I told you this section of 2 Kings is miracle-dense. After the story of the oil and the jugs, we have the story of the lady from Shunem and her husband. They built a guest room for Elisha to use when he passed through. (See 2 Kings 4.8 – 11) In return, Elisha promises her a son:

Elisha conferred with [Elisha’s servant] Gehazi: “There’s got to be something we can do for her. But what?” Gehazi said, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is an old man.” “Call her in,” said Elisha. He called her and she stood at the open door. Elisha said to her, “This time next year you’re going to be nursing an infant son.” “O my master, O Holy Man,” she said, “don’t play games with me, teasing me with such fantasies!” The woman conceived. A year later, just as Elisha had said, she had a son. (2 Kings 4.14 – 17, MSG)

But the child died, maybe as a young teenager. So she goes to fetch Elisha who sends Gehazi ahead to “lay the staff across the boys face” without success. (See 2 Kings 4.18 – 31) Then Elisha arrives:

Elisha entered the house and found the boy stretched out on the bed dead. He went into the room and locked the door—just the two of them in the room—and prayed to GOD. He then got into bed with the boy and covered him with his body, mouth on mouth, eyes on eyes, hands on hands. As he was stretched out over him like that, the boy’s body became warm. Elisha got up and paced back and forth in the room. Then he went back and stretched himself upon the boy again. The boy started sneezing—seven times he sneezed!—and opened his eyes. (2 Kings 4.32 – 35, MSG)

As always with Elisha, pray…and do something. In this case, he stretched himself out on the boy.

These stories are told with remarkable reserve. No drum rolls, just “this is what happened.” And just to round out the chapter, two more. In the first, they cooked up a stew for the guild of prophets, but a poisonous plant got into it:

They started to eat, and then exclaimed, “Death in the pot, O man of God! Death in the pot!” Nobody could eat it. Elisha ordered, “Get me some meal.” Then he sprinkled it into the stew pot. “Now serve it up to the men,” he said. They ate it, and it was just fine—nothing wrong with that stew! (2 Kings 4.40 – 41, MSG)

In the second we have a multiplication of loaves similar to what Jesus will do on a larger scale:

One day a man arrived from Baal Shalishah. He brought the man of God twenty loaves of fresh baked bread from the early harvest, along with a few apples from the orchard. Elisha said, “Pass it around to the people to eat.” His servant said, “For a hundred men? There’s not nearly enough!” Elisha said, “Just go ahead and do it. GOD says there’s plenty.” And sure enough, there was. He passed around what he had—they not only ate, but had leftovers. (2 Kings 4.42 – 44, MSG)

All these miracles! Signs? An attempt to get the attention of the Northern Kingdom? Remember, that’s where Elijah and Elisha ministered, to “Israel,” where all the kings were bad. Not to Judah. And the miracles weren’t for show; God, through Elisha, just met the need at the time.

Need wisdom?

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. (James 1.5, 6, MSG)

Worried?

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Philippians 4.6, 7, MSG)

So Jesus taught them this prayer: “Our heavenly Father, may the glory of your name be the center on which our life turns. May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us. Manifest your kingdom on earth. And give us our needed bread for the coming day. Forgive our sins as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us. And rescue us every time we face tribulations.” (Luke 11.2 – 4, TPT

“If you’re praying for rain, bring an umbrella.” – Old Saying

I wrote yesterday that we’re going to be seeing a lot of miracles in the ministry of Elisha. Many of them involve some kind of action as in hit the Jordan River with your cloak, and it divides. After that he purifies water by sprinkling salt into it (See 2 Kings 2.19 – 21).

Then we have two miracles that reinforce the same lesson: act first; act as if. Recall that when the people crossed the Jordan to go into the Promised Land, the flow stopped AFTER the priests stepped into the river.

In 2 Kings 3, the kings of Israel and Judah decide to attack Moab, but they find themselves stuck in the desert with no water. The kings call for Elisha, who’s not impressed with the evil king of Israel:

Elisha said, “As GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies lives, and before whom I stand ready to serve, if it weren’t for the respect I have for Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I wouldn’t give you the time of day. But considering—bring me a minstrel.” (When a minstrel played, the power of GOD came on Elisha.) He then said, “GOD’s word: Dig ditches all over this valley. Here’s what will happen—you won’t hear the wind, you won’t see the rain, but this valley is going to fill up with water and your army and your animals will drink their fill. This is easy for GOD to do; he will also hand over Moab to you.” (2 Kings 3.14 – 18, MSG)

And that’s what happened. The army digs the ditches first. The ditches miraculously fill with water which refreshes the army. But the water looks like blood to the Moabites so they assume the kings have attacked each other. They charge into the camp seeking plunder and get routed. (See 2 Kings 3.20- 27)

This event is followed in the next chapter by a story with the same lesson:

One day the wife of a man from the guild of prophets called out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead. You well know what a good man he was, devoted to GOD. And now the man to whom he was in debt is on his way to collect by taking my two children as slaves.” Elisha said, “I wonder how I can be of help. Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Nothing,” she said. “Well, I do have a little oil.” “Here’s what you do,” said Elisha. “Go up and down the street and borrow jugs and bowls from all your neighbors. And not just a few—all you can get. Then come home and lock the door behind you, you and your sons. Pour oil into each container; when each is full, set it aside.” She did what he said. She locked the door behind her and her sons; as they brought the containers to her, she filled them. When all the jugs and bowls were full, she said to one of her sons, “Another jug, please.” He said, “That’s it. There are no more jugs.” Then the oil stopped. She went and told the story to the man of God. He said, “Go sell the oil and make good on your debts. Live, both you and your sons, on what’s left.” (2 Kings 4.1 – 7, MSG)

Gather the jugs first, then the oil will flow.

Dig the ditches first, then the water will flow.

Here’s a trivial example, ongoing. Our dog passed in December 2022. Since then, we have been praying that God would send us the dog of his choice when the time is right. We still have newspaper delivery (wonder how long that will last?!), and we use the plastic bags for dog poop. I’ve continued to save the bags so we’ll have a good supply!

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11.24, ESV)

Yesterday, we meditated on God Is Real! from Elijah’s last confrontation with a king of Israel. Today, this blog will answer the question, “Where is he?” Answer: God is here!

The story comes from Elijah’s last day on earth and literally passing the authority of the prophet to his assistant, Elisha.

Elijah and Elisha walked from Gilgal to Bethel then Jericho. Then, “God has sent me on an errand to the Jordan.” (See 2 Kings 2.1 – 7)

Elijah hits the Jordan with his cloak, and it divides so they can walk across.

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.” 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.” And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. (2 Kings 2.9 – 11, ESV)

Now Elisha is stuck on the east side of the Jordan. Or is he?

Then 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)

Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? He’s here. He’s real. Sneak preview: we’re about to enter a miracle-dense section of the Bible. Almost as many miracles in these few pages as in the gospels. Sometimes I’m tempted to think, “Did that really happen?” But if we accept that God is real, and he’s here, literally anything is possible.

It’s as good a prayer promise as there is. Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? He’s here. He’s real. What am I asking for?

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15.7, ESV)

Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16.24, ESV)