WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT ELISHA?
Elisha: How to Live with Confidence
(1 Kings 19:19-21, ESV)
Eliminate Distractions to Following God So he [Elijah] departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, …and [Elisha] took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him. (1 Kings 19:19-21 ESV)
Seek the Holy Spirit’s Empowering When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” [10] And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” (2 Kings 2:9-10 ESV)
Enter into God’s WorkThen he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. (2 Kings 2:14 ESV)
Speak God’s Truths, Prepare for Rebellious Responses And they came back to him while he was staying at Jericho, and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?” (2 Kings 2:18 ESV)
Remember God is the Provider Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the LORD, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” (2 Kings 2:21 ESV)
And he said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘I will make this dry streambed full of pools.’ [17] For thus says the LORD, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals.’ [18] This is a light thing in the sight of the LORD. He will also give the Moabites into your hand (2 Kings 3:16-18 ESV)
Continue in the Face of Opposition He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” [24] And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys. [25] From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria. (2 Kings 2:23-25 ESV)
Depend on God’s Power: A Foreshadowing of Christ’s Miraculous Power
Elisha is unique in the types and frequency of miracles he performs:
- Divides the Jordan River. 2 Kings 2:14
- Purifies water at Jericho. 2 Kings 2:19-22
- Increases a woman’s oil. 2 Kings 4:1-7
- Raises a woman's son from the dead. 2 Kings 4:18-37
- Neutralizes a poison. 2 Kings 4:38-41
- Increases the bread. 2 Kings 4:42-44
- Heals Naaman the leper. 2 Kings 5:1-19, Luke 4:27
- Sends leprosy to Gehazi. 2 Kings 5:26-27
- Floats an axe head. 2 Kings 6:6
- Allows his servant to see angels. 2 Kings 6:17
- Makes an army blind. 2 Kings 6:18
- His bones bring a dead man to life. 2 Kings 13:21