Horses and Chariots of Fire
8 Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.
11 And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” 14 So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. 19 And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.
20 As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” 22 He answered, “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” 23 So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel.
(ESV)
Author: SFJ Bible
Elisha and the Widow’s Oil
4:1 Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2 And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. 4 Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. 6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”
Elisha and the Shunammite Woman
8 One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. 9 And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. 10 Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.”
11 One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there. 12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” 14 And he said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 He said, “Call her.” And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 And he said, “At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your servant.” 17 But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time the following spring, as Elisha had said to her.
Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son
18 When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, “Oh, my head, my head!” The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died. 21 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door behind him and went out. 22 Then she called to her husband and said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again.” 23 And he said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath.” She said, “All is well.” 24 Then she saddled the donkey, and she said to her servant, “Urge the animal on; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, there is the Shunammite. 26 Run at once to meet her and say to her, ‘Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child?’” And she answered, “All is well.” 27 And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.” 28 Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me?’” 29 He said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply. And lay my staff on the face of the child.” 30 Then the mother of the child said, “As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her. 31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. Therefore he returned to meet him and told him, “The child has not awakened.”
32 When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. 33 So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. 35 Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 36 Then he summoned Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” 37 She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.
(ESV)
Elisha Succeeds Elijah
15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. It may be that the Spirit of the LORD has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.” 17 But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men. And for three days they sought him but did not find him. 18 And they came back to him while he was staying at Jericho, and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
19 Now the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” 20 He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the LORD, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” 22 So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.
23 He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24 And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys. 25 From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
(ESV)
9 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the LORD has brought all this disaster on them.’”
Solomon’s Other Acts
10 At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king’s house, 11 and Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please him. 13 Therefore he said, “What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?” So they are called the land of Cabul to this day. 14 Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents1 of gold.
15 And this is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the LORD and his own house and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife; 17 so Solomon rebuilt Gezer) and Lower Beth-horon 18 and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,2 19 and all the store cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel—21 their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction3—these Solomon drafted to be slaves, and so they are to this day.
Footnotes
[1] 9:14
A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
[2] 9:18Hebrew lacks of Judah
[3] 9:21That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction) (ESV)
Categories
Going Deeper
Elijah 4.20.24
Grab your Bibles, and let’s go deeper into the life and testimony of the prophet Elijah.
1. Faith
1 Kings 17:1-16
This account in 1 Kings 17 reminds me of one of my favorite parables I have told for years. It goes like this:
Many years ago, a weary traveler hiked for miles across the desert with the hot sun beating down on his back. His water supply was gone, and he knew that if he didn’t find water soon to quench his thirst, he would surely die. In the distance, he spotted a deserted cabin, which brought hope that maybe water was to be found there. He made his way to the cabin and discovered an old well. He frantically pumped the handle of the well to draw water, but all that came from the pump was dust. Then he noticed a tin can tied to the pump with a note inside. The note said:
“Dear stranger: This pump is all right as of June 1932. I put a new sucker washer in it, and it should last for quite a few years. But the washer dries out and the pump needs to be primed. Under the white rock, I buried a jar of water, out of the sun and corked up. There’s enough water in it to prime the pump, but not if you drink some first. Pour about 1/4 of the water into the pump and let her soak for a minute to wet the leather washer. Then pour the rest medium fast and pump hard. You’ll get water. Have faith. This well has never run dry. When you get watered up, fill the bottle and put it back as you found it for the next stranger who comes this way. – Pete”
If your life hung in the balance, would you just consume the water you had as a guarantee, or would you have faith to pour the jar of water into the well as Old Pete’s note instructed? This is what faith is. In Webster’s Dictionary, there are 17 definitions for faith. There are so many definitions, and so many ideas of what faith is, that it becomes difficult to have this conversation about what faith really is. Thank God for Hebrews 11.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Faith is a confidence that what you hope for will happen. It is a conviction that what you can’t see is real. Now, I don’t know about faith in Desert Pete, but faith in the living God is an absolute necessity.
