In this article we will study the life of Elisha - the biblical prophet. His father was Safat, a we althy plowman. In the year of Jehu's accession, Elijah the seer invited him to his position as an assistant (1 Kings 19:21). After the miraculous ascension of the teacher alive into heaven, Elisha himself became an independent prophet (2 Kings 2:15).
His authority was appreciated by King Jehoshaphat of Judah, who repeatedly consulted with the prophet on the eve of the campaign against Mesha, the Moabite king (2 Kings 3:12).
The Life of Elisha
Prophet Elisha zealously followed the teachings of his teacher, the seer Elijah. He prophesied for more than 65 years, during the reign of six Israelite rulers (from Ahaz to Joash). Elisha fearlessly told them the truth, denouncing their dishonor and inclination to idolatry. The seer reposed at an advanced age (about a hundred years): he took up the prophetic ministry under King Ahab (1 Kings 19:19) - about 900 BC, and reposed under King Joash, in the 30s of the 9th century. BC (about 835).
Akathist to the prophet of God Elisha believers read with reverence. After all, many miracles are connected with his name - from the fabulous crossing of the Jordan to the healing of the weak and the resurrection of the son of a hospitable Sonamite wife. His well-known curiosities are also: an increase in oil bythe petition of a poor widow (2 Kings 4:1-6), the growth of the firstfruits (2 Kings 4:42-44), the healing of the Syrian commander Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-19).
In all stories, the prophet Elisha is depicted as a deeply perspicacious person, strong in spirit and faith. In those days, the rapid development of the ancient institution, known as the "prophetic hosts", or schools, which were a kind of mobile religious and educational communities, is noted. It was in them that the younger generation studied under the guidance of experienced and famous soothsayers.
Prophet Elisha alone watched the ascension of Elijah to heaven. As a legacy from him, he received a mantle (mantle), which was considered a visible sign of the heritage of the prophetic spirit. The name of Elisha was glorified in literary works. Jesus of Sirach speaks of him with the highest praise, indicating that he did not shudder before kings, telling the truth (Sir. 48:12-14).
Punishment of children
The children showed insolence towards Elisha, for which they were punished. They taunted him, exclaiming: “Go, baldhead! Go, baldhead! (2 Kings 2:23-24). According to the judgment of God, preceded by the curse of Elisha, “two bears ran out of the forest and forty-two youths tore to pieces” (2 Kings 2:24).
And yet, the Bible does not believe that the cause of what happened is the cruelty of the seer, because, according to the teachings of the divine book, the curse of a person is powerless, and only God makes the judgment (Numbers 23:8). In fact, the Lord does not implement undeserved curses (Prov. 26:2).
Prophet Elisha is also mentioned in the New Testament(Luke 4:27). The Orthodox Church commemorates him on June 14 (according to the Julian calendar), the Catholic Church also on June 14.
Elisha in the Quran
Elisha is a biblical prophet who is also present in the Koran. Only in this book is he represented by the prophet Al-Yasa, about whom it is written in the verses of the Qur'an 38:48 and 6:86. Together with the prophet Ilyas (Elijah), the seer called on the Israeli people to obey the laws of Taurat (Torah) and Sharia of Musa (Moses).
After the people of Israel did not respond to the call of Ilyas, expelled him from the country and began to honor the idol of Baal, Allah severely punished them by sending them a drought. The lost Israelites had to flee from hunger: at that time they ate carrion.
The people of Israel survived all the misfortunes that fell on them, and again invited the seer Ilyas to their place. The inhabitants returned to faith in Allah, but then some of them again moved away from it and began to commit immoral acts. The prophet Ilyas left them and began to prophesy the faith among other tribes of Israel.
So, Ilyas settled in the home of a woman who lived with her son Al-Yasa. Al-Yasa at that time was ill with a terrible disease. The mother asked Ilyas to help her son, and he offered up a prayer to Allah for a cure. As a result, Allah healed Al-Yasa. After his amazing recovery, the young man followed his savior until the end of his life and memorized Taurat under his guidance.
After the death of Ilyas, Allah made Al-Yasa a seer and obliged him to call on his people to believe in Allah. Unfortunately, the people rejectedit's a creed. In those days, a struggle for power flared up between the various tribes of Israel, and Allah sent disaster to them in the form of the Assyrians.
