70. Elisha's death

Enough Bread

1) A man from Baal Shalishah came, and brought the man of God (Elisha) some bread ...: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. He (Elisha) said (to his servant), “Give to the people, that they may eat.” His servant said, “What, should I set this before a hundred men?” That would be an insult!  But he said, “Give the people, that they may eat; for Yahweh says, ‘They will eat, and will have some left over.’” So he set it before them, and they ate, and had some left over, according to Yahweh’s word. 2 Kings 4:42-44.

There is a similar story in the Gospels. The Twelve (disciples) said to Him, Christ, Send the crowd away so that they may go ... and get food. ... But He said to them, You give them something to eat. And they said, We have no more than five loaves and two fish, ... (For they were about five thousand men.) ... He took the five loaves and the two fish. And looking up to Heaven, He blessed them and broke, and He gave to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they ate and were all filled. And there was taken up twelve hand baskets full of fragments of that left over to them. Luke 9:12-17.

Floating Iron

2) When they (including Elisha) came to the Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was cutting down a tree, the ax head fell into the water. Then he cried, and said, “Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.” The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” He showed him the place. He (Elisha) cut down a stick, threw it in there, and made the iron float. He said, “Take it.” So he put out his hand and took it. 6:1-7 WEB.  

The natural interpretation of the miracle, ... namely, that “Elisha struck (inserted a long stick into) the eye of the axe ... which he thrust into the river, (the Bible uses the word, threw but thrust means to push, not to throw.  In the Hebrew text the word is fling, not thrust) so that the iron was lifted by the wood (the stick in Elisha's hand, which according to the text Elisha was not holding on to),” needs no refutation, since the raising of an iron axe by a long stick, so as to make it float in the water, is impossible according to the laws of gravitation. Keil and Deilitszch Bible Commentary.  Obviously, this description of what happened is for those people who do not believe that the power of Jehovah can supersede the laws of nature.

Isn't it interesting that Elisha, who could predict the future, needed to ask, “Where did it fall?”

In spite of a number of Jehovah's prophets calling the people to repent and worship Jehovah, the people continue on in their own way.  2 Kings 6 to 13:14 portrays a series of wars, famines, double-crossing heroes and worship of false gods.

In v.14 we find these words, Now Elisha became sick with the illness of which he died; then in v.20  Elisha died, and they buried him.  "It is hard to keep a good man down".  Just because he was dead does not mean that he had to quit working miracles.  As they were burying a man (not Elisha), behold, they saw a band of raiders; and they threw the man into Elisha’s tomb. As soon as the man touched Elisha’s bones, he revived, and stood up on his feet. 13:21.  

Every generation in every nation needs a "superman".  Israel has had its share, and Elisha was one of them.  These people, great as they were, never could live up to the stories that were told about them.  Is it possible that with the prevalence of modern media this kind of superelevation of great servants has come to an end?  Sooner or later, all of them are shown to be mere humans.

Great servants never clamoured to be more than servants, but common attitude raised them to much higher elevations.

69. Elisha

A Miracle Worker -

The story of Elisha is found in 2 Kings 2-9 and his death is recorded in chapter 13.  Even though so much literary space is attributed to him, the common perception is that Elisha is not outstanding.  The Bible mentions about a dozen miracles which he performed but only one of them was momentous to the nation of Israel.  We will now pick out some of the highlights of his career.

Elijah said to Elisha. Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken away from you. And Elisha said, please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. 2:9.   Naturally, we would read this as if Elisha wanted twice as much "spirit" as Elijah had.  However to the Hebrew way of thinking, Elisha's request related to an inheritance settlement, and it was understood that the oldest son would receive a double portion compared to what any of the other children in the family would receive; that is all that Elisha was asking for; twice as much as the normal child of Jehovah would receive.

In looking at the record of the miracles which happened at the request of Elisha it is fitting to remember the words of the Expositor's Bible Commentary, As to their literal historic accuracy, ... many will be unable to escape the opinion that they bear some resemblance to other Jewish haggadoth, (traditional Jewish literature, Collins English Dictionary) written for edification, with every innocent intention.  This means they were tales to teach a moral lesson; not based on historical accuracy.

We ran into this genre of literature in the post about the wayward prophet.  This method of expression seems so normal.  Why should we not allow the Jewish people the liberty of writing stories simply for good moral influence rather than insisting that every word that is in our Bible must be historically absolutely true as stated?  

