God's Prophet of Miracles
2 Kings 2:9-14, 4:1-7, 6:1-7
What is making a commitment?
The act of pledging yourself to God and entrusting yourself to God.
Before Elisha became the powerful prophet that he was, he spent some time with the Prophet Elijah.
Elijah was somewhat like a father to Elisha, and Elisha was a devoted servant to Elijah.
We must have this relationship with our Heavenly Father, and we do this while trying to be more like the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Elisha made a commitment to Jehovah and Elijah.
2Ki 2:5 And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
2Ki 2:6 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.
The Prophet Elisha refused to leave the side of Elijah.
Now it was not Elijah who called Elisha to be a prophet of Jehovah, it was Jehovah who had called him through Elijah.
1Ki 19:16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
We can all love and cherish our pastor, but this will not make us preachers.
We must be called of God!
Elijah knew his time had come to leave this earth, and God did this in a special way.
Elijah had used many ways to test the commitment of Elisha, and Elisha had passed every test.
It was Elisha who would spend the final moments alone with his beloved prophet.
For more than twenty years, the Prophet Elijah had witnessed to the nation of Israel.
Elijah had the power of God upon him.
*****2Ki 2:8 And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.
2Ki 2:9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
2Ki 2:10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
Somewhat like Moses at the Red Sea, Jehovah parted the waters of the River Jordan so his two prophets could cross on dry ground.
On this very day, Elijah would be raptured out of this world in full view of Elisha.
I say raptured because what does the word rapture mean?
The word rapture means to be "caught up".
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Before the Tribulation, Jesus Christ will descend from Heaven, catching up the Church to be with Himself while the tribulation is unleashed on a world that refuses to repent and is full of unbelievers once the Church is gone.
The seventh week of the prophet Daniel is an outpouring of the wrath of God!
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Rev 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
The Tribulation is described in the Book of Revelation from Chapter 6 through Chapter 16.
Rev 19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
That word “whore” means the false Church and those who reject our Creator, especially those who know the truth of God but have rejected Him.
Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion of the Holy Spirit that powered Elijah.
He knew he could not replace Elijah.
Elijah did not have the power to grant such a request because his power came from the Spirit of Jehovah.
In those days, the firstborn son in a Hebrew family was granted a double portion of any inheritance if they were found worthy.
Then, without any warning, Jehovah claimed His servant, Elijah.
*****2Ki 2:11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
We must know that our lives are in the hands of the Lord to do as He pleases!
1) God knows when our work is done.
2) Death seems so low, but in fact, we are elevated to a higher service.
3) We are elevated, dignified, and glorified.
4) We do not enter into soul sleep or an intermediate state; we go to another world we call Heaven.
Elijah was carried up by the power of God.
When our Lord Jesus went back to Heaven, He went under His own power.
Elijah was taken up as in the rapture.
Jesus Christ just went back to Heaven, where He came from, to sit at the right hand of God.
The Lord Jesus is coming again first to Rapture the Church into the clouds and then to this earth at the end of the tribulation period of seven years.
Elisha saw with his own eyes that God’s people are all surrounded by angels.
2Ki 6:17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
*****2Ki 2:12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
2Ki 2:13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
2Ki 2:14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
Jehovah had used the Prophet Elijah to demonstrate to Israel that it was Jehovah who had the true power over Israel.
He will do the same with the Prophet Elisha, and it is these things that we must learn from the Old Testament.
If we cannot commit ourselves to our God, how can we ever overcome the obstacles that Satan will put in our path of righteousness?
1Co 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
1Co 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Faithful is another word for commitment!
Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
Elisha's first call was to pick up the fallen cloak of Elijah.
Elisha was to replace the great Prophet Elijah.
The next proof to Elisha was the parting of the River Jordan.
This was an act of faith that he had received the power of God as he had desired.
Elijah had promised the fulfillment of this request, and God had allowed it to take place.
There were some eyewitnesses to this event, and they needed to see if Elisha truly had the power of God upon him.
Elisha began his ministry, and we will see more miracles from this man of God than from any other prophet of God.
*****2Ki 4:1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.
2Ki 4:2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.
Just as it is today, women who have lost their husbands or never had one to begin with will struggle to raise a family.
Many of them are like this woman who was married to a preacher, and all of a sudden, he had died, and he died owing money to a ruthless man.
We also see that these sons of the prophets did not separate themselves from society but had families and had family life.
So, this was something that God did not require. In fact, the Church is to be a close-knit family, just as all families should be,
This woman was left with a son and a small pot of olive oil and no money to pay the creditor.
The Jewish law of that time demanded that debts be paid, but God had His demands.
Lev 25:38 I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
Lev 25:39 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
Lev 25:40 But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile:
Lev 25:41 And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.
No Jew could be made a slave by another Jew according to the Word of God because they all had been slaves in Egypt.
