Imagine a man so powerful that even his bones could bring the dead back to life. A prophet whose miracles defied the laws of nature itself, making iron float on water, multiplying food from nothing, and raising children from death. This is not fiction. This is the story of Elisha, one of the most extraordinary figures in biblical history.
But here’s what will shock you. His greatest miracle didn’t happen during his lifetime. It happened after he died when grave robbers threw a corpse into his tomb. The moment the dead man’s body touched Elisha’s bones, he instantly came back to life and stood on his feet. How is this even possible? What kind of divine power remained with this prophet even in death? Today we’re diving deep into the miraculous life of Elisha.
From the moment he burned his past to follow his calling through the incredible wonders that marked his ministry to the supernatural legacy that transcended his grave. Stay with us because this story will challenge everything you think you know about faith, power, and the limits of the impossible.
Picture a regular day in the fields of Israel. The sun was beating down. The soil was turning under the plow and a young man named Elisha was doing what he’d done hundreds of times before. He was farming. But this wasn’t some small patch of land behind a house. First Kings chapter 19 verse 19 tells us that Elisha the son of Shafett was plowing with 12 yolk of oxen and he himself was with the 12th pair.
Stop and think about that for a moment. 12 yolk means 24 oxmen pulling plows across the fields. This was industrialcale farming for that time. Elisha came from a wealthy family and he was managing a serious operation. He was probably thinking about ordinary things, how deep to plow, which fields needed the most work, what the weather would do, just another workday in a life that seemed predictable and secure.
But God had other plans. And those plans were about to show up in the form of an old prophet walking across his field. Elijah appeared. This wasn’t just any visitor. Elijah was the most powerful prophet in Israel. A man who had called down fire from heaven and shut up the sky for 3 and 1/2 years.
He was famous, feared, and respected. And he was walking straight toward Elisha. What happened next was simple but stunning. Elijah didn’t give a speech. He didn’t explain anything. He just walked up to Elisha and took off his mantle, that special outer garment that marked him as God’s chosen prophet, and threw it across Elisha’s shoulders.
Then he kept walking. That was it. No interview, no application process, just a cloak thrown over a farmer’s shoulders. But Alicia understood immediately this wasn’t just a gift of clothing. This was a calling. This was God saying, “I’m choosing you. Your life is about to change completely. You’re going to be a prophet.
” In one moment, everything Elisha thought he knew about his future vanished. The farm, the oxen, the predictable life, all of it was suddenly up in the air. Elisha made his choice right there. He left the oxen standing in the field, probably still attached to the plows, and ran after Elijah.
When he caught up with the old prophet, he had just one request. First Kings 19:20 records his words. Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you. He wasn’t asking for time to think about it. He wasn’t trying to negotiate or delay. He just wanted to say goodbye to his family properly.
that was important to him. These were the people who had raised him, loved him, and given him the life he was about to leave behind. Elijah looked at him and said something that might sound strange at first. Go back again for what have I done to you. Think about what he meant. Elijah was saying, “I haven’t forced you.
I threw a cloak on you, but the choice is yours. You can go back to plowing if you want. I’m not stopping you.” It was a test of Elisha’s heart. Did he really want this calling or was he just caught up in the moment? Elisha’s response answered that question loud and clear. He turned back but not to return to his old life.
He returned to end it. He took the yolk of oxen, his oxen, valuable animals that represented wealth and security. And he killed them, all of them. Then he did something even more dramatic. He took the wooden plowing equipment, broke it up, and used it as fuel to cook the meat from the oxen.
This was his farewell party. He called his family, his friends, his neighbors, everyone he knew. They came and they ate together. They watched as Elisha took everything that represented his former profession and turned it into one last meal. The tools were gone. The oxen were gone. There was no equipment left to farm with.
Even if Elisha changed his mind tomorrow, he couldn’t go back. He had made it impossible. This is what real commitment looks like. Elicia didn’t keep a backup plan. He didn’t say, “I’ll try this profit thing, but I’ll keep my farming equipment just in case.” He burned every bridge. And then he arose and followed Elijah and became his servant.
The wealthy farmer became the prophet’s helper. Time passed. We don’t know exactly how many years. But Elisha served Elijah faithfully. He watched him. He learned from him. He stayed close. He probably saw miracles, heard prophecies, and grew in his understanding of what it meant to speak for God. But there came a day when everything was about to change again.
Both of them knew it. God was about to take Elijah away from this earth. The great prophet’s time was finished. and Elisha’s time to stand alone was coming. They started from Gilgal and as they walked together, Elijah said something to Elisha. 2 Kings 2:2 gives us his exact words.
Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethl. It seemed like a simple request, but Elicia saw right through it. This was another test. Elijah was giving him an out, a chance to avoid what was coming. But Elisha had made his choice years ago when he burned his plows. He wasn’t backing down now. His answer was firm.
As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So they went down to Bethl together. At Bethl, they weren’t alone. There was a whole community of young prophets there, men who were training to serve God under Elijah’s leadership. These men came to Elisha with a question that must have hurt to hear.
Verse three records their words. Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today? Yes, Elisha knew. Of course, he knew. But he didn’t want to talk about it. He told them, “Yes, I know. Keep silent. This wasn’t the time for discussion.” This was the time to stay close to Elijah for whatever time remained. Then Elijah tested him again.
Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho. And again, Elisha refused to be left behind. As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So they traveled to Jericho together. The pattern repeated itself at Jericho. The sons of the prophets there came to Elisha with the same painful question.
Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today? And Elisha gave them the same answer. Yes, I know. Keep silent. He knew what was coming, but knowing didn’t make it easier. One final time, Elijah tried to leave Elisha behind. Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me onto the Jordan.
