ELISHA

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1. At work when called

  • So Elijah departed and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve teams of oxen, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah passed by him and threw his cloak around him. 1 Kings 19:19 BSB

2. Burned "Bridges" behind him

  • So Elisha turned back from him, took his pair of oxen, and slaughtered them. With the oxen’s equipment, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow and serve Elijah. 1 Kings 19:21 BSB
  • As Elisha watched, he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two.  2 Kings 2:12 BSB

3. Persevered

  • Shortly before the LORD took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal, and Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” 2 Kings 2:1-2 BSB

4. Refused Negativity

  • Then the sons of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do not speak of it.” 2 Kings 2:3 BSB

Other versions
 
  • Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” He said, “Yes, I know it; be quiet [about it].” 2 Kings 2:3 AMP
See also

  • Now Eliab his eldest brother heard what he said to the men; and Eliab’s
    anger was kindled against David and he said, Why did you come here? With
    whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your
    presumption and evilness of heart; for you came down that you might see
    the battle. 
    And David said, What have I done now? Was it not a harmless question? And David turned away from Eliab to another and he asked the same question, and again the men gave him the same answer. 1 Samuel 17:28-30 AMPC

5. Not ashamed of asking what he wanted

  • After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken away from you?” “Please, let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. 2 Kings 2:9 BSB

6. Did what Elijah did

  • Parting the Jordan: Elisha also picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah, and he went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. And when he had struck the waters, they parted to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over. 2 Kings 2:13-14 BSB
  • Raising the dead: When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his bed. So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. Then Elisha got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eye to eye, and hand to hand. As he stretched himself out over him, the boy’s body became warm. Elisha turned away and paced back and forth across the room. Then he got on the bed and stretched himself out over the boy again, and the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 2 Kings 4:32-35 BSB

7. Was used for Miracles

  • Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please note, our lord, that the city’s location is good, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.” “Bring me a new bowl,” he replied, “and put some salt in it.” So they brought it to him, and Elisha went out to the spring, cast the salt into it, and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will it cause death or unfruitfulness.” And the waters there have been healthy to this day, according to the word spoken by Elisha.  2 Kings 2:19-22 BSB
  • Then Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot. 2 Kings 4:41 BSB
  • Now a man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with a sack of twenty loaves of barley bread from the first ripe grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha. But his servant asked, “How am I to set twenty loaves before a hundred men?” “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha, “for this is what the LORD says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” So he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD. 2 Kings 4:42-44 BSB

8. Prophesied in the presence of Worship

  • But now, bring me a harpist.” And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha and he said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Dig this valley full of ditches.’ For the LORD says, ‘You will not see wind or rain, but the valley will be filled with water, and you will drink—you and your cattle and your animals.’ This is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD, and He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 2 Kings 3:15-18 BSB

9. Did not have to speak directly to person for miracles to happen

  • So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. Then Elisha sent him a messenger, who said, “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be clean.” 2 Kings 5:9-10 BSB
  • Now Elisha the prophet summoned one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak under your belt, take this flask of oil, and go to Ramoth-gilead. When you arrive, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his companions, and take him to an inner room. Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and declare, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run. Do not delay!” 2 Kings 9:1-3 BSB

10. Was able to see into the spiritual realm

  • When Gehazi went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Gehazi, where have you been?” “Your servant did not go anywhere,” he replied. But Elisha questioned him, “Did not my spirit go with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you?  2 Kings 5:25-26 BSB
  • When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early in the morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. So he asked Elisha, “Oh, my master, what are we to do?” “Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:15-17 BSB

11. Exemplified by Jesus

  • Then He said, Solemnly I say to you, no prophet is acceptable and welcome in his [own] town (country)… And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and yet not one of them was cleansed [by being healed]—but only Naaman the Syrian. Luke 4:24&27 AMPC

See also

  • And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” 2 Kings 5:2-3 NKJV
  • And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.” 2 Kings 5:7 NKJV
Isn’t it ironic that a Israelite slave girl knew that Elisha could heal but the King of Israel didn’t?

12. Received an open offer AFTER ...

  • And when they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” 2 Kings 2:9  AMP

Footnotes