As we continue this series looking at these two servants of God, we see a transition. Elijah has been taken up into heaven and Elisha becomes the focal point of God’s work to the nation of Israel. It starts out with Elisha grabbing Elijah’s cloak that was left behind as he is taken up into heaven. He rolls it up, goes back to the bank of the Jordan River, calls out to God, and taps the water. Miraculously the water parts and it is noted that the spirit of Elijah is on Elisha (2Kings 2:11-15).
Once again water will be in the forefront of God showing His power and ability to heal. Elisha arrives in a town that is in good shape except for their water supply. As we know, water has always been an important aspect for man and where he lived. A little salt in a bowl of water and again we see a miracle at the hand of God’s servant through the power of God (2Kings 2:19-22).
We are familiar with the multiplying of the loaves and fish by Jesus. Elisha, though not fish and loaves, also had a multiplying of sorts going on. A widow of a prophet, who was having some problems with creditors, approaches Elisha as she is about to lose her two boys. They have a jar with a small amount of oil in it. To follow Elisha’s advice, they then filled jar after jar from this small amount oil. The jar just kept filling up! No matter how much they emptied out, it keep refilling. Not only was this enough oil to take care of the debt but also to take care of her family (2Kings 4:1-7).
And speaking of feeding a multitude, something else happened in this chapter. Still no fish involved, only barley bread and some heads of new grain (2Kings 4:42-22). And just before this some flour Elisha put into a pot that had “death” in it became cleansed and those that ate had no harmful after affects (2Kings 4:38-41). There is another instance of a multitude being fed, but there is a lot to that situation and I will save that for another week.
What we see in these situations with Elisha is God taking care of people in miraculous ways. Wouldn’t it be great if that happened today? I mean look at the witness it would be to those around us if we took our single portion of General Tso’s Chicken into the lunch room, said a prayer over it, then proceeded to pass it out to the dozen or so that were there—everyone eating until they were full. Or maybe, it’s bringing a pizza to a movie night with friends and not only does everyone have multiple slices from this single pizza but also the slices are their favorite type. How powerful would these acts from God be!
Why doesn’t God do that today? Because He uses something even greater to pass on knowledge of who He is. 1Corinthians 13 is called the love chapter and it ends saying some of the miraculous aspects we associate with the Spirit of God will pass away. Three things remain, with the greatest of these being love. The power of God does still exist today and it is seen through the love that we have for others.
The miracles aren’t any less powerful, just less instantaneous. It may not be “Pow, Wow!”, but a change in heart over time. A thinking that didn’t use to be that way. A love that has grown because of a powerful God working in a heart. Or a powerful love that expresses itself in the treatment of others. So, pray for the double portion that we talked about last week, and let it manifest itself in our treatment of others. The miracles are still there, we just have to make sure we are the vessels for the Spirit to work through. God can fill us up with His love over and over again as we continue to pour it out on others.
Fill me up, Lord--
Randy
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