| Prophet Elisha |
Elisha
(Heb. Elisha -
God helped
or
God will save
) (IX century BC), disciple and successor of the prophet Elijah, prophet in Israel under the six kings of Israel (from Ahaz to Joash, 2 Kings 2 and 9 chapters. ) Commemoration June 14, June 20 - transfer of relics [1] (Greek [2])
He was the son of Shaphat from Abel-Meholah (3 Kings 19:16-21), probably a wealthy man, since Elisha, being called to prophetic service by Elijah, could sacrifice one of the 12 pairs of oxen, which he plowed with his hired servants. workers (1 Kings 19, 19-21). At the time of his call to the prophetic ministry, he was probably still in his blooming youth; his father and mother were still alive then and he lived with them
Having become a zealous follower of his teacher, the prophet Elijah, Elisha worked for more than 60 years, under six kings of Israel (from Ahaz to Joash), and fearlessly told them the truth, denouncing their wickedness and inclination to idolatry.
Many miracles are associated with his name - from the miraculous crossing of the Jordan to the healing of the sick and the resurrection of the son of a hospitable Shunammite widow. In all the stories about Elisha, he is portrayed as a deeply insightful man, strong in spirit and faith. His time dates back to the highest development of a long-standing institution known as “prophetic hosts” or schools - a kind of mobile religious and educational communities in which young people were educated under the guidance of prophets already wise in experience and known for their activities.
Elisha was the only eyewitness to the ascension of the prophet Elijah to heaven and received a mantle as an inheritance from him, as a visible sign of the succession of the prophetic spirit.
According to the general reckoning, Elisha's call to the prophetic ministry was in 906 BC, and his death in 838 BC. Clement of Alexandria says that the period of Elisha’s prophetic ministry spanned 64 years [3]; in this he almost agrees with the chronology of the Jews, according to which Elisha's prophecy lasted more than 60 years.
Archim. Nikifor (Bazhanov) Fr.
Brief biography
The great wonderworker and seer is known from the Old Testament and the book of Sinach “Ecclesiasticus”.
Origin
The Old Testament prophet Elisha lived 9 centuries before the birth of the Messiah. The saint's father, Safat, had a lot of land and cattle. Hired workers worked in his fields. At the birth of the miracle worker (which in Hebrew means “God is salvation”) the first miracle happened: a golden idol in the form of a cow emitted a loud roar, audible for hundreds of kilometers.
One man, who received God's gift of providence, explained to the astonished pagans that this meant the birth of a great prophet who would destroy idols and defeat the mighty of this world.
Life
Having matured, Elisha began to help his father in his work. The young man refused to marry, remaining a virgin. The Lord chose him to succeed the prophet Elijah. The meeting with the future mentor took place when Elisha was plowing a field with hired workers. Elijah approached him, covered him with a cloak and called him to follow him to fulfill the will of God.
Elisha happily agreed to become the disciple of the great prophet. He asked Elijah to let him go to say goodbye to his parents, to which he received consent. Having said goodbye to his family, the saint became a zealous and diligent disciple of Elijah, learning from him the mysteries of God.
Serving God
Prophet Elijah was the only one of the prophets taken into the Kingdom of Heaven alive. Before leaving the earthly world, Elijah asked his disciple what mercy he should ask God for him. In response, Elisha said that he wanted to have the Grace of God twice as great as that of Elijah to accomplish deeds in the name of God. To this Elijah replied that if the Lord was pleased to fulfill Elisha’s desire, he would witness his ascension into heaven.
Soon, during a road trip, a fiery chariot appeared in front of them. Elijah climbed onto it and disappeared into the sky. Shocked by what he saw, Elisha's mantle fell from the sky. Having picked up the teacher's mantle, Elisha gained the gift of prophecy and healing power.
The prophetic ministry continued until the death of the saint and lasted 65 years. During this period, he performed many miracles, warned the 6 kings of Israel about the invasion of enemies, and accused them of idolatry.
The most famous miracles performed by Elisha:
- Stopped the flow of the Jordan River.
