Elisha Dies

If you've got your Bible, 2 Kings chapter 13. 2 Kings 13 is where we are tonight. As we understand that Elisha dies. It's been a long time since Elisha was called and commissioned. It's been a long time since Elijah walked by Elisha when he was plowing the field and threw his mantle upon him. And he followed after Elijah. But he went back and he burned his plow and he slaughtered his ox and had a going away party because he was committed, he was not coming back. He was going to follow Elijah, be a servant for some 13 years and then he would be the successor to Elijah in his ministry.

And sure enough he was. And we've seen this miracle man perform miracle after miracle after miracle each and every week as he's been used by the Lord in a very powerful way. But we come to 2 Kings chapter 13. It's been 50 years since he anointed Jehu king of Israel. A lot of time has passed in Elisha's life. We don't know exactly what took place in those 50 years. I can be assured that there are probably many things that took place. I can recall the words of John 21, 25. When it says of Christ, there are also many other things which Jesus did which if they should be written, everyone, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.

And that's so true of Jesus Christ. But I'm sure of Elisha there'd be a lot of things that would be probably covered for him that we could study even all the more if the Spirit of God wanted us to know it. But for some reason he did not. But it's been a long time since he's anointed Jehu. And he's gone through 6 different kings during his ministry as a prophet. He began with Ahab and went to Ahaziah, then to Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoazzah, and then to Joash. So he's gone through 6 different kings. And the reason we don't know how old he is, we think he's somewhere between 80 and 100 years of age.

We don't know for certain because we don't know how old he was when he was called. We don't know how long Ahaz was in office before Elisha came along. And we don't know how long Joash was in office as king before Elisha dies. So we don't know exactly how old he is, but he's up in years. He's probably beyond 80, somewhere maybe close to 100 years of age. And now he is dying. And that's what people do when they get that old, I guess. And so, I don't know, I'm not there yet, but that's what they tell me.

And so he's about to die. But yet great things happen even on his deathbed. Because Elisha never really retired from the ministry. Even on his deathbed, he's making prophecies and helping Joash know about the future. And so we see this man hard at work still. And so we want to read to you the narrative. And then we'll spend some time looking at it together. It says in verse number 14 of 2 Kings 13, When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen.

Elisha said to him, Take a bow and arrows. So he took a bow and arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, Put your hand on the bow. And he put his hand on it. And then Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. He said, Open the window toward the east. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. He said, The Lord's arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram. For you will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them. Then he said, Take the arrows. And he took them.

He said to the king of Israel, Strike the ground. And he struck it three times and stopped. So the man of God was angry with him and said, You should have struck five or six times. Then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you should strike Aram only three times. Elisha died and they buried him. Okay. So let's look, first of all, at the respect that King Joash has for Elisha.

And then we'll look at the revelation that Elisha gives to the king. And then we'll look at his rebuke of the king.

These will be Elisha's last words. And they're not words of encouragement. They're a word of rebuke to the king. And this is how he goes home to be with the Lord. But let's look, first of all, at the respect that King Joash has for Elisha.

He shows him respect by coming to him when he's dying. Kings don't do that. You go to kings when they're dying, but kings don't go to you. And if the king was to send one of his officials to you, that would be respect enough. But Joash goes himself to Elisha, goes to his bedside, because of the respect he has for the prophet of God. He goes to him because he realizes the value that Elisha had to the nation of Israel. He realizes the value that Elisha had even to him alone. In spite of all the things that Elisha went through during his earthly ministry, even there were times that kings wanted to kill him.

They were at enmity against him. But he lived up to his name. Elisha, meaning God is my deliverer. And he believed that God would deliver him from any kind of peril or difficulty because he was the prophet of God. And sure enough, God protected him all those years, kept him free from harm, and was used in a mighty, glorious way. But Elisha is the man of God. He is the man of God. He portrays for us the uniqueness of what a man of God is. And I recall the words over in Psalm 92. I'm sorry, yeah, Psalm 92, verse number 12.

The righteous man will flourish like a palm tree. He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age. They shall be full of sap and very green. To declare that the Lord is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. That was Elisha. Even in his old age, he was green. Even in his old age, he was wise. Even in his old age, he was being used by God. This is the kind of man that all of us should aspire to be like.

The time we were even on our deathbed, we're still involved in ministering to those who come to see us. So many times we're on our deathbed and we want those who come to see us to minister to us. But Elisha was one who would minister to the king of Israel. And so he showed great respect for Elisha. And he began to cry over the king. Realizing the effect upon Israel once Elisha is gone. You'd cry too if you were living in the king's shoes in those days. And he realized that Elisha being gone was going to affect Israel tremendously.

