2 KINGS

The Ministry of Elisha

2 Kings 3:1-4:44

INTRODUCTION

As you approach the ministry of Elisha, you need to remember that Elisha is not simply a minister to a local congregation or to just a small group of people. Elisha is God's prophet to a nation, specifically the nation of Israel. Up to this point Elisha has shown himself to be God's prophet to the sons of the prophets (the school of prophets Elijah had established during his ministry) and to the people of Bethel (the site of the destruction of the 42 youths who had called Elisha, "Baldy"). The first episode deals with Elisha being formally presented as the official representative of God to Israel. The next 4 episodes reveal not only what kind of prophet Elisha was but also what kind of God was Elisha had come to represent. These 4 episodes reveal what kind of God Israel was in the process of rejecting.

MOAB REBELS AGAINST ISRAEL (3:1-27)

Upon the death of the king Ahaziah (Ahab's oldest son), Joram (Jehoram), the brother of Ahaziah, ascends the throne. Although traditionally the king's son would ascend the throne, in this case Ahaziah's brother ascends the throne because Ahaziah is childless. It is during the reign of Joram that Moab under the leadership of Mesha rebels against Israel.

Several items to note here. First, Moab is located to the southeast of the northern kingdom of Israel. Since the time of David (~120 years earlier), Moab had been a vassal state to the Jewish nation. After the division of the kingdom of Israel into the kingdom of Judah in the south and the kingdom of Israel (Samaria) in the north, Edom went to Judah while Moab went to Israel. Moab annually paid Israel 100,000 sheep and the wool of 100,000 rams. During this period of uncertainty caused by the death of Ahaziah, Mesha feels strong enough to sever ties with Israel.

With the rebellion of Moab we are seeing the dissolution of the kingdom David and Solomon had built during their reigns. Unfortunately the division of the one strong kingdom of Israel into the 2 weaker kingdoms of Judah and Israel (Samaria) did not impact the Israelites the way God had wanted it to; instead of repenting of the idolatry they had fallen into, they continued to worship idols. Joram was not as wicked as his father and mother Ahab and Jezebel; for example, he tore down the pillar of Baal which his father had erected. Nevertheless Joram failed to eradicate the worship of the bulls Jeroboam I had erected in the cities of Dan in the north and Bethel in the south. Because of this continued acceptance of idolatry, the entire kingdom was beginning to dissolve. Although the complete dissolution of Israel would not occur for another 130 years and the complete destruction of Judah would not occur for another 160 years, the process had begun.

This same principle applies to us. Whenever we reject the leadership of Christ in our lives, God begins to dissolve the "kingdoms" under our control. Our family starts to dissolve. Our finances go down the drain. Our health is seriously affected. I've seen people who refused to honor God with their finances simply go down the drain financially. I've seen parents who refused to raise their children in a God-honoring fashion watch their children go down the drain. Their response? The same response that Joram made--work harder at what he was already doing. Instead of repenting as he should have, Joram decides to beat Moab into submission. We rebel, our finances go south, and our response? Get upset with our spouses for spending too much money, getting a second job, interviewing all over the map to find a job, etc. Get upset with the Law when it administers the discipline to our children which we as parents should have administered ourselves. Instead of repenting, we get more intense in making sure our rebellion doesn't affect us.

Joram approaches Jehosophat, king of the southern kingdom of Judah. After receiving promise of aid from Jehosophat, Jehoram combines his forces with Judah, marches south around the southern end of the Dead Sea, combines forces with the king of Edom so that he can attack Moab from the south. (Jehosophat probably enlisted the aid of his vassal, the king of Edom, so that the Edomites would not be free to attack Judah while she was at war against Moab). Upon hearing of the alliance, Mesha musters all those in Moab capable of fighting--youth as well as old men--in order to meet the force head-on.

The journey from the southern approach lasting 7 days was not a problem in and of itself. The problem was that the wadis along the way (brooks with water in the winter but dry in the summer) had already dried up. The large army of allies was facing a serious shortage of water because of the unusual dry conditions for that time of year. Jehoram knows that he is wrong with the Lord because he interprets the lack of water as a sign that the Lord is hostile towards the alliance, that the Lord in fact is going to deliver the 3 kings of the alliance into the hands of the Moabites. His guilty conscience is dictating his words. At this point, Jehosophat, true to his nature, asks Joram if there is a prophet of God in their midst. (Jehosophat had done exactly the same when he had accompanied Joram's father Ahab to war against the Syrians.)

