Hi all,
Elijah and Elisha have now left Gilgal in II Kings 2, and arrive in Bethel. Bethel means ‘house of God’.
Bethel is where Jacob saw a vision of angels ascending and descending. (Gen 28)
Later in Jacob’s life in Genesis 35:1, the Lord would appear to him and tell him to return to Bethel, reminding Jacob he had gone there when he fled the wrath of his brother Esau (before they were reconciled) – and met God when least expected.
Isn’t that so like the Lord? Like Jacob, sometimes we find our destiny when we are running from it. We find ‘the house of God’ in the midst of fear and conflict, in the midst of running away from something or someone; and we run right into God.
Elijah asks Elisha if he wants to stay, but he refused. Refreshment at Bethel is nice, but Elisha had to keep moving to find his destiny. Even God can’t steer a parked car.
They arrive in Jericho – the place of victory.
You will recall that years earlier Joshua had led Israel into the Promised Land, only to find the walled city of Jericho. We can see the progression for Elisha: From Gilgal the border area in the north, walking south to a place of weeping, further on to the house of God and refreshment. Now to Jericho, the first border land Israel experienced, the first battle which God won for them, a type of the first battle He won for us after we were born again. The walls seemed insurmountable, but God did it for you, He brought down those walls! Such joy!
Elijah asks him to stay. Nope. No way. Elijah tells him the Lord is sending him to the Jordan river, and Elisha says he will go too. II Kings 2: 6
Years before when Joshua was leading the young nation out of the wilderness, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the Jordan. The waters parted and they entered the Promised Land on dry ground between the waters (Joshua 3: 15-17).
So here we find the last stop for Elijah and Elisha, and once again the waters part as Elijah takes his outer coat and slaps the water. As they reach the other side a whirlwind of fire divides them and Elijah is seen no more. His coat falls to the ground, and Elisha picks it up to make it his own. II Kings 2: 8
Elijah represents all the prophets and prophetic words of the Old Testament. On the Mount of Transfiguration it was Moses (the Law) and Elijah (the prophets) who spoke out of the law and prophets to Jesus about His death. (Luke 9: 30-31)
Elijah is directly linked to John the Baptist, who, Jesus said, was a type of Elijah. (Matthew 11: 14) This means Elijah was all about bringing Israel to repentance. If Elijah then represents repentance, Elisha represents salvation and life in Christ, ‘the next step’ after repentance, which is ‘faith towards God’. (Hebrews 6: 1-2)
Elisha did 2x the miracles of Elijah, and most of them were ‘social’ miracles.
Most of the miracles Elisha did were not personal healings that affected no one but the person healed. Most of his miracles were what we’d call ‘social’ miracles, which is a type of Jesus and where our own attention for ‘miracles’ should be directed.
II Kings 4 starts with the widow with 2 sons, left heavily in debt by the unexpected death of her husband. Elisha had her use every container she owned and could borrow, and miraculously the oil was multiplied to fill every container. She then sold the oil to pay off the debts. A grieving family could live debt free, a ‘social’ miracle.
A large group had made a pot of soup only to find it was poisonous and making them sick near death. Elisha supernaturally neutralized the poison so they could eat their soup.
In II Kings 5 we have the leprous Naaman, general of the whole Syrian army, get healed, bringing safety to the whole nation of Israel and setting Syria in awe of the God of Israel.
In II Kings 6 a group is cutting wood to build some homes, and the axe head flew off the handle into the water. Elisha made the axe head float so it could be retrieved, benefitting everyone so they could continue their construction projects.
Most of the church wants a ‘personal’ or self-centered miracle rather than one blessing whole groups of people.
Certainly miracles are personal, and individual. With the ministry of Elisha which is a type of Jesus and the body of Christ, we see miracles directly benefiting groups of people, and the nation.
Consider Jesus fed thousands by multiplying food not once, but twice. He turned water into wine not for an individual, but for dozens gathered for the wedding feast. The man with the withered arm once healed, could return to work to support himself and his family. The widow of Nain’s only son had died which would have left her destitute, so Jesus raised him from the dead.
The man with legions of demons was terrorizing the whole town as he could not be bound even with chains – Jesus delivered him bringing peace and salvation to him, and peace for the whole region. The healing of the Centurion’s chief servant brought order once again to this important officer’s home, and so it goes.
In Acts 9 the seamstress Dorcas was raised from the dead after mourners showed Peter all she had sewn for local body of Christ and how important she was to them. In Acts 20: 8-12 Paul raised a young man from the dead who had fallen asleep because Paul kept talking – of course the Lord would raise him from the dead! So no one could blame Paul or the Lord for his death, and for the whole body to see the power of God.
Miracles are first and foremost a confirmation that Jesus is Who He claims to be Miracles are heaven’s confirmation of the message of the gospel. (Mark 16:20) Secondly, miracles are for family, friends, coworkers and friends in the faith. Lastly, miracles are strictly singular, for the individual only.
What I’ve shared here in this last part is some of what the Lord shared with me during a visitation a couple of years ago when He said home churches would be the main place miracles would be found. Part of His reasoning is that when you have a small group of people walking through life together, when one is blessed all are blessed, when one hurts all hurt. So His priority is as seen in scripture as listed above.
The season is now upon us in the body of Christ that the miracles we see in our midst, will be individual yes, but in many cases ‘social miracles’, for the whole body and those affected most. Times are coming when food will be multiplied for families and larger ‘church’ meetings in homes. Miracles like jobs and provision will be seen more commonly. When we change our priorities to those of the Lord’s priorities, we’ll start looking for Him in different places than we have in the past, and we’ll see miracles in ways we haven’t seen in the past.
I hope this has been interesting and thought provoking – blessings! New subject next week, until then,
John Fenn