We also know that the Word of God was abused then as it is today.
The Prophet Elisha knew what was going on here, and so did Jehovah, who watches over us all.
*****2Ki 4:3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
2Ki 4:4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
2Ki 4:5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.
There are times when we will have a heavy need, and the Lord Jesus reminds us of what to do.
Joh 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
Joh 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Elijah was now gone to Heaven, so this woman turned to Elisha and Elisha said: “Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few”.
God said: Go to your neighbors and get all the containers that they will let you have.
This woman took her small vessel of olive oil and began pouring it into the borrowed buckets, pitchers, and any other containers until they were all full, and she still had her vessel of olive oil.
When God offers His gifts, we must never be the reason that His gift falls short.
As this oil is a type of the Holy Spirit, we must understand that it is never a question of the amount of oil; it is always a question of the empty vessels that need to be filled.
God has enough of His Spirit to fill every human being upon this earth and keep them full!
2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
2Co 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair.
2Co 4:9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
2Co 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2Co 4:11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
God's oil can never run out!
We must take advantage of His offer to help us.
If this woman had a lack of faith and just gotten a few containers, her sons would have still had to serve the creditor, and she might not have ever seen them again.
Notice also that this thing was to be done behind closed doors.
This was a woman with a lot of faith.
*****2Ki 4:6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
2Ki 4:7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
We must understand that being poor is not necessarily a disgrace.
Being poor, we can sometimes better understand the gifts of God.
We could say that the Bible is the poor man's book because God certainly remembers the poor.
A poor woman with a devout heart can be the greatest prayer warrior in the Church and many are.
Psa 68:5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
Psa 10:14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
God's heart is full of compassion for those who cannot help themselves and who depend on Him to meet their needs.
What did this poor woman do?
1) She informed a true man of God of her situation and sought his counsel.
2) She sought the help of her neighbors, humbly asking for assistance.
3) She sought privacy, giving God all the glory.
4) She got involved in the remedy, pouring the oil herself.
5) She had faith that God would meet her need.
Jesus said: Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
We should understand that every circumstance we face in life could be a test and a means of Christian growth, whether they are good or bad.
To be honest, we can grow more during our bad times than our good times if our faith stays rock solid.
Indeed, we cannot have a testimony until we are tested.
The Bible is a lot of things to a lot of people, but it is surely a testimony of God's power to help and to defend His people.
The Old Testament is full of things that God did for His people, and we know we serve this same God today.
*****2Ki 6:1 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
2Ki 6:2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
2Ki 6:3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
The place where these sons of the prophets gathered to study the Word of God had grown too small, and they wanted to build a bigger place on the shores of the River Jordan.
Notice that every man was to join in the construction of this new building.
Even Elisha would be with them.
By building this new place to worship near the place where they gathered the lumber, they would not have to transport these materials to the other place.
We can see that the Word of God was still working in the places of the Northern Tribes of Israel.
*****2Ki 6:4 So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
2Ki 6:5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
2Ki 6:6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
2Ki 6:7 Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.
We may wonder why this story is in the Bible, but God has His reason for every word He gives to us.
We can understand Church growth.
We can understand the members of the Church helping with the construction.
We can understand the head prophet or the Pastor joining in with the work.
A united Church can accomplish so much more than a divided Church!
What is the purpose of a miracle of God?
We know that miracles did not happen at random throughout Scripture but occurred mainly in the days of Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, and Jesus Christ and the Apostles.
There are a select few that happened outside this time, but not many.
Miracles were given to authenticate God's message.
God enabled His messengers to perform miracles to substantiate the new message they were given.
The word "miracle" means "power" or “work of power".
Today, God does not work through a person for miracles to happen.
God may answer a prayer of a believer that requires a miracle, or He may perform a miracle in the life of a believer again as an answer to prayer.
So, a believer's prayer is the most powerful gift we have today.
Here in our passage, we see that an axe-head called “the iron” came off the ax handle and fell into the River Jordan.
This man had borrowed this ax from his neighbor, and by Jewish Law, he was responsible for it.
Iron tools were precious and scarce on that day.
This happened often with the axes of that day.
Deu 19:5 As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:
Elisha asked him in what part of the river it fell, and he showed him.
The River Jordan is not a clear river.
In this miracle, Elisha threw a stick down into the river and the axe-head did swim to that stick and that man reached down a picked up the axe-head.
For that man, this was quite a miracle.
Joh 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
This man had lost this axe-head while he was faithfully serving the Lord.
As servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must walk carefully before the Lord and take inventory of our tools lest we lose something that we need.
Without this axe-head, this man could only watch others' work, and there are far too many of these types in the Church already.
If we honestly lose something and own up to it while doing the work the Lord has given to us to do, then God can recover what we lost and get us back into the race, as the Apostle Paul would say.
Amen