Elisha the prophet apparently had come along with the military alliance. When it is discovered that Elisha is in their midst, the 3 kings approach Elisha's tent. Upon learning of their dilemma, Elisha throws Joram's parents up to him: "Go ask the gods of your parents about what you need to do!" Jehoram betrays his allegiance to idolatry when he says that the reason he is approaching Elisha, the Lord's prophet, is that it is Elisha's God who is causing them all this trouble. He is not going to the Lord because He alone is Lord; he's going to him simply because he knows the Lord and not Baal is behind the problem. Elisha lashes out: "If I did not respect Jehosophat, I would have nothing to say to you." Out of respect for Jehosophat though, Elisha agrees to seek the Lord regarding this matter.

Elisha orders a minstrel to start playing for him while he seeks the counsel of the Lord. (This is the only instance in the Bible in which we find a prophet using music to help him seek the Lord. The nearest parallel to this is David playing the harp for Saul in order to soothe his spirit.) Through Elisha the Lord informs the 3 kings that they will indeed gain the victory over the Moabites. In order to relieve their sufferings, the 3 kings during the night are to have trenches built in the space between themselves and the Moabites. Although they will see neither rain nor thunder and lightning, water will fill the trenches. The alliance is to launch a scorched-earth policy. Their devastation of the land is to be so complete that each man in the alliance is supposed to take a large stone and put it on any spot in Moab which was made up of good earth. The 3 kings comply with the Lord's instructions by digging the trenches.

During the night a driving rainstorm falls upon higher ground sending water gushing forth into the trenches the kings have built. The water ends up serving 2 purposes. First, the water quenches the thirst of the armies of the alliance. Second, the water in the trenches of red dirt looked like blood whenever the Moabites rose and saw the early morning sun light reflecting off the water. The Moabites assumed that the 3 kings had turned on each other and had begun to slaughter each other. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Moabites immediately launch an attack upon the alliance. God has truly enacted a miracle.

To their utter surprise, the Moabites discover that the Lord has led them into a trap. Instead of slaughtering each other, the armies of the alliance are fully prepared for the slaughter of the Moabite army. The alliance implements the scorched-earth policy, destroying everything and killing everybody in their path. Their victory seems almost complete when they attack Kir-hareseth, the last defense of the Moabites. At this point Mesha, who is desperate, sacrifices his son in front of the Moabites and in front of the armies of the alliance. At this point the author of 2 Kings writes: "There came great wrath against Israel." Notice that he does not say, "The Lord's wrath"; rather he simply writes, "The wrath." This then most likely refers either to the wrath of the Moabites, who now fought with abandonment, or to the disgust which the armies of the alliance felt whenever they saw this human sacrifice. In either case, just when Israel is on the verge of victory as the Lord has promised, the armies of the alliance yields. Israel loses Moab forever.

Too many Christians have experienced this same phenomenon. God is blessing us. We are right on the verge of experiencing the wonderful things God has for us, and yet the moment it seems dark, we abandon the quest God has set us upon. In the same way God had restored the empire to Israel but because of her character flaws caused by idolatry, Israel will now continue her descent into oblivion. While on the verge of victory, she had cast it away. God had not failed Israel; she had failed Him.

ELISHA'S MINISTRY TO THE SHUNEMITE WOMAN (4:8-37)

In chapter 4 the author of 2 Kings relates 4 stories which reveal God's care for Israel. The first involves Elisha providing for the financial needs of the widow of one of the sons of the prophets so that she will not have to deliver her sons over to his former husband's creditors to be their slaves. The third episode shows Elisha salvaging a pot of soup for some prophets, while the fourth shows Elisha miraculously multiplying some bread in order to feed 100 people. (The fourth miracle previews the greater miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000 in the Gospels.)

The second story is one of the most poignant in the entire Bible. Apparently Elisha had his headquarters on Mount Carmel which was actually a mountain ridge running southeast to northwest, terminating at the Sea of Galilee. Since Elisha was God's prophet for the nation of Israel, he naturally had an itinerant ministry among the different cities in Israel. Some of his journeys took him through Shunem, a small city located approximately 4 miles north of the city of Jezreel at the eastern end of the Valley of Jezreel.

