CH 3: King Ahab's son, Joram, is now king of Israel and did evil in the sight of the Lord, but he was not as evil as his father and mother, Jezebel. King Joram tore down the Baal worship pillar, atleast.
King Mesha was the king of Moab at this time, and decided to rebel against Israel after King Ahab died. So King Joram sent troops to fight against him, and also sent a message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah to join him in the fight, and the king of Judah agreed to fight with them against the Moabites. The king of Edom also joined Israel and Judah in this fight against them. So the 3 kings get to the agreed upon site to get ready for war and there was no water at all for the men and their horses! The king of Judah asked for a prophet of the Lord to step in to help them, and found out that Elisha was nearby so all 3 kings went to ask for Elisha's help.
The Lord spoke to Elisha and told him to let the kings know that there will suddenly appear plenty of water in the valleys, though it won't rain at all! And the next morning, there was water aplenty flowing from Edom. But the Moabites saw the water with the sunrise and it looked like huge pools of blood to them. They assumed the 3 kings had fought each other during the night so they rushed in to plunder what was left. Israel's army saw them coming and rushed at them and killed them, then they continued and plundered all the Moabite's towns too. When the Israelite army was done plundering all their towns, they withdrew and went home. But there remained a great anger against Israel for doing this.
CH 4: One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha for help. Creditors had threatened to take her two sons as slaves because her husband had died. Elisha asked her what she had in her house, and she told him only a flask of olive oil. So he told her to get every single flask she could find (her sons helping her) and bring them into her house and from the one flask of oil she had, to fill them all. Every single flask her sons brought she filled them to the rim with her one flask of olive oil! Then Elisha tells her, Sell this oil and you can pay off your debts and live on what's left. vs 7
Another time Elisha was invited for dinner by a wealthy woman in the town of Shunem. Elisha would go to her house afterwards whenever he was in town for a meal. The woman then asked her husband to add a room to their roof for Elisha so he could also rest there when he was in town and her husband agreed. Elisha wanted to do something in return for her and asked her if she needed anything but the woman said no, her family took care of her needs. Elisha really wanted to do something anyway and found out she had no children, so he asked God to give her a son. The woman was fearful when she found out as she and her husband were older, but she trusted Elisha and bore a son.
Some many years later when their son was working in the fields with his father he became ill. The boy grew very sick and died at noontime the same day and the woman laid her son on Elisha's bed upstairs on the roof and left to go get Elisha.
When she found him she threw herself on his feet and cried to him: Did I ask for a son? Didn't I tell you not to deceive me and get my hopes up? vs 28
Elisha and the woman went to their home and Elisha went upstairs and stretched himself over the boy two times. The first time the boy's body grew warm! The second time Elisha did that the boy sneezed 7 times and opened his eyes! The woman came into the room and saw her son alive and well and she threw herself at Elisha's feet with complete gratitude.
One other time Elisha was in the land of Gilgal when there was a horrible famine. Some prophets had mistakenly put in poisonous wild gourds into their stew and realizing their mistake after eating some of it cried out Man of God help us our stew is poison! vs40
Elisha threw in some flour and told them it was safe to eat now, and they did, and it was no longer poisonous.
Soon after this last miracle during the same famine a servant brought Elisha a sack of grain and 20 loaves of barley bread. Elisha told the man to give it to all the people in the town to eat, and the man exclaimed this was not nearly enough to feed the people! Elisha again told him to do it because the Lord had said to do this and that there would even be left overs. The man did it, and guess what, there were leftovers! Just as the Lord had promised.
King Mesha was the king of Moab at this time, and decided to rebel against Israel after King Ahab died. So King Joram sent troops to fight against him, and also sent a message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah to join him in the fight, and the king of Judah agreed to fight with them against the Moabites. The king of Edom also joined Israel and Judah in this fight against them. So the 3 kings get to the agreed upon site to get ready for war and there was no water at all for the men and their horses! The king of Judah asked for a prophet of the Lord to step in to help them, and found out that Elisha was nearby so all 3 kings went to ask for Elisha's help.
The Lord spoke to Elisha and told him to let the kings know that there will suddenly appear plenty of water in the valleys, though it won't rain at all! And the next morning, there was water aplenty flowing from Edom. But the Moabites saw the water with the sunrise and it looked like huge pools of blood to them. They assumed the 3 kings had fought each other during the night so they rushed in to plunder what was left. Israel's army saw them coming and rushed at them and killed them, then they continued and plundered all the Moabite's towns too. When the Israelite army was done plundering all their towns, they withdrew and went home. But there remained a great anger against Israel for doing this.
CH 4: One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha for help. Creditors had threatened to take her two sons as slaves because her husband had died. Elisha asked her what she had in her house, and she told him only a flask of olive oil. So he told her to get every single flask she could find (her sons helping her) and bring them into her house and from the one flask of oil she had, to fill them all. Every single flask her sons brought she filled them to the rim with her one flask of olive oil! Then Elisha tells her, Sell this oil and you can pay off your debts and live on what's left. vs 7
Another time Elisha was invited for dinner by a wealthy woman in the town of Shunem. Elisha would go to her house afterwards whenever he was in town for a meal. The woman then asked her husband to add a room to their roof for Elisha so he could also rest there when he was in town and her husband agreed. Elisha wanted to do something in return for her and asked her if she needed anything but the woman said no, her family took care of her needs. Elisha really wanted to do something anyway and found out she had no children, so he asked God to give her a son. The woman was fearful when she found out as she and her husband were older, but she trusted Elisha and bore a son.
Some many years later when their son was working in the fields with his father he became ill. The boy grew very sick and died at noontime the same day and the woman laid her son on Elisha's bed upstairs on the roof and left to go get Elisha.
When she found him she threw herself on his feet and cried to him: Did I ask for a son? Didn't I tell you not to deceive me and get my hopes up? vs 28
Elisha and the woman went to their home and Elisha went upstairs and stretched himself over the boy two times. The first time the boy's body grew warm! The second time Elisha did that the boy sneezed 7 times and opened his eyes! The woman came into the room and saw her son alive and well and she threw herself at Elisha's feet with complete gratitude.
One other time Elisha was in the land of Gilgal when there was a horrible famine. Some prophets had mistakenly put in poisonous wild gourds into their stew and realizing their mistake after eating some of it cried out Man of God help us our stew is poison! vs40
Elisha threw in some flour and told them it was safe to eat now, and they did, and it was no longer poisonous.
Soon after this last miracle during the same famine a servant brought Elisha a sack of grain and 20 loaves of barley bread. Elisha told the man to give it to all the people in the town to eat, and the man exclaimed this was not nearly enough to feed the people! Elisha again told him to do it because the Lord had said to do this and that there would even be left overs. The man did it, and guess what, there were leftovers! Just as the Lord had promised.