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Pastor Elisha - A Man Of God
Contributed by William R. Nabaza on Aug 2, 2011 (message contributor)
Summary: Pastor Elisha - A Man Of God - I've said that Elisha is a pastor since he has several parallelism with a pastor's office ministry. I got 27 of them.
Pastor Elisha - A Man Of God
I've said that Elisha is a pastor since he has several parallelism with a pastor's office ministry. I got 27 of them.
1. Elisha as a man of God is above reproach, respectable and hospitable.
The meeting of the prophets was held where he was staying and he instructed his servant to feed the prophets not knowing that the food served was poisonous, he removed the harm from the served food.
Elisha is above reproach. His life is an open book, he never complained about them eating in his house, and even visiting him in his house. The company of the prophets can see clearly what is his lifestyle at home.
Elisha is respectable. The company of the prophets knew Elisha and is respected, if not they could have met some place else instead of the house of Elisha.
Elisha is hospitable. The prophets care less if they have food to eat, they know that Elisha will prepare everything for their need.
38 Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, "Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these men."
39 One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine. He gathered some of its gourds and filled the fold of his cloak. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were.
40 The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, "O man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it.
41 Elisha said, "Get some flour." He put it into the pot and said, "Serve it to the people to eat." And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable,
2. Elisha gives proper recognition to a genuine widow.
Elisha is mindful to take care the widow of one of the prophets.
1 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."
2 Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?"
"Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."
3 Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."
5 She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one."
But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing.
7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."
3 Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. 5 The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 6 But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.
3. Elisha shows no favoritism.
He prays for healing even for a person who's not of Israel, commander of Syrian army and a leprosy.
Healing of leprosy of Naaman, commander of the Syrian army.
27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed — only Naaman the Syrian."
21 I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
4. Elisha is not a lover of money.
He never asked anything from a Syrian commander after getting healed of leprosy, but his servant Gehazi asked this commander money, fooling Naaman, that his master Elisha needed the money. As a punishment, Elisha informed leprosy will cling to Gehazi and his descendants forever.
