64. Simple Bible overview: The story of Elijah and the story of Elisha

EPISDOE 64  The simple Bible overview of…THE STORY OF ELIJAH AND THE STORY OF ELISHA

As the boys played...

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...King of the Hill in the North, God sent playground attendance out to try and get them in line. We're going to look at the first two of those Elijah and Elisha they don't get their own books in the old Testament though. You could really call first Kings 17 through second Kings 13, the books of Elijah and Elisha they're called profits. We'll be looking at 17 prophets in the old Testament that do get their own books. So let's talk a minute about what a prophet is. When you hear the word profit, you probably think of the word of prophecy, meaning to predict things in the future. And that's part of what profits did. But the essence of the word means to speak before the idea of prophecy comes from speaking before in terms of time prediction, but more often it was to speak before in terms of space to address somebody, usually a religious or political ruler and speak God's word on his behalf to proclaim.

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In other words, we'll see both of these functions in the lives of these two major characters in the old Testament Elijah and the young man, he mentored a lice HSA. We already met one prophet Samuel in the beginning of first Samuel, one more thing about prophets in the old Testament law, it said to be a prophet of God, you had to be 100% accurate Noster Domus and other people who made quite amazing predictions in the past, certainly didn't have 100% accuracy. In fact, many are like broken clocks. They're right, twice a day briefly. However, the old Testament law said if profits were speaking from God, they would be accurate 100% of the time.

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And if they weren't, they were a false prophet and they were to be put down. If that seems extreme, think of the damage that's done to people when lies and distortion are communicated in the name of God, we're going to look at two prophets Elijah and Elisha. These are big shots in the old Testament. I tell my students remember J comes before S so we'll look at Elijah first. And then Elisha second Elijah shows up at the time of Ahab. Remember a Hab was the bottom of the barrel in the Northern kingdom. He was the worst of the worst. He and his sidekick Sydeny and wife Jezza bell. When Elijah first shows up, he prays for and predicts a drought on the land of Israel.

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The new Testament book of James tells us it lasts three and a half years, and it got extremely ugly. Elijah's told to fleet to the Jordan river area and hide a Hab, wants his head. There were told God feeds him with Ravens, bringing him food. When it gets too bad to survive there. He's told to flee to Sidon, to a Gentile woman who takes him in side. And two is on the fringes. This drought she's got very little left, just the little oil and flour, but Elijah asked her to share what she has with him. Promising that if she does, God will multiply her flour and oil and maintain her until the drought is over.

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She believes this prophet in his guide. And that's exactly what happens. We're told shortly after that, her only son dies. Can you imagine being a Elijah the woman who's helped you? The Gentile in the midst of the worst drought loses the only precious thing she has left. The son who had provided for her when he grew up, we're not told what went through Elijah's head, but he cries out to God to raise this young man from the dead. It tells us he stretched himself over the child three times and cried out to God for his life. And God restored the child to life. If you've been following along, that's the first time that's happened, God raising something dead.

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Back to life. Elijah then returns to the Jezreel area. We're a in Jessebelle or hanging out. He presents himself to Ahab and challenges him to bring the 450 prophets of bail and the 400 prophets of Asherah Mrs. Bale to Mount Carmel for a showdown. This to makes the Sunday school, top 10 stories list. The next day on Mount Carmel, with as many Israelites as could make it Elijah outlines. The rules of the contest will each build an altar. We'll put one on the altar and then Oxon the wood. Then we'll cry out to our God, the God who sends fire on the altar bail or the God of Israel.

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He is the true God. It's God versus God in a cage match on Carmel Elijah let's the profits of bail, win the coin toss and go first we're told all morning long, they cried out to bale in increasing frenzy. Nothing happens after a while. Elijah starts, his God smack on bail. Things like cry a little louder. You know, maybe he's old and can hear, or he's on vacation or possibly going to the bathroom. At this point, the profits of bail begin to cut themselves until there's blood everywhere. Still nothing about noon.

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Elijah says that's enough. My turn. He instructs people to go get water from a nearby. Well, apparently one of the few that hadn't run dry yet when they come with the water, they doused the sacrifice. He tells them to go back and refill three times. By the time they're finished, there's sitting water in the trench around the altar. Then Elijah says a simple prayer, Oh God of Israel. Hear me demonstrate that you are the true God, turn these people's hearts back to you. Fire falls from heaven and not only the sacrifice, but the stones are burned up. And the water in the trenches evaporated the people watching from Israel fall to the ground saying the God of Israel.

