Elisha's Tomb

“So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet” 2 Kings 13:21 (NKJV).

As the pallbearers were taking a man to be buried, they spotted some Moabite guerrillas. In their fright, they threw the dead man into Elisha’s tomb. What happened next was astounding! When the dead man’s body touched the bones of Elisha in the tomb, the dead man came back to life! A number of lessons can be seen here. We want to note two of them.

Recycling of ministries - This miracle reminds us that even after we are dead and gone, the influence of our life continues. Today a lot of folks have gone into the recycling business, reusing the work of others. God has been in the recycling business for a long time. We think a person’s work is done when he dies, but not so. Elisha had been dead for some time, but he still had influence! Scripture says of Abel, “he being dead still speaks” (Heb. 11:4). This is true of all of us. How we influence people after we have died depends on how we lived our lives. The question therefore becomes - will the life we are currently living influence others for good or for evil after we die?

Redemption of sinners - This miracle in Elisha’s grave is also a picture of the redemption of sinners. First, there is the need of redemption: this man was dead; he needed life. Likewise the sinner – “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). Second, the means of redemption: this man’s restoration to life came as a result of Elisha’s death. Redemption is through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Third, opposition to redemption: as soon as the man came back to life, he faced the enemy - the Moabite guerrillas. When a person is saved, he is soon confronted with the enemy. Fourth, the evidence of redemption: when the man was restored to life, he “stood up.” Sin lowers; it brings the fall of men just as death did to this man. But salvation brings uprightness in conduct.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

For the Christian, death is not gloom but glory

Anonymous

Word Study

Desire

In Heb. 11:16 we read, “But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them!” (NKJV)

Desire is the Greek word oregomai (ορεγομαι). The word means stretch toward, reach out, yearn for, desire, strive for. Literally, it means to stretch out especially with one’s hands, to snatch, to reach out for. It pictures one stretching one’s self out in order to touch or to grasp something. Metaphorically oregomai means to desire something, to covet, to long after, to try to gain, to be ambitious. It is used figuratively for intellectual or spiritual striving, and for physical craving, e.g., for nourishment. Oregomai pictures a runner lunging for the finish line.

In addition oregomai is in the middle voice which describes action initiated by the subject who then participates in the action. It conveys a reflexive sense which could be translated they stretched themselves out for a better country.

Two of its three occurrences in the New Testament are 1 Tim. 3:1 and 6:10, each of which provides an interesting contrast. In 1 Tim. 3:1, oregomai is used in reference to a man desiring the office of an elder or overseer. This desire is from a heart with proper motives. In contrast, the use of oregomai in 1 Tim. 6:10 refers to a person who is ‘greedy for,’ ‘longs for’ or ‘coveted after’ money. This kind of person has a selfish desire for prominence rather than service.

Bible Facts

Moses – his name means ‘to draw forth’ (Ex. 2:10). Aaron, Moses’ older brother, was three years older than Moses (Ex. 7:7). Moses was Prince of Egypt, shepherd, prophet, lawgiver, covenant mediator, national leader.

Bible Quiz

Who was killed by the Lord because he touched the ark as David was bringing it to Jerusalem?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: When the Lord appeared to Solomon and told him to ask for anything, how did Solomon refer to himself? “I am but a little child” (1 Kings 3:7).

That’s in the Bible

“Sweat blood”

“And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44 NKJV).

Working extremely hard or ‘sweating blood’ is found in the account of Jesus praying at the Mount of Olives. Scriptures state that Jesus prayed so fervently that His sweat “became like great drops of blood.” The careful reader will notice that it didn’t say He ‘sweated blood,’ only that His sweat was “as…blood” (KJV) “like...blood” (NKJV). Nonetheless, praying till you sweat in that manner is highly commendable James declares that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (Jam. 5:16).

Did You Know – Christian History

Elizabeth Gaunt died 23 October 1685. She was an English woman sentenced to death for treason after having been convicted for involvement in the Rye House Plot. Gaunt was an Anabaptist shop-keeper in London. She was the daughter of Anthony Fothergill of Brownber, Ravenstonedale, and was well known to give shelter to persecuted people, such as victims of religious and political oppression. According to one source, she spent ‘her life in acts of charity, visiting the gaols and looking after the poor of what persuasion soever they were.’ She helped one of the participants of the failed Rye House Plot of 1683, James Burton, to escape to Amsterdam. After his arrest in 1685, Burton implicated her as an accomplice in the hope of saving his life. She was in fact not involved in the conspiracy and the trial against her was seen as a show trial. David Hume wrote: ‘He received a pardon as a recompense for his treachery and she was burnt alive for her charity.’ Gaunt was sentenced to death for treason in the Old Bailey on 19 October 1685.

Gaunt considered the trial to be a martyrdom and reportedly behaved with such good humor that the audience was moved to tears. She was denied execution by strangulation, and was literally burned alive. William Penn witnessed the execution and reported that she ‘died with a constancy, even to a cheerfulness which struck all that saw it.’ Gaunt was the last woman executed for a political crime in England.

A Little Humor

A preacher’s little boy inquired, “Daddy, I notice every Sunday morning when you first come out to preach, you sit up on the platform and bow your head. What are you doing?” The father explained, “I’m asking the Lord to give me a good sermon.” The little boy said, “Why don’t he?”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“If you live wrong, you can’t die right!’”