And one final time, Elisha’s answer was the same. As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. The two of them went on together and this time 50 of the young prophets from Jericho followed them at a distance. They wanted to see what would happen. They wanted to witness the moment when Elijah would be taken away. Now they stood at the Jordan River, the same river Israel had crossed when they first entered the promised land.
Elijah took his mantle, that same cloak he’d thrown over Elisha years before in the field, and rolled it up. Then he struck the water with it. What happened next was impossible by natural laws. The water divided, creating two walls of water with dry ground between them. Elijah and Elisha walked across as if they were on a normal road.
Once they reached the other side, Elijah stopped. He knew this was it. These were his final moments with his student, his servant, the man who would carry on his work. He turned to Alicia with an offer that showed how much he cared. Second Kings 2:9 records his words. Ask, “What may I do for you before I am taken away from you?” It was an open question.
Elisha could have asked for anything. protection from enemies, success in ministry, long life, wealth to replace what he’d given up when he left farming. But Elisha had been thinking about this. He knew exactly what he needed. His answer was bold. Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. A double portion.
Some people hear that and think Elisha was being greedy, asking to be twice as powerful as his master, but that’s not what he meant at all. In the culture of that time, when a father died, his estate was divided among his sons. The oldest son, the main heir, received a double portion. It wasn’t twice as much as everyone else combined.
It was double the share of each other’s son. It marked him as the primary successor, the one who would carry the father’s name and continue his legacy. Alicia was saying, “I want to be your true heir. Not just one of many prophets who learned from you, but the one who carries on your mantle, your authority, your mission. It was a request that showed both humility and confidence.
Humility because he was asking for something he knew he couldn’t earn on his own. Confidence because he believed God had called him to this role. Elijah’s response was honest and a little sad. You have asked a hard thing, he said in verse 10. He couldn’t just hand over spiritual power like passing along a family heirloom.
That wasn’t his to give. Only God could decide who would receive his spirit and in what measure. But Elijah told him there would be a sign. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you. But if not, it shall not be so. If Alicia witnessed the moment of departure, he would know God had granted his request.
They continued walking and talking. Master and student, prophet and successor, two men sharing their last moments together on this earth. The conversation probably covered many things. Final instructions, encouragement, memories of their time together. Then, without warning, the sky itself seemed to split open. Second Kings chapter 2 verse 11 paints the picture.
Then it happened as they continued on and talked that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire and separated the two of them. This wasn’t a metaphor. This wasn’t a vision Elisha saw in his mind. This was real physical blazing with divine fire. A chariot pulled by horses made of flame came down between them forcing them apart. And then Elijah went up.
The verse says he went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Picture it. The wind swirling, building in intensity, lifting the prophet off his feet, carrying him higher and higher into the sky. Elatia stood there watching, unable to do anything but witness what God was doing. His master, his teacher, his spiritual father was being taken away right before his eyes.
The cry that came from Elisha’s mouth is recorded in verse 12. My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen. He called Elijah his father, showing the deep relationship they had. But he also recognized something bigger. Elijah had been more valuable to Israel than their entire army. While the nation trusted in horses and chariots and soldiers, the real protection had been this prophet who stood between them and God’s judgment.
And now that protection was gone, Elijah disappeared from sight. And Elisha saw him no more. The grief hit him hard. Elicia grabbed his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. This was the customary sign of mourning, the physical expression of a heart that felt ripped apart. He stood there alone now with the pieces of his torn garment in his hands, looking at the sky where Elijah had vanished.
The weight of what had just happened and what was about to begin settled over him like a heavy cloak. But then Elicia looked down and he saw something that changed everything. There on the ground, right where Elijah had been standing when the whirlwind took him, was the mantle. That prophetic cloak had fallen from Elijah as he went up.
Now it lay there on the earth waiting. This was the same garment that had been thrown over Elisha’s shoulders years ago in the plowing field. The same mantle that had struck the Jordan waters just moments before. and now it was his to pick up. Elisha took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him. He held it in his hands, feeling the weight of it, understanding what it represented.
Then he turned and walked back toward the Jordan River. The water was there in front of him, flowing as it always had. But something had changed. Elicia wasn’t the same man who had crossed it just a little while ago. He had witnessed the impossible. He had seen the sign, and now he had the mantle.
He stood at the water’s edge and took the mantle. He struck the water with it, just as Elijah had done. But as he did, he spoke out loud. Verse 14 of 2 Kings chapter 2 gives us his words, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” Think about what he was asking. Where is the God who just took my master into heaven? Where is the God who parted these waters an hour ago? Where is the God who has been working through Elijah all these years? Is he still here? Will he work through me? It was a question filled with faith and need. Elisha was saying, “I know you’re
the same God. I know your power hasn’t diminished. But will you answer me the way you answered him?” And God answered, “The moment Elisha struck the water with the mantle, it divided this way and that. The walls of water stood up on both sides and a path of dry ground appeared exactly as before. The same miracle, the same power, the same God, but now working through a new prophet.
Elisha walked through the Jordan on dry ground. And with each step, he moved forward into his new calling. On the other side of the Jordan in Jericho, 50 pairs of eyes had been watching everything. Those young prophets who had followed from Jericho to witness Elijah’s departure had seen it all. They saw Elijah go up.
They saw Elicia left behind. And now they saw Elisha coming back across the Jordan alone with the waters parting for him just as they had parted for Elijah. 2 Kings 2:1 15 tells us their immediate reaction. Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha,” there was no doubt in their minds.
