Reading: 2 Kings 4-7, Psalm 102

As we continue through the book of Kings, we see more and more of God’s words and authority leave the kingship. The rising power of the prophets over against the authority of the kings in the northern kingdom will continue, but as we will see, the authority of the God of Israel will not be reduced in the process. One of the common traits of the ancient near eastern cultures that surrounded Israel was the identification of their gods with their kings and their land. We have already read in the story about how the God of Israel is not like that, but is powerful in all places and over all people. Today’s stories about Elisha are a showcase of how the power of the God of Israel is in no way connected to the king, the land, or the military victory of the nation.

First off we have Elisha declaring miraculous provision for the wife of one of the prophets who has died and who has nothing to live on but a little oil. This is a pretty well known Bible story, in which Elisha tells the woman to get as many vessels as she can, then when she has gathered them to pour the small amount of oil into them until it runs out. She does so, and it is only when all the vessels are full that the oil stops. It is miraculous provision, like manna in the desert. Then we get the story of a Shunammite woman who supports Elisha by housing him when he is in the area. Note the prominent place of the woman in the story, and how her faithfulness to the God of Israel is rewarded with a miraculous son. There are echos of both Hannah and Sarah here. But the story doesn’t end yet. The miraculous son dies suddenly, and it falls to the prophet to raise him from death. Finally we get a story about inedible food, which Elisha makes pure, and a story about the multiplication of a small amount of food to feed the whole company of prophets. The provision and words of the God of Israel are coming through Elisha the way they once came through Moses. Though he does not quite rise to the office of Moses, he is the closest thing we will see for a long time.

The next story about Elisha is about the influence of the God of Israel beyond the boundaries of the nation itself. An Syrian general, Naaman, comes to be healed of a leprous disease, drawn by the fame of Elisha the prophet, of whom he hears through a slave. The story is somewhat involved, but eventually Naaman is healed of his disease through obedience to the God of Israel. There is a little scene where Elisha refuses Naaman’s reward, as he does not wish to be identified with Naaman’s country. Naaman knows where he healing came from, though, and he brings earth from Israel to build an altar in his homeland. Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, disobediently asks for the promised reward for himself, and is cursed with Naaman’s leprosy. Naaman the Syrian is obedient and is cleansed, Gehazi of Israel is disobedient and is cursed.

This isn’t the last we’ve seen of the Syrians. They have been frustrated in their attempt to conquer Israel, and their king decides it is because of the powerful prophet Elisha. He attempts to solve this problem by capturing the city Elisha lives in. In a truly fantastic scene, Elisha reveals to his servant the angelic army that surrounds him. Then he strikes the Syrian army blind and leads them to capture in Samaria. But the king of Israel does not get the glory of victory, as Elisha tells him to feed the enemy and send them home. Apparently this does not lead the Syrians to love Israel any more than they do already, and the come back and besiege the city. The events of this siege are directly from the covenant curses, as the siege causes such hunger that the people are eating their own children. The king blames all this on Elisha and sends guards to kill him, but Elisha curses the guard and declares the siege will end the next day.

Outside the city, the Syrians are deceived by the sound of an approaching army to flee, leaving all their stuff behind. The lepers are the first to discover this, and begin looting the camp, but they realize this is not a great long term strategy and decide to inform the rest of the people that the siege is broken. The guard who Elisha had cursed is trampled to death by the stampede of people who are after the loot.