The Assyrians conquered the territory of Israel and took into slavery a huge number of inhabitants. In the future, the Israelis sometimes submitted to Al-Yas, and sometimes rebelled against him. Before leaving for another world, Al-Yasa appointed Zulkifl (Ezekiel) as his successor.
Miracles of the seer Elisha
It is known that the holy prophet Elisha was born in the city of Abel-Mehol (1 Kings 19:16) and was known as a great miracle worker. Already his very birth was accompanied by miraculous phenomena. In the town of Simon there was a golden heifer, which the people of Israel worshiped as a deity and made sacrifices. When Elisha was born, she screamed so heart-rendingly that even the inhabitants of Jerusalem heard her roar.
When everyone was surprised at this, a certain clergyman said: “The great seer Elisha was born today! He will crush the strong and destroy the idols!”
Elise, leading a sinless life, came of age. And then the Lord placed him in the prophetic service. The holy seer Elijah received the command of the Almighty to anoint Elisha as a soothsayer instead of himself.
When Elisha - the prophet of the Old Testament - plowed the field, the holy seer Elijah approached him, entrusted him with his mantle, and, having told him the will of the Most High, called him a prophet. Elijah then ordered him to follow him. Elisha hurried after the teacher and served him, learning from him the knowledge of the mysteries of God.
When the Lord pleasedto take His servant Elijah to heaven in a hurricane on a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:1-15), Elijah asked Elisha a question: “What gift do you want from the Lord, which I can intercede from him with my prayer?”
And Elisha wished to receive the gift of divination and the gift of wonderworking that Elijah had, but twice as much! Elisha wished to teach the erring people, who deviated into the service of Baal, with a prophetic word, assuring their covenants with miracles, so that through such deeds they would turn them back to the true one God.
Elijah said to him: "If you watch me be taken up to heaven from you, your wish will come true." Then they continued on their way and talked among themselves. Suddenly, a fiery chariot arose, and fiery horses, which pushed them away from each other: in a whirlwind, Elijah was carried away into the sky. Elisha looked after him and cried: “My father, my father! Israel's cavalry and his chariot!"
When the chariot disappeared into the sky, Elisha saw Elijah's mantle lowered from a height, which covered him. He took it as a token of the received special spirit of Elijah. Further, Elisha wished to cross the Jordan River: he struck the water with a mantle, and the river parted, and Elisha crossed the barrier along the dry bottom of the river. The prophetic disciples who lived in the Jordan saw this miracle. They made sure that the Spirit of Elijah settled in Elisha and, having come to him, bowed before him.
Execution of children
Among the people, the prophet Elisha received great fame. His life is full of various surprises. Once the seer was heading to the city of Bethel, where the Israelites lived, who had abandoned God and worshiped idols. When he approached the city, little children playing different games on the road saw him. They began to laugh at his bald head and shout: “Go, bald! Baldhead, go!"
The diviner, passing by them, looked back and saw that the children were following him, continuing to shout and taunt. Elisha cursed them in the name of God. Suddenly, two she-bears ran out of the forest and forty-two youths tore apart. The survivors fled to the city. With this execution, according to a righteous judgment, the seer punished those youths for outrage and deprived them of their lives. After all, having reached adulthood, they would have turned into more evil people.
Their parents were punished for worshiping idols. They received a bitter lesson: the education of children should be carried out in the fear of God and instruction in reverent respect for the servants of the Lord.
The disease of the famous governor
What else was the prophet Elisha famous for? We study his life further. Once the famous commander Naaman, who served the king of Syria, fell ill with leprosy. It is known that he was famous for his military victories and his courage. He was ill for a very long time and could not find doctors to heal him.
Once, Syrian soldiers from an Israeli country captured a girl and gave her to Naaman's wife as a servant. The girl heard about the holy seer Elisha from her father and mother: they told her about the great miracles that happened through his prayers. She told her owner about that.
Oh, if my master visited the seer Elisha, who lives in Samaria, he would heal himfrom leprosy,” said the girl. Naaman's wife told her words to her husband, and he visited his king and began to ask him to let him travel to Israel for healing by the prophet.
The king allowed him to go and gave him a letter to the ruler of Israel, Jeram. Naaman took gifts for Elisha with him - ten changes of rich clothes, ten talents of silver and six thousand pieces of gold. Soon he arrived in Israel and gave a letter to King Jeram, in which his king wrote: “From my message that you will receive, learn that I sent my servant Naaman to you so that you cleanse him of leprosy.”
