2 Kings 5:20-27 - Greed earns Retribution

2 Kings 5:20-27

Gehazi’s Greed

20 But Gehazi, 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.” 21 So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?”

22 And he said, “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.’”

23 So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him. 24 When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed. 25 Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?”

And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.”

26 Then he said to him, “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? 27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.

We see the effects of greed when Elisha’s servant Gehazi took it on himself to lie on behalf of the prophet who served God at no monetary cost (2 Kings 5:15, 16) and then talk Naaman the Syrian out of money and clothing for payment of what he had been told was the free work of the LORD.  He chased Naaman down to extort a false payment for his own gain in his greed as if it was for missionary work of some visiting prophets.  Some still practice this fleecing for grace instead of offering their service to the Lord freely and will likewise answer for their greed as Gehazi did here.  He continued to lie to Elisha instead of confessing his greed and suffered a horrible retribution of leprosy, making him an outcast who would not be able to enjoy the riches he swindled out of Naaman since nobody would come near him, let alone sell him anything or do any business with the infected man.  Greed earns the retribution of sin’s (Romans 6:23) consequences.  We are called to beware this type of dishonesty for personal gain (1 Timothy 3:3, 8, 1 Peter 5:2) and especially in the name of God’s work or even worse in the position as a leader of the flock. 

2 Kings 5:1-19 - True Healing by Simple Obedience

2 Kings 5:1-19

Naaman’s Leprosy Healed

1 Now Naaman, 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. 2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 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.” 4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.”

5 Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”

So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said,

Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.

7 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? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.”

8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman 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.’ 12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “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’?” 14 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.

15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.”

16 But he said, ”As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.

17 So Naaman said, “Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD. 18 Yet in this thing may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD please pardon your servant in this thing.”

19 Then he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him a short distance.

There was this man who was a great and valorous commander of the Syrian army who was named Naaman.  He had leprosy and cried out for healing when a captive girl from Israel heard him and told of a prophet in Samaria who would heal him.  This prophet was Elisha.  But when the king of Syria, Naaman’s master, sent ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold to hire the healer of the LORD to come and make his valued commander who;e again, the king of Israel was upset because he saw this as an impossible trap meant to stir up a war.  Elisha told him to calm down and trust the LORD working through him to heal the man.  He asked for Naaman to come to him, but then did not even answer the door what he arrived; instead, his servant passed on the message to go bathe seven time in the Jordan River and be cleansed from his leprosy.  Naaman was indignantly angry because he expected wild fanfare and waving of hands with magnanimous fantastic gestures and words to properly heal him in the name of the LORD, an expectation and practice still seen sadly today in some circles.  His servants brought him back down to humble reality by saying that if the prophet had asked some great task for him to go through to earn healing, would he have done it?  What then of the message was simple]y, “Wash and be cleansed?”  So Naaman acted in humble faith and was healed as promised.  How many charlatans could learn from this as when Jesus told the entitled Jews (Luke 4:27-28) of a seemingly unworthy Gentile healed when no respectable citizen of Israel found such cleansing by the the Lord.  Religious people often believe they are entitled to healing of body to match the soul, misreading scripture like Isaiah 53:5-6 and 1 Peter 2:24 that demonstrate spiritual healing of reconciling righteousness over flashy gestures to heal the outward person.   Naaman was ever thankful for being restored and offered to pay for the healing, but was told it was not to be done like that; how many charlatans today offer false hopes for a price and perform wild words and gestures to promise healing that the Lord gives through the gospel of salvation to the soul as the priority, flipping the necessary for the secondary that is not the main purpose of the good news of true healing by simple obedience to the word of God? 

2 Kings 4:38-44 - Miraculously Meeting Needs

2 Kings 4:38-44

Elisha Purifies the Pot of Stew

38 And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39 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. 40 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.

41 So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

Elisha Feeds One Hundred Men (cf. Matthew 14:13–21; 15:32–39)

42 Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.”

43 But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?”

He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD: They shall eat and have some left over.’” 44 So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.