They didn’t need to discuss it or debate it. They could see it with their own eyes. God had chosen Elisha. The authority had passed. The spirit that had empowered Elijah was now empowering his successor. They came to meet him, and when they reached him, they bowed to the ground before him. This wasn’t worship. They weren’t treating Elisha like he was God, but they were showing respect and recognition of his new position.
The student had become the teacher. The servant had become the master. God had placed him in authority, and they acknowledged it. But these young men had a concern. They said to Elisha, “Look now, there are 50 strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.
They had seen Elijah taken up, but they wondered if maybe his body had been dropped somewhere. Maybe he needed to be found and buried properly. It was a reasonable concern from their perspective. Alicia’s answer was simple. You shall not send anyone. He knew better. Elijah wasn’t coming back. There was no body to find. But these young prophets kept pressing him.
They urged him again and again until Elisha was ashamed to keep refusing them. Finally, he said, “Send them.” 50 men went out and searched for 3 days. They looked on mountains and in valleys. Anywhere they thought Elijah’s body might have been left. They found nothing. When they came back to Elisha, who was still in Jericho, he looked at them and said what he’d known all along.
Did I not say to you, do not go? They had learned their lesson. Elicia knew things they didn’t know. He had insight they didn’t have. He was their new leader. While Elicia was staying in Jericho, some men from the city approached him. These weren’t the young prophets. These were ordinary citizens, towns people who had a serious problem.
Verse 19 of 2 Kings chapter 2 tells us what they said. Please notice the situation of this city is pleasant as my lord sees. But the water is bad and the ground barren. Jericho was a beautiful place. Good location, nice buildings, pleasant surroundings. But beauty doesn’t matter much when you can’t grow food or drink the water. The spring that supplied the city was contaminated.
The water was bad, and because of that, the land wouldn’t produce crops. Animals that drank it got sick. People who used it suffered. The whole future of Jericho was threatened by this one problem with their water source. Elicia didn’t hesitate. He didn’t say this was too difficult for a new prophet. He didn’t tell them he needed to pray about it for weeks.
He just gave them simple instructions in verse 20. Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it. They did exactly what he asked, quickly bringing him a new bowl filled with salt. Then Elisha went out to the source of the water, the spring where all of Jericho’s water came from. This was the root of the problem. He poured the salt from the bowl into the spring.
And as he did, he spoke with authority. Verse 21 records his declaration. Thus says the Lord, I have healed this water. From it there shall be no more death or baronness. Notice what he said. He didn’t claim the power for himself. He said, “Thus says the Lord, this was God’s work, God’s healing, God’s power. Elisha was just the vessel, the prophet, the one through whom God chose to act.
And what God promised through Elisha came true immediately.” Verse 22 gives us the result. So the water remains healed to this day. According to the word of Elisha, which he spoke, the contamination was gone. The water was pure and clean. Crops could grow again. Animals could drink safely. People could use the water without fear.
Life returned to normal in Jericho. Better than normal, actually, because they had witnessed a miracle. And everyone in that city knew exactly who had done it. Elicia, the new prophet, carrying the mantle of Elijah, filled with the spirit of God, had performed his first public miracle.
The calling he received in the plowing field had led him through years of service, through the painful loss of his master, and now into his own ministry. The people of Jericho had seen it. The sons of the prophets had confirmed it, and the healed waters stood as permanent proof. The prophet Elisha had arrived, and the ministry of miracles had begun.
One day, a woman came to Elisha in desperate trouble. She wasn’t just any woman. 2 Kings 4:1 tells us she was the wife of one of the sons of the prophets, one of those young men who had studied under Elijah and Elisha. But now her husband was dead and she was facing a nightmare. She cried out to Alicia with words that showed how desperate she was.
Your servant, my husband, is dead. And you know that your servant feared the Lord and the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves. Can you imagine that? Her husband had served God faithfully as a prophet, and now that he was gone, she had nothing. There were debts to pay, and in those days, if you couldn’t pay what you owed, the creditor could take your children as slaves to work off the debt.
Her two boys, her only family left, were about to be taken away from her. Elisha looked at her and asked a simple question in verse two. What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house? He needed to know what she was working with. What resources did she have? The widow’s answer was heartbreaking. Your maid servant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil. That was it. One jar of oil.
Not enough to sell for much money, not enough to pay the debt, not enough to save her sons. But Elisha saw something she didn’t see. He gave her specific instructions. Go borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors. empty vessels. Do not gather just a few. She needed to collect as many empty containers as she could find.
Jars, pots, bowls, anything that could hold liquid. And he emphasized it. Don’t just get a few. Get as many as possible. Then he told her what to do next in verse four. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons. Then pour it into all those vessels and set aside the full ones.
She was to go inside her house, close the door so it was just her and her sons, and start pouring from her one jar of oil into all those empty vessels. The woman did exactly what Elisha said. She went around to all her neighbors, asking to borrow their empty containers. Can you picture her going door to door? The neighbors probably wondered what she was doing, but she kept collecting them.
When she had gathered all she could carry, she went into her house with her sons and shut the door. Then she started pouring. Verse 5 tells us, “So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons who brought the vessels to her, and she poured it out, one vessel after another.
She’d fill one up, set it aside, and her sons would bring her another empty one.” And the oil kept flowing. It shouldn’t have been possible. That one jar should have been empty after filling maybe two or three containers, but it wasn’t. The oil kept coming and coming. Verse 6 describes what happened. Now it came to pass when the vessels were full that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.
” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. The oil flowed as long as there were empty vessels to fill. When they ran out of containers, the oil stopped. If they had gathered more vessels, they would have had more oil. But they had what they had, and every single container was full.
The widow went back to Alicia and told him what had happened. His response in verse 7 was practical and hopeful. Go sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons live on the rest. She had enough oil to sell, pay off everything she owed, and still have money left over to live on. Her sons were saved. Her future was secure.
