Elisha’s hills and valleys

Elisha was the prophet to Israel after Elijah. He lived in the 9th century BC. There is an account of his life in 1 Kings 19 to 2 Kings 13 of the Bible. The hills and valleys in his life are shown in the graph.

Hill: Elisha desired to carry on Elijah’s ministry, and this was granted by God (2 Ki. 2: 9-14). Like Elijah, he parted the Jordan river to cross on dry ground.

Valley: When a group of boys from Bethel mocked and made fun of him, they were mauled by two bears (2 Ki. 2:23-24).

Hill: God did many miracles through Elisha: purified water at Jericho; multiplied a small amount of a widow’s oil to fill many jars; resurrected the Shunammite’s son; made poisonous stew edible during a famine; multiplied 20 loaves of bread to feed 100 men; healed Naaman of leprosy; and made an axe-head float on water (2 Ki. 2:19 – 6:7).

Valley: The king of Aram tried to capture Elisha because he was telling the king of Israel where the enemy was located (2 KI. 6:8-17). So, an army of horses and chariots surrounded Elisha in the city of Dothan.

Hill: When the army attacked, Elisha prayed and the enemy were blinded and they stopped raiding Israel (2 Ki. 6:18-23).

Valley: Sometime later the king of Israel blamed God for a siege and famine and planned to behead Elisha (2 Ki. 6:24 – 7:2). But Elisha predicted that the famine would end on the following day.

Hill: God “caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army” so they left everything and “ran for their lives” (2 Ki. 7:3-20). The famine was over when the Israelites plundered the camp of the Arameans.

Hill: Elisha anointed Jehu as king of Israel. He was the best king of the northern kingdom of Israel. In fulfilment of a prophecy by Elijah (1 Ki. 21:21-22), he had queen Jezebel and the descendants of king Ahab killed. And he destroyed Baal worship in Israel.

Hill: A miracle was associated with Elisha after his death (2 Ki. 13:20-21)! When a man’s body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came back to life!

So Elisha experienced hills and valleys.

Lessons for us

When Elisha was surrounded by his enemies, he prayed to God. Prayer taps into God’s power and can give resilience. He didn’t feel alone but was aware of the support of God’s angels. Likewise, we can be aware of the support of the Holy Spirit.

Written, July 2023