The miraculous work of God through the prophet Elisha shows first how the LORD purified food to eat that was previously poisonous, and then secondly is a foreshadowing of the work of the divine Son of God Himself in the multiplying of a small amount of food to feed a multitude of one hundred.  The cleansing process was relatively straightforward, with godly wisdom given to use flour to wick away the poison from the wild food.  The feeding, however, was truly supernatural.  Elisha had been given just twenty loaves of barley bread and corn or some such grain, and he told his servant to give it to feed the one hundred hungry men there, an seemingly impossible task since that would mean just one fifth of a loaf to each, hardly enough to satisfy each of them.  The miracle was not the same as Jesus who multiplied less bread and fish to feed a much larger crowd, yet was miraculous enough to have more than enough to go around from so little to so many.  They “still had some left over” according to God’s word given through Elisha.  We find that God is more than able to meet our needs (Matthew 6:25, 31, Philippians 4:19) and leaves us with enough left over for meeting the needs of others.  He multiplies us (2 Timothy 2:2) to feed others the gospel for feeding the souls of those who hunger for righteousness (Matthew 5:6) and find it provided more abundantly in Jesus Christ, the bread (John 6:32-33, 35, 51) of life who is our manna from heaven.  This is how we also miraculously meet the needs of the soul through the proclamation of the word of the gospel of God in Jesus Christ, who also gives us the means and wisdom to meet physical needs of those who hunger in other ways as well.  This account then is a precursor to the work of Christ feeding the multitudes, distributing Himself as it were as the bread of life through our hands and so miraculously meeting needs. 

2 Kings 4:8-37 - A Miraculous Birth, Death, and Resurrection

2 Kings 4:8-37

Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son (cf. 1 Kings 17:17–24)

8 Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. 9 And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. 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.”

11 And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. 12 Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, “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?’”

She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”

14 So he said, “What then is to be done for her?”

And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.”

15 So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son.”

And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!”

17 But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.

18 And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, “My head, my head!”

So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. 21 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. 22 Then she called to her husband, and said, “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.”

23 So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.”

And she said, ”It is well.” 24 Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 And so she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel.

So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, the Shunammite woman! 26 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?’”

And she answered, “It is well.” 27 Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi 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.”

28 So she said, “Did I ask a son of my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”

29 Then he said to Gehazi, “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.”

30 And the mother of the child said, ”As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her. 31 Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child has not awakened.”

32 When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. 33 He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. 34 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. 35 He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 36 And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” 37 So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she picked up her son and went out.

Here was a miraculous birth and a death followed by resurrection to life that stands as a foreshadowing of the immaculate birth, death, and resurrection to life of God’s Son.  The prophet Elisha began by being invited to eat with and then stay with a Shunammite woman and her husband as he traveled past her house.  Her husband was old and she had no son, so the LORD promised her one in a year through the prophet’s promise, which was of course not really believed by her until it happened.  One day when the child grew up, he had a violent headache and died; she ran for help to Elisha to ask what was wrong to be promised a child who would be born only to die, and what could God do to remedy the situation.  This is reminiscent of the reason God’s own Son who was long promised was also to die on a cross of suffering and yet be raised from death to life as a promise for our own future.  This was hidden from Elisha as the woman approached him with the distress on her heart just as the death and resurrection of God’s Son was hidden from the apostles (Mark 9:9-10, 31-32, 10:33, 34, Luke 24:31-32) even when He told them plainly of His plan.  The prophet breathed life into the son of the Shunammite mother just as the God-Man returned the breath of life into the Man Jesus Christ on the third day after being sealed in death’s tomb.  The mother and aged father then rejoiced that their son lived again; how much more the Father in heaven rejoices over His Son’s resurrection to bring us life in and with Him and we join Him (John 14:28) with joy inexpressible (1 Peter 1:8-9) and full of glory as those who went before us heard in the scriptures (1 Peter 1:10-11, 12) for so long in anticipation of life (Job 19:25-27) from death! 

2 Kings 4:1-7 - God’s Provision of Grace

2 Kings 4:1-7

Elisha and the Widow’s Oil (cf. 1 Kings 17:14–16)

1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “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.”

2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”

3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 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.”