God had provided through his prophet. Elisha traveled around a lot in his ministry and his journeys often took him through a town called Shunim. 2 Kings 4:8 tells us what happened there. Now, it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunim where there was a notable woman and she persuaded him to eat some food. This was a wealthy, respected woman.
And when she saw Elicia passing through, she insisted he stop and have a meal at her house. This became a regular thing. The date continues, so it was. As often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. Every time Elisha came through Shunm, he’d stop at this woman’s house for a meal.
She was showing hospitality to God’s prophet, and she did it consistently, not just once or twice. After a while, the woman had an idea. She talked to her husband about it. Verse 9 records what she said. “Look, now I know that this is a holy man of God who passes by us regularly.” She recognized who Elisha was. This wasn’t just a nice traveling teacher.
This was God’s prophet. And she wanted to do something special for him. Her plan was specific. She said in verse 10, “Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall, and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand, so it will be whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.” She wanted to build a small room on the roof of their house, furnished with everything Elisha would need, a bed to sleep in, a table to eat at, a chair to sit on, and a lamp for light.
a private space where the prophet could rest whenever he was in town. They did it. They built the room and furnished it exactly as she described. And Elisha used it. Verse 11 says, “And it happened one day that he came there and he turned into the upper room and lay down there. He had a place to stay now in Shunm.” Thanks to this generous woman, Alicia wanted to do something for her in return.
He called his servant Gahazi and said in verse 12, “Call this Shunamate woman.” When she came and stood before him, Elicia told Gahazi to ask her a question in verse 13. Say now to her, “Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?” He was offering to use his influence for her.
Did she need help with the king? Did she need protection from the military? But her answer showed she didn’t need those things. I dwell among my own people. She was content. She had everything she needed. She wasn’t looking for favors or special treatment. But Elisha still wanted to bless her somehow. He asked Gahazi in verse 14, “What then is to be done for her?” Gahazi, who apparently knew about her personal life, had an answer.
Actually, she has no son and her husband is old. That was it. That was the one thing missing in her life. She had wealth. She had a home. She had a husband. But she had no child. And her husband was too old to expect one. Now Elicia called her back. When she stood in the doorway, he gave her a promise that must have shocked her.
Verse 16 records his words. About this time next year, you shall embrace a son, a baby. In one year she would be holding her own son in her arms. The woman couldn’t believe it. She responded, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidervant.” She wasn’t saying Alicia was a liar. She was saying, “Please don’t give me false hope.
Don’t promise me something like this if it’s not going to happen.” But verse 17 tells us the truth. But the woman conceived and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her, exactly as Elicia had said. She had a baby boy the next year. Years went by. The boy grew up.
Then one day something terrible happened. 2 Kings 4:18 tells us, “And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father to the reapers. The boy went out to the fields where his father was supervising the harvest workers. It seemed like a normal day, but then the boy started complaining. Verse 19 records what he said, “My head, my head.
” Something was wrong. Severe pain in his head, sudden and intense. The father immediately told one of his servants, “Carry him to his mother.” This was serious enough that the boy needed to go home right away. The servant picked up the boy and brought him to his mother. Verse 20 tells us what happened. When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon and then died.
The mother held her son on her lap, probably trying to comfort him, trying to help him, watching him suffer. And then at noon, he died right there in her arms. The miracle son, the child she’d been promised, the boy who shouldn’t have existed according to natural possibilities, was dead. But watch what she did. She didn’t scream. She didn’t call for her husband.
Verse 21 says, “And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. She carried her dead son upstairs to Elisha’s room, the special room they had built for the prophet. She laid him on Alicia’s bed, closed the door, and came back downstairs.
Then she called to her husband and said something interesting in verse 22. “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys that I may run to the man of God and come back. She was going to find Elisha.” She didn’t explain why. She just said she needed to go to the prophet and would be back. Her husband was confused.
He asked in verse 23, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the new moon nor the Sabbath. Those were the normal times when people would visit a prophet. Why go today?” But she just said, “It is well.” And had the donkey saddled. She told the servant in verse 24, “Drive and go forward. Do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.
” In other words, go as fast as possible. Don’t slow down. This was urgent. She headed toward Mount Carmel where she knew Elicia would be. When Alicia saw her coming from a distance, he recognized her. He told Gahazi in verse 25, “Look, the Shunomite woman, please run now to meet her and say to her, is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?” Elicia could tell something was wrong by the way she was hurrying toward him.
Gahazi ran to her and asked those questions. Her answer in verse 26 was simple. It is well, but it wasn’t well. Her son was dead. She was just holding herself together until she could get to Elisha. When she reached Elisha on the mountain, she fell at his feet and grabbed them. Ghazi moved to push her away, but Elisha stopped him. Verse 27 tells us, “So when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Ghazi came near to push her away.
But the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.” Elisha knew something was terribly wrong, but God hadn’t revealed to him what it was. Then the woman spoke. Her words in verse 28 showed her pain and her faith. “Did I ask a son of my Lord? Did I not say,”Do not deceive me?” She was reminding Alicia that she hadn’t asked for this child. She’d been content without one.
Elicia had promised her a son, and now something had happened to that son, and she was holding the prophet accountable. Elicia understood immediately. He turned to Gihazi and gave him urgent instructions in 2 Kings 4 29. Get yourself ready and take my staff in your hand and be on your way. If you meet anyone, do not greet him.
And if anyone greets you, do not answer him. but lay my staff on the face of the child. Speed was critical. Gahazi needed to get to that house fast, not stopping to chat with anyone on the road, and place Elicia’s staff on the boy’s face. But the Shaunamite woman wasn’t having it. She’d come for Elisha, not his servant. Verse 30 records her words, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.
