2 Kings 2.1-18
As we look at miracles in the Bible during the Summer Sundays at CCC I thought it would be interesting to look at an Old Testament prophet who did quite a lot of miracles, some of them quite strange.
Elisha was God’s prophet in Israel during the time of some of the kings, and he followed his mentor Elijah. Both Elijah and Elisha did miracles (sometimes Elisha’s seem to mirror Elijah’s, as we’ll see) and brought God’s challenging words to the kings and the people in the times when they lived.
It’s sometimes easy to get them a little confused, but one way to keep them clear is to remember that Elijah mainly appears in 1 Kings (which tells of the challenge from the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, etc.) while Elisha mainly appears in 2 Kings (including the healing of Naaman, among other events).
The first we read of Elisha is in 1 Kings 19:19-21 where Elijah sort of commissions him by throwing his cloak over him, but them seems to regret this, telling Elisha to go home again; perhaps Elijah was aware of the troubles that life as a prophet would likely bring to Elisha. In any event, we are told that Elisha followed Elijah and became his servant.
Elisha appears again in 2 Kings 2, which starts by telling us that the Lord was shortly going to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah appears to be trying to shake off Elisha, heading off to Bethel, Jericho and the Jordan, although Elisha sticks closely with him.
Eventually, Elijah asks Elisha directly what he wants from him before he is taken away. Elisha replies that he wants to inherit Elijah’s spirit, like an inheritance for a first-born son. After this, a chariot of fire appears and takes Elijah away, meaning that he is one of two people described in the Old Testament as not dying but being taken by God into heaven.
Elisha cries out, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” He finds Elijah’s cloak and strikes the water of the Jordan river with it. The water parts, just as it had for Elijah in verse 8, and the company of prophets (that Elisha seems to lead or be part of) recognise that “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.”
Sometimes, in churches today, it seems that individuals get put on a pedestal and people seem to follow a person rather than God. The story of Elijah and Elisha illustrates a healthy balance of learning from other people while keeping our eyes on God.
Elisha was inspired by what he saw in Elijah, he followed him, and he wanted to have the same spirit in himself. But, in the final crisis, when Elijah was gone, Elisha did not cry out for Elijah but for the God of Elijah. Elisha knew that the person he really needed to hear from was God; God would enable him to do miracles as he’d seen Elijah do, and speak God’s words to those in power as Elijah had.
Who are you inspired by? It’s good to see the work of God in other people as they seek to walk with Jesus. But in the final analysis, it’s the spirit of God we need to live as God calls us to do.
Where do we find the answer to the question, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”
(And in case that question has made the old song go round your head, click here for the full recording!)
(Image copyright Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org. Used by permission.)