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He is God. Elijah, order's the people to remove the cancer in Israel and to execute all 850 of the false prophets of bale and an Asherah having demonstrated who the real God is. Elijah then instructs, Ahab to get back to Jaz real quick, or he's going to get caught in a major thunderstorm. The Lord who is God is about to break this three and a half year of drought. It comes up out of the Mediterranean, a small cloud that must have become a hurricane in a hurry in the strength of the spirit. Elijah does a half marathon and then some, a 17 mile run from Mount Carmel to Jezreel, but he doesn't anticipate what happens when he gets there.

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When Jessebelle hears that the profits of bail have been shamed and then executed, she vows that Elijah's fate will be the same within 24 hours having facedown Ahab and 850 profits you'd think Elijah would just scoff at that, but truly hell hath no fury like this woman scorned. So Elijah takes off on another, run, a dead sprint South toward the wilderness. He doesn't stop until he gets to the Southern most point of Judah beer Sheba. We're not sure if it was coming off that mountain top experience or his long exhausting runs, but Elijah goes suicidal. He feels alone, isolated, hopeless.

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He asks God to take his life. Though. My students have read about a BIM. Molech asking someone to end him after being hit on the head where the millstone and King Saul asking someone to finish him off when he is wounded. This is the first time they've run across a Holy men of God in a suicidal state. So we have a little talk about hopelessness and suicide. I tell them about the only thing I remember from college psychology. It was an experiment with two groups of rats, both were put in two barrels of water. The first group was taken out after a couple of hours of swimming, dried off, played with fed warmed up and then put back in the barrel to swim.

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The second group was just allowed to keep swimming. The first group who'd been pulled out, dried off, fed, warmed up and put back in swam. I believe for a number of days. As I recall for nearly a week, the group that hadn't been pulled out and dried off swam for only a few hours before drowning, they got the same results in repeated experiments. Their conclusion was this, the rats in the first barrel had an expectation of rescue. The rats in the second barrel felt helpless and hopeless and gave up. We then have a discussion about hopelessness and isolation and how to reach out for help or reach out to a friend.

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Who's experiencing that before. It's too late. God reaches out to suicidal or Elijah in the wilderness with three things. He gives him two nights of deep rest angels make him two large meals to nourish him. And then God says, you need a friend go in and anoint Elisha to be your sidekick. God also gives him a to-do list. Go to Damascus and anoint Hazael King over Aram and J who King over Israel to do some housecleaning on the line of Ahab on his way North, he picks up Elisha by the way, Elijah means Jehovah is guide.

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This is beautifully ironic. Elisha his name means God is salvation. In the case of these two prophets, their names themselves are a message from God to the nation of Israel. When Elijah meets Elisha Elisha is out plowing in the field, Elijah says, come be my sidekick. Elisha greys in burns his tractor. Well sacrifices his oxygen, and has a going away party with his family. With Elisha as the sidekick, we next meet a Elijah in Navy boss vineyard. He's there to meet a Hab. This is the vineyard Ahab wanted for his garden. Neighbor is the man Jezza Belle has falsely accused and has been stoned to death.

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Ahab's there to check out his new piece of property. The Elijah confronts him. Guess what? A Hab dogs are gonna lick up your blood at the same place. They licked up may bots. Furthermore, every male in your family is dead meat. What happened to Jerome's family? That's your family's fate as well. And Jessie bell gets to be puppy chow to Elijah. Then shows up to Ahab son, a Hosea. He's the guy who fell through the roof and his sick in bed. He is the one who sends messengers to seek counsel about his prognosis from the God of Ekron Elijah meets those messengers and says, I can answer that for you to go back and tell your master he's dead.

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You should have sought counsel from the real God. It's time for Elijah to exit. He tells a lie. She is going to be leaving him soon and ask Elisha. If he can do anything for him, Elisha asks for a double portion of his spirit. They walk together to the Jordan and Elijah pulls his cloak off and strikes the water. It says the water split. Then they walked across on the other side. Elijah exits we're told God's bellboy on a chariot, comes from heaven and hauls him off while that's unique. It's not unprecedented. We skipped over this in Genesis four through six, but during that time, someone else was carried off to heaven.

