Lessons Learned from the Miracles of Elisha: A Series Lesson 9

The ninth of nine lessons learned from the Miracles of Elisha. 

Transcript

Miraculous Utterances #3 Anointing of Jehu as King (2 Kings 9:1-10) and #4 Revelation and Prophecy Concerning Israel and Syria (2 Kings 13: 14-19).

The third Miraculous Utterance of Elisha, the “Anointing of Jehu as King,” is found in 2 Kings 9:1-10.

Following the death of King Solomon, Israel was divided into the Northern Kingdom, later known as Israel or Ephraim, and the Southern Kingdom, Judah, composed of Judah and Benjamin. It is generally accepted that all the kings of the Northern Kingdom were evil and did not follow the ways of the Lord.  Jehu alone, though considered not good, was better than the rest.  He was anointed King of Israel by God through Elisha, the prophet, who sent one of the sons of the prophets to do the work.

And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead:

2 And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber;

3 Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not.

4 So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramothgilead.

5 And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain.

6 And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel.

At this point, God begins to speak through the prophet's son to give Jehu his commission, which was to destroy the legacy of Ahab.  These were not Elisha's words but God's words to the young prophet.  This prophecy included a graphic description of how Jezebel would die.

7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel.

8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel:

10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.

Lessons Learned:

1. Although King Jehu was anointed by one of the prophet's sons, Elisha sent the son of the prophet.  He was carrying out the behest or command of Elisha.  However, once the prophet's son obeyed Elisha, God used him to present Jehu's commission, which fulfilled Elijah's prophecy found in 1 Kings 21:21-24.

21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,

22 And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel sin.

23 And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.

24 Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.

1. God will back up his Word.  Although Elijah was in heaven, God fulfilled Elijah's prophecy concerning the destruction of Ahab and Jezebel.
2. It is just a matter of time before God deals with unrepentant sin.  Ahab and Jezebel’s lives and deaths teach us this lesson.
3. What a moment for this young prophet.  God told him to speak to Jehu in the same way that Samuel was said to talk to Saul.  Just as Samuel told Saul to utterly destroy King Amalek in 1 Samuel 15:3, "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have... " the young prophet prophetically told Jehu to destroy the House of Ahab.

Numbers 32:23 says: 23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.

So, if you have sin in your life, repent quickly so your sins may be forgiven.

#4 Revelation and Prophecy Concerning Israel and Syria (2 Kings 13: 14-19)

In 2 Kings 13:14-19, King Joash came to Elisha while he was very ill with the illness that was ultimately his cause of death.  Joash was very distraught, wondering if Elisha was about to die and referring to how the horse and chariot had taken Elijah.

14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.

As a final act before he died, Elisha demonstrated how the King would war against Syria.

15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.

16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands.

17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.

Elisha was prepared to tell the king of his absolute defeat of Syria.  However, due to the King’s lackluster response, Israel fell short of ultimate victory over Syria.

18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.

19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.

Lessons learned.

1. Elisha completed his thirty-second miracle just before he died. God allowed him to complete his mission. He will do the same for us if we remain faithful unto death.   2:10 "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
2. God himself determines when our lives will end. Let us be found working for the Lord until He calls us home.
3. When God gives us work to do, we must do it with our whole hearts. A lackluster response will bring a lackluster outcome.

This lesson completes the series Lessons Learned from the Miracles of Elisha: A Series.  It is my prayer that this series has been a blessing to you.  Let me encourage you to read the entire Book of 2 Kings so that the chronology of the miracles can be followed.  

At the beginning of this series, I stated that I was not sure that all thirty-two miracles would be covered, but they are all here.  I would love to hear if you learned anything from the series.  Please add your impressions in the Comments section.  May God bless you all.