5 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. 6 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. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

This widow was of one of the “sons of the  prophets” which was likely a prophet in training of sorts or an actual son of a known prophet used by the LORD to deliver His word to the people of God.  What we do know is that Elisha was a prophet and her affiliation brought her plea for help to his attention.  Because she called her dece husband the servant of Elijah specifically and that he knew he was a servant who feared the LORD, the ancient accounts say that her husband was Obadiah (1 Kings 18:12) who feared God and hid the prophets from Ahab and Jezebel in caves.  Either way, Elisha honored her as the widow of a servant of God and met her needs to keep the debt collectors from taking her sons to pay her debts as slaves.  He heard she only had a single pot of oil in the house, and was directed by the LORD to have her gather as many empty pots as possible from her neighbors.  She then poured out the single jar into the others until she ran out of empty ones, a miracle as profound as the Lord Jesus Christ with the loaves and fishes feeding thousands later.  It was God’s gift of provision to honor her and her deceased husband who served Him in this case, enabling her and her free sons to live on after paying her debts with the proceeds of selling many jars of the valuable oil.  Such is God’s gift to us in His daily bread of provision for our needs even now, and especially for those who set aside their lives in service to Him and the gospel to set men and women free (John 8:36, Romans 6:18, 22) from enslavement to sin and provide all we need in support of body and soul (Matthew 6:31, 33, 2 Peter 1:3) for living and for godliness.  This is an example of God’s provision of grace honoring those (1 Samuel 2:30, John 12:26) who honor Him. 

2 Kings 3:1-27 - Failure of Rebellion Against God’s People

2 Kings 3:1-27

Moab Rebels Against Israel

1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. 3 Nevertheless he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams. 5 But it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

6 So King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. 7 Then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?”

And he said, “I will go up; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8 Then he said, “Which way shall we go up?”

And he answered, “By way of the Wilderness of Edom.”

9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. 10 And the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

11 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?”

So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.”

12 And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

13 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.”

But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

14 And Elisha said, ”As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. 15 But now bring me a musician.”

Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. 16 And he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ 17 For thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ 18 And this is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 19 Also you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall cut down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”

20 Now it happened in the morning, when the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.

21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to bear arms and older were gathered; and they stood at the border. 22 Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood. 23 And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!”

24 So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they entered their land, killing the Moabites. 25 Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the stones of Kir Haraseth intact. However the slingers surrounded and attacked it.

26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. 27 Then he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great indignation against Israel. So they departed from him and returned to their own land.

When Jehoram the son of Ahab took the throne of Israel, he did get rid of the sacred pillar of Baal his father had made, but still did other evil as his Jeroboam had done with other idols of golden calves.  He still encouraged the people to worship other (1 Kings 12:28, 32, 33) lifeless gods.  Therefore, the LORD stirred up the king of Moab against him to rebel against Israel’s control of them.  When Jehoram heard this he quickly formed an alliance with Jehoshaphat king of Judah to defend against the rising revolt.  Jehoshaphat asked for a word of the LORD for their predicament of marching around for a week without water and being stalked by wild animals.  Elisha was named as a prophet who could bring them such a word for a desired victory that they sought against Moab.  Elisha made it clear that he would not have come to help just evil Jehoram, but for Judah’s sake because of Jehoshaphat.  God directed Elisha to have them dig trenches for water to collect for them to satisfy their thirst as well as to defeat the enemy.  There was no wind or storm to see, but the trenches filled with water from out of Edom somehow anyway as a proof of God’s hand in this coming battle for victory.  In the morning light the Moabites saw the sun glaring off the water as if it was blood from the armies of Israel and Judah attacking each other as they supposed.  This led them to become fools who rush in without further thought in their assumptive arrogance.  They were sorely routed by Israel and left in a hurry as their numbers swiftly dwindled in battle.  As commanded by the LORD, the Israelites spoiled the land, stopped up the wells, and felled down all the good trees in order to keep the Moabites from living there again.  The king of Moab watched the battle turn against them and thought to appease their nonexistent gods by offering his heir as a human sacrifice.  It did no good.  They left with great wrath against Israel whom they had failed to rebel against and they went back home in utter defeat and without hope.  This demonstrates the failure of rebellion against the Lord and His people which will be finalized in the last battle when Jesus Christ, the loving Word of God, comes to lead the victory against all who rebel against Him and His people in disobeying the gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7, 8-9, 1 Peter 4:17) of God’s Son and the King over all His chosen people.  We are called to fight the good fight (1 Timothy 6:12) by bearing testimony (1 John 5:11-12, Revelation 12:11, 17) to the truth in Christ our King (John 14:6, 18:37) who alone delivers us from the wrath on sin (1 Thessalonians 1:8, 9-10, Romans 5:9, 10) to come, knowing fully that the victory (1 Corinthians 15:57) is His and in Him alone!  