The Israeli sovereign, having studied the letter of the ruler of Syria, became very sad and, tearing his clothes, said: “Am I the Lord, who alone can revive and kill, that he sent his leper servant to me so that I could heal him from leprosy? Apparently, he is looking for an excuse to start a war against me!”
The seer Elisha learned that the king was upset and tore his clothes. He sent people to say to the ruler: “Why are you upset and why did you tear your clothes? Let Naaman come and see that there is a seer of God in Israel!”
Naaman came to Eliseev's house and stopped near it with horses and chariots. The prophet told him through a servant: “Go to the Jordan and dip seven times, and your body will be cleansed. It will become what it was before.”
Naaman was offended when he heard such words of the prophet, and left, crying: “I hoped that he himself would come out to me and, standing in front of me, would call the name of his Lord,touches my leprous body and cleanses it, and he tells me to bathe in the Jordan! Are not the rivers Damascus, Farfar and Avana better than the Jordan and all the waters of Israel? Couldn't I bathe and be healed in them?”
And Naaman went back from Samaria in great anger. On the way, the servants asked him to heed the command of the seer of God and said at the same time: “If Elisha had ordered you to do something more difficult, would you not have obeyed his commands? But he only told you to dip in the Jordan for cleansing, and you don’t want to do that either.”
Naaman obeyed his servants, went to the Jordan River and plunged into it seven times, as the seer of God commanded him, and at the same moment his body was cleansed. He returned to Elisha with those who accompanied him and, standing in front of him, said: “Now I believe that only in Israel is God. Therefore, from your servant, accept the gifts that I have brought you.”
Naaman offered the seer silver, clothes and gold. But Saint Elisha said to him: “The Almighty lives, whom I serve, and I will not take anything from you.” Naaman began to convince the prophet to accept what was brought, but he was unshakable. Then Naaman asked the saint: “Let your servant take as much land as my two mules can take away. Having delivered her home, I will build an altar to the Lord God of Israel, for from now on your servant will not offer sacrifices to other gods, but only to the One true God.”
The Seer allowed him to take what he wanted and let him go in peace. When Naaman left, Elisha’s servant Gehazi began to think: “This is the inestimable service my master did to Naaman the Syrian anddid not take a single gift from his hand. I will catch up with him and ask for something.”
And, getting up, he hurried after Naaman. The governor saw Gehazi, descended from the chariot and greeted him. Gehazi said to him: “My master sent me to tell you that today two prophetic disciples descended from Mount Ephraim to him. He asks you to give them two changes of clothes and a talent of silver.” Naaman asked him to take two talents and ordered the silver to be put into two sacks. He provided Gehazi with his servants to carry gifts, and also gave him two robes.
Gehazi came home at sunset, hid what he had taken in his dwelling, and he himself went to his master. God's seer Elisha asked him: "Where did you come from, Gehazi?" He answered him: “Your slave did not go anywhere.”
Then Elisha said: “Did not my heart follow you and see how that man got down from the chariot and came to you, and how you took clothes and silver from him? Do I not know that you want to use this silver to buy vineyards and olive trees for yourself, oxen, sheep, maidservants and servants? For this, Naaman's leprosy will stick to your offspring and to you forever.”
And Gehazi came out of Elisha white as snow: he was instantly covered with leprosy.
The Acts of Elisha
Do you know that the akathist to the prophet Elisha works wonders? After all, other marvelous prophetic gifts and deeds of Elisha were also known, which are written in detail in the books of Kings. It was he who prophesied about the seven-year famine that raged in the lands of Israel (2 Kings 8:10). He predicted the death of Benhadad - the Syrian king - and announced the transition into the hands of Hazailkingdom of Syria. It was Elisha who anointed Jehu, one of the kings of Israel, to the kingdom, and then prompted him to destroy the idolatrous, God-hating Ahaab house, all the Baal magicians and priests.
When Jehoash (grandson of Jehu) reigned, the soothsayer Elisha, already an ancient elder, became very ill. The Israeli king Jehoash visited him and, weeping over him, said: “Father, father, the chariot of Israel and his horses!”
The Seer asked him to take arrows and a bow, open the east window to look towards Syria, and pull the string. The king granted his request. The seer of God, placing his hands on the king, said: “Send an arrow to Syria.” And the sovereign shot an arrow.