In Shunem dwelt a woman with her husband who seemed to be comfortably wealthy. As Elisha passed through their village on several occasions, she rightly came to realize that Elisha was a man of God. She requested from her husband that he build a permanent addition to their home as a kind of way station so that Elisha could rest from his traveling. They supplied the new room with bed, table, chair, and lamp. Elisha is touched by the gesture and asks her what he can do for her. If she needed any help with the governing authorities, he would be more than glad to put in a word for her. When she declines, Elisha's servant Gehazi informs Elisha that she and her husband are childless. Upon hearing the news, Elisha informs her that she will have a child in one more year. She fears that Elisha is playing with her feelings. She admonishes him not to lie to her. Elisha though has not lied to her. Within one year she and her husband have had a son.

The boy grows at least until the time he is able to go with his father to the fields to bring in the harvest. Apparently while out in the field the child suffers a sunstroke. He is brought home with a throbbing headache. He lays his head down on his mother's lap. Within a short time the little boy dies.

What is incredible about the story is the woman's response to her child's death. There is a Christian theology operating out there which basically encourages us to accept whatever comes our way because it is God's will and God's will cannot be changed. That theology was born in the 16th century in Geneva, Switzerland; it is not biblical. I don't see God's people in the Bible throwing up their hands and just accepting whatever comes their way. When God threatens to destroy the nation of Israel (Ex. 32), Moses pleads for their salvation. When Isaiah announces to Hezekiah that he is going to die, Hezekiah doesn't turn over in his bed to die. He cries out to the Lord who reverses His decision and allows Hezekiah to live for another 15 years. The Syro-Phoenician woman when rebuked by Jesus because she asked Him to heal her daughter does not submit to fate. She tells Jesus that whereas He might have come primarily to give bread to God's people of Israel, she also reminds Him that even dogs get to lap up the crumbs which fall from the children's table. A time does come when God may say, "Enough. I'm not changing My mind." We will discover when He says that though through prayer. In the meantime we are to remember that we are His sons and we are His daughters. As a result, there are some things that I will not accept in myself, my family, my church, my nation, and my world. I will fight for these entities in my life--through prayer, through perseverance, and through speech. This is more than OK with God because He expects us to approach Him with this kind of boldness and confidence (Heb. 4:16).

The woman understands this about God. She places her son in the prophets upstairs room, shuts the door, and tells her husband that she is going to visit the prophet. When her husband is puzzled that she is going on a day when it was neither a new moon nor a festival day (apparently the normal times to visit a prophet), she answers that all is well (literally, shalom). She hurries to Carmel to beseech the prophet.

Upon arriving at Mt. Carmel the woman falls down and grasps Elisha's ankles. Elisha's servant, Gehazi, finds this action quite inappropriate. Even after Gehazi tries to restrain her, Elisha does not rebuke her but instead allows her to express herself accordingly. God has hidden the matter from his eyes; as a result he asks her what the problem is. She responds that she had never asked for a child. Her child came to her at the initiation of the prophet and of God. She had asked him not to deceive her, and yet now it appears that a great deception has taken place. God gave her a child only to take him away from her and break her heart--especially even when she had not asked for the child. What kind of joke was this?

The woman has a legitimate case before God. Moreover, her feelings are legitimate. C.S. Lewis for most of his life had been a bachelor, not because he wanted to be a bachelor but because the circumstances of his life forced bachelorhood upon him. Towards the end of his life, he fell in love with an American Christian, Joy Davidman. It was a meeting of 2 great intellects and 2 great spirits; eventually it became the meeting of 2 bodies as well. Just when everything seemed to start going well for Lewis, Joy was diagnosed with cancer. Within a few short years she died.

The loss was extremely painful for Lewis. He had lost his mother at an early age and had lost his best friend during WW1. Now his wife was taken from him. Lewis speaks in the same terms the Shunemite woman spoke, calling it all a cosmic joke. Lewis did not end up with this sentiment; however, it was a genuine sentiment he experienced as a result of the experiences in life. He finally was able to resolve God's love for him with the great pains he had suffered in life.

Elisha responds positively to the woman--something he would not have done if she had not approached him. He sends his servant Gehazi on ahead to Shunem in order to lay the prophet's staff upon the face of the boy. (Most likely the crook lay upon the boy's face, while the rest of the staff went down the length of the boy's body.) The prophet in the meantime arrives in Shunem. Since the staff has had no observable effect upon the boy, the prophet goes into the room and shuts the door behind him. He stretches himself out upon the boy, eye to eye, nose to nose, hand to hand, etc. Only after Elisha has tried this does the boy's body become warm again. A little later the boy sneezes 7 times and comes back fully to life. The woman's faith and boldness have saved her little boy's life.