Study Desk

A man from the group of prophets had a wife. This man died, and his wife cried out to Elisha, "My husband was like a servant to you. Now he is dead! You know he honored the Lord . But he owed money to a man. Now that man is coming to take my two boys and make them his slaves!"

She filled many bowls. Finally, she said to her son, "Bring me another bowl." But all the bowls were full. One of the sons said to her, "There aren't any more bowls." Then the oil in the jar was finished!

But the woman did become pregnant and gave birth to a son that next spring, just as Elisha had said.

But the Shunammite woman went up the hill to the man of God. She bowed down and touched Elisha's feet. Gehazi came near to pull her away. But the man of God said to Gehazi, "Leave her alone! She's very upset, and the Lord didn't tell me about it. He hid this news from me."

But the child's mother said, "I promise, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave without you!" So Elisha got up and followed her.

Gehazi arrived at the house before Elisha and the Shunammite woman. Gehazi laid the walking stick on the child's face, but the child did not talk or show any sign that he heard anything. Then Gehazi came back to meet Elisha and said, "The child will not wake up!"

One man went out into the field to gather herbs. He found a wild vine and picked the fruit from it. He put that fruit in his robe and brought it back. He cut up the wild fruit and put it into the pot. But the group of prophets did not know what kind of fruit it was.

Then they poured some of the soup for the men to eat. But when they began to eat the soup, they shouted out, "Man of God! There's poison in the pot!" The food tasted like poison, so they could not eat that food.

But Elisha said, "Bring some flour." He threw the flour into the pot. Then he said, "Pour the soup for the people so that they can eat." And there was nothing wrong with the soup.

Elisha's servant said, "What? There are 100 men here. How can I give this food to all those men?" But Elisha said, "Give the food to the people to eat. The Lord says, ‘They will eat and there will still be food left over.'"

Naaman was the captain of the army of the king of Aram. He was very important to his king because the Lord used him to lead Aram to victory. Naaman was a great and powerful man, but he was also sick with leprosy.

But Naaman's servants went to him and talked to him. They said, "Father, if the prophet told you to do some great thing, you would do it, isn't that right? But he said, ‘Wash, and you will be pure and clean.'"

But Elisha said, "The Lord is the one I serve, and as surely as he lives, I will not accept any gift." Naaman tried hard to make Elisha take the gift, but he refused.

But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, "Look, my master has let Naaman the Aramean go without accepting the gift that he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after Naaman and get something from him."

The group of prophets said to Elisha, "We are staying in that place over there, but it is too small for us.

But when one man was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head slipped from the handle and fell into the water. He shouted, "Oh, master! I borrowed that ax!"

But the man of God sent a message to the king of Israel. Elisha said, "Be careful! Don't go by that place, because the Aramean soldiers are hiding there!"

So we boiled my son and ate him. Then the next day, I said to this woman, ‘Give me your son so that we can eat him.' But she has hidden her son!"

Then the officer who was close to the king answered the man of God. The officer said, "Even if the Lord made windows in heaven, this could not happen." Elisha said, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of that food."

Then they said to each other, "We are doing wrong! Today we have good news, but we are silent. If we wait until the sun comes up, we will be punished. Now let's go and tell the people who live in the king's palace."