” She was using the same phrase Elisha had used years ago when he refused to leave Elijah. She wasn’t going back without the prophet. So Elisha got up and followed her. Gihazi ran ahead with the staff. He got to the house first and did exactly what Elisha said. He laid the staff on the child’s face, but nothing happened.
Verse 31 tells us, “But there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore, he went back to meet him and told him, saying, “The child has not awakened. The staff didn’t work.” The boy was still dead when Alicia arrived at the house. Verse 32 says, “When Elisha came into the house, there was the child lying dead on his bed. He saw the body lying there on his own bed where the mother had placed him.
” Verse 33 tells us what Alicia did first. He went in, therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. He closed the door, so he was alone with the dead child, and he prayed. This wasn’t going to be done by his own power. He needed God to act. Then Alicia did something unusual. Verse 34 describes it.
And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. and he stretched himself out on the child and the flesh of the child became warm. He positioned himself directly on top of the boy, matching up mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. And as he did this, the child’s cold, dead body began to warm up, but the boy still wasn’t alive.
Elicia got up and walked around the room. Then verse 35 says, “He returned and walked back and forth in the house and again went up and stretched himself out on him.” He did it a second time, lying on the child again, stretching himself out and this time something happened. Then the child sneezed seven times and the child opened his eyes. The boy was alive.
He sneezed seven times, clearing his lungs, and opened his eyes. Life had returned to his body. Elisha called Gahazi and said in verse 36, “Call this Shunomite woman.” When she came in, Elisha simply said, “Pick up your son.” Verse 37 records her response. So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground.
Then she picked up her son and went out. She bowed before Elisha in overwhelming gratitude, then took her living, breathing son in her arms and left the room. The child who had died was alive again. Sometime later there was a famine in the land. Food was scarce and people were struggling. Elucia came back to Gilgal. And 2 Kings 4:38 tells us, “And Elucia returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in the land.
Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. The young prophets were gathered around him, probably for teaching and fellowship. Alicia wanted to make sure they had something to eat. So he gave an order to his servant, “Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets. They were going to make a big pot of soup for everyone.
In a time of famine, this was a practical way to feed a group of hungry men. One of the young prophets went out to gather ingredients.” Verse 39 says, “So one went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds and came and sliced them into the pot of stew.
Though they did not know what they were, he thought he was helping. He found some wild gourds growing on a vine, filled his garment with them, brought them back, and cut them up into the pot. But he had no idea what he just added to their meal. The stew finished cooking and they poured it out for the men to eat.
But as soon as they started eating, they realized something was very wrong. Verse 40 records their reaction. Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened as they were eating the stew that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot.” And they could not eat it. The gourds were poisonous. The stew was contaminated.
If they kept eating, they could die. Alicia didn’t panic. He calmly gave a simple instruction. Then bring some flour. Someone brought him flour. And verse 41 tells us, “So he said, throw it in for the people that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot. He threw flour into the poisoned stew and instantly it was safe to eat.
The poison was neutralized. The death was taken out of the pot. The men could finish their meal without any fear. Not long after that, a man came to visit Elisha. 2 Kings 4:42 tells us, “Then a man came from Bal Shalisha and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, 20 loaves of barley bread and newly ripened grain in his knapsack.
This was a generous gift. The first fruits were supposed to be given to God, and this man brought them to God’s prophet. 20 loaves of barley bread and some fresh grain. Elicia immediately thought about the people around him. He said to his servant, “Give it to the people that they may eat. Use this food to feed the crowd.
” But his servant looked at the 20 loaves and looked at the people and the math didn’t work. Verse 43 records his response. What shall I set this before 100 men? It was a reasonable question. 20 loaves for a 100 men. That would give each person maybe a fifth of a loaf. nobody would be satisfied. It didn’t make sense. But Elisha repeated his command and added a promise.
Give it to the people that they may eat. For thus says the Lord, they shall eat and have some left over. The servant obeyed. Verse 44 says, “So he set it before them. And they ate and had some leftover according to the word of the Lord. A 100 men ate from 20 loaves of bread. And when they were done, there was still food remaining.
God had multiplied the food just as Elisha said he would. Now we come to one of the most famous miracles in Elisha’s ministry. There was a man named Naman who was the commander of the Syrian army. 2 Kings 5:1 describes him. Now Naman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria.
He was also a mighty man of valor but a leper. He had everything status, honor, military success, respect. But he had leprosy, a terrible skin disease that made him an outcast. During one of Syria’s raids on Israel, they had captured a young girl who became a servant to Nammon’s wife. Verse 2 and three tell us, “And the Syrians had gone out on raids and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel.
” She waited on Non’s wife. Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria, for he would heal him of his leprosy.” This little servant girl had faith that Elisha could heal her master. Naman told his king what the girl had said, and the king of Syria immediately sent Nammon to Israel with a letter to the king of Israel along with expensive gifts, 10 talents of silver, 6,000 shekels of gold, and 10 changes of clothing.
When the king of Israel read the letter asking him to heal Nan, he panicked. Verse 7 says, “And it happened when the king of Israel read the letter that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God to kill and make alive that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy?” He thought Syria was trying to pick a fight with him.
But Elisha heard about it and sent word to the king in verse 8. “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. Bring Nan to me. I’ll handle this. So Non came with his horses and chariot and stood at the door of Alicia’s house. But Elicia didn’t even come out to meet him.
Instead, verse 10 tells us, “And Elicia sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan 7 times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” Non was furious. Verse 11 and 12 explain why. But Nmon became furious and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, he will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.
