145 – Death of Elisha
2 Kings 13:1-25
After Jehu died, his son became king of Israel. Unfortunately he wasn’t a good king. Still, there was one time he desperately needed God’s help, and the Lord helped him.
After he died, his son Jehoash became king. During his reign, Elisha became sick and was about to die. The king knelt down beside the prophet’s bed and cried. He said, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
Elisha said to him, “Go get your bow and some arrows.”
The king went and got them. When he came back, the prophet said, “Grab the bow.” So the king grabbed the bow. The man of God then put his hand on top of Jehoash’s hand and said, “Now, open the window.”
The king opened the window. Elisha said, “Shoot an arrow out the window.” So Jehoash shot an arrow out the window.
Elisha said, “That was the Lord’s arrow of victory. You’ll have victory over Syria. Now grab a handful of arrows and hit them on the ground.”
Jehoash grabbed some arrows and hit the ground three times and stopped. The prophet yelled at him. “Why did you only hit the ground three times? You should’ve hit it five or six times. Then you would have totally defeated Syria and brought an end to them. Now you’ll only defeat them three times.”
Elisha died and was buried in a tomb. The following spring, some Israelites were conducting a funeral. Suddenly they saw some men coming, and realized they were Moabite raiders. The men from Israel threw the body into Elisha’s tomb and ran away. As soon as the body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man came to life and stood up.
