Elisha’s Death

May 25th 2025

Series:   

Sermon Title: Elisha’s Death

Topic: Journey through the life of Elisah to learn how he became an incredible man of God.

Key Passages: 2 Kings 9: 1-11, 1 Kings 19: 15-17, 2 Kings 10:28-31, 2 Kings 13: 20-21,

Topic: Elisha, Miracles, Death

Sermon Blurb: In today’s message, we will read about the end of Elisha’s ministry, and life and how all of it was foreshadowing Jesus.

***1st week ODD months add communion & target message at 15 pages.

***1st week EVEN months add space for dedication, baptism, or ministry highlight & target message at 15 pages.

***Green in sermons means illustration, something we are looking for a response from, and/or a picture that goes on the screens.

***Yellow means what is yellow will be on the screens and in the handout.

Dedication, Baptism, or Ministry Highlight (1st Sunday, even months):

Sermon:

Hello Family Church!

Family Moment –

Start with something personal from your family life recently to help people get to know you.

Celebrate salvation / re-dedications / baptisms last week.

PAUSE

Well, today marks an end here at Family Church.

Today, we have the final sermon on Elisha.

Today, we will see how his life ends and then reflect on what we have learned in this series about the guy who did more miracles than anyone else in human history except Jesus Christ.

PAUSE

Last week, we left off in 2 Kings chapter 8.

        If you have your Bible with you, and I hope you do, would you open it with me today to 2 Kings 8?

New Person Bible Connection:

If you do not have a Bible, that is ok!

        After service, we will give you an AMAZING leather-bound study Bible!

Just go to ADD YOUR CAMPUS PLACE and get one for FREE!!!

As you are getting to 2 Kings 8 today, let me say this.

        Just like last week, we are going to cover a lot of scripture.

        We are not going to be able to read everything.

        I will paraphrase what happens in parts, and I encourage you to read it fully later today.

PAUSE

Let me give you an overview of what happens in the rest of

2 Kings 8

        Elisha, you can see in verse 7, goes to Damascus.

        He meets with the king’s servant, has a vision, and starts crying in verse 12.

        He cries because he has a vision of this servant going and killing the king and taking his place and then going on to do terrible things.

        And that comes true later in chapter 8.

Then you can see in your Bible it goes into king after king who does evil in the eyes of the lord.

        Look at verses 18 & 27 to see that.

PAUSE

And let me point out something that is VERY important in our modern times.

        God defines evil and good.

        God defines right and wrong.

        You cannot allow ANYONE else to define that in your life.

        Because if you do, it will constantly change.

        God never changes.

        What God defines as evil and good.

        What God defines as right and wrong.

        Has NEVER changed.

These kings…These leaders of Elisha’s nation.

        They made a choice to NOT follow God and to do evil.

        Just like if you look at the way so many lead in our country today are doing the SAME thing.

That is why we all need to know our Bibles and define our lives by the Bibles.

See here is what we can see from the life of Elisha…

        You might want to write this down in your notes.

Elisha defined his life by God, not man.

        Repeat

Who defines your life?

        Who defines right and wrong for you?

        Who do you HONESTLY look to for direction in life?

PAUSE

That brings us to 2 Kings 9 and I want to read the start of this passage and pose another question to you all.

2 Kings 9: 1-11 The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets and said to him,

Pause here for one second.

        Earlier in his life, we learned that Elisha set up a school to teach other people how to be prophets.

        We also learned that the school grew SO BIG they had to launch a second location.

So here is what I want you to think about as we keep reading…

        Who are you investing in to become a person of God?

        Who are you discipling?

        Who are you investing in to become a GREAT and GODLY person in the future?

Let’s keep reading…

“Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of olive oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead.

2 When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room.

3 Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run; don’t delay!”

So, the what church?

        YOUNG prophet.

        Again…

        Elisha is an old man by this point.

        He is investing in the next generation of prophets.

So, again…

Who are you investing in to become a person of God?

        Who are you discipling?

        Who are you investing in to become a GREAT and GODLY person in the future?

You will see this question in your notes and I want you to REALLY think about it.

Who are YOUR disciples? Who are YOU investing in to help them become who Jesus created them to be?       

        Note the YOUR and YOU are in all caps…

        Because I want to know what YOU are doing…

        How are you doing at that?

Who are your disciples?

        Who are you investing in?

Elijah invested in Elisha.

        Elisha invested in a bunch of young people.

What about you?

PAUSE

And if you want help with that anyone on our staff would LOVE to help you learn how to do that!

        Just grab your connection card from the seat in front of your right now.

        Or fill out the connection card online.

        And write in. I want to learn how to make disciples, and we will help you!

Let’s keep reading.

4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead.

5 When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. “I have a message for you, commander,” he said.

“For which of us?” asked Jehu. “For you, commander,” he replied.

6 Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu’s head and declared,

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the Lord’s people Israel.

7 You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the Lord’s servants shed by Jezebel.

8 The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free.

9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah.

10 As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.’”

Then he opened the door and ran.

