Elisha the son of Shaphat … which poured water on the hands of Elijah.- 2Ki_3:11.
1. The contrast between Elijah and Elisha is in every way great. We pass at a step from the desert to the city, from the rude hermit to the polished citizen, from the lonely heart of fire to the serene and stately friend of nobles and princes, from a life of wandering, buffeting, and disappointment to a settled, triumphant, and admired career. Elijah had been reared among the wilds of Gilead, and in person and character had something of the ruggedness of his own mountains. He loved the solitude of the hills, and shunned the life of the city. His appearance was the signal of Divine judgment; his words were followed by terrible manifestations of Divine power and vengeance. Elisha, on the other hand, had been brought up in the quiet, agricultural district of Abel-meholah. His dress was the ordinary garment of the East. He was the very opposite of “the hairy man” whose shaggy appearance was so well known and so feared by the king of Israel. He had a house of his own in Samaria, and was accessible to kings, to the elders of the city, to the Shunammite woman, to the foreigner from Damascus. While faithful to the work and ministry of Jehovah, and stern in his rebuke, he was yet ready to help the king against his foes, and to meet the difficulties of Naaman in a way which would have been strange to the unbending Elijah. He could be stern and unrelenting in his dealings with a nation which rebelled against the rule of Israel, but he could also show extraordinary kindness to the foes of his country. Most of his miracles were in aid of the poor and the distressed-domestic works rather than public.
2. As a prophet Elisha had no new truth to proclaim. He began where Elijah left off. Elijah had fought a battle single-handed, and against great odds. Elisha entered into the fruit of his labours. Elijah was undoubtedly the grander character. Elisha was great only so far as he continued and carried out with more force than any other man of his time the work which Elijah had begun-the task of defending the ancient religion with a courage which nothing could shake. Elisha's single aim was to complete the reforms begun by Elijah-to re-establish the ancient truth, and repel heathen superstition. Himself contending with immovable steadfastness for the old religion, he became, through the great spirit bestowed upon him, a refuge for all the faithful; even from beyond the limits of Israel he was sought as a great prophet; he was the head of the prophets who lived for the religion of Jehovah; he was the protection and comfort of numbers of the pious and devout among the people; he was a healer of much misery, and a living instrument of manifold blessings; Elijah was the soldier whose work it was to win battles, to break down resistance, and to scatter his foes. Elisha was the man to rule the province thus gained, to maintain the ground won by his predecessor, and to bring the influence of the new rule to bear upon all parts. In this honoured work, so different from that of Elijah, he lived in the exercise of a constantly increasing influence for the long period of fifty years.
3. It is impossible to arrange the events of Elisha's life in chronological sequence. While the topography of the narrative is often precise, there is a singular want of definiteness as to personal names and dates. The only indication of time afforded by several of the anecdotes is the mention of the “king of Israel”; but as no name is specified, the reader is left to conjecture which of the four kings who were the prophet's contemporaries may be referred to. It is impossible to say in whose reign the cure of Naaman or the attempt of the Syrians to capture Elisha took place. In some cases occurrences are obviously grouped together, according to the connexion of their contents. In others no principle of arrangement is apparent, and the loose connexion of the narratives becomes very awkward. For instance, the siege of Samaria by the Syrians is described immediately after it has been stated that “the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.” The visit of Joash to Elisha during the prophet's last illness is related just after the mention of the death of Joash. Most of Elisha's deeds and experiences are set down before the account of Jehu's revolution; but the prophet lived forty-five years after that event, and his influence in the nation was certainly greater and his deeds of beneficence were probably more numerous after than before the overthrow of his enemies.
The narratives are for the most part a record of Elisha's activity as a seer, diviner, and worker of miracles, rather than as a prophet in the usual sense of the word. He suspends the laws of nature, foresees future events, divines the secret thoughts of men, and knows what events are happening out of sight or at a distance.