1. The men of the city said to Elisha, Behold, please, the location of this city is pleasant, but the waters are bad, and the ground is barren. And he said, Bring me a new jar and put salt in it. And they brought (it) to him.  And he went forth to the spring of the waters and threw the salt in there, and said, So says Jehovah, I have healed these waters. There shall not be any more death or barrenness from there (the meaning of the Hebrew text is that the waters caused abortions and stillbirths in both humans and animals). And the waters were healed to this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spoke. 2:19-22.

If we want to give this story a new twist we can move it forward into the time of Christ, who said, You are the salt of the earth.  If a country's morals are bad, add the teachings of those who respect Jehovah and the moral standard will rise significantly.  Christ continues by saying, but if the salt loses its savor, with what shall it be salted? Mat. 5:13.  A true Christian cannot blatantly condone the low moral standards set by the world at large!  Persecution must be borne unless you are to lose your moral tone, which is to be to the earth what salt is to its surroundings, preserving from corruption. Pulpit Commentary.

With An Attitude

2. And he (Elisha) went up from there to Bethel. ... And little boys came out from the city and mocked him, and said to him, Go up, bald head! Go up, bald head!  He looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in Yahweh’s name. Then two female bears came out of the woods, and mauled forty-two of those youths. (2:23-24. WEB)   The lesson in this story is, don't tease bald men.  LOL.
Calling a man bald is an epithet of contempt in the East, applied to a person even with a bushy head of hair. JFB Commentary.

The Bible distinctly says, little boys came out; and it also uses the word, youths.  In spite of that, Gill's commentary has the audacity to write, the word for "children" is used of persons of thirty or forty years of age.  O! really?

Perhaps the boys had heard Elisha tell the story of Elijah "going up" to heaven and now the boys were ridiculing him about telling such a story.

He looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in Yahweh’s name.  2:24 (WEB).  Because of this, two female bears came out of the woods, and mauled forty-two of those youths.  None of the commentaries checked found any fault with Elisha for what he did.

3. When the armies of Judah, Israel and Edom were contemplating attacking Moab, Jehoshaphat (king of Judah) said, Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah, that we may ask of Jehovah by him? And one of the King of Israel's (Jehoram) servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah (he was Elijah's personal attendant).

  

Jehoshaphat said, "I have heard of him, The Word of Jehovah is with him."  When the king of Judah, the king of Israel and Elisha met, Elisha said to the king of Israel,  "What do I have to do with you?  You know that I serve Jehovah and you have turned your back on Him; we have nothing in common!"

Elisha said, "Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother."  Jehoram was a worshipper of Jeroboam's calves, and of his mother's idols, Baal and Ashtoreth.  "Why don't you go and ask the prophets of the gods you serve?" The king of Israel said to him (Elisha), "No, my gods are "fair weather" gods, but now we have a serious situation, we need Jehovah's help."  And Elisha said, "As Jehovah of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely if it were not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward you nor see you. I would not even acknowledge that you exist." 3:11-14.   Does the world still have any religious leaders who are willing to stand up to royalty even though it might mean imprisonment or worse?

When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too strong for him ... he took his oldest son, who would have reigned in his place, and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall, that it might be seen by the camp of Israel, and move their compassion; or rather this was done as a religious action, to appease the deity by an human sacrifice so dear and precious, to give success, ... the Carthaginians had this custom, who at one time offered up two hundred sons of their nobility, to appease their gods. 
Gill's Exposition of the Bible

And there was great anger against Israel. And they, the three armies,  left him, the king of Moab, and returned to the land. 3:26-27.  When they saw the Moabites would ... hold out to the last man, they thought fit to break up the siege. Gill's Exposition of the Bible

68. Chariots of Fire

Beyond A Doubt - A UFO

Elijah is one of the Biblical prophets who gave this blog its name - Spaceship Theology.  

Elijah was hiding in a cave, afraid for his life, for the Israelites were destroying the prophets of the Lord because the prophets insisted that the populace must worship only Jehovah, but the people would rather serve the gods of pleasure - just like modern North Americans.  

The Lord spoke to Elijah and said Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.  Then the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire. 1 Kings 19:11.