- He watered the army of the Jerusalem king Jehoshaphat in the desert.
- Revived a dead child.
- He saved a poor widow from hunger by giving her oil.
- He cured the pagan Naaman of leprosy.
- He punished his servant Gehazi and his entire family with leprosy for deceiving him.
Elisha repeatedly helped kings in wars with neighbors who wanted to capture Israel.
Demise
The Prophet lived to a ripe old age. According to the testimony of Sinach, the author of the book “Ecclesiasticus”: “...and after his death his works were wondrous.” The miracle consisted of the revival of the deceased after contact with the relics of the saint a year after his death.
Prophet Elisha - a prototype of Jesus
(2 Kings 4:38)
Elisha returned to Gilgal.
Elisha returned to Gilgal. This is a place that used to be a place of blessing. This was the first stop of Joshua and the people of Israel when they crossed the Jordan River. Gilgal is the place of the twelve stones where they circumcised their children.
Gilgal - shame and reproach have been removed from you.
For us, that place is the cross.
Lyrics
Akathist, prayer and canon in honor of the prophet Elisha were compiled in the 9th-12th centuries.
Akathist
Song a҃.
І҆рмо́съ: To the Savior bg҃ꙋ, in the sea, people with wet feet have instructed, and Pharaoh with all the hosts of the drowning ꙋ, we will catch, ꙗ҆́кѡ became famous.
This means that the songs are sung, and the one who is sung, in praise of the poet, is sung by the famous one, who became famous.
Let's take the skin and the river in the future, together with the san, and in the future I will transform, I will dawn the day, I will become famous.
This is the best proposal, thanks to the blessing of God, enlightened you May you all be omnipotent and glorified.
Bgorodichen: Prechⷭ҇taѧ mt҃i bzh҃їѧ, embodied from you, and ҆ ѿ nѣdrj parents not ѿlꙋ́chshasѧ bga, incessant prayer, ѿ all We will save and create.
Song of the city.
Irmos: By the power of your god, heart, my thoughts are strengthened, in order to sing and glorify your saving ascension.
Earthly predilections are the result of the Inspirational One who lived as a servant of the Lord of the Demons.
In the future, it is true that the teachers are gifted, without sinning by the laziness of their ascension.
Having introduced you with sobs, and tearing apart your robe, you share the pages of Igordansk with love.
Bgorodichen: Pray incessantly, that has passed through your loins, and deliver from the flattery of the devil who sings from you, Godless.
Sedalen, voice a҃.
We have insight into the life of the great, wiser є҆lїssee, ᲂstudent charges, prⷪ҇róka predicts, sitting with the spirit. Also today, we all celebrate your memory in a most pious manner, we honor you with him, more gloriously.
Bgorodichen: Most pure are yours, two mt҃i, spread, cover the rest of yours, and with yours call: give us all, God bless you, your mercy.
Krⷭ҇tobgorodichen: Erected on the tree of your dream, before being torn apart by death, pity cried out to you: ᲂu҆vy to me, when he came in, my flightless light;
Song of the day.
Irmos: Ou҆slyshakh, whereⷭ҇i, and from your grave we will rise, and we will glorify your invincible power.
Skin older than water, and now barren, you will heal me with grace and with your prayers.
Bzhⷭ҇tvennѣ is rich in all the above sayings, and in our children we have a lot of words.
I saw her, more glorious, more beautiful, with beauty in the darkness, a lamp from afar.
Silence cannot be driven by your tongue, your wonder in life, elyesse, and correction.
Bgorodichen: We truly glorify you, who are innocent, and we come to your refuge.
Song є҃.
Irmos: We cry out loudly to those who are saved: you are ours, unless we don’t know you either.
Silent and meek, God-inspired, dear to you, for the sake of the show, for the sake of faith.
Your divine words and deeds enlighten the verbs of God, all the more blessed.
Dead sin, the living sin, lies ahead where, prophecy, you, the lesser, the lesser.
Bgorodichen: Don’t stop praying, I gave birth to you, bcⷣe, save our children, praising those, preⷭ҇taѧ.
