Elisha's Questions

by Jorge Parrott

Have you ever wondered why things are the way they are? Have you thought to ask God questions to search out a matter? Many times we talk to God and talk to God and we don't listen well, always in a hurry, with a 'million' things to do. You know the scripture, "Be still and know that I am God." When we get in the secret place with Him, unseen realms of His glory can open up for us. It takes time to get there, in that secret place. It takes time. Sometimes, it takes questions to search out a matter. Have you asked God any questions lately?

Our Father God loves us to inquire of Him. Elisha knew what Elijah had told him in response to Elijah's question of him in 2 Kings 2: 9-10, “ And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

And he said, “Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.” As children of the most high God we need to be prepared to answer questions, for surely, Elijah, just like God, desired to give his protege the desires of his heart. Elisha's question here is a result of Elijah's question of him. Elisha wanted a confirmation from the Lord when he asked in 2 Kings 2:14, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” Elisha was not pondering, as Peter was, upon Mt. Tabor, when Jesus was transfigured and seen in his glory, thinking what a great place to build a tabernacle,for Elisha was pregnant with the realization of what God had done, or should we say, about to do, in Elisha, who was intently following after God with his focus on not taking his eyes of Elijah, or God's anointing. This pursuit after God was rewarded when Elijah was picked up by the chariot of God, placing a double portion anointing on this expectant servant.

I had many recurring dreams as a child in this old country park where I grew up in central Illinois. These dreams occurred in this tranquil, serene place with log cabins and lily ponds, that was a real place, called Terry Park. I dreamed of being taken up in a slow whirlwind, like Elijah, not tasting death, and being with my Lord. I just floated up, spinning in the air, and knowing I was going Home. What a feeling in that dream! Have you had any dreams that were strikingly similar more than once? Do you think God can speak to you in dreams? Do you think God has dreams of His own?

At Jericho, the transformation Elisha had gone through was recognizable to the people for they acknowledged Elijah's mantle had passed as we read in 2 Kings 2:15-18. Elisha's spirit was now even more attuned to the Holy Spirit for when he was told that there was poison water amidst the pleasantness Elisha knew what was needed. His obedience had allowed God to trust him with prophetic insights as to how to heal their waters. With one new cruse of salt Elisha restored the balance only God can orchestrate to bring forth life healing waters to the dry and barren land of Jericho.

Do you think God could use you in a similar way as He did with Elisha? Have you had a God encounter that was so dramatic, you knew, and others knew too, that it had to be God at work in you?

In 2 Kings 2:23-24 we read of Elisha traveling to the “house of God”, or Bethel, and, as we as leaders after the heart of the Father need to be on guard for the increase in warfare frequently found immediately after a victory. Elisha surely was caught unawares as he encountered forty-two ruffians mocking him as to his deficiency in the hair department for he was bald. Elisha was not one of a compassionate spirit during this encounter, nor was God, at this moment, as seen in vs. 24 when God sent “two she bears (came) out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.”

Elisha's reputation as a healer of the waters perhaps spread to the three kings, of Israel, of Judah, and of Edom, as they decided to “inquire of the Lord by him” in 2 Kings 3:11. Elisha disdained Jehoram, king of Israel, for his wickedness. Elisha's love of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, was greater and again, hearing from God, Elisha called forth a minstrel to play in vs. 13-15. Only the prophetic intimacy of a true prophet of the Lord could know the inexplicable cure about to come forth in such a miraculous fashion.

We read in 2 Kings 4:1-2, “Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.”

Earlier Elisha was hesitant to help the kings because of one of them being wicked in 2 Kings 3:13. Here, with this widow of someone he knew, perhaps Obadiah, Ahab's steward who was a lover of God, Elisha willingly offered his help. Not only does this show us of our hearts knitted together in the family of God but of God's heart for us to look out for our brethren in time of need. Elisha, himself poor, knew that God was able to provide in amazing ways. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, gives us the gift and authority to “speak to those things that be not as though they were.” Elisha here embodied the heart of the Savior, being full of compassion for this widow, who was about to lose her sons for an unpaid bill. The crisis in her life was real and God sent Elisha to speak life into her situation. Elisha full of wisdom asked her, “what hast thou in the house.?” Amazingly, the solution we so desperately need often lies in front of us, if we but open our eyes to the spirit realm of God's kingdom. The widow answered, “Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil”. (2 Kings 4:2) God again reveals His mysterious ways as we see the borrowed pots miraculously filled. God delights in us as we exercise faith. Imagine the widow and her sons as they marvel at their God meeting their need. Even though she may have thought the whole idea strange, she obeyed and that is the key.

When our obedience, by faith, surrenders all, trusting in our holy Father God, in the spoken words of a trusted prophet, something from nothing is not only possible, but a certainty. We are created in the image of our Creator, who is the Father of creativity and allows His obedient children to co-create with Him, to minister His love and mercy in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 encourages us, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Have you been to the throne of grace with boldness lately?

How would you measure your faith level? Are you anticipating God to move through you as Elisha or Elijah did? I pray that you fulfill all that God has desired for you from before the foundation of the world. You most certainly have a God given purpose, calling, and divine reason to be here now, reading this, and living your life for the one true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Go forth expecting and anticipating 'suddenlies' from God. He gives you the breaker anointing through His son, Jesus Christ. With God, all things are possible.