Thurs.’s Devo - The Miracles of Elisha

Read: 2 Kings 4:18-5:27; Acts 15:1-35; Psalm 141:1-10; Proverbs 17:23 One day, the son of the Shunemite woman got a headache and died. The mother laid him in Elisha’s bed and went to find him. When Elisha heard he had died, he sent Gehazi ahead of him to put his staff on the child. He did not come back to life. Elisha reached him and closed himself up in the room to pray. He laid on top of the child and transferred life to him. The boy sneezed 7 times then awoke. Elisha presented the boy to his mother. Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in the land. A group of prophets were making stew. One of them put some wild gourds into the pot that were poisonous. When they went to eat it they had to spit it out. Elisha put flour into the pot and then they could eat it. While the famine was going on, a man arrived from Baal-shalishah who brought a sack of grain and twenty loaves of bread from his first fruits. Elisha told his men to give it to the people. There was no way it would feed a hundred people, but God multiplied it so that there was plenty and even left overs. The king of Aram had a much loved army officer by the name of Naaman who had leprosy. He had a captive servant from Israel who served his wife. One day the servant told her master’s wife that she wished he could go to the prophet in Israel because he could heal him of his leprosy. When Naaman heard this, he told the king what she had said. The king sent him with letters to the king of Israel to heal his leprosy. He also sent gold, silver and royal clothes. The king thought he was trying to pick a fight. He couldn’t heal leprosy. The king tore his robes in anguish. Elisha heard and sent the king a message to send the man to him. The king sent Naaman to Elisha’s house. Elisha sent Gehazi out to tell him to dip in the Jordan 7 times. Naaman was offended that the prophet didn’t tell him himself and that he sent him to the dirty Jordan when there were many cleaner rivers around. He started to leave angry but his officers begged him to reason. To dip in a river is an easy thing to do, why doesn’t he just try it. Naaman humbled himself and dipped and the seventh time he came out with skin of a baby. Elisha refused to take a reward from Naaman but Gehazi couldn’t let it go. He went after Naaman and made up a reason to get some of the silver and two changes of clothes. He took it and hid it from Elisha. Elisha confronted him about it and said that the leprosy that left Naaman would always be on him and his family. Gehazi was instantly covered with leprosy. Gehazi had bough his leprosy for 75 pounds of silver. In Acts, there was great confusion over whether the new converts should be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas believed they didn’t but some who were believers and Pharisees thought they should. After much debate and prayer they came up with a solution. The new believers should have no other burden but to abstain from eating food offered to idols, and not drink blood or eat the meat of strangled animals. They should also abstain from sexual immorality. The people were greatly encouraged when they heard the decision. Lord, thank you that we are free in you to obey your word because we desire to, not because we have to. Help us to guard our hearts from greed and fear.