The setting described here has all the requirements needed for the landing of a UFO!  A circular wind, a shaking of the earth and fire are common occurrences as reported by those who have seen UFO's land.  After all was still and quiet, Elijah heard the voice of Jehovah.  If this story of Elijah were found anyplace, rather than in the Bible, it would be ridiculed and called fiction; however, since it is in the Bible, scholars simply say, it does not mean what it says, it must not be taken literally.

Because Bible commentaries give no satisfactory description of what happened in this case of Elijah, there is room for a real, substantial theory.  That theory, simply put, says that Jehovah came in a spaceship to visit Elijah.

In another incident towards the end of Elijah’s life on earth, we read of him and Elisha; as they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 2 Kings 2:11.  According to Dr Strong, the word, heaven, in the Old Testament has two meanings.  First, the sky...in which the clouds move, and second, the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve.  In this case, Elisha recorded what he thought he experienced.  We, however, know that a natural whirlwind could not have taken Elijah to heaven, as we usually picture it.  Neither could a natural whirlwind have taken him to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve.  Therefore, it must be agreed, that, it was not a natural whirlwind that took Elijah away, as some Bible commentaries suggest.  

It does sound probable, though, that a UFO transported Elijah from earth to heaven, the place of Jehovah's home, because later, in the life of Christ, Elijah appeared alive with Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His exodus, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Luke 9:30-31.

Useless Info

Bible commentaries have no valuable information as to how Elijah's transfer to heaven happened.  Elijah went up ... - No honest exegesis can explain this passage in any other sense than as teaching the translation of Elijah, who was taken from the earth, like Enoch Gen_5:24, without dying. Barnes Commentary.

Behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire; ... which was no other than the ministry of angels; or these might be a conflux of exhalations or clouds, formed in this likeness by a supernatural power, and, by the solar rays striking on them, might appear fiery or red. Gills commentary.   

Clouds can appear as interesting shapes; I once saw a dinosaur among the clouds.  That dinosaur did not take me up to heaven; I was already up in the sky in an aeroplane.  If what Elisha was writing about was merely clouds, what was it that took Elijah to heaven?   We need a more conclusive answer than Gill's offers!


(Note: All further questions, e.g., concerning the nature of the fiery chariot, the place to which Elijah was carried, ... and others of the same kind, ... are to be set down as useless trifles, which go beyond the bounds of our thought and comprehension.) Keil & Delitzsch Bible commentary.  Or, in other words, if you can't explain it, just tell your readers that it is not important.

It is accepted by many that at the time of take-off, in some instances, UFOs create a gigantic wind, that is circular in motion, resembling a whirlwind.  It was a fiery chariot, that made the whirlwind, which took Elijah away.   Elisha made a big deal about the chariots of Israel with its horsemen.  

Not only were there chariots of fire, but there were also horses of fire.  Dr Wilson in his book, Gods in Chariots and Other Fantasies suggests, in contention, that if one accepts the chariots as being literal one must also accept the horses as being literal.  He says that the Jews had no trouble accepting these statements as being symbolic.  Agreed, however, let's carry his trend of thinking one step further.  

The symbolism involved is a chariot: the UFO is real but Elisha was limited to using words and expressing ideas he knew, and words and ideas that his hearers (readers) could understand.  According to him, anything that people could ride is called a chariot.  The symbolic meaning of horses is horsepower.  Elisha, speaking as directly as he could, in his frame of reference, with words and ideas he knew, called the fire of the UFO power source, at the time of take-off, fiery horses (horsepower).

Bible commentators do not even agree as to whether Elijah died.  His death, like that of Moses, was surrounded by mystery. Expositors Bible Commentary.  As God had formerly taken Enoch away, so that he did not taste of death, so did He also suddenly take Elijah away from Elisha, and carry him to heaven without dying. Keil & Delitzsch Bible commentary.

In thinking about some unexplained Bible stories, can we not remove the stories from the boxes that Bible teachers have built for them, and do our own thinking?

67. The Wayward Prophet

Spiritual Lessons

There are some Bible students who say that the "internal evidence" in the three stories in 1 Kings 13 & 14 indicates that they did not really happen; they were written only to teach a spiritual lesson.

The three stories are:

1.  Jeroboams withered hand,
2.  The prophets unfortunate demise,
3.  Jeroboam's son dies.

1. Behold, a man of God came (to Bethel) out of Judah ... and he cried against the altar (that Jeroboam had built) ... and said, O, altar, altar, so says Jehovah ... Behold, the altar shall be torn apart, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.  And it happened when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God ... he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, "Lay hold on him!" And his hand, (Jeroboam's) which he put forth against him (the man of God), withered up so that he could not pull it in again to himself.  