I think this young man was quite shocked at what God had just said to him…

        So, he takes off RUNNING!

        And he must have looked crazy because the next verse says:

11 When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this maniac come to you?”

But here is what I want you to note…

        Flip back in your Bibles to 1 Kings 19.

        In 1 Kings 19 this is BEFORE Elisha is even called to follow Elijah and learn from him.

        I want you to note what God said here because it is finally coming true decades later.

1 Kings 19: 15-17 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.

Also, anoint who church?

        Jehu...who we JUST read about needs to become king…which happens now DECADES later…

16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.

Now listen to this…

        Because this is also about to come true decades later.

17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.

Then if you remember in 1 Kings 21: verse 19-24 Elisha speaks this prophecy about God in verses.

        That again sounds EXACTLY like what we just read in 2 Kings!

PAUSE

So flip back to 2 Kings 9…

        Starting in verse 14…you can read it later…what was just said by the young prophet.

        Which was also said by Elijah.

        Which was also said by Elisha.

        It starts to happen in verse 14 and on.

        Jehu starts to wipe out the bad king's family.

The king's wife dies just like they all said in verses 30-37.

2 Kings 10 is all about the end of the evil king’s family.

        Then Jehu in verse 18-36 wipes out all the king’s false prophets.

Here is what I want you to understand.

        God’s promises always come true, on God’s timeline.

        Repeat

And this is one of the hardest parts about following God.

        Trusting HIS timing when it does not align with ours.

        I mean, it took DECADES for all this stuff to happen.

Sometimes, it might take decades for you to see what God has promised you.

        That does not mean it cannot happen over night.

        It can.

But it also means we need to be patient and trust God’s timing in our lives even when it does not make sense.

PAUSE

But I want to show you one SUPER sad note…

2 Kings 10:28-31, So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel.

29 However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.

Man, what a bummer!!!

        He goes 90% of the way!

        But he does not FULLY embrace only God’s design.

        BUT I want you to see what comes next because it should give ALL of us hope listening to this.

Because here is the reality…

        NO ONE listening to this message will follow God 100% perfectly.

        And what God does next should give all of us hope.

30 The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do,

your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”

31 Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart.

He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.

Even though Jehu was NOT perfect, God blessed him and his family.

        Here is the point church.

        Seek God in your brokenness and He will bless you.

        Repeat

You do NOT have to be a perfect person to follow God!

        You just have to do the best you can.

        Try to grow daily to be more like Jesus.

But you will never be perfect…

        Only Jesus was perfect.

        Which is why we need Jesus!

        Which is why God sent Jesus!

        Because in sending Jesus we could be forgiven by his perfect life and perfect sacrifice.

And Elisha is a foreshadowing of Jesus in so many ways.

        So many of the miracles Elisha did were also done by Jesus, but in a much grander way.

And did you know the Elisha even foreshadowed how Jesus will provide resurrection to people through his death?

        Let me show you.

PAUSE

Flip to 2 Kings 13.

        Here, we read about the end of Elisha’s life.

        You can read the story later I just want us to look at the end.

        But Elisha is hanging out with the king at the end of his life.   

        He gives one last prophecy about the king to him personally, and then in verse 20, it says,

2  Kings 13: 20-21, Elisha died and was buried.

He died, just like we all will.

But what happens next is a foreshadowing of what Jesus will do.

But just like all of Elisha’s miracles…

While they were AMAZING.

What Jesus does is many times greater than everything Elisha does.

Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring.

21 Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb.

When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.

PAUSE

Elisha’s bones brought a man back to life.

        Elisha’s death brought life to someone else.

PAUSE

That is the same for Jesus but not for ONE person but for ALL people!

Jesus is the ONLY person to ever live a life totally free from sin.

        Jesus is the ONLY person to ever live that did not succumb to all the temptations of our world.

        Jesus is the ONLY person to ever live and die, and he himself came back from the dead.

Yes, Elisha and Elijah BOTH raised people from the dead.

        But ONLY Jesus raised himself from the dead!

        Thus proving he was God.

See, Elisha did all this amazing stuff through the power of God working through him.

        Jesus was, is, and always will be God.

And when we put our faith and trust in Jesus we get this amazing gift called forgiveness for our sins and eternal life with Jesus.

And I think it is such a fitting way to end a series on one of the most GODLY men in the Bible…

        Understanding he is in the Bible to point us all toward Jesus!

        And our need for Jesus!

And so, if you are listening to this message today and you have never given your life to Jesus, I am going to lead you in a prayer in just a moment to do that.

Make today the start of a new life, as we mark the end of a powerful series.

PAUSE

But before we pray let me give you your life application today.

        If you are new, or newer, to Family Church we LOVE to end our messages with something for you to talk about with someone else.

        Something to help you apply the message to your life.

So here is this week’s Life Application…

Life Application: Who are you discipling? Who are you leading toward Jeus? Make a commitment today to making your life about pointing people toward Jesus. As a result of today’s message, I will _________________________.

Prayer:

        Make sure to do a salvation call!

Offering: