Elisha and the Water of Jericho

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INTRO

If you have your Bible this morning you can turn to Joshua 6 where we are going to learn a little backstory to our story today. We are still going to be talking about Elisha, since Elijah was taken to heaven last week, so now Elisha is walking in the double portion that he asked Elijah for. The story is a short story but has powerful implications for us today, so as I said before, I want to give a little backstory because Elijah and Elisha were by the Jordan river and after crossing the Jordan river (just like the Israelites did with Joshua) Elisha must have went to Jericho. So here is another pop quiz to test your Bible knowledge, what happened at Jericho? Yes, Joshua and the Isralites walked around it and defeated them by walking, shouting and worshipping. But after they destroy Jericho, Joshua says this that is important for our understanding today.

26 Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, “Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho.

“At the cost of his firstborn shall he

lay its foundation,

and at the cost of his youngest son

shall he set up its gates.”

So, to translate since I know many of us are not throwing curses like this around these days, Joshua is basically saying, Hey nations! Don’t mess with us! And anyone who tries to rebuild this place, it is not going to go well, it will cost them a firstborn son and their youngest son. And this story was passed down through many generations and many people knew this story. So, now turn over to 1 Kings 16 verse 34. Now, as a reminder, this chapter is right before Elijah comes on the scene and things are really, really bad spiritually and nationally. So people are like the people in the book of Judges, just doing whatever seemed right in their own eyes. But look what it says in 1 Kings 16:34.

English Standard Version Chapter 16

34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

So this guy, Hiel, goes against the curse and builds up Jericho again. And it costed him his firstborn and his youngest son. So Jericho has been rebuilt in this time of Elijah and Elisha in an act of disobedience. So, with this background, what is about to happen in our story today should cause a little bit of a gasp from us because of what Elisha, or should I say, what the Lord does through Elisha.

So are you ready to read the story? Okay, go to 2 Kings 2 and we will start at verse 19.

19 Now the men of the city (Jericho) said to Elisha, “Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.”

So people hear that Elisha is in town and they say to him that the town (that was not supposed to be built again) is doing well but the spring that they have in the town is not good. This spring is actually still there to this day. So, before we read ahead of what Elisha is about to do, just put yourself in the situation for a moment. You are a prophet, wanting the rebellious people of God to turn back to God and they ask for your help to do something about the water in a city that should not have been built. Could you imagine, in human reasoning, Elisha saying, “Ya, no duh the water is bad, this city should not even be hear. I’m glad you are getting what you deserve. Bunch of rebellious, stiff necked people! You know what you need to do? Destroy this city! Seems pretty logical to say right? Knowing the backstory that we know, it was in rebellion that this city was built, so rightfully so they should have some nasty water! yea! Give it to them God! But that is not what Elisha says. Let’s read on.

20 He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.

So, let’s just stop here and think for a second. You have some contaminated water, possibly poisonous. And Elisha says bring me a new bowl and some salt. Anyone else a little suspicious? How is this going to help the situation?

So this is where it is good to step into the context of their day, not to try and make their story fit into ours. Salt, for the people of Israel was seen as something that preserve and purify things. It was also used to be symbolic of the covenant they had with God. I think this commentator explains it best when talking about Leviticus 2:13 says this about salt being involved in their daily grain offering.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 2:11–13

all the offerings for the altar were to include salt, apparently symbolic of Israel’s covenant relationship with God (the salt of the covenant of your God), which was the foundation of the Levitical sacrificial system. Since salt was regarded in the ancient Near East as not being destructible by fire, “a covenant of salt” seems to refer to an eternal covenant

So Elisha putting salt into a new bowl was an act of sacrifice and a faith in the living God and what he had spoken regarding purifying things. Then he takes the bowl with salt and does this:

21 Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the Lord, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” 22 So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.

This water was not just bad tasting, it was causing death and miscarriages. This is serious stuff and yet Elisha takes a new bowl and some salt, throws it at the spring of the water and God changes it. He heals the water so that the people experience no more death. This is supernatural, is it not? A bowl and some salt brings about some miracle that makes a stream of healing to a whole city! That is incredible and what is so amazing is that this story is not just for us to marvel at and say, wow! Cool! But to realize this miracle was a shadow of the things to come for us.

Connection

Let me show you the way this connects by reading a verse that is so crucial and I feel like I have been focused on for a while now. It is after Jesus has been raised from the dead and he is walking on the road with his disciples. And they are distraught about Jesus dying and don’t know that he has been raised from the dead. And then Jesus tells them this.

English Standard Version Chapter 24

25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

All of Moses (the law) and the Prophets were pointing to Jesus and his life, death and resurrection. So I wanted to take time to show the connection of this story and the bigger story of Christ coming and healing us.

Hiel rebuilt Jericho rebelling against the command of God and it cost him the death of two sons.

So you remember Joshua made a curse on Jericho that has passed down generation after generation to say this was God’s doing and no ones should go against it. Well Hiel didn’t care and just did what he wanted. We are like Hiel.

We have all been rebellious toward God and His commands. Sin brings death to us and to others. (Eph 2:1-3; Is 53:6; 6:23)

There is a story that I heard a pastor named Matt Chandler, a pastor in the Dallas area, say that he was talking with a guy who had no evidence of being a Christian. And so Matt asked him, what makes you think you are a believer, and the guy responded, well because I was born in Texas! We laugh but that kind of language is around here still. Well I have always been a christian because I have always been in church. Well, just because i stand in a garage doesn’t make me a car. I’m grateful for people who have not ran off and pursued vain things, who have grown up in the church. But if we don’t see that we have been rebellion toward God and that we need Him every day we can deceive ourselves into thinking that we are a believer just because we go to church. No, a believer believes and lives differently. If this is a struggle for you to realize or comprehend, read and reread Ephesians 2 this week. Spend time thinking about the fact that it was the mercy of God that saved you, not your church attendance or upbringing. It is always Jesus.