The parable about Desert Pete’s well helps us feel some of what the woman was feeling when Elijah told her to take her last flour and oil to make him a cake. She and her son were at the edge of starvation and death, and she was asked to trust that God would supernaturally keep her flour and oil supply full, if she would just have faith in Him and give her last to Elijah.
It is one thing for us to trust in God when we have options or ways out. But when you are on the brink of death or great loss, or are experiencing great loss, do you trust in God? Do you trust that He is good and perfect in His ways and will? Do you trust His faithfulness to fulfill His promises? Faith in God is not an add-on to our life; it is what we put our entire life on. It is an all-in decision, much like the widow faced.
The woman put her faith in Elijah’s word from the Lord, and God was faithful and kept His promise.
1 Kings 17:15-16 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
2. The Life-Giver
1 Kings 17:17-24
Elijah was a faithful man of God who brought the widow’s son before Him in prayer, knowing if God willed him to live, he would. Did you notice he also acknowledged that it is God who ordained his death? Job makes this clear that it is God who gives life and who takes it away (Job 1:21) and who determines the number of our days (Job 14:5). Elijah gets this, and so he goes to the One who ultimately controls all these things. God listened to Elijah and put life back into the boy so he would live longer. Now, we are often guilty of giving praise to God only when He gives us what we want. We are guilty of saying, “God is good,” when He ordains a loved one lives longer instead of dies. But God is still good when He ordains a loved one’s time on earth is done, too. Our circumstances do not determine God’s goodness. He is good all the time. His ways are always perfect. He is God. If you remember our study of David, he prayed for his son to live; when God ordained he would not, David got up, took a bath, and went to the House of the Lord to worship God (2 Samuel 12:14-31). Why? Because God is worthy of our worship despite our circumstances. Do you believe this to be true? Do you still praise God for who He is and trust His will even when what you are experiencing, or facing in the moment, makes absolutely no sense to you?
In this event, Elijah proved to be a true prophet of God, as the woman declares of him: “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth” (1 Kings 17:24).
3. Will the True Prophets Please Stand Up?
1 Kings 18:20-40
No look at Elijah’s life would be complete without a consideration of the most memorable event of his ministry: his confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. In this interaction, we see the true courage and faith that the office of God’s prophet required, as well as the power of God, Himself, to do amazing things.
To set this event in context, know that King Ahab ruled about 150 years after David, and by that time, the northern kingdom of Israel was practicing the very evil that the Israelites were supposed to have driven out of the land, namely idolatry. Under the patronage of Queen Jezebel, prophets of the Canaanite god Baal had full reign to do what they wanted in Israel (1 Kings 19:1-2). These prophets brought paganism to the ancient Israelites. For his opposition to this pagan worship and the kings who endorsed it, Elijah was labeled the “troubler of Israel” by Ahab. This sparked a well-known confrontation between Elijah and the false prophets on Mount Carmel. Right there, before the people of Israel, Elijah called the nation to choose whom it would serve: the Lord, Yahweh, or Baal. It was not possible for them to serve both nor to be double-minded (as per 1 Kings 18:20–21). God is not interested in halfhearted vows or a part-time relationship (cf. Joshua 24:15; Psalm 119:113; Matthew 6:24; John 14:6).
From a human perspective, Elijah was outnumbered by the false prophets of Baal 450 to 1; however, that did not stop him from confronting them, for he knew who the true God was and who the imposters were. Elijah was so confident that he did everything possible to prove beyond any doubt that Yahweh is the true God. He even soaked the sacrifices, and built a moat, so that only a powerful fire from heaven could consume the offering. And that is exactly what happened (1 Kings 18:22–40). Grounded in the word of the Lord and trusting fully in God’s mighty power, Elijah stood down a powerful enemy and testified to divine truth.
Make this personal for yourself. Are you divided in your allegiance and devotion? Do you have things or people or a status that is equal to God in your life? It is many times easy to say “no,” but what does your life say about this? Think about the way you spend money and time. Who gets your radical devotion and first priority in your day and decisions? I believe many are willing to trust their hearts to God, but are you willing to trust your reputation, your family, your money, and your life to God? Is it truly and fully His?
