Elisha’s question about the father.
“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”. (2Kings 2:14)
Elisha strikes the water twice. The first time nothing happens because he does it of his own accord. After he calls on the God of Elijah the water parts when he strikes it. This answers Elisha’s question of where is the God of Elijah. He is always there waiting for you to call on him.
Elisha’s question about the favor
“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 anything in the house, save a pot of oil”. (2kings 4:2)
The woman in question is a widow and her sons are in jail due to debt. Elisha asks her if there is anything of value in her house. She replies that all she has is a pot of oil. If I remember correctly this was anointing oil and a pot would have been a very small amount. Basically it is a small bottle that would have allowed a drop of oil out at a time. Elisha is asking the question because he is going to work a miracle and he needs to know what he has to work with. The reason for this is to ensure that that the ensuing miracle will not only help the widow’s sons, but more importantly it will demonstrate God’s power
Elisha’s question about family
“Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well” (2 kings 4:26)
Elisha has told his servant to ask the woman he sees coming if everything is okay, the woman in turn answers that it is. This is an example of faith because even as the woman says everything is fine, her son is dead. She will tell Elisha about this later, but at the moment of being asked the woman despite her grief trusted that everything would be alright with her, her husband and their son despite the death of their son.
Elisha’s question about faithlessness
“And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore, hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel” (2 kings 5:8)
In this passage Elisha wanted to call the king of Israel out on his lack of faith. Elisha requested that the King of Israel, who was extremely distressed about something to come to him. The reason for this was to show that the king’s fear was unwarranted as there was a prophet in Israel. The overall message here seems to be that God will provide the Israelites whatever or whoever they need and that if a person puts their faith in God rather than lamenting or tearing one’s cloths everything will be fine, because as the passage states God will always make sure his people are taking care of.
Elisha’s question about falsehood
“But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of GodAnd when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed
But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.
And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?
The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow” (2 kings 5:20-27).
In the above passages Elisha’s servant Gehazi, decided that he would profit off of Elisha healing the Syrian Naaman. Naaman seeing Gehazi came down from his chariot to meet him, asking if everything was okay. Gehazi then lies and tells him that Elisha has sent him to obtain silver and a couple changes of clothing for two sons of the prophets. Naaman gave him what he asked for. On the way back to Elisha, Gehazi hid what he had obtained. Elisha found out about Gehazi’s deception and cursed him that the leprosy that Elisha had cured Naaman of would cling to him and his descendants.
At the end of the above passages 2 Kings 5:20-27 Elisha’s servant lies twice. First, when he tells Naaman that he needs silver and clothing for the prophet’s sons and finally when he lies to Elisha by telling him that he was there, when Elisha asked him where he was. Gehazi’s sin was not just in his lies but also his covetousness.
In the end while God was willing to forgive and heal Naaman of his leprosy, when Naaman showed faith by washing in the Damascus River, despite the river not being very clean. On the other hand, when Gehazi violated the trust of both Naaman and Elisha because of his own greed. God was quick to punish him when asked to by Elisha. The message here is clear, it is better to lead a godly life, than an ungodly one. I think that the reason that his Gehazi’s punishment was so harsh was because his actions showed that he did not trust in God to provide him what he needed. The reason that Gehazi was afflicted with leprosy was because leprosy was seen as a sign of being unclean. By giving him leprosy God and Elisha were essentially announcing to the rest of the Israelites that Gehazi had fallen out of favor with God and Elisha.
Elisha’s question about failure
“And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
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.
And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.in
So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
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.
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.
Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it”.
(2 kings 6:1-7)
The above passages tell of how the people decided that the place they lived was too small and that if they worked together they could make it larger. When a group of men went to the river Jordan to cut down some trees. The axe head fell into the water. The man was extremely upset because the axe head was not his own. Elisha then asked him where it had fallen and when he was shown Elisha used a stick to make the axe head float across the water to him.
The swimming axe head is another example of the miracles that Elisha performed as a prophet of the Lord and what could be done if one had faith. The man who had dropped the axe head did not doubt Elisha when he cast a stick in the water. Instead he trusted enough that he stepped back and allowed the miracle to happen and for this he was rewarded. The message here is that no matter the situation or how badly a person. If the person has faith enough to let, go and let God work his miracles then everything will be okay.
Reference
Holy Bible: King James Version. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2012. Print.
