Elisha man of Faith

Elisha

Man of Faith who did Miracles

The Story of Elisha

2nd Kings 2:15 to 2nd Kings 13
When the young men who were in the schools of the prophets saw Elisha divide the waters of Jordan, they knew that God was with him, as He had been with Elijah they came and bowed down to the ground before him, to do him honor.They, as well as Elisha, had seen Elijah taken up by the fiery chariot but they thought that God might perhaps have carried him, in that way, to some other part of the country.So they begged Elisha to let fifty of them go and seek him. Elisha at first forbade their doing so, but at last he gave them his consent. So they looked for Elijah for three days. But they did not find him because he was with God in heaven.Then the people of Jericho came to Elisha, complaining that, though the situation of their city was beautiful, as he saw, the water was almost poisonous, and the soil was barren.So he told them to bring him a new bottle, with a little salt in it. And when it was brought, he went to the spring where the water that supplied the neighborhood rose, and throwing the salt into it, he declared that God had taken away the filth from the water, so that from that time neither men nor cattle would be injured by drinking it, nor would it any longer render the soil unproductive, as it had done.After this, Elisha went to Bethel and when he was near the city, some young men came out ridiculing and insulting him and they mockingly told him "go up," as his master had done.This was a shocking sin, for it was turning into mockery that great miracle that God had just done, of carrying Elijah, living as he was, into heaven. Elisha knew that God's anger would fall upon them for such wickedness and, turning back toward the young men, he told them that they would be punished. And immediately two fierce female bears rushed out of the wood, and killed forty-two of them.God enabled Elisha to do many miracles. He brought a dead child to life again. He healed the Syrian general, Naaman, of an incurable disease; fed a hundred of the prophets with a small quantity of bread; and did many other wonderful works.When Elisha lay dying, Jehoash, king of Israel, came, and wept over him. Then Elisha told the king to shoot an arrow out of the window, and afterward strike the ground with the whole quiver-full, to show the king that he should overcome his enemies, the Syrians.When he had done this, Elisha died.

"So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go back again; for what have I done to you?" And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and slew 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 ministered to him." (1 Kings 19:19-21 RSV)
And so it was that Elisha was selected to become the assistant, student, and eventual successor of Elijah. Together, they formed one of the most miracle-filled ministries of The Bible:
Little is written of Elisha during the few years between the time of his calling, until Elijah's very curious departure in a "chariot of fire" (2 Kings 2:11) (in illustration). See Where Did Elijah Go?
Having inherited a "double portion of Elijah's spirit" (2 Kings 2:9), which was actually the Holy Spirit of God (see The Spirit and Power of Elijah), Elisha became the new leader of the company of Prophets (2 Kings 2:15)
After Elijah's departure, Elisha went to Jericho where he miraculously transformed a poison water supply into a clean spring (2 Kings 2:19-22).
From Jericho, he travelled to Bethel where he was accosted by a large gang of youths. Elisha called down a curse on his attackers, and 42 of them were mauled by 2 bears that then came out of the woods (2 Kings 2:23-25)
A few of the other recorded miracles by Elisha:
a supply of water when Jehoram's army was suffering from thirst (2 Kings 3:9-20)
increasing the poor widow's supply of oil (2 Kings 4:1-7)
restoring to life the son of the woman of Shunem (2 Kings 4:18-37)
the multiplication of 20 loaves of bread into enough to feed 100 men (2 Kings 4:42-44)
curing Naaman the Syrian of his leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-27)
making an iron axhead float in the waters of the Jordan (2 Kings 6:1-7)
During the worst of the siege of Samaria by the king of Syria, and of the starvation of the people, Elisha prophesied that relief would soon come, which it did (2 Kings 6:24-7:2).
At Damascus, Elisha carried out the command that had been given to Elijah to anoint Hazael king over Syria (2 Kings 8:7-15). He then directed one of the sons of the prophets to anoint Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel, instead of Ahab. Thus the 3 commands given to Elijah were all eventually accomplished through one or both of them.
Elisha's ministry covered a period of about 60 years (892-832 B.C.), through the reigns of Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, and Joash, kings of Israel (see Kings of Israel and Judah and Jews At War With Israel).
Elisha died in his own house of an unspecified illness (2 Kings 13:14-20). It is interesting to note that the man who once had the powers to cure sickness and raise the dead, himself had to actually suffer (2 Kings 13:14) through a terminal illness, like so many others commonly do, when his own time came (see Healing and Why Does God Allow Suffering?). Joash, the grandson of Jehu, upon seeing that Elijah was about to die, uttered the same words that Elisha uttered when Elijah was taken away: "My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" (2 Kings 13:14 RSV)