Song of ѕ҃.
Irmos: There was an abyss, my grave was swift, and the human lover cried out to you, and your right hand saved me, where ⷭ҇i.
Fill the streams sometimes, neither rain nor air, but air with grace, etc., and fill your word with action.
This little soul sometimes, however, filled my skin with the unenvy of my wife, and I was filled with mercy from the source You, please, pray.
An honest wife, however, lives with faith; in old age, infertility is resolved through prayer, for the benefit of fruit.
Bgorodichen: Kꙋpinꙋ́ tѧ neѡpalimꙋ, i҆ gorꙋ, i҆ lѣ́stvitsꙋ ѡ҆dꙋсhevlenꙋ, and҆ the door nbⷭ҇нꙋwe are worthy of glorification, mr҃і́ It is glorious, the praise of the faithful.
Kontakion, voice v҃.
Praise be given to you, with great grace, truly worthy of you, more blessed: and more He was a fellow comrade, with whom he kept constant prayers for all of us.
Ikos:
In the law where everything has come to pass, we will sing all this with great song: everything is fulfilled here from now on We are images, we are from the source of a healthy page: we sprinkle the spirits of the faithful, and we save the poor, like the ancient people who are hopeless. ѧ, ᲂsweetens the salt of water, baptismal grace proclaims ꙗ҆́ѣ, prayer incessantly for all of us.
Song z҃.
Irmos: In the cave of fire, the hymn-speakers of the savior, blessed be the God of ours.
The excellence of the best of you, є҆лїссе, и҆нівѧѧ, є҆сѝ cried: Blessed be the God of ours.
You are a servant of life, your mother is alive, your son is dead, etc., he showed everything.
Sometimes, when we eat children, we always eat healthy food and make them harmless.
Bgorodichen: And the two who were born, the one who died, blessed be the God of ours.
Song and.
І҆рмо́с: Ѡ҆ршівшаго the furnace, and цѻ҆́́ kept the traces, in the middle of the burning flame, ѻ҆́rothers, glorify, priests, bless, people, exalt at all times.
The Creator of the Purity, the Lord commanded, the Fathers sing, the cultivators bless, the people exalt Him forever.
We hold things, immaterial desires, immaterial visions. At the same time, the game said to him: exalt him to all ages.
By the grace of the providence, on the tree you see the most pure crimson. Moreover, he exclaimed with joy, bg҃onaꙋpraise: exalt Christ to all ages.
There are many chariots, the same, overthrown, on this day, by the darkness of unenvy, it has been established, without blaming, all-blessed, howling ̀: exalt khrⷭ҇ta to all ages.
Bgorodichen: And glorify the rzhⷭ҇tvo yours, chⷭ҇taѧ, bgoneveѣto, with him we all sing: ye trets, bless, priestesses, hymns, love Here, extol to all ages.
Song ѳ҃.
І҆рмо́с: Even more so than words, the darkness of life, in the summer of the unspeakable indescribable birth, the birth, the day of greatness ъ.
With a rod of cutting iron, the material human being is lifted up onto the chalice.
May the Lord of Life show the resurrection, raise the dead, who have no breath of flesh, so as to show the most honorable.
Nowadays, in the divine peace of God, pray for the blessings of the blessed ones.
Bgorodichen: Glad, btsⷣe, mt҃i хрⷭ҇ta bgа, є҆Іgеgеgеr gave birth to є҆сѝ, pray, sinners ѡ҆staved to grant the hymn of joy um tѧ̀.
Luminous.
Ilїinꙋ̀ grace sꙋgꙋ́bꙋ will be given to you, є҆лїссзе blessed: and to those who ask for you in ѣ́рнѡ, sꙋgꙋ Let us heal you and give you the same results.
Bgorodichen: Reverend, two and bcⷣe, the ineffable one born, diligent prayer for your sleep and for us, your servants, to be generous and save, love praising those.