Jericho was built but there was a bitter stream in it causing death, miscarriage and bad crops.

So this is bad, they need water. People are dying, bad crops mean people are not able to eat. This has an effect on a lot of different things right?

Sin, done by us or others, can create a root of bitterness that flows from us when we don’t obtain the grace of God. (Heb 12:15)

Sin has devastating effects. But it really creates problems when we harbor what we have done sinfully or what other people have done to us. You see, it is natural for us human beings thanks to our wonderful Adam and Eve, to when we sin or are sin against to cover ourselves up or to blame other people. To get angry like cain and murder our brother because sin was crouching at our door and it did not get dealt with. Hebrews 12:15 tells us that a root of bitterness can spring up and cause us to be defiled, impure, a bad stream in us causing death to come out rather than life. But when we experience the grace of God in our lives, that root of bitterness can be healed. That root of bitterness can be plucked out so that we are not defiled, deceived, or being destroyed by unforgiveneness anymore. And this grace of God we see in Elisha is also seen in Jesus.

Elisha (God is my salvation) shows up and people ask for help with this bitter water.

Remember, God spoke through his prophets not only in word but also through their lives. Through their very names God was telling us who he was, what he was about, and what he was capable of. And Elisha shows that God is a God of salvation, a savior. Which points us to Jesus because…

Jesus (The Lord is my salvation) shows up to deal with the bitterness of sin, death, and satan.

Jesus had a clear mission. it was found in his very being and name. He didn’t come to just get you to heaven. To punch your ticket so that when the trumpet calls or you go home you get a comfortable place to be. The Gospel is so much bigger than this, yes we get heaven and eternity with him, but he came to save you, he continues to save you, and one day he will save you. Save in the greek means sozo, which is saved, made whole, healed, delivered, and restored. It is a now and a then moment that Jesus has done for us. There is a transformation from a natural life to a supernatural life. A transformation of an old life for an extraordinary life in Him. This happens through a miracle. Just like Elisha’s miracle was confusing, it also had incredible significance.

Elisha takes a new bowl and salt that brings healing to the stream.

Do you remember why the salt was so important? it was a sign of the eternal covenant that God had made with them. So the New Bowl (just like they would use for the temple) and salt somehow produced this healing of a bitter stream. Anyone see the connection yet that made me smile and jump up in my office this week?

Jesus comes with a New covenant through his body and blood that brings healing streams to us. Forgiveness, emotional, physical, mental healing flows from Him.

And this New covenant came through a strange way didn’t it? It came through the death of the son of God, what! I thought he was supposed to be a victorious king and take down Rome! No, he came to save in a way that would defeat the government of sin, death and satan once and for all. A new covenant that would never be broken because it was sealed with the blood of the eternal God poured out for us for our forgiveness of sins and healing. He was making all things new, restoring our relationship with the father, healing us to walk in what we were created for as image bearers of God. Not to walk in the death, unforgiveneness, pride, sexual distortion, coveting and everything that came with the fall. THIS IS INCREDIBLE! But there is more! Check this out.

The stream is still flowing freely today

The stream that God healed through Elisha is still there today. Still flowing, still pure, still clean. That is a profound thing to think about. All these years and it still did not go back to being contaminated, but provides life for many people, flocks and other things today.

Jesus’ stream of mercy still flows today AND can flow through us too. (John 7:37-39)

Listen to what Jesus says here in John 7.

English Standard Version Chapter 7

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified

Did you see the progression here? Come and drink of Jesus so that a spring can come up in you. The mercy of Jesus still flows from Him so that you can also have it in you. The Spirit of the living God, the same one that Jesus had while he walked on the earth, can live in us so we can live supernaturally. It is a river we can drink so that rivers of living water can flow out of us too to bless other, to give life to others through the Spirit. Incredible!

Conclusion.

So if that is your desire in your life, to continue to drink from the endless stream of mercy. To find healing from bitterness, death, sin, and the destruction that comes with it, I have good news for you today. That mercy is here for you today. And there are two ways that can help you put action to the faith of your belief. The first is communion.

Communion at living Rock is a celebration and a remembrance of what Jesus has done for us through the cross. You don’t have to be a member to take communion, we only ask that you be a follower of Jesus. We also ask that you take time before taking communion to ask God to search your heart and see if there is anything in your life you need to bring to the table to ask for forgiveness so you don’t take this in an unworthy matter.

The second way that you can put action to your faith so that you can be filled with the river of grace and love that God has for you so that you can be weeded out of any bitterness and have streams of living waters flowing out of you is worship. You may have realized we changed the order of service up a little bit today. Worship through song is important here at Living Rock. And I don’t say that because I used to be the worship leader, I say that because I know that worship through song is powerful. And sometimes, for one reason or another, worship through song is not esteemed always. But we have commands in scripture to sing, to lift our hands, to bow down in adoration, not because of the song, but because of who we are singing to. So we have a couple songs here and while I’m sure it is okay for you to take communion and go if you need to. But if you are realizing in your heart this root of bitterness, this nasty taste in your soul because of sin that you have committed or have had committed against you, today would be a great day to linger. To stay and worship. To drink from the well of mercy that God has shown us through His son Jesus.

Let’s pray!