Are not the Abana and the Farpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleaned?” You so he turned and went away in a rage. He’d expected a show, some dramatic ritual, personal attention from the great prophet. Instead, he got instructions to wash in a muddy river.
And not just any river, but the Jordan, which wasn’t as impressive as the rivers back home in Syria. He felt insulted and left angry. But his servants were wiser than he was. They came to him and said in verse 13, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then when he says to you, “Wash and be clean.
” They were saying, “If he told you to do something difficult, you would have done it.” So why not do this simple thing? Nmon listened to them. Verse 14 says, “So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan according to the saying of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
One dip, two dips, three, four, five, six, seven. And his skin, which had been covered with leprosy, became like the skin of a young child, perfect, healthy, clean. The disease was completely gone. Non was so grateful that he went back to Elicia with all his servants. He stood before the prophet and made a declaration in 2 Kings 5. Verse 15.
Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. Then he offered payment. Now therefore, please take a gift from your servant. But Elicia refused. Verse 16 says, “As the Lord lives before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” Non urged him repeatedly, but Elicia wouldn’t accept anything.
This miracle was from God, not for sale. Finally, Non accepted the refusal and started his journey home. But Gahazi, Elicia’s servant, had been watching all this. He thought about all that silver and gold and those expensive clothes going back to Syria. Second Kings 5:20 tells us what he was thinking. But Gahazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman, this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought.
But as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” So Ghazi ran after Non. When Non saw him running, he got down from his chariot to meet him and asked, “Is all well?” Ghazi lied. Verse 22 records his words, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim.
Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.” Non was happy to give. In fact, he urged Gahazi to take two talants of silver instead of one, and he gave him the two changes of clothes. He had his servants carry the heavy bags of silver for Gahazi. When they got near Elisha’s house, Gahazi took the goods from the servants and hid them inside.
Then he went in and stood before his master. Elisha asked him a simple question in verse 25. Where did you go, Gazi? Gahazi lied again. Your servant did not go anywhere, but Elisha knew. God had shown him everything. Verse 26 records Elisha’s response. Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves, and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? Elicia knew exactly what Ghazi had done and what he was planning to do with the
money. Then came the judgment. Verse 27 gives us Elisha’s pronouncement. Therefore, the leprosy of Nmon shall cling to you and your descendants forever. And it happened instantly. And he went out from his presence lepros as white as snow. The disease that had left Non now covered Gahazi. He walked out of that room with leprosy all over his skin, and it would stay with him and his family forever.
The sons of the prophets came to Elisha one day with a problem and a plan. 2 Kings 6:1 tells us what they said. See now the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. Their meeting place wasn’t big enough anymore. The group was growing and they needed more space. They had an idea. Verse two continues, “Please let us go to the Jordan and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell.
” They wanted to go to the Jordan River, cut down trees, and build a new place to live and study together. It was a practical solution, and they were willing to do the work themselves. Cisha agreed, “Go.” But they wanted him to come with them. Verse three says, “Then one said, please consent to go with your servants.
” And he answered, “I will go.” So Elisha went along with them to the Jordan. When they arrived, they got to work. Verse four tells us, “So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. The sound of axes hitting wood filled the air as the young prophets chopped down trees for their building project.
But then something bad happened.” Verse 5 describes it. But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron axe head fell into the water. One of the men was swinging his axe when the metal head flew off the wooden handle and splashed into the river. This wasn’t just an inconvenience. The man cried out, “Alas, master,” for it was borrowed. The axe didn’t belong to him.
He’d borrowed it from someone, and now it was gone, sunk to the bottom of the river. Iron was expensive. He couldn’t afford to replace it. he was responsible for something he’d lost. Elicia responded with a question in verse 6. Where did it fall? The man showed him the exact spot where it had gone into the water.
Then Elisha did something simple but strange. He cut off a stick from one of the trees and threw it into the water at that spot. What happened next was impossible by any natural explanation. The verse continues, “And he made the iron float. The heavy iron axe head, which should have stayed at the bottom of the river, rose to the surface and floated on the water like a piece of wood.
Elicia simply said, “Pick it up for yourself.” The man reached out his hand and took it. Problem solved. The borrowed tool was recovered, and the building project could continue. Syria and Israel were at war. During this time, the king of Syria would plan his military moves carefully, setting up camps and ambushes in strategic locations.
But there was a problem he couldn’t figure out. 2 Kings 6:8 tells us, “Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel, and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.” He’d make his plans with his military advisers, choose a location for his troops, and prepare to attack.
But then something kept going wrong. Verse 9 says, “And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.” Alicia would send a message to the king of Israel, warning him exactly where the Syrian army was going to be.
The king of Israel would take the warning seriously. The verse continues, “Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice. This happened multiple times. Every time Syria set an ambush, Elisha warned Israel, and Israel avoided the trap.
The king of Syria was furious and confused. Verse 11 records his reaction. Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing. And he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? why he was convinced there was a traitor among his own people.
Someone on his side must be leaking information to the enemy. How else could Israel know his plans? But one of his servants had the real answer. Verse 12 tells us what he said. And one of his servants said,”None, my lord, O king.” But Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.
There was no traitor. It was Elisha. The prophet knew everything, even the private conversations the Syrian king had in his own bedroom. God was revealing Syria’s secrets to his prophet who was then warning Israel. The king of Syria made a decision. If Elisha was the problem, then they needed to capture Elisha. He asked in verse 13, “Go and see where he is that I may send and get him.
” His servants found out and it was told him saying, “Surely he is in Dothan.” Elisha was in the city of Dothan. And now the Syrian king knew exactly where to find him. The king of Syria didn’t send a small group of soldiers. He sent an army. 2 Kings 6:14 says, “Therefore, he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
This was a massive military operation. Horses, chariots, soldiers, all coming undercover of darkness to surround the entire city of Dothan. They weren’t taking any chances. Elicia wasn’t going to escape. When morning came, Alicia’s servant got up early and went outside. What he saw made his blood run cold. Verse 15 tells us, “And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army surrounding the city with horses and chariots.
Everywhere he looked, there were enemy soldiers. They were trapped.” The servant ran back to Elisha in panic. “Alas, my master, what shall we do?” But Elisha wasn’t worried at all. His response in verse 16 was calm and confident. Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.
More with us? The servant must have been confused. He just seen the Syrian army. There were only two of them in that house. How could there be more on their side? Elisha prayed a simple prayer in verse 17. Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. He wasn’t asking God to show the servant something new.
He was asking God to let him see what was already there. And God answered, “Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Suddenly the servant could see what Elisha had known all along. The mountain was covered with a heavenly army. Horses and chariots made of fire, supernatural forces sent by God to protect his prophet.
The Syrian army was huge, but God’s army was bigger. They were completely safe. Elicia had nothing to fear because he knew who was really in control. The Syrian army started moving down toward them. These soldiers had come to capture Elisha and now they were closing in. But Elisha had a different plan. 2 Kings 6:18 tells us he prayed, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And God did exactly that.
The verse continues, “And he struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Imagine being a soldier in that army. One moment you can see everything clearly. The next moment you’re blind, confused, disoriented. You have no idea what’s happening or where you are. That’s the situation these soldiers found themselves in.
” Then Elisha walked out to them. These were the men who had come to capture him, but now they couldn’t even see him. He spoke to them and what he said must have added to their confusion. Verse 19 records his words, “This is not the way nor is this the city. Follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.
” He told them they were in the wrong place and offered to lead them to Elisha. Of course, he was Elicia, but they didn’t know that they were blind. And then Elicia did something incredible. He led them right into the capital city of their enemy. The verse says, “But he led them to Samaria. Samaria was the heart of Israel, where the king lived, where the Israelite army was stationed.
Elisha walked the entire Syrian army straight into the center of enemy territory, and they followed him the whole way, thinking he was helping them. Once they were inside the city, Elicia prayed again in verse 20,”Lord, open the eyes of these men that they may see.” And God did. Their sight was restored instantly.
But when they looked around, they got the shock of their lives. The verse tells us, “So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw.” And there they were inside Samaria. They were surrounded not by friends, but by the Israelite army. They’d come to capture one prophet, and now they were prisoners themselves, standing in the middle of their enemy’s capital city.
The king of Israel saw them and could hardly believe his luck. He asked Delicia in verse 21, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” But Elisha said, “No.” Verse 22 gives us his response. You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them that they may eat and drink and go to their master.
These men weren’t captured in normal warfare. They weren’t taken with weapons. Don’t kill them. Feed them instead. So that’s what happened. Verse 23 says, “Then he prepared a great feast for them. And after they ate and drank, he sent them away, and they went to their master. The Syrian soldiers ate a good meal in the capital city of their enemy, then were sent home safely.
” The verse ends with an interesting note. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel. After that experience, the small raiding parties stopped attacking Israel. But peace didn’t last forever. 2 Kings 6:4 tells us, “And it happened after this that Benhad, king of Syria, gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria.
This time it wasn’t a small force or a raiding party. The king of Syria brought his entire army and surrounded Samaria, cutting off all supplies and trade. The siege went on for a long time and the situation inside the city became desperate. Verse 25 describes how bad it got and there was a great famine in Samaria and indeed they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for 80 shekels of silver and 1/4 of a cab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver.
People were paying huge amounts of money for things that normally nobody would eat. A donkey’s head. Dove droppings. The city was starving. It got even worse. The king of Israel was walking on the city wall when a woman cried out to him for help. When he asked what was wrong, she told him a horrifying story in verse 28 and 29. This woman said to me, “Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.
” So we boiled my son and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, “Give your son that we may eat him.” But she has hidden her son. The famine was so severe that people had resorted to cannibalism. When the king heard this, verse 30 says, “Now it happened when the king heard the words of the woman that he tore his clothes.
And as he passed by on the wall, the people looked and there underneath he had sackcloth on his body. He was already wearing sackcloth under his royal robes, a sign he’d been mourning and fasting because of the crisis. But instead of turning to God, the king blamed Elisha. Verse 31 records his words.
Then he said, “God, do so to me and more also if the head of Elisha the son of Chaffet remains on him today.” On he sent someone to execute the prophet. This was Elisha’s fault somehow and the king wanted him dead. Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders when he knew what was coming. Verse 32 tells us, “But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him.
And the king sent a man ahead of him. But before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent someone to take away my head?” It had supernatural knowledge that the executioner was on his way. He told the elders what to do. Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold him fast at the door.
Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him? The king himself was following right behind the messenger. While Elicia was still talking, the messenger arrived. The king came too, and he said in verse 33, “Surely this calamity is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer? The king had given up hope.
” But Elisha had a message from God. 2 Kings 7 verse one records what he said. Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord, “Tomorrow about this time, a sea of fine flour shall be sold for a shekele, and two seas of barley for a shekele at the gate of Samaria. Within 24 hours, food would be so plentiful and cheap that fine flour and barley would sell for normal prices at the city gate.
The famine would be over. There was an officer standing right there with the king, a man the king trusted and leaned on. When he heard Elicia’s prophecy, he didn’t believe it. 2 Kings 7:2 tells us his response. So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” He was mocking the prophecy.