And the king answered and said to the man of God, Seek now the face of Jehovah your God, and pray for me, and my hand may be given back to me again.  When Jeroboam wanted to worship, the gods of Egypt seemed sufficient to him, but when he needed a medical miracle he turned to Jehovah, the God of the prophet.  And the man of God prayed to Jehovah, and the king's hand was given back to him again, and became as at the beginning. 13:1-6.

After his hand was healed the king said to the man of God, Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward. And the man of God said to the king, Even if you will give me half your house. I will not go in with you, nor will I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For so was it commanded me by the Word of Jehovah, saying, Eat no bread nor drink water.  Some people just cannot be tempted with riches and comforts; for the sake of their beliefs, they are willing to go without. 13:7-9.   The man of God stands true to his convictions.

2. Now an old prophet lived in Bethel, and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. ... He (the old prophet) went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. ... Then he said to him, (the man of God), “Come home with me, and eat bread.” He, (the man of God), said, “I may not return with you, nor go in with you. I will not eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 13:11-16.  

He said to him, I am a prophet also as you are. ... But he lied to him. So (the man of God), went back with him and ate bread in his house, and drank water.  

How easily some people, even Christians, will follow anyone who says he is a prophet.  We have more than enough false prophets, with a Bible in their hand, on our TV.s and in our churches.

And it happened as they sat at the table, the Word of Jehovah came to the prophet who ... "Because you have not obeyed the mouth of Jehovah and have not kept the command which Jehovah your God commanded you, but came back and have eaten bread and have drunk water in the place which He said to you, You shall not eat bread nor drink water, your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers (or, in other words, you will die before you reach your homeland)."  

And he, the prophet from Bethel, left, and a lion met him by the way and killed him. And his dead body was thrown in the highway, and the donkey stood by it, and the lion also stood by the body. ... When the prophet ... heard about the death, he said, "It is the man of God who did not obey the Word of Jehovah." ... And he went and found his body thrown in the way, and the donkey and the lion standing by the body. The lion had not eaten the body nor torn the donkey. 1 Ki 13:18-28.

The next morning when people walked by they saw the lion and the donkey standing side by side, beside the road, looking at the carcass of the prophet. Really, would the donkey have waited there to become the lions next lunch?  Would the lion have remained beside the road, politely standing beside the donkey, until the next day when more people walked by?  Surely, we must acknowledge that historical accuracy is not the point of this story.  The writer must have been painting a moral or spiritual lesson only, certainly not a historical one. 

Mr Livingston writes, The first fifteen centuries of Christianity were a dark and empty void in human awareness of nature.  Evolution of objective thought and honest reflection were largely chocked off by the medieval church.  The literate minority of people was mostly preoccupied with dogmatic interpretations, often erroneous.  

Admittedly, Mr Livingston is writing about an "awareness of nature", but his statement also fits the religious teaching during those centuries.  It is from those times that modern Bible students have inherited their narrow views of what we may allow the Bible to teach us.  We have greatly cramped the spiritual impact that the Bible would have on The Church if we were not so dogmatic about how the whole Bible must fit together. 
Doctrinal Errors in Protestant Churches.

3. At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, ... go to Shiloh. Behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who told me about being king over this people.  After the initial introductions, Ahijah said to the woman, I have some very bad news for you.  Go tell Jeroboam, "So says Jehovah, because you have done evil above all who were before you, for you have gone and made yourself other gods, and molded images, to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back; therefore, behold, I will bring evil on the house of Jeroboam."  Now, arise, get down to your own house. When your feet enter into the city, the boy shall die. 1 Kings 14:1-12.

That must have been a long, dreary ride home.  Perhaps she was hoping that the prophet was wrong about the death of her son.  But, then again, the prophet had been right about Jeroboam becoming a king.  Now he had said, when your feet enter your hometown your son will die.  But maybe, just maybe, this time Ahijah would be wrong.  How she dreaded the idea of arriving at home; but she must. When she came to the doorsill the boy died. 14:18. And they buried him, everyone in Israel mourned at his funeral.  But he was the last one from Jeroboam's family to receive a proper burial, because he was the only one (of Jeroboam's family whom) the LORD God of Israel was pleased with. 1 Kings 14:13 CEV

66. The Kingdom Splits in Two

King Rehoboam

Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father. And his son Rehoboam reigned in his place. 2 Chron. 9:31.

