physical stream that brought only death.
But when a miracle was done by God in this stream, all of a sudden it brings life. In our lives, prior to knowing Christ, all we could do was really bring forth various forms of death. But when Jesus came to our and changed our hearts and minds, we became a new creature in Christ.
And springs of living water go forth out of us. And so that we can touch lives and bring life to them and bear fruit for God. This is a miracle, the first miracle, which shows that God can change that which brings death into that which brings life.
And that he is the author of life and not death. So the first miracle is significant in what Elijah does. Well then Elijah went up from Thins onto Bethel.
And as he was going up, by the way, there came forth little children. Now the word here, it’s translated in English, little children is really young men. These would have been probably teenagers or late teens, early 20s.
But they’re young, young men is who they are. And what they did is they came out of the city and they mocked him and said, Go up, thou bald head, go up, thou bald head. Now what they’re doing is mocking what God had done with Elijah.
God had caught him up. And so they’re saying, they’re mocking Elijah and saying, Why are you still here, bald head? And evidently, Elijah must have been losing his hair. But anyway, they’re calling him a bald head, which was a derogatory way of referring to someone who should have been respected.
And then they’re saying, go up, go up, get caught up, get caught up. Why are you still here? And so they’re making a mockery of his ministry and they’re really mocking the Lord. And he turned back and looked on them and cursed them in the name of the Lord.
Why did he do that? Because they had no respect or honor for God. They had no desire for spiritual things. And they were really mocking everything that was precious to the Lord and everything that God revealed and showed his power and his might in doing.
And so there came forth two sea bears out of the wood and tear 40 and two children of them. And 42 of these young men were killed by these bears. And that was a judgment of God on them for mocking God.
It really shows you God’s mercy when you have some people that are unbelievers. And you’ve probably seen people on videos or whatever where they stand up and go, if there’s really a God, I challenge him to strike me dead right now. See, he didn’t strike me dead, so that proves there’s no God.
Well, what they’re doing is they’re mocking God. And they’re lucky he doesn’t strike them dead because he could. But it’s only by his mercy that he doesn’t.
And that’s really what these young men were doing. And God judged them. And it shows that it’s a serious business to mock the things of the Lord.
Because God takes it very seriously. And when people mock God, they don’t realize they are this close to hell. And there but for his grace, they’d be there already.
And that’s what happened to these young men. And he went from Thense to Mount Carmel. And from Thense, he returned to Samaria.
And so he went back the same way that Elijah and him had come. They’d come from Samaria to Mount Carmel, to Jericho, to across the Jordan, and he went back the same way. Well, if you just want to go ahead to verse 4, I want us to look a little bit more into the ministry of Elijah and a couple more miracles that he performs, and the significance of these miracles.
Chapter 4, verse 1. Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elijah, 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. Now, we don’t understand this because this isn’t something that happens in our culture. The thing that happens in our culture is you have bankruptcy declared.
They can take your possessions, but they don’t take your children anymore. But at the time that Elijah was living, if you couldn’t pay your debts, and you had no way of paying, then you or your children or all of you could end up being indentured servants to those that you owed your money to. Now what she does is she cries out to Elijah and she says, My husband was a prophet.
You knew my husband. You knew he loved the Lord. You knew he served God.
And he’s dead. And I have no means of taking care of myself. And now they’re going to take the most precious thing I have, my sons, from me, because I can’t pay my debts.
Does God understand and know those that are in need? The answer is yes. And this is going to be an example of a miracle that God performs at the hands of Elijah to show that he is there to meet our needs when it seems like it’s impossible to meet. This woman saw no way out of this.
Elijah didn’t have the money to pay her debts for her. But let’s see what God has in mind. And Elijah said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? She’s saying, What can I do for you? I can’t give you anything.
I don’t have the money. But what do you have in your house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house save a pot of oil. So she’s basically got one pot of oil left to her name.
And that’s what she’s got in her house. So what Elijah, the Lord shows to Elijah, he says, Then he said, Go borrow three vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels, borrow not a few. In other words, go and borrow as many vessels as you can.
As many pots, as many vials, as many containers that will hold things as you can borrow. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all these vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. Okay? So he’s saying, Go get on as many vessels as you can, and then take the one pot of oil that you’ve got, close your doors, and start pouring oil into every one of these vessels, and then see which vessels are full.
Well, 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. In other words, God was going to do a miracle here, and he was going to, just like Jesus fed the multitudes, just like Jesus turned the water into wine, Jesus was going to fill these vessels with oil, and the amazing thing is, she was to go and sell this oil to other people, but the oil would never run out.
The vessels would always remain full. She’d sell the oil, she’d come back, the vessels would be full. It was a miracle of God, and God showed that he would take care of, and can take care of, his own, even when it seems impossible to be done.
And those types of things are still done today. It’s happening in many countries where people don’t have Bibles, and they cry out to the Lord, Lord, if you’re really, if Jesus is, if you’re really God, show me. And God shows them, miraculously.
And they come to know the Lord as their Savior. Sometimes it’s through healing. Sometimes it’s through other provision that God makes.
But God is a God of miracles, and God knows our needs, and God knows how to meet the needs of those that are faithful to him. This woman believed what Elijah was saying, that God had spoken through him, and by faith, she got vessels, and by faith, she shut the door, and by faith, she poured one pot of oil into all these vessels, and all the vessels kept getting full. And it was miraculous.
And God can do that which seems impossible to men, and he knows how to take care of us in our time of need. Jesus told his disciples when he sent them out into the world to proclaim the truth of his word, he said, don’t worry about money. He said, I know that you need food, I know that you need clothing, I know that you need a place to stay, a place over your head.
And he said, I will take care of you. And they did. The disciples went out, and they didn’t go out like most modern TV evangelists today, begging for money and giving trinkets to make sure they could get more money.
They never gave the example on Sunday of the Apostle Paul, very seldom did he get money from anybody but actually worked himself, and God made provision. And sometimes churches would send him money when he didn’t expect it, and from places he didn’t expect. And God does the same thing today.
And sometimes we’re the ones that are the blessing givers, and that God lays in our heart that you’re supposed to give to this need, and when we give, we don’t even realize that the people may be praying and don’t have any idea where that need can be met by. And so this is another example of God taking care of his own. And we’ll look at one more miracle tonight before we close.
In verse 8, And it fell on a day that Elijah passed to Shunem. And Shunem, there 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.
She opened up her house to him and fed him when he was in the area and gave him a place where he could rest and eat and showed him compassion. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a 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. In other words, they gave him a little apartment to stay in whenever he was in the area. And they gave him his own place, his own furniture.
And it fell on a day that he came thither and he turned into the chamber and lay there. And he said to Gehazi, and Gehazi is his servant. And we’ll get into Gehazi much more later on.
But Gehazi is his servant. And he said, 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? Wouldst thou be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. Now, I believe that he’s speaking to the king or the captain of the host.
Do you want me to pray to the Lord or to Jesus on your behalf? 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 so Gehazi had observed this, his servant had observed that she was married to a much older man. She had no child.
Now, what is the significance of that? If you lived in this culture at this time, you needed someone to take care of you, especially if you’re a woman.And