The Seer said: "This arrow is the arrow of God's salvation, and you will defeat Syria." And again he ordered Joash to take arrows and bow in his hands. The king took. Then the seer said to him: "Strike the ground with an arrow." Joash struck three times and froze. The seer Elisha was angry with him, saying: “If you had struck five or six times, you would have won a complete victory over Syria. Now you can only inflict three defeats on her.”
Thus, prophesying Joash, Saint Elisha reposed and was buried with reverence.
Miracles of Elisha after death
Prophet Elisha did many good deeds. His prayer could send even heavy rain to the earth. It is known that the seer Elisha not only performed miracles during his lifetime, but also revealed himself as a miracle worker after his death. A year after he passed into another world, they carried one dead person outside the city to bury him. A horde of Moabites appeared at that moment, raiding the lands of Israel.
People who carried the deceased noticed the enemies from afar and left the corpse in a nearby cave. This was exactly the cave in which the ashes of the seer Elisha rested. The dead man touched the bones of the soothsayer and instantly came to life: he left the cave and hurried to the city.
So after death the Lord glorified His saint. People celebrate the day of the prophet Elisha with reverence. Wonderful is the Lord God of Israel in his saints.
Icon
How can the miraculous icon of the prophet Elisha help? She will protect the asking person from all sorrows and troubles, illnesses, help him gain spiritual strength and peace of mind.
Eliseevsky Church
The Church of Elisha the Prophet is located not far from St. Petersburg on the shore of Lake Sidozero, near the holiday village of the same name. Previously, Yakovlevsky tract was located on the site of this village.
Temple of Prophet Elisha was founded in 1899. It was built of wood, but has the forms of an eclectic Russian style, characteristic of stone architecture. The temple was closed in the late 1930s. Today it is completely abandoned and does not function.
In general, the temple of the Holy Prophet Elisha is famous and is considered a significant object of the Podporozhye Ring. Tourists talk about it as hard to reach, although in fact it takes only forty minutes to walk from the dacha village to it.
This building is very beautiful and unusual. At the same time, it is gradually being destroyed and, apparently, does not appear on the list of cultural objects to be restored.
History of the Church of Elisha
It is known that the church of the seer Elisha was consecrated on 13 (new style 26) June 1899 in the village of Sidozero, Olonetsk province. This building did not appear by chance. Its unique dedication is due to the fact that the temple was erected on the burial site of a certain monk Elisha. Folk legend called him a monk of the nearby Yablonsky desert - a small monastery located on the Yablonsky Peninsula, in the middle of the Svir.
According to legend, in the Time of Troubles, when the Yablonsky desert was ravaged by the Poles, Elisha escaped in the forests on the right bank of the Svir. He settled on the coast of Sidozero. At the end of the 19th century, local residents spoke about the “monk path” that the seer used to walk from Sidozero to his devastated monastery. Here, on Sidozero, Elisha reposed.
An impressive cross was placed on his grave. Local residents have long revered Eliseev's grave, the icon of the prophet Elisha, everyone had in their homes. In 1870, in memory of the end of the epidemic among rural livestock, it was decided every year on June 14 to celebrate the day of memory of the seer Elisha. At the same time, a chapel was erected over the burial made of wood. Every year the number of pilgrims visiting this holy place increased, and at the end of the 19th century people decided to build a special church here.
What were the children cursed for?
What happened when the prophet Elisha and the children met on the desert road? Why did the man of God curse the children? Let's break down this difficult question.
- In the original text of 2 Kings. 2:24 the word "forest" can be translated as "grove"or "oak". In those days, there were many oak forests and groves in those places, and the animals were not yet exterminated. Therefore, there is nothing strange in the fact that bears could roam wherever they please.
- The Seer cursed not small children. After all, the original uses the word “small”, which can be translated as “lesser”, “younger”, and “children” can be translated as “boy”, “young man”, “servant”, “slave”. In fact, we see here not kids, but a crowd of embittered teenagers. But they did not just ridicule the seer. They called him bald and called him to ascend to heaven. Evil teenagers demanded from Elisha, mocking him, that he ascended to heaven, as recently his teacher Elijah. This was not only a disdain for the prophet, but also for God himself.
We hope that this article has helped you to study the life of the seer Elisha.