The truce between Israel and Judah was, at best, tenuous.  It seems that at any given time either of the two was looking for an excuse to start a war with the other.

While Solomon was still alive, Jeroboam (his name means, he pleads the people's cause) fled to Egypt to escape death at the hands of Solomon. 1 Kings 11:40.  When Jeroboam heard that Solomon had passed away he returned to Israel.  When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come again (back from Egypt), they sent and called him to the company, and made him king over all Israel. 1 Ki 12:20.

Then he and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy. And now lighten the heavy service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you. 1 Chron.10:3-4.   The common people presented to the king what was sort of a "Magna Carta".

Rehoboam asked for a few days to think over the proposal.  He brought the request to the senior members of his "cabinet", those who had been Solomon's advisers, and they said, by all means, relax the restrictions, lower the taxes and you will save the kingdom.  

Rehoboam also sought the advice of his peers.  He would have been wise not to follow the advice of the young people.  Young people may have "book smarts" but most do not have the necessary experience to advise well.  Rehoboam followed the young men's advice and said to the Israelites, My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 10:14.  The word "scorpions" refers to scourges armed with sharp iron points. Fausset"s Bible dictionary.

King Jeroboam

The people (Israelites, the Northern tribes) answered the king saying, What part do we have in David? And we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse! Every man to your tents, O Israel! Now, David, see to your own house. And all Israel went to their tents. 10:16.

At that point in time the nation of Israel divided into the Northern and Southern kingdoms; at no time, in the history of the Bible did they ever join to become one nation again.  However, there were times when the kingdoms joined in battle against a common enemy.

After the secession, when Rehoboam, king of the south, sent the tax collector, Hadoram, to Israel to gather the levy, the Israelites were so incensed that Rehoboam thought he could still gather taxes from them, that they stoned Hadoram to death.

Later the priests and the Levites in all Israel presented themselves to him (Rehoboam) out of all their borders. For the Levites left their open lands and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem. 2 Chron. 11:13-14.

Jeroboam was afraid that many more of his subjects, when they made their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship, would be so enamoured with the surroundings and atmosphere in Jerusalem that they would revolt against the Northern kingdom and support the kingdom of Rehoboam; this would, of course, seal Jeroboam's death warrant.

To keep that from happening he followed the path that Aaron had taken during the wilderness journey.  Jeroboam made two calves (the Egyptian god, Apis) of gold and said to the Israelites, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.  Why would you bother going to Jerusalem every year when your gods are right here. Behold your gods, O, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!  And he set the one (calf) in Bethel, and he put the other in Dan. 1 Ki 12:29. 

Based on this action it seems that when Jeroboam was in Egypt he completely forgot about Jehovah and was taken on with the national religion of Egypt.

He made a house of high places, (raised altars) and made priests of the lowest of the people, who were not the sons of Levi. 1 Ki 12:31.  Jeroboam wanted a semblance of the religion which Moses had instituted, but he was setting it up by his own rules.

The churches of today do that too.  The preachers still use the Bible to preach from but they do not use the portions which they know will offend some in the congregation.

Here are a few examples:

• Preachers used to preach against divorce, but now that so many Christians are divorced, that sermon is never preached any more for fear that some toes might be stepped on!
• Not that long ago preachers told us that cohabiting before marriage was a sin, now, so many, including Christians, are doing it, that, somehow, much of the church no longer condemns it. 
• There is the problem of "gays and lesbians".  Without a doubt, this practice is condemned by the Bible but totally supported by many denominations. 

The waywardness of the populace at large is not to define what is preached from the pulpits!

Not only did Jeroboam choose the riffraff to be priests, but he, himself, acted as a priest, he offered on the altar, and burned incense. 12:33.   As we read earlier, according to the law of Moses, only the sons of Levi were allowed to be priests.

In spite of all the negatives that one can honestly level against Jeroboam and the Northern kingdom, it must be remembered that the school of the prophets was founded in Bethel, in the Northern kingdom, and that both, Elijah and Elisha were prophets from that school.   The prophetical activity of the time… is to be found in the kingdom, not of Judah, but of Israel. The Pulpit Commentary. 

Perhaps, even at that time, there was still some hope for Israel; if only the king and his people would repent of their sinful physical practices and their idolatry.