Elisha's Supernatural Life

Last April, I wrote about the double portion that Elisha had asked for from his mentor, Elijah. It is quite a story, really. (You can read my rendition here: http://l2ohio.blogspot.com/2017/04/a-double-portion.html).

After pondering the floating axhead, I decided to see what other supernatural things were recorded in Elisha’s ministry. It is quite a list:

2 Kings 2:11 – Elisha witnesses Elijah being taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire.

2:13 – Elisha uses Elijah’s cloak to strike the water of the Jordan river, and it splits so that he is able to cross it.

2:20-21 – Healed unclean water with a new bowl filled with salt.

2:23 – When a group of bullies were taunting him, he cursed them and two bears killed all 42 of them.

3:17 – Told people to dig ditches but that there would be no rain. All of the ditches filled completely with water from Edom.

3:21 – Water was red-colored, and the Moabites thought it was blood. They believed that the three kings killed one another, but instead this gave the Israeli army a strategic advantage.

4:1-7 – Widow’s oil story: Woman had debt so that she was going to lose her sons. Elisha asked her what she had, and she told him just a small jar of oil. He told her to gather as many jars as she could. She kept pouring oil into the jars until there were no more containers left. She sold the oil and had enough to not only pay off her debt, but also  for her sons and her to live on for the rest of their lives.

4:8-36 – Shunamite woman story:  Opened her womb so that she was able to carry a child; then raised the young lad from the dead.

4:38-41 – Made poisoned stew safe to eat

4:42-44 – fed 100 men with 20 loaves of bread and had leftovers

5:1-14 – Naaman healed of leprosy

5:26 – knew supernaturally that his servant was lying and what he had done. Cursed him and his descendents with leprosy.

6:1-6 – Made an axhead float (cool story -- my rendition here: http://l2ohio.blogspot.com/2018/01/floating-iron.html).

6:8-12 – given words of knowledge several times about the whereabouts of the Armeans and shared with the King of Israel so that were prepared and not caught off-guard.

6:16 – Knew that God’s army would be greater than the enemy’s

6:17 – Prayed so that his servant could see the angelic army too, and he did

6:18 – Prayed that the enemy army would all become blind and they did.

6:20 – Prayed that the enemy army’s blindness would be reversed and it was.

6:22 – Advised the King of Israel how to handle the enemy army

6:32 – Received word of knowledge that the King of Israel wanted to kill him.

7:1 – Declared the famine was over but that the officer of the king would not eat any of the provision.

7:20 – Came true what Elisha said.

8:1-6 – Told the Shunamite woman whose son he had raised from the dead to leave the land because of a 7-year famine. Woman came back after the famine and all was restored to her.

8:7-14 – King of Aram was ill. He told Hazael to ask if he would recover. Elisha told him he would recover from the illness, but would die anyway.

8:11-15 – Weeping because God showed him the evil that was about to happen at the hand of Hazael and told him that he knew.

9:1 – Told prophet to give word to Jehu that he would be anointed as King of Israel and would destroy the house of Ahab.

9:13 – Jehu pronounced as King.

13:14 – Elisha is ill. King Jehoash visited him and cried over him. Elisha had the king get a bow and arrows. He told the King to hold the bow in his hands, and Elisha put his hands over the King’s. He told the King to shoot an arrow of victory out the window. Then he told him to take the arrows and strike the ground. Jehoash struck the ground three times, but Elisha was angry that he didn’t strike the ground five or six times. Declared that they would not fully defeat Aram.

13:20 – Elisha died and was buried.

13:21 – Dead person thrown into Elisha’s tomb. When the dead man’s body touched Elisha’s bones, he came back to life.

Wow! This is quite a list. I am looking forward to the time when I might meet Elisha face to face, but in the meantime, I too, want a double portion!

What a blessing to walk hand-in-hand with Jesus through such supernatural events and to bring His Kingdom here in our every day.