God performs Miracles through People

 

    Prophets are messengers of God.  They are not necessarily miracle workers.  Throughout the history of humans, God has chosen people to use to perform miracles to serve His purpose.  It does not necessarily make the person special, but a vessel.  Their relationship with God is what makes them special.  It is unique and we could all take notes.

    Elisha met with the prophets of God to worship and build their relationship in a safe place.  The location quickly became too small.  They decide to build a place by the Jordan River where they could worship freely and all live together as a community.  

    One day an axhead fell into the water.  Not good, but not a big deal except for the fact that it had been borrowed.  It is a general concept that if you borrow something you return it in the same condition if not better.  The Jordan was a dirty rapid river.  The man would never be able to just find the axhead.  

    Elisha threw a stick where it had fallen and the axhead floated to the surface.  The man was able to savage it.  It was a miracle that did not save a person's life, but a person's dignity.  It is not prideful or unworthy to ask to be able to uphold honor.

    Aram and Israel went to war again.  Elisha warned the King of Israel where not to go, so to avoid the Aramean army.  The Aramean king was furious that his every attempt was avoided.  He retaliated by gathering his forces to capture Elisha.  If they had him, then he could not warn Israel.  

    Elisha was not afraid.  He had the gift to see the spiritual world.  he saw everything that goes on behind the scenes of everyday life.  However, his servant did not have that advantage and was terrified.  Elisha simply asked God to open his eyes and the servant saw God's army.  

    When the Samarian army approached, Elisha asked God to strike them with blindness.  They became like helpless children.  Elisha could have walked right pass them and there was nothing they could do, but he was not heartless.  He led them to Samaria and when they entered the city they regained their sight.  The Israel King fed them and they were sent home as a sign of peace.  It paid off because they stopped raiding Israel.

    Some time later, King Ben-Hadad of Aram laid siege on Samaria which caused a severe famine.  The famine was so bad that the people were eating their own children.  The King blamed Elisha and no longer wanted to wait on God.

    God using a person for miracles is a gift, but it also brings on a lot of responsibility.  People begin to expect unrealistic things.  It can lead to the person being held responsible for things that they had nothing to do with like a famine.  It may be nice to be able to see the spiritual world and understand what is happening, but it can make you unrelatable to other people.  It can make life lonely.

2 Kings 6