Prayer
Oh, holy, glorious prophet of God Elisha! We now resort to you and humbly ask, be an intercessor for us sinners at the Throne of the King of Glory. We know your honest life and your glorious deeds, in which the Lord saved His faithful children. By the grace of Elijah, great grace was bestowed upon you, and the Lord made you a lamp for His people, that He might deliver them from the darkness of wickedness and polytheism. May we also be strengthened in faith and piety, so that a living and active faith may appear in us. Just as the Lord once raised the son of a pious wife through you, so now through your intercession may the Lord resurrect our souls killed by sin. May he cleanse and wash us, similar to the washing and cleansing in the waters of the Jordan of the leprosy of Naaman the Syrian. May the Lord make you a true prophet: see for the real one existing far away: for this reason, you saw the seven-year famine in the land of the Israelites and the death of Ben-hadad the king of Syria. Pray to the All-Merciful God to give us a vision of our untruths and sins. May the spirit of humility and meekness, the spirit of brotherly love and kindness, the spirit of patience, chastity and abstinence implant into our hearts. For having anointed the prophet Prince Jehu to the kingdom, ask for wisdom and impartiality as our ruler. Pray to the All-Bountiful God to turn away from us all His anger, righteously moved against us, and to save all the cities and villages from famine, cowardice, flood, fire, sword, and from the invasion of foreigners and internecine warfare, from the deadly plague, and grant us all useful for temporal life and useful for eternal salvation. Glorify you, O Lord, prophetically, even after your death, for by touching your honorable remains you will raise the dead, not ready for burial. In the same way, may the grace of God touch us, raising every creature from the aphid of death, and revive us to a righteous and pious life. Most of all, pray to the Lord, that after our Christian death He will grant us all the opportunity to receive the Kingdom of Heaven, where all the righteous together with you glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Prayers
Troparion, tone 4
(the troparion of the prophet Elijah is sung without changes) [6]
Troparion, tone 4
[7]
And the angel in the flesh/ and the prophets, the leader of the testimony, the glorious Elisha/, you have done wondrous miracles, prophet/, by the haste of the Holy Spirit;/ by the power of Elijah you have healed the watery nature / and you destroyed the devouring beasts / and you cleansed Naaman / and you raised up the widow’s son //, and grant grace and healing to all who honor you.
Kontakion, tone 2
(Similar to: Seeking the Highest:)
The prophet of God appeared,/ accept the deep grace,/ truly worthy of you, blessed Elisha:/ Or, for you were a fellow citizen,// with him, pray to Christ God unceasingly for all of us.
Punishing children
The children showed insolence towards Elisha, for which they were punished. They mocked him, exclaiming: “Go, bald man! Go, bald man! (2 Kings 2:23-24). According to the judgment of God, preempted by the curse of Elisha, “two bears ran out of the forest and tore to pieces forty-two youths” (2 Kings 2:24).
And yet, the Bible does not believe that the reason for what happened was the cruelty of the seer, because, according to the teachings of the divine book, the curse of a person is powerless, and only God carries out judgment (Numbers 23:8). In fact, the Lord does not implement undeserved curses (Prov. 26:2).
The Prophet Elisha is also mentioned in the New Testament (Luke 4:27). The Orthodox Church commemorates him on June 14 (according to the Julian calendar), and the Catholic Church also on June 14.
Where did the feeding of the five thousand take place?
The feeding of the five thousand took place in a desert place. Jesus said to his disciples, “Give them something to eat.” They answered: “Where can we buy it here?”
It was a deserted place. Important: what is a desert for a person can be a storehouse of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When you think you can handle it on your own, Jesus cannot perform a miracle for you. When you think you have power, He ceases to be your power.
But the moment you cast everything on Him, entering His rest, He becomes your strength.
Whatever situation you face, from this day forward you say, “Lord, this is your situation.” Step back and say, “Lord, I surrender everything into Your hands.” He is a friend who is always ready to help. A trusted friend, full of mercy. He loves you more than you realize.
Sometimes God protects and sometimes God allows you to go through something.
Execution of children
The prophet Elisha became very famous among people. His life is full of various surprises. One day, the seer was heading to the city of Bethel, where the Israelis lived who had abandoned God and worshiped idols. As he approached the city, little children playing various games on the road saw him. They began to laugh at his bald head and shout: “Go, bald one! Bald man, go!”