2 Kings 2:19-25 - Respect the Servants of the Lord

2 Kings 2:19-25

Elisha Performs Miracles

19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.”

20 And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’” 22 So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”

24 So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.

25 Then he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

After taking up the mantle of his mentor Elijah, the prophet Elisha began performing supernatural acts to glorify the LORD whom he spoke for and served as his master before him.  He was told that the water was bad and the land barren, meaning the people of that city were starving and dying of thirst or of the sickness from drinking the polluted water.  Elisha had them enact a simple remedy given him by the wisdom of God’s Spirit in him; he had them provide a bowl and salt which he poured into the source of the water, a spring.  The water was made palatable from that moment onward and the earth fruitful because of the purified water source for their crops.  This miracle was the God-given wisdom applied with insight of the Spirit placed in Elisha as requested (2 Kings 2:9) when Elijah was taken up into heaven in the chariot of fire.  When he was disrespected by teenagers on his way to Bethel, they were held accountable for disrespecting the LORD whose messenger he was as God sent bears to teach them a lesson not to touch those so anointed of the LORD.  This seems excessive to us as we read of the bear attack, yet when we consider it was God’s name they blasphemed by insulting and reviling His mouthpiece, it seems appropriate to hold them accountable as a warning lesson to others that they may heed those bringing the word of the LORD to them.  Elisha then went on to Mount Carmel, and then back to Samaria.  Certainly, we are not to be punished as those teens were when we malign the ministers of the gospel, but this extreme lesson should;d engender respect for those God calls (1 Timothy 5:17, Philippians 2:29, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, Hebrews 13:7, 17) and uses for our edification in the church; all outside the church are judged by God and accountable to Him (1 Corinthians 5:12) and not us.  We are there to respect the servants of the Lord as we serve God through hearing Him through their words of wisdom on how to live for Him and one another.  This example is given for us to explain why we should respect the servants of the Lord and not malign them, for in so doing we malign the Lord who sent them for our good. 

2 Kings 2:1-18 - Should I Stay or Should I Go?

2 Kings 2:1-18

Elijah Ascends to Heaven

1 And it came to pass, when the LORD was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel.

3 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?”

And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”

4 Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.”

But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho.

5 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?”

So he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”

6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.”

But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So the two of them went on. 7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?”

Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”

10 So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. 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.” 11 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; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.

15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him. 16 Then they said to him, “Look now, there are fifty 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.”

And he said, “You shall not send anyone.”

17 But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, “Send them!” Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him. 18 And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