Because he had been the protector of Israel. And so now that he's going to be gone, the king begins to weep profusely. Knowing that things will be totally different once Elisha is gone. You ever wonder if anybody is going to weep when you die? You know, some might even sing the Hallelujah Chorus once you're dead. But what will happen when you die? Remember when Paul left the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20? The elders gathered around him and began to weep. Because Paul was going to be taken from their presence.

And he wasn't even dead yet. But the impact that he made in their lives was unique. The impact, the leadership that Paul had was so great that upon his leaving there was great turmoil. Not knowing what would happen after he left. Well, here's Elisha. He's about to leave for good. And the king just was beside himself. When Jezebel died, not too many people cried. Remember when Jehoram, the son-in-law of Jezebel, when he died, the Bible records in 2 Chronicles 21 20, he departed without being desired.

You don't want to depart that way. You want to depart with people crying that you're leaving. Because of the impact that you've made. The influence that you have had. Listen, if you impact people's lives, if you touch them deeply with the truth of God's word, if you have made a significant dent in people's lives, they'll miss you when you're gone. They'll miss you. Because they know that there's a void that can't be filled once you are gone. Yes, God will raise up another person. He will do that.

But there's something unique about you because you were the one who impacted that individual's life. Well, the king knew of Elisha's impact. And that impact was so deep that it would leave a tremendous hole in Israel. And the respect that he had for Elisha was seen in the fact that he came to him, that he cried over him, and then the comments he made about him. He said, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen. Now, that's the exact same thing that Elisha said about Elijah. Excuse me.

Said about Elijah. The exact same thing. When Elijah departed into glory, Elisha said, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen. And now, King Joash says the exact same thing about Elisha. He truly followed in the footsteps of his mentor. He truly followed in the footsteps of the great prophet Elijah. Because he had made that kind of impact in Israel. He was, my father, my father, the provider of Israel. As the father, you are a provider. And he provided that which was needful.

He supplied that which was needful for Israel. He would lead them. He would feed them. He was also the protector of Israel. Because he was the one who was described as the chariot of Israel and its horsemen. Those are military terms to describe someone who wins battles. He was the protector of Israel. So not just the provider, but the protector of Israel. Not just the supplier of that which was needful, but he was a shield from that which was harmful. He would watch and warn Israel. He would feed and lead Israel.

That's exactly what he did. And as protector, there were several times he protected the nation of Israel. Remember when they fought the Moabites and he went down with the three kings and they were able to defeat the Moabites. Remember when Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, tried to kill Jehoram and trap him. And Elisha would tell the king where those hideouts were so that the king would miss them. And then Ben-Hadad sent a whole slew of soldiers to capture and to kill Elisha. But instead Elisha blinded them and led them into captivity and then let them go.

I mean, he was truly the protector of Israel. And how many other times did he protect them? Over the last 50 years that we know nothing about. But certainly he did protect the nation of Israel. For Joash would call him, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen. That's the greatest eulogy of all. Spoken by Elisha about Elisha and King Joash about Elisha. I wonder what your eulogy will read when you die. That is just the greatest eulogy a man could ever have. That he was the provider and the protector of those entrusted to him.

And Elisha through all these years never compromised. Never compromised. He never wavered in his commitment. He lived for the glory of his God. He never would turn away from the service of his king. He provided a tremendous example for everybody who saw him. Everybody who heard him. That's the kind of man he was. And as he would go through his life and go through his ministry he would make impact after impact after impact in people's lives. Granted, Israel never saw revival under his leadership nor did it see revival under Elisha's leadership.

Because Israel was still steeped in their sin as we will see in a moment. They just never turned from their sin. And God would have to punish them by sending them into captivity. But Elisha never wavered. Never gave up. Never said, you know what, you guys, you're hopeless. Nothing I can do for you. I'm just going to go off and sit by a brook and just kind of wait my years to go by. No, he continued to minister and to serve. And here was King Joash living to respect this man and to honor him by giving him that wise description.

You know the Bible says in Psalm 20 verse number 7 that some trust in chariots and some in horses but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God.

They shall be brought down and fall but we shall rise up and stand firm. Remember Isaiah chapter 31 verse number 1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses and trust in chariots because there are many and in horsemen because they are very strong but they do not look to the Holy One of Israel nor seek the Lord. It's all about dependency. It's all about living in dependency upon the Lord God of Israel. That's what needed to happen for everyone. But Elisha modeled that. He lived a life of dependency.