Another way to truly test this in your life is to really ask how utterly submitted you are to God’s word. Do you submit yourself to what He says about Himself, you, and the life you should live; or do you constantly ignore it and or make excuses for why you don’t submit fully to it in all areas of faith and life?
4. The Still, Small Voice of God
1 Kings 19:1-18
Elijah was faithful to God even when he stood alone. Elijah said to the Lord, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
Are we so jealous for the glory and name of our Lord that we will daily put our lives on the line for Him? Are we willing to stand in the face of death and persecution to call out those who forsake the Lord and make a mockery of His name? These are hard questions to answer in the modern world in which we live, where the persecution of Christians has not reached most of our households. But the temperature is turning up. The question is, are we grounded in God and His word and in strong Bible-teaching, Bible-believing churches where we can unite and fight and testify of our Lord?
When there is so much noise all around us, are we slowing down enough to get with God and His word, so we can hear His still, small voice? Are you letting the noise and the wicked culture that is all around us get you down, or are you standing strong in God and His word to carry on like Elijah? God saw that Elijah was faithful and devoted and called on him to go do great things. Praise God for this example. Praise God we have His living word to speak to us every day and direct our paths. May we turn off the noise and dive into His word and obey His commands on our lives!
5. Make Disciples
2 Kings 2:1-14
Here we read the amazing end to Elijah’s life. He and Enoch were the only ones to be taken to heaven without dying. What a display as the fire of God was a holy escort to the presence of God in heaven. Elisha’s request was for Elijah’s ministry to be handed to him to carry on. What a massive honor this was. In the New Testament, God’s commission on our lives as the Church is to make disciples (Matthew 28:18). Elijah’s handoff to Elisha was a great Old Testament example of this kind of God-focused legacy being passed on.
Who are you being discipled by? I mean who has full access to your life, who is teaching you the word of God, and who is helping you mature to the place of readiness that you can disciple others? If you have been discipled, then who are you discipling? One of the biggest markers that we stewarded our lives well for the Lord is that we were serious, not only about our faith in God, but about being trained and then training others. This could be your kids, church family, neighbors, or friends.
Elisha being given the ministry of Elijah was confirmed in the fact that Elijah’s cloak fell on him. Also, God parted the waters for him, just as this was a sign of God’s favor on the leadership of Moses and of Joshua before him.
6. The Finished Work of the Cross
Matthew 17:1-13
Puritan commentator Matthew Henry says that “there is a proneness in good men to expect the crown without the cross.” This is a comment on Matthew 17:1–8 and Peter’s desire to build “tents,” or “tabernacles” for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter is rebuked for his wish, indirectly. Once more, Peter has missed the entire picture about the Savior. He thinks it is time to celebrate the fullness of the Messianic Age according to Zechariah 14:16–19, a vision of the Feast of Booths on the Day of the Lord. But as Jesus has said, the full revelation of His glory can come only after the cross.
The Lord’s disciples were confused after Jesus mentioned His death, especially since they had just seen Elijah (Matthew 17:10). Based on Malachi 4:5–6, first-century Jews looked for Elijah’s return to restore righteousness in Israel and bring reconciliation between God’s people prior to the Messianic Age. As Malachi predicted, the new Elijah (as John the Baptist was known) was rejected, even executed by the authorities (Matthew 14:1–12). The stage was set for the Messiah to, likewise, be killed. In His ministry, atonement, and resurrection, Jesus finished the task necessary to bring repentance to Israel and His people of the nations. Today, He uses us to proclaim this work to the world.
What a sight. What a revelation. May we not only be in awe of the work of God in and through Elijah and ultimately in and through Christ, but may we respond with a bold testimony of what Jesus has done on behalf of His people. May we be as bold as Elijah in our daily faith walk and testimony. May we run the race until our God-decided end, when we will reign with Him in holy heaven with the giants of our faith who have gone before us.
By His grace and for His glory
Joshua “Shepherd” Kirstine
Soldiers For Jesus MC
Chaplain Council
SFJbible.com