Even if God opened up the sky and poured down food, this couldn’t happen. It was impossible. Elicia looked at him and gave him a personal prophecy in verse two. Then he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” The officer would witness the fulfillment. He’d see the food with his own eyes, but he wouldn’t get to eat any of it.
That night, something amazing happened. There were four lepers sitting at the entrance of the city gate. They were outcasts because of their disease, not allowed inside the city. They were starving too. They said to each other in verse 3 and 4, “Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, we will enter the city.
The famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live. And if they kill us, we shall only die.” They had nothing to lose. They stood up and went to the Syrian camp at twilight. But when they got there, verse 5 says, “And when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise, no one was there.
The camp was empty, completely abandoned.” What had happened? Verse 6 explains, “For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses, the noise of a great army. So they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us.
” D God made them hear sounds that weren’t there. They thought a massive army was coming to attack them. Verse 7 tells us what they did. Therefore, they arose and fled at twilight and left the camp intact, their tents, their horses, and their donkeys. And they fled for their lives. They ran away in panic, leaving everything behind. Food, supplies, treasure, animals, tents, everything.
The four lepers walked into the camp and couldn’t believe what they found. Verse 8 says, “And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank and carried from it silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.
They ate until they were full, then started taking valuables and hiding them. But then they felt guilty. Verse 9 records what they said. Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.
” They had to share this good news. People were starving in the city while there was abundant food just outside. They went back and called to the gatekeepers, telling them what they’d found. The news reached the king. At first, he thought it was a trap, but he sent scouts who confirmed it was true.
Verse 16 tells us, “Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians.” So, a sea of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two seas of barley for a shekel according to the word of the Lord. Exactly as Elisha had prophesied. The prices were exactly what he’d predicted. But what about that officer who didn’t believe? Verse 17 says, “Now the king had appointed the officer on whose and he leaned to have charge of the gate.
The king put him in charge of the city gate where all the people were rushing out to get the Syrian supplies.” And verse 17 continues, “But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. The crowd was so eager to get to the food that they crushed the officer to death in the gate.
” Verse 18 and 19 confirm it. So it happened. Just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “Two seas of barley for a shekele, and a sea of fine flour for a shekele shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.” Then that officer had answered the man of God and said, “Now look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.
” And so it happened to him. for the people trampled him in the gate and he died. He saw the food with his own eyes, but he never ate any of it. Years passed. Elicia continued his ministry, speaking for God, performing miracles, guiding the nation. But eventually, like all humans, his body began to fail. 2 Kings 13:14 tells us, Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die.
This wasn’t a sickness he would recover from. This was the end of his earthly life. When the king heard that Elicia was dying, he came to visit him. This was Joash, the king of Israel. Verse 14 continues, “Then Joash, the king of Israel, came down to him and wept over his face and said,”Oh my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen.
” These were the exact same words Elicia had cried out when Elijah was taken up to heaven. The king recognized that Elisha had been more valuable to Israel than their entire army. He was Israel’s true defense, and now he was leaving. Even on his deathbed, Elisha had instructions to give. He told the king in verse 15, “Take a bow and some arrows.
The king got them.” Then verse 16 says, “And he said to the king of Israel, put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it. Then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. Elisha placed his hands over the king’s hands on the bow, physically guiding him. Then he said in verse 17, “Open the east window.” The king opened it.
Elisha commanded, “Shoot!” And the king shot an arrow out the window. As he did, Alicia declared, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria. For you must strike the Syrians at Afk till you have destroyed them.” This arrow represented victory over Syria. But Elisha wasn’t finished.
Verse 18 says, “Then he said, take the arrows.” So he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground.” So he struck three times and stopped. The king took the bundle of arrows and struck the ground with them three times, then stopped. Elisha became angry. Verse 19 tells us, “And the man of God was angry with him and said, you should have struck five or six times.
Then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it. But now you will strike Syria only three times.” The king had stopped too soon. If he’d struck the ground five or six times, he would have completely destroyed Syria. But because he only did it three times, he would only defeat them three times. Then Elicia died.
Verse 20 says simply, “Then Elisha died and they buried him. The great prophet, the man who had performed so many miracles, who had spoken God’s words for decades, was gone. They laid his body in a tomb.” And that seemed to be the end of his story. But it wasn’t the end. 2 Kings 13:20 tells us what happened next.
And the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year. Moabitete raiders would come into Israel regularly causing trouble and danger. Verse 21 describes a particular incident. So it was as they were burying a man that suddenly they spied a band of raiders. Some Israelites were in the middle of burying a dead body when they saw Moabitete raiders coming toward them. They panicked.
They didn’t have time for a proper burial. They just needed to get rid of the body and run for their lives. The verse continues, “And they put the man in the tomb of Elisha. In their hurry and fear, they threw the corpse into the nearest tomb they could find, which happened to be Elisha’s tomb. Then they ran. But something impossible happened as soon as that dead body touched Elisha’s bones.
And when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet. The dead man came back to life instantly, completely. He stood up on his feet, alive and well. This wasn’t Alicia performing a miracle. Elicia was dead. His body had been in that tomb long enough that only bones remained.
But even in death, God’s power was still present with his prophet. The same God who had worked through Elisha during his life showed that his power doesn’t end when his servants die. And there you have it, the incredible story of Elisha, the prophet whose legacy was so powerful that even his bones brought the dead back to life.
From the moment he burned his plows in that field to the resurrection that happened in his tomb, Elisha’s life shows us that God’s power knows no limits. If this story impacted you today, don’t keep it to yourself. Hit that subscribe button so you never miss another biblical story. And share this video with someone who needs to hear about the miraculous power of God.
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