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His name was Enoch. It says there Enoch walked with God and was no more for God took him. We'll see. When we get to the new Testament, God transport someone else off planet earth without the process of death and in the prophecies of our future, it sounds like God, we'll do that again with many, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. A couple more things on Elijah before we moved to Elisha Malakai predicts that right before the Stomper would come, a 4runner would come to announce his coming. That 4runner would come in the spirit and power of Elijah. We've also mentioned in the life of Moses, that Elijah was star trekked in with Moses to a mountain to meet Jesus.

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As a representative of the prophets who spoke to the coming Stomper Elijah is a big, big shot in the old Testament. And he was sent to the North as a playground attendant to wake them up and turn their hearts back to the true God. Now Elisha, Elijah's mantle fell as the chariot carried him off and Elisha picks it up. But with the power of Elijah come with it Elisha would soon find out. He goes to the Jordan river to cross back over and strikes it with the mantle. And it divides you'll realize that Elisha actually did do twice as many signs as Elijah, other than Jesus in the new Testament.

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No other character does as many miracles as the Elisha. Some of them are large. Some of them seem very small and insignificant, but let's address the one that makes skeptics roll their eyes. And some even reject the God of the old Testament. It says that shortly after Elijah left some young lads, 42 of them start teasing Elisha they taunt go up. You bald head, go up. Elisha curse them in the name of God. And two bears came out of the woods and mauled all 42 of these lads. I mean, that does sound pretty extreme. Little kids killed for teasing this prophet about needing some Rogaine.

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I explained two things to my students. The first is the age of these little kids. The Hebrew allows these to be as old as young teenagers. The bigger issue is in the tyrant, not the bald head, but the go up, go up. What are they saying? Who's just gone up a Elijah the text suggest get outta here, like your master get out of here. We don't want you to go away. Elijah and Elisha were sent by God with the message turn around. I love you. There's consequences for your misbehavior. And they're saying, get lost. We don't want to hear you go away.

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I asked my students to assume these young lads were there age 13. What does that say about their trajectory? When they deal with God's representatives this way, Elisha next shows up. When the Kings of Israel, Judah and eat them aligned to fight Moab, they're lost in the wilderness and they get Elisha to help them. Elisha says, I'd tell you to drop dead, except for Jehosaphat here, the Judean King. I have respect for him. Elisha tells them to dig trenches in the next day. There'll be water in them to quench their thirst were then introduced to a woman of shoe numb who has the gift of hospitality.

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She takes a leash in every time he comes through town. In fact, they build on a guest room for Elisha. After numerous trips, Elisha asks his servant, what can we do for this dear lady? His servant reminds them her husband's old and she doesn't have a child. We should see if we could get a child for her. Elisha tells her, we're asking God to give you a baby. She bristles don't even tease me like that, but God does give her a baby. And we're told when that child grows up one day experiences, something, maybe an aneurysm or a sunstroke. He tells daddy in the field, my head he's taken home to his mother and dies in her lap. She lays the child on a bed and goes to Elisha.

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Can you imagine being a Elisha? This is deja VU to the kind widow from Sidon who loses her son Elisha returns to her house and raises the little boy from the dead. That's a pretty big deal after such a big deal. His next two miracles seem rather trifle. The cook throws poisonous gourds into the stew. Elisha heels the stew. So it's edible out with those same profits, getting wood. One of the ax heads flies off into the Jordan river. The prophet borrowed it from somebody Elisha raises the ax head to the surface of the water. I asked my students, why would God use miraculous powers for such trifle things, perhaps?

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Because he cares about the trifle things of our lives. You'll read about Elisha healing, the leper name. And you'll also read about Aram, trying to find a Elisha who keeps telling the Kings of Israel. What Aram is about to do surrounded by army and troops and doeth in a Elisha asks God to open the eyes of his servant so that he can see surrounding them were chariots of fire and God's angels protecting them. When Samarria is under siege by the Aramaeans Elisha predicts that the next day the siege will be broken. And God does that very thing. He announced Jay, who is King and reminds him to clean house on a Habs family as, as God had prophesied through Elijah.

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And Elisha his last act is to meet with evil King Joe Ash, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God cares about the deeply wicked, but desperately suffering. Israel two men. Jehovah is God and God is salvation Elijah and Elisha invest in their lives. In the Northern kingdom is playground attendance, warning the Kings on the Hill to straighten up, to remove the false guides, to follow the law of God and to love the Lord, their God, will it matter? Would their ministries be fruitful? We'll discover the answer to that in our next wordpicture.