Should I stay or should I go?  That was the dilemma facing Elisha when Elijah was called away to Bethel to be taken up to heaven without facing the normal dying process we all do.  The prophets came to tell Elisha that the LORD would be taking his mentor home, but twice he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!” to them as he did not want to part from Elijah who he had been following to serve God together.  He also told Elijah three times that he would not leave him as if his life depended on it.  Then Elijah rolled his mantle and struck the water, and it was divided like the Red Sea and Jordan by Israel on the way to the promised land before to allow them to cross over on dry ground.  Elijah was about to cross the Jordan both literally and figuratively through death’s current taken away to not yet taste death.  Elijah promised to honor anything Elisha asked of him before he left and Elisha asked for a double portion of the Spirit of God that was on Elijah to be on him to serve the LORD well after his departure from this world.  Elijah promised it as long as his apprentice was able to see him leave for heaven.  As they walked on, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and they were separated as Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind into heaven as prophetically promised.  Elisha saw it before his eyes and exclaimed, “the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” as he acknowledged God had taken his master to Himself.  He then took up the mantle of his mentor and parted the waters again to return to the others who acknowledged the Spirit who was on Elijah was now on Elisha according to the promise.  We also have the Spirit of God by divine promise (John 14:16-17, Galatians 4:6, Romans 8:9, Acts 1:8, 2:4, 17) after having seen the Lord Jesus taken into heaven (Luke 24:49, 51) as resurrected from death to life, knowing we will be equipped for the gospel work until we cross the figurative Jordan into glory as symbolized by Christian crossing the river in Pilgrim’s Progress.  The prophets before Elisha witnessed the Spirit on him and glorified God as having that of Elijah before him; likewise, we have witnesses seeing God’s Spirit change our lives as the apostles and multitudes throughout history before us since that day of Pentecost, to enable us to minister the gospel to the world (Acts 1:8) as they set the example for us until we cross the Jordan ourselves.  The prophets looked for Elijah who ascended into heaven, and some may still look for Jesus or another prophet to speak to them or take them to heaven here, not yet understanding that He has ascended to heaven in the presence of the Father.  We now anticipate the day when we are taken up to be with Him who was proclaimed by Elijah (Malachi 4:5, Matthew 11:14, 17:12) long ago!  Should I stay or should I go?  We should not stay away from Jesus, but follow to go with Him as others lead us that we may one day cross the river separating life and death to enter into His presence of glory. 

2 Kings 1:1-18 - Seeking other Gods?

2 Kings 1:1-18

God Judges Ahaziah

1 Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.” 3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Now therefore, thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah departed.

5 And when the messengers returned to him, he said to them, “Why have you come back?”

6 So they said to him, “A man came up to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’”’”

7 Then he said to them, “What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?”

8 So they answered him, “A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.”
And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’”

10 So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 11 Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men.

And he answered and said to him: “Man of God, thus has the king said, ‘Come down quickly!’”

12 So Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

13 Again, he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: “Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. 14 Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight.”

15 And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king. 16 Then he said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’”

17 So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. Because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.

18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Are there other gods to seek?  Is there no God among His people already?  These questions accused Ahaziah from the mouth of the LORD’s messenger Elijah when the king ignored the LORD and asked for guidance and help from a lifeless idol named Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron.  That non-existent being could not give the king of Israel any assurance or answers for his recovery from a nasty fall.  Only the Living God in heaven (Romans 9:26), the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matthew 22:31-32, Acts 14:15) could answer him or any of us with true authority and power.  No imaginary god carved by the hand of man or by his reasoning can have any power or influence on us; only the self-existing Living God whose name is I AM WHO I AM (Exodus 3:14, 15) has any answers for us (2 Corinthians 6:16, 1 Thessalonians 1:9) as for Ahaziah who ignored and rejected Him.  May we never follow that erroneous example of Ahaziah’s disbelief in any way or seek help anywhere but from who is real, but trust and obey to worship Him only and not seek answers elsewhere that have no response or help.  When Ahaziah sent messengers to inquire of a lifeless idol non-entity, the LORD sent an angel to Elijah to intercept them, asking why they believed there was no God in Israel among them all along.  He then pronounced the wages of sin (Romans 6:23) on Ahaziah, namely death for his sin of idolatry gleaned from his parents before him.  Ahaziah was so angry that he sent a force to capture the prophet and bring him back for daring to deny him access to an idol and receive the healing he felt he could obtain from out of a powerless source in defiance of the God of his people.  The LORD sent fire from heaven to eradicate those opposed to His messenger not once, but twice, until the third captain humbled himself before God and was spared.  Elijah went and pronounced judgment on the king denying the LORD and putting another before Him as he broke the first commandment.  This time there was no heir for Ahaziah to pass on his idolatry to so Jehoram took the throne of Israel.  We learn from this passage that there is no source for our help and for living but the Lord who loves forever, and that rejecting Him is fatal to both body and soul.  Why then should we ever be seeking help from other gods of our own making such as philosophers and false religions do?