He didn't trust in anything else other than the Lord God of Israel. But Israel would trust in their horses. Israel would trust in their chariots. But they had very little left. If you go up earlier in 2 Kings 13 it says in verse number 7 For he left to Joahaz of the army not more than 50 horsemen, 10 chariots, 10,000 footmen for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at Dreshin. So it's no wonder when Joash becomes king and there's little or nothing left to fight against the Syrians that he needs Elisha.

But Elisha is dying. So he goes to him. He weeps over him and says those famous words my father, my father the chariot of Israel and its horsemen. And the rest of the conversation centers around Elisha. The king says hardly anything. So we look at the revelation that Elisha gives to King Joash.

He says take a bow and arrows. So he took a bow and arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel put your hand on the bow. And he put his hand on it. Then Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. He said open the window toward the east and he opened it. Then Elisha said shoot and he shot. He said the Lord's arrow of victory even the arrow of victory over Aram for you will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them. Wow. What a great revelation. Something that Joash did not expect to happen.

He didn't know how long Elisha had to live. But he went to him because he respected him. And upon going to him he would receive a revelation. A prophecy about the opportunity to destroy the Arameans. Knowing that he only had 10,000 footmen some 10 chariots and some 50 horsemen. He had very little. But Joash would give him hope. He would defeat the Syrians at Aphek a great military base a great strategic place. It would cause Joash to have great success and a great attitude. And so Elisha would remind him as he put his hand on the king's hand to remind him that these are the Lord's arrows and God will fight the battle for you.

That he is the victor. Even though the prophet is going to be gone the God of the prophet will still remain. And King Joash needed to know that. It's the Lord God of Israel who fights the battles. Elisha depended upon the Lord God and all the miracles he performed it was all because of the power of God. And as he put his hand on the king's hand he said shoot the arrow. And he shot it. And he says this is the Lord's arrow and you will gain victory over the Arameans. Because this is the Lord's arrow.

You know the Lord is a warrior. I love what the Bible says in Isaiah chapter 42 about the Lord. The Lord will go forth like a warrior he will arouse his zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout. Yes he will raise a war cry. He will prevail against his enemies. That's the Lord God of Israel. And if you go back to the book of Exodus the 15th chapter. Remember that when Moses led the children through the Red Sea. It says that Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord and said I will sing to the Lord for he is highly exalted.

The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song and he has become my salvation. This is my God and I will praise him. My Father's God and I will extol him the Lord is a warrior. The Lord is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has cast into the sea. And the choices of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea. The deeps cover them. They went down into the depths like a stone. Your right hand O Lord is majestic in power. Your right hand O Lord shatters the enemy.

And the greatness of your excellence you overthrow those who rise up against you. You send forth your burning anger and it consumes them as chaff. The Lord is a warrior. And he is called the Lord of hosts. The Lord of armies. He is the captain of the Lord of armies. And so Elisha wanted to assure Joash that the Lord would fight the battle for him. It doesn't mean that Joash believed in the Lord God of Israel because he did the sins of his father Jeroboam like all the 19 northern kings lived. They all lived in sin and they all led their nation into sin.

But in spite of that God would fight the battle. So they would know that their victory was of the Lord and not of themselves. You know when you think about that you got to realize that the Lord is the one who fights our battles as well. We try to take things into our own hands. We try to do it without the Lord. But so many times we just have to sit back and ask the Lord to do what only he can do. So many times we just don't do that. We don't cast our burden upon the Lord so he can sustain us. We don't trust in the Lord who is a warrior to fight our battles.

We want to fight our battles. And most of the time we lose. And yet God says in quietness and rest is your strength.

But unfortunately you are unwilling. Isaiah 30 verse number 15. You need to be quiet and rest in the Lord. The Lord of warriors, the Lord of hosts that he would fight the battle for us. And so there's the respect that the king has for Elisha. And then there is the revelation that Elisha gives to King Joash. The third thing I want you to see is simply this.

The rebuke from Elisha to King Joash. He says to the king take the arrows. He took them. He said to the king of Israel strike the ground. He struck it three times and stopped. So the man of God was angry with him. And said you should have struck five or six times. Then you would have struck a ram until you would have destroyed it. But now you should strike a ram only three times. What a statement. This is how he ends his ministry. With a rebuke of the king of Israel. He says you have your arrows?

