Just as we saw a huge transition
between 2 Samuel and David’s reign as King and 1 Kings when Solomon became
King, we also see a huge transition between 1 Kings and 2 Kings. Because of Solomon’s excesses displayed in 1
Kings, he lost his throne, allowed God’s people to be led astray spiritually,
all leading to the downfall of the once magnificent, powerful kingdom of
Israel. In the second section of 1 Kings
we saw how the kingdom was divided between Judah and Israel, each with its own
king. We also saw that God sent the
prophet, Elijah, to call King Ahab to repentance. As we come to 2 Kings, we see the last days
of God’s prophet, Elijah’s ministry and then we see him (in chapter 2) taken up
to heaven in a whirlwind. Then we see
the prophet, Elisha, taking up where Elijah left off warning God’s people to return
to Him.- In Elijah, we can see a
foreshadowing of John the Baptist. Just
as Elijah rebuked King Ahaziah, so John the Baptist warned King Herod to
repent:
Ahaziah fell out the window of his second-story room in Samaria and was hurt. He sent messengers, telling them, “Go to Ekron’s god Baal-zebub, and ask if I will recover from this injury.” But the Lord’s messenger said to Elijah from Tishbe, “Go, intercept the messengers of Samaria’s king, and ask them, ‘Is it because there’s no God in Israel that you are going to question Ekron’s god Baal-zebub? This is what the Lord says: You will never get out of the bed you are lying in; you will die for sure!’” So Elijah set off. (2 Kings 1:2-4)Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. That’s because John told Herod, “It’s against the law for you to marry her.” (Matthew 14:3-4)
- And Elijah and John the Baptist were similar in
appearance:
Ahaziah said to them, “Describe the man who met you and said these things.” They said to him, “He wore clothes made of hair with a leather belt around his waist.” Ahaziah said, “That was Elijah from Tishbe.” (2 Kings 1:7-8)
John wore clothes made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. (Matthew 3:4) - But most importantly, Elijah’s ministry was an
introduction to the greater ministry of Elisha, who was to be a foreshadowing
of The Great Prophet, Jesus Christ. When
Elisha asked Elijah (in the reference below) for “twice your spirit,” it was a
reference to the double portion of an inheritance that would fall to a father’s
oldest son. Compare that with the
greater ministry of Jesus, the only begotten Son of God:
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “What do you want me to do for you before I’m taken away from you?” Elisha said, “Let me have twice your spirit”. . . The group of prophets from Jericho saw him from a distance. They said, “Elijah’s spirit has settled on Elisha!” So they came out to meet him, bowing down before him. (2 Kings 2:9, 15)
I baptize with water those of you who have changed your hearts and lives. The one who is coming after me is stronger than I am. I’m not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. . . When Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and resting on him. A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him.” (Matthew 3:11, 16-17)
- Both Elisha and Jesus performed miracles, evidencing God’s Spirit and power. They both multiplied small amounts of food in order to feed their followers:
A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God some bread from the early produce—twenty loaves of barley bread and fresh grain from his bag. Elisha said, “Give it to the people so they can eat.” His servant said, “How can I feed one hundred men with this?” Elisha said, “Give it to the people so they can eat! This is what the Lord says: ‘Eat and there will be leftovers.’” So the servant gave the food to them. They ate and had leftovers, in agreement with the Lord’s word. (2 Kings 4:42-44)
That evening his disciples came and said to him, “This is an isolated place and it’s getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said to them, “There’s no need to send them away. You give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here except five loaves of bread and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to me.” He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them and broke the loaves apart and gave them to his disciples. Then the disciples gave them to the crowds. Everyone ate until they were full, and they filled twelve baskets with the leftovers. About five thousand men plus women and children had eaten. (Matthew 14:15-21)
- Both Elisha and Jesus healed men with leprosy:
Naaman, a general for the king of Aram, was a great man and highly regarded by his master, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. This man was a mighty warrior, but he had a skin disease. . . Naaman arrived with his horses and chariots. He stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent out a messenger who said, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored and become clean”. . . So Naaman went down and bathed in the Jordan seven times, just as the man of God had said. His skin was restored like that of a young boy, and he became clean. (2 Kings 5:1, 9-10, 14)
Now when Jesus had come down from the mountain, large crowds followed him. A man with a skin disease came, kneeled before him, and said, “Lord, if you want, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do want to. Become clean.” Instantly his skin disease was cleansed. (Matthew 8:1-3)
- Both Elisha and Jesus exhibited power over death – Elisha raised the young son of the Shunamite woman, and Jesus raised Lazarus. Both the boy and Lazarus were raised to die again eventually, but Jesus exhibited His ultimate power over death when He was resurrected to life eternal, the same resurrection He promises to His believers.
The child grew up. One day he ran to his father, who was with the harvest workers. 19 He said to his father, “Oh, my head! My head!” The father said to a young man, “Carry him to his mother.” So he picked up the boy and brought him to his mother. The boy sat on her lap until noon. Then he died. She went up and laid him down on the bed for the man of God. Then she went out and closed the door. She called her husband and said, “Send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys so that I can hurry to the man of God and come back”. . . Elisha came into the house and saw the boy lying dead on his bed. He went in and closed the door behind the two of them. Then he prayed to the Lord. He got up on the bed and lay down on top of the child, putting his mouth on the boy’s mouth, his eyes on the boy’s eyes, his hands on the boy’s hands. And as he bent over him, the child’s skin grew warm. Then Elisha got down and paced back and forth in the house. Once again he got up on the bed and bent over the boy, at which point the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. (2 Kings 4:18-22, 32-35)
Jesus was deeply disturbed again when he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “Lord, the smell will be awful! He’s been dead four days.” Jesus replied, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?” So they removed the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. I know you always hear me. I say this for the benefit of the crowd standing here so that they will believe that you sent me.” Having said this, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his feet bound and his hands tied, and his face covered with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” (John 11:38-44)
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. Look, there was a great earthquake, for an angel from the Lord came down from heaven. Coming to the stone, he rolled it away and sat on it. Now his face was like lightning and his clothes as white as snow. The guards were so terrified of him that they shook with fear and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He isn’t here, because he’s been raised from the dead, just as he said. Come, see the place where they laid him. (Matthew 28:1-6)The prophets Elijah and Elisha came on the scene during a time of wickedness and rebellion against God and His law. They came preparing the way for John the Baptist and The Messiah. Jesus told us that He will come again, during a time of wickedness and rebellion against God and His law. Every day we are confronted with evil, corruption, and wickedness. But we know that God is victorious over all lawlessness, hurt, and heartache, and He will one day set up His perfect kingdom on earth.
I hope that this week you will celebrate with me and with Christians all over the world the resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, The Messiah, the King of Kings, The Lord of Lords. I hope that you will join me in anticipation of His coming again in victory over all the world, making the kingdoms of this world as His footstool. Join me in this prayer, taken from the prayer of King Hezekiah, found in 2 Kings 19:15-16, 19:
“Lord God of Israel, you sit enthroned on the winged creatures. You alone are God over all the earth’s kingdoms. You made both heaven and earth. Lord, turn your ear this way and hear! So now, Lord our God, please save us from (the power of evil and wickedness)! Then all the earth’s kingdoms will know that you, Lord, are the only true God.”(All scripture references are from the Common English Bible.)
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