e3-i. King Ahaziah^A of Israel

[see also 1 Kings 22:51-53]

1:1-8

• Ahaziah^A falls through a roof, so decides to consult Baal-Zebub (god of Ekron [in Philistia]) to ask, ‘Will I recover?’
• Elijah meets the king’s messengers & says, ‘Ahaziah^A will die!’

1:9-18

• Ahaziah^A sends soldiers to arrest Elijah; he calls down fire from heaven and they are killed
• Elijah tells Ahaziah^A, ‘You will die!’
• Ahaziah^A dies so Joram (his brother) becomes king

Elijah is taken to heaven

2:1-6

• When Elijah is due to be taken to heaven by God, Elijah sets out on a journey (with Elisha)
• Elijah constantly tells Elisha, ‘Stop following me!’ but Elisha refuses to leave him

2:7-8

• Elijah [miraculously] divides the waters of the Jordan, then he & Elisha cross on dry land

2:9-12

• Elisha asks for a ‘double portion’ of Elijah’s spirit [the firstborn’s inheritance right, cf. Dt 21:15-17]
• Elijah says, ‘This is hard! [only God can grant it!]; It will only happen if you see me taken up [to heaven]!’
• Elisha sees Elijah taken up in a whirlwind & a fiery chariot with horses of fire

2:13-14

• A. Elisha takes Elijah’s [prophet’s] cloak [cf. 1 Kgs 19:19] & divides the the Jordan (cf. 2 Kgs 2:8)

2:15-18

• The company of prophets from Jericho (see 2:7) search for Elijah but he cannot be found

Elisha’s ministry & miracles #1

2:19-22

• B. Jericho’s water is bad, so Elisha puts salt in it and God ‘heals’ the water [cf. Ex 15:23-26]

2:23-25

• C. In Bethel, Elisha is mocked by young lads; he curses them; two bears attack 42 of the boys

[The two stories contained in 2:19-25 are placed together to show the contrast between those who seek God and those who reject God;

- Jericho is home to God’s prophets (see 2:15), whereas Bethel is home to false priests and the idolatrous golden calf (1 Kings 12:31-33)

- Jericho has bad water and sterile land (the town is experiencing barrenness), whereas Bethel has many young boys (the town is experiencing fertility)

- The people of Jericho seek God by welcoming Elisha (God’s representative) and asking him for help, whereas the boys of Bethel reject God by cursing Elisha (God’s representative) and telling him to go away

- Jericho’s waters receive a blessing, whereas Bethel’s boys receive a curse

- Jericho’s waters become healed, whereas Bethel’s boys become injured]

e3-ii. King Joram^A a.k.a. Jehoram^A of Israel

3:1-3

• Joram^A is evil [& even though] he removes the Baal idol of his father [King Ahab whose wife Jezebel worshipped Baal, see 1 Kgs 16:30-33], he still sins [idolatrously] like Jeroboam I [in 1 Kgs 12:28-33]

3:4-27

• King Mesha (of Moab) rebels against Joram^A, so Joram^A, King Jehoshaphat (of Judah) & the king of Edom all go to fight Moab, but in the desert their three armies all run out of water
• (v11-19) D. Jehoshaphat consults Elisha, who says, ‘Dig ditches!’;
• (v20-27) The next day, God sends [a river of] water; the Moabites think the water looks like blood, and assume that the 3 kings have fought and killed each other; the Moabites are unprepared for battle & many are killed

Elisha’s ministry & miracles #2

4:1-7

• E. A widow tells Elisha, ‘My dead husband’s creditors want to take my children as slaves to pay his debt!’
• Her jar of olive oil is [miraculously] multiplied so she can sell the oil

4:8-17

• F. Elisha goes to Shunem where a woman shows him hospitality; he asks, ‘What can be done for her?’ & hears ‘She does not have a son’, so tells her, ‘You will have a son!’ & she does

4:18-37

• G. The son of the woman [in Shunem] has a headache & dies; Elisha raises him from the dead

4:38-41

• H. During a famine, the prophets’ food is accidentally poisoned; Elisha makes it edible again

4:42-44

• I. Elisha is given 20 [small] loaves of bread & [miraculously] feeds 100 men with bread to spare

ch. 5

• Naaman (captain of Aram’s army) has leprosy & is told, ‘The prophet in Israel can heal you’
• King [Ben-Hadad] asks the king of Israel [Joram^A] to heal Naaman; Elisha says, ‘Send him to me’
• (v10-14) J. Elisha tells Naaman, ‘Wash yourself in the Jordan 7 times!’ Naaman does so & is healed
• (v15-27) K. Elisha refuses a reward, but his servant Gehazi takes it, so Gehazi is struck with leprosy

6:1-7

• L. A borrowed axe-head becomes lost in the Jordan river; Elisha [miraculously] makes it float

War between Israel and Aram (Syria)

6:8-23

• M. The man of God [Elisha] regularly [miraculously] warns King [Joram^A] where Aram’s army is
• N. The king of Aram sends his army to capture Elisha; [Heavenly] horses & chariots of fire are protecting Elisha; Aram’s army is [miraculously] blinded, taken to Samaria, then sent home

6:24-33

• The king of Aram besieges Samaria, and when the city suffers famine, a woman eats her own baby [cf. curse in Dt 28:47-57]
• King [Joram^A] threatens to kill Elisha [because Elisha is not helping]

ch. 7

• O. Elisha says, ‘Tomorrow, flour & barley will be sold [cheaply] in Samaria’; the [army] captain doubts Elisha, saying the ‘floodgates of heaven’ would need to open
• Some lepers discover that the Arameans have fled (as they heard the sound of [heavenly?] chariots [cf. 6:17]); the Israelites rush out of the city to get food; the [doubting] captain is crushed by them & dies

God’s providence

8:1-6

• P. Elisha tells the woman [of Shunem], ‘Leave home to avoid a 7-year famine!’
• After 7 years, she visits King [Joram^A] for his help (cf. 4:12-13) in retrieving her [stolen?] land; she arrives just as Gehazi is telling the king her story (from 4:14-37); the king immediately helps her

Hazael becomes king of Aram

8:7-15

• King Ben-Hadad of Aram is sick, so he sends Hazael to consult Elisha
• Elisha weeps & tells Hazael, ‘As king, you will kill many Israelites!’ [cf. 1 Kgs 19:15]
• Hazael murders Ben-Hadad

2-Sam / 1-Kgs / 2-KGS / 1-Chr / 2-Chr