I do. Take your arrows. Throw them to the ground. Shoot them to the ground. So he takes one. Shoots it. Takes two. Shoots it. Takes three. Shoots it on that dirt floor where Elisha was in the room he was in. He stopped. Elisha, what are you doing? You should have shot five or six. Don't you want to defeat the Syrians? Don't you want to win every battle? Why would you stop? And he rebuked him. He rebuked him for his lack of tenacity. He rebuked him for his lack of opposition to evil. He rebuked him because he did not totally want to obliterate the enemy.

He rebuked him because he was half-hearted in his approach to battle. That's why he rebuked him. And rightly so. The Bible says the man of God became angry.

This is righteous indignation. This is holy zeal. Because you see, Elisha wouldn't tolerate sin. He wouldn't tolerate evil. He would preach against sin. And he would preach against those who did evil. I mean, even when those 42 youths came out and mocked him and he called those two bears out to maul them to death. He wouldn't even stand for that. And so he was rebuking the king of Israel because he was half-hearted, nonchalant in his approach to battle. Not willing to obliterate sin, to annihilate sin, to annihilate evil from invading the land of Israel.

And the Bible does tell us that Joash did win three battles against Aram. But he could have won a lot more had he shot all his arrows. But he didn't. The man of God became angry. Became angry. And would it be that more of us become angry at half-hearted attitudes towards battle? That more of us become angry at those who are nonchalant and want to tolerate evil and sin. But unfortunately, we don't. We tolerate too much in the church today. And pass it off as, well, they just didn't know. Oh, they know.

Oh, they're just not that way. Oh, they should be that way. Somebody should rebuke them. And Elisha was one who was willing to do that. Few victories over Syria. Few victories over the evil would not suffice for the land of Israel. And so, we need more men like Elisha today who have sanctified anger over people's soft attitude towards sin. Listen to the words of the Lord God in Isaiah 58, verse number 1. God tells Isaiah, cry aloud. Spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins.

That's what the prophet of God does. That's what the pastor does. He shows people their sins. How does he do that? By matching their lives against the perfect standard of the word of God. So people will be broken in spirit. Crushed in spirit. To this man, when I looked at him, is broken and of a contrite heart who trembles at my word. So God tells Isaiah, sound the trumpet against my people's transgressions. Show Israel that they're sinners. Let them see that they have fallen short of the glory of God.

But in today's evangelical circle, we don't do that very much. We just don't want to offend people in the pew. We don't want to hurt their feelings. We don't want to call their sin ugly. And so we bypass the sinful attitude. We bypass the hard passages. We don't want to preach on them for fear of what they might do to people in the church. But you got to do it. And the amazing thing is that's the last word recorded of Elisha. He becomes angry. He rebukes the king. He dies. Simple as that. Elisha dies.

And they bury him. No memorial service. Nobody's standing around singing songs about Elisha. He dies and they bury him. He didn't have the exit like Elijah had, going up in the whirlwind, riding a chariot of fire. He didn't have that. Elijah never saw death. But Elisha did. And he dies. And they bury him. But the righteous, Psalm 1126, are remembered forever. And Elisha is written down in scripture for us to read for as long as we possibly can. The record of Elisha still stands. The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 7.1 that a good name is better than a good ointment.

The character of a man lasts. The perfume that you have on does not last. You got to keep putting it on. But the character of a man, it lasts. The Bible says in Revelation 14.13, Blessed are they who die in the Lord, for they rest from their labors, and their deeds follow after them.

Here's a man who finally now will rest, who hasn't since the day he left to follow Elijah. He served Elijah, and then as the prophet of God, he served his king, the king of Israel, and now he can rest from his labors. Remember what the Bible says in the book of Proverbs.

Book of Proverbs, the 22nd chapter, the first verse, a good name is to be more desired than great wealth.

Then back in Proverbs chapter 10, verse number 7, the Bible says these words, The memory of the righteous is blessed.

And sure enough, the memory of Elisha will always be blessed. Here was a man who with holy zeal enters into glory. Remember our Lord in John chapter 2, when he cleansed the temple on that first Passover of his earthly ministry, when he went into the temple, and he cleared out the money changers, turned over the tables, took a whip, and moved everybody out.

The disciples remembered Psalm 69, Zeal for thy father's house has consumed him. There was a zealousness about Elisha's ministry that most people don't have and need to have. There was a certain kind of holy zeal that Elisha had that moved him from place to place. You know, he never sought the applause of men. He didn't. He was attacked by men, but never sought the applause of men because he made it his ambition, as 2 Corinthians 5, 9 says, to please him, the Lord God of Israel. Remember what Paul said in Galatians chapter 1, verse number 10, For am I now seeking the favor of men or of God?

Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. Paul made it very clear that he was out to serve the Lord God of Israel. He wasn't seeking the favor of man. He was seeking only the favor of the Lord God of Israel. And that's the way all of us should live our lives. But because we are seeking the favor of man, the holy zeal has lost its zestiness. It's lost its passion. But if we seek the favor of God, a holy God, who is holy, holy, holy, then that reverence and that zealousness reappears because we seek what God wants and we want to be what God wants us to be.

And that's what made Elisha the prophet that he was. Elisha, great prophet of God. Think about it. As you think about this man as a provider and a protector of Israel, he was the shield of Israel. He was the supplier of Israel. He gave them what they needed. He fed them the word of God. He led them in the ways of God. That's what he did. That's what a good provider does. He feeds you the truth. He leads you in the ways of truth because he provides for your soul. He wants your soul to be strong. He wants your soul to recognize its value in eternity.

He wants your soul to be fed. And as a protector, he watches over you and warns you. He is watchful. He is a shield for you from that which is harmful, from that which is sinful. That's what he does. He wants to make sure that you don't fall into sin. Remember Psalm 119? Psalm 119, verse number one, talks about the blessed man.

How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. How blessed are those who observe his testimonies, who seek him with all their heart. They also do no unrighteousness. They walk in his ways. The righteous man, the blessed man, doesn't want to do any unrighteousness. He wants to walk in the ways of God. And then over in verse 163, it says this, I hate and despise falsehood, but I love your law. We need more people who hate evil in the church. Psalm 97, verse number 10, hate evil, you love the Lord.

We shouldn't want to tolerate evil or compromise with evil. We should want to hate evil. And the king didn't hate evil enough. And so by virtue of that, the nation didn't hate evil because the king was the leader of the nation. And as the kings continued in their sinful behavior, following after King Jeroboam, the nation would follow the kings, like priests, like people. And so they would continue to lead the nation into sinful actions and attitudes. The same, by the way, is true in your sphere of influence.

Fathers, the same is true of you as you lead your homes. You are the protector. You are the one to watch over your family, to warn your family of impending evil, of impending sin, that they might flee sin and know how to flee, know how to run from immorality, run from idolatry, flee youthful lusts. That's what a protector does. That's what a shield is for. And as a father, you provide the shield for your family. As a leader in Israel, that's what Elisha did. Remember over in the book of Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 5, it says in verse number 3, But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you as is proper among the saints.

No impure word, no immorality, nor greed should be named among you. And there must be no filthiness and silly talk or coarse jesting which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater has and inherits in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them, for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth. Trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord, do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them, for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. Paul was concerned that we walk brightly, that we walk as children of the light, so that when you walk into the room, you expose evil, you don't participate in the evil that's there.

And as a protector of your family, as a protector of your sphere of influence, you are to be that shield that protects your family from evil, that shows them how to shine bright for the glory of the King. It begins in early childhood. It begins with our children at a very young age, training them in the ways of God, teaching them right from wrong, teaching them what is true and what is false. So many times we hear children or parents say, well, they're too young to spank. I don't think so. I don't think so.

If they're able to say no to you, they're old enough to spank. They are. And you see, so many times as parents, we don't teach them right from wrong, we don't discipline in the way that they should be disciplined, and all of a sudden we begin to show them how we tolerate sinful behavior. And then we fail to be their shield. We fail to be their protector. And then we wonder why they grow up the way they do and have rebellious attitudes toward authority. When I question everybody's authority, it's because you weren't strong enough.

I have yet to find a parent who when they say, you know, I'm probably too hard on my kids, that they usually are not hard at all. Most parents, including myself, are too soft on their children. We're just too soft. And we teach them that sin is not that bad, that evil is not that wrong, and yet we need to be strong, steadfast, being people that discipline. The Lord said, all those that I love, I rebuke and I chase them. Maybe the most loving thing Elisha did for Joash was to rebuke him before he died, to let him know that he could have had more victories, instead he would have more defeats than victories.

He rebuked him. And that rebuke would hang with him for the rest of his life, knowing what Elisha had said to him right before he died. You remember those words, don't you? Those last words, our lasting words. What did the last thing your father or mother said to you before they died? Or your good friends said to you before they passed into eternity? What were those last words? These were Elisha's last words to the king of Joash, the king of Israel. And he, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen, was still trying to protect Israel on his deathbed, still trying to be the shield, still trying to be the shield from that which is sinful, to watch and to warn the king.