The soothsayer, passing by them, looked back and saw that the children were following him, continuing to shout and mock. Elisha cursed them in the name of God. Suddenly two she-bears ran out of the forest and tore the forty-two boys to pieces. The survivors fled to the city. With this execution, according to a righteous court, the seer punished those youths for their outrage and took their lives. After all, upon reaching adulthood, they would turn into more evil people.
Their parents were punished by this for worshiping idols. They received a bitter lesson: raising children should be carried out in the fear of God and instructions to reverently honor the servants of the Lord.
Tithe and Communion
(2 Kings 4:42)
Someone from Baal-Shalisha came and brought the man of God the firstfruits of bread - twenty barley loaves and raw grains in the husk. And Elisha said, Give it to the people, let them eat.
It says that someone brought the firstfruits of bread to the man of God.
The Holy Spirit seemed to connect these two miracles together. We are talking about tithes and communion.
And Elisha said to give it to the people... But the servant said that there was not enough food. The man of God says to give it, for so says the Lord . There will be enough for everyone and there will still be left. And so it happened, everyone was full and there was more left...
Eliseevsky Temple
The Church of Elisha the Prophet is located near St. Petersburg on the shore of Lake Sidozero, near a holiday village with the same name. Previously, the Yakovlevskoe tract was located on the site of this village.
The Temple of the Prophet Elisha was created in 1899. It is built of wood, but has the forms of the eclectic Russian style characteristic of stone architecture. The temple was closed at the end of the 1930s. Today it is completely abandoned and does not function.
In general, the temple of the Holy Prophet Elisha is famous and is considered a significant object of the Podporozhye Ring. Tourists talk about it as being difficult to access, although in fact it’s only a forty-minute walk from the holiday village.
This building is very beautiful and unusual. At the same time, it is gradually being destroyed and, apparently, is not on the list of cultural sites subject to restoration.
Prophet Elisha fed a hundred people
This story is reminiscent of our Lord Jesus Christ. Elisha fed one hundred people, and Jesus fed five thousand, not counting women and children. Perhaps there were twenty thousand there. There are always more women and children than men. And there were twelve baskets of leftovers. Therefore Jesus prevails in everything.
Notice what Elisha did, he said, “Thus says the Lord.”
Elisha had to use the name of the Lord. Jesus didn't have to say that because He is Lord.
Why was there food left in both cases?
God wants you to know that His provision will always exceed your need.
As Jesus said: “In my house even the hirelings have an abundance of bread.” What He gives always exceeds our needs. The love of our Lord Jesus is as great as His power. It has no end and no measure.
Elisha makes the stew edible
(2 Kings 4:38)
And there was a famine in the land, and the sons of the prophets sat before it. And he said to his servant: Set up a large pot and cook some stew for the sons of the prophets.
Because of hunger, the sons of the prophets sat before Elisha. He told his servant to cook some stew in a cauldron for the sons of the prophets.
So, the stew is ready. And one of them went into the field to try to improve what was already ready. I found a wild plant, collected it and chopped it all into a cauldron of stew.
(2 Kings 4:39) And one of them went out into the field to gather vegetables, and found a wild climbing plant, and from it he gathered his full robe from the wild fruits; and he came and chopped them into a pot of stew, since they did not know them
.
And this man threw spices into the stew. As soon as they started eating, they started screaming.
(2 Kings 4:40) And they poured food for them. But as soon as they began to eat the stew, they raised a cry and said: death in the cauldron, man of God! And they couldn't eat.
"Man of God." They knew who to contact.
Elisha, whose name means "God of salvation." This is also a type of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(2 Kings 4:1) And he said, Bring me some flour. And he poured it into the cauldron and said to Gehazi
: Pour it for people, let them eat. And there was nothing harmful in the boiler.
Elisha poured flour into the kettle.
The book of Leviticus talks about five sacrifices. Four indicate the death of Christ. And there is only one thing that points to His life - this is the grain offering.