He was also the provider, he was the father. My father, my father. A term of great respect. They would call leaders rabbis' father. Out of respect. It was a term of respect for those who lead. Isn't it true that in today's society we've lost all respect for authority? And one of the ways that's demonstrated is when little children come up to me and call me Lance. I'm like, you're not talking to me, are you? Who are you talking to? You know? Because, listen, you need to show respect to people. And calling people by their first name might think you are in intimate terms with them, but they're still your elder.

I still call people in my home church in Dover Mr. and Mrs. Colson. I don't call them Betty and Les. Because I have great respect for them. I grew up calling them Mr. and Mrs. Colson. When I was 13 years of age, all through high school. Then went off to college and came back. Then got married and came back. My wife died, got married again, came back. Still call them Mr. and Mrs. Colson to this day. She goes, oh Lance, you can call me Betty now.

I said, oh no, Mrs. Colson. I have too much respect for you to call you Betty. And I did. Still do to this day. You know, I think that we need to teach our children to show respect to their elders. Show them respect and dignity. Because that's who they are. And the king didn't have to refer to the prophet as a father. But he showed great respect for Elisha upon his deathbed. Because he was the provider of Israel. He provided what they needed. He wanted to make sure that they were able to be fed and led properly.

And what better way to do that than to give them the truth? He started a school of prophets so that others would hear the truth. Not just from his mouth, but from other men's mouths. So that they would be able to understand the truth of God's word. And when you feed them and lead them, you model the way for them. You want to make sure that the leadership you provide matches the words that you speak. So that when your children look at you, when the people in the church look at you, they don't wonder that your words don't match your actions.

That's so very, very important. You lead by example. And that's what Elisha did. No record of him compromising. No record of him leading a sinful life. No record of him doing anything that was evil. He modeled to Israel the life they needed to live. They did not follow his model. Oh, there were some who did. But for the most part, the nation did not. But if you sum up Elisha's life, he was the one who portrayed perfectly the man of God. He portrayed perfectly the man of God. He performed flawlessly the miracles of God.

He was one who proclaimed loudly the message of God. And he was one who presented clearly a model for how God's people should live for God. That was Elisha. And his death is summed up in just a few short words. And Elisha died, and they buried him. So simply stated. And yet the man's life was impeccable. The man's life becomes a model for every one of us to look at and say, Am I that kind of man of God?

Am I that kind of woman of God? Am I the kind of individual that rebukes sin? Am I the kind of individual that does not back down from those who come against me? Because I know that God is my deliverer as Elisha knew that God was his deliverer. That's what his name means. So he lived up to that. How do we live our lives? This is how Elisha lived his life. And it is sad. Because our study of Elisha comes to a conclusion. And yet the memories of this man and the record that we have of all the things that he did are remarkable.

I feel bad for all the people who couldn't come on Wednesday nights to hear what you have heard. I feel bad for them. They've missed out on the blessing. They've missed out on the understanding of a man who truly lived for his God. They missed out on a whole bunch of golden nuggets of truth about the will and the word of God. Elisha was that man. But we're not done. We have one more sermon. One more opportunity for even in his death, his bones raise a man from the dead. That is absolutely the most remarkable thing in scripture.

The man is already dead. He's been dead for a while because all that's left is bones, right? That means all the flesh is gone. Everything's been eaten away. It's all been decayed. And all he has now are the bones. And when the dead man, who was being buried by his friends, when they were being surrounded by the Moabites, they feared for their lives. So they threw their dead friend in Elisha's grave. By throwing him in the grave, he touches Elisha's bones. And now their friends have a resurrected friend running with them from the Moabites.

It's quite a story. So we have one more sermon in Elisha that will sum up his life in ministry. And I trust you'll be with us next week as we do that. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today, a chance to once again study this great man, Elisha. So much has been taught to us through your word. You've been so good and so kind to us to record what you did for us about Elisha. Oh, we wish that there was more of a record of this man's life but we don't have that. And I'm sure that sometime in glory we'll understand more about Elisha and his ministry.

But Lord, you've given us all that we need to know. You've given us more than we need to know on how to be a man of God, how to live for God, how to be a provider and protector of our home, how to lead and feed and watch and warn, how to be a shield, how to be a supplier of all that is needed. Our prayer, Father, is that we would take to heart the things that we've learned. We would not just shrug them off as just another sermon, but truly, Lord, that we would take to heart the things that we have learned and grow deep in our walk with God.

We pray in Jesus' name, amen.