03.03. His First Prophetic Appearance
His First Prophetic Appearance The first act of Elisha’s public life, sets forth at once the character of his mission. It was at Jericho, that very city upon which Joshua had pronounced a Divine curse, that Elisha’s mission commenced with the removal of a curse. Thither he repaired immediately after his illustrious predecessor had been taken up into heaven, and there he intended to await the first commands of Jehovah. In a few days he was called forth to action. The inhabitants of Jericho, aware that they had still a prophet among them, were soon eager to avail themselves of the advantage. Oh that the light of every Christian brother beamed with the mild radiance of an Elisha! And this it would do, if we were only contented to appear as vessels of mercy, representative of the meek and lowly Savior. Still, however, there are some, whose light is thus beneficially shining before men. They are dead unto themselves, but Christ liveth in them. Their "life is hid with Christ in God;" they live above the world. There is something unspeakably soothing and animating in the company of such humble Christians. Their faith has taken firm hold of the world to come, and their heartfelt peace sheds a blessed influence around them. The oppressed, the doubting, and the afflicted, have recourse to them, and obtain alleviation and succour; for they follow the steps of Him who invited the weary and heavy laden to come to him that he might give them rest. In their words and actions his own love seems to smile upon us; and we seldom leave them without obtaining clearer views, and more exalted hopes.
What the inhabitants of Jericho wished to lay before the man of God was this. The situation of the city had been once remarkable for its beauty. The soil, favorable to vegetation, had rivaled in fruitfulness the most productive parts of the Holy Land. But it no longer retained its ancient beauty and fertility; for the devastating effects of the curse, pronounced upon it by Joshua, were strikingly visible. The palms drooped dejected; the gardens no longer yielded their perfumes; the cattle languished upon the pastures once so luxuriant; the flocks cast their young in the fold; and the people themselves were afflicted with disease and early death. All these calamities had their origin in the water, which had been rendered pernicious by the curse. The complicated miseries which accrued from these causes, made it almost a matter of regret that Hiel, the Bethelite, had rebuilt the city. What could the inhabitants of Jericho more earnestly desire, than the deliverance of their district, in every other respect so well situated, from this distressing and mortifying remembrance of the past. Doubtless many attempts had been made, and much treasure and art uselessly expended to accomplish it: yet the evil was not removed. But as Elisha was now resident among them, the thought occurred, that he might possibly befriend them. They were sensible that the chastisement which God had inflicted on them, God alone could remove. They therefore applied to the man of God. They found him among the sons of the prophets, and, having been encouraged by the kindness of his manner, they modestly intimated to him their desire: "Behold, we pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth; but the water is naught, and the land barren." Would to God, that this description, given by the men of Jericho, were not, in another sense, so applicable to many places in our own country, equally beautiful and delightful, except that the water is bad:—I mean the spiritual water; and, therefore, the moral field is barren and unfruitful. Wherever the spiritual fountains are corrupted, and, from the pulpit and the professor’s chair, instead of the pure truth of the gospel, multitudes imbibe the poison of modern infidelity, which, however tinctured with Christianity, yet, by causing a forgetfulness of Bethlehem and Golgotha, stimulating proud man to seek salvation in himself, spreads desolation and death in every direction; there a more destructive curse prevails, than that which rested on the fields of Jericho. The pastures may be clothed with flocks, and the gardens pour forth their sweets; but the moral field is uncultivated and waste. There, science may furnish its splendid but perishable garniture, and men may adorn themselves with its specious covering; but hope, peace, and joy are banished from the mind, and spiritual death reigns triumphant. Oh that the God of Elisha may heal waters like these around us! The grace of Christ crucified is the only healing virtue here; and where this is experienced, the wilderness is transformed into "a fruitful field," and the desert is made to "rejoice and blossom as the rose." No sooner had the men of Jericho declared to the prophet their desire, than he showed the most cheerful readiness to comply with it. Perceiving that the thing was from the Lord, and instructed by his Spirit how to act, he replied, "Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein:" and the men flew with joy and expectation to execute his commands. Elisha, in the performance of this miracle, was directed to the use of means; though the means he made use of were in themselves of no efficiency whatever. But the very unsuitableness of the remedy necessarily contributed to make the reality of the miracle more apparent. Thus Moses was Divinely directed to lift up his rod over the Red Sea; and thus, in after times, the laying on of hands was enjoined to the apostles. Moses’ rod, without which Moses himself was powerless, was intended both to remind him, and to impress upon the witnesses of his miracles, that he was only an instrument in the hands of God, and immediately dependent on his power. The same end was to be answered by the means which the Lord prescribed to his servant Elisha. Had Elisha healed the waters by a wave of the hand, or by the simple expression of "Be it so," it might have seemed as though the power rested in himself; and the miracle would have failed of its object. But by the method here adopted, it appeared in a different light; and the power of God, in giving efficacy to means so insignificant, was abundantly manifested. Nor was it without design, that the inhabitants of Jericho were directed themselves to produce the salt and the cruse. It gave prominence to the main purport of Elisha’s mission, which was designed to show forth the glory of the Almighty, as a God of mercy and salvation, making use of common instruments—mere household vessels—to effect his great and gracious purposes. All this was strikingly evangelical.
Elisha, receiving the cruse, went forth to the spring of the waters, attended by the men of the city, and, without any preliminary parade, or pompous solemnity, cast its contents into the spring, exclaiming, "Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land." Observe, how scrupulously Elisha guarded the interests of his Master! How studiously he ascribed all the glory to Him, to whom alone it belonged! How careful was he to prevent the smallest portion of such honor from attaching to himself, or to the means employed! The Lord alone was to be glorified; and, therefore, the miracle was to appear as the pure act of his own goodness and mercy.
"Thus saith the Lord." With these words did the prophet approach the spring; and with the power that authorized them, it was not difficult to perform miracles. Such a power could even have called new worlds into existence. The work of God is perfect, and superior to all difficulties. "He spake and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." We, indeed, are not gifted with the word of healing as Elisha was; but if we are God’s faithful people, we possess words of even greater and more blessed import. We can say, "Thus saith the Lord, None shall pluck my sheep out of my hand." And we are certain that these words will confound the powers of darkness. We can say, "Thus saith the Lord, Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am!" and are warranted to believe, without a doubt, that, would mountains and seas impede our course thither, even seas shall be dried up, and mountains be cast down before us. We can say, "Thus saith the Lord, Behold the fowls of the air! O ye of little faith, are ye not much better than they?" We can say, "Thus saith the Lord, All things shall work together for good, to those who love God!" With Divine assurances like these, we are encompassed as with a wall; and they will prove no less efficacious than the words of Elisha, "Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters." The words were uttered, and at once the change was accomplished. From that hour, the water became all that could be wished for refreshment and health, and imparted both wherever it flowed. The fields recovered their ancient fertility, and man and beast could rejoice in renovated life and vigor. All traces of former desolation disappeared; the inhabitants of Jericho were filled with joy; and a cheerful, stirring activity became everywhere visible, in young and old. The happy shouts of the reaper resounded anew between the vine-clad hills; while the shepherd, with his lambs sporting around him, answered from the plain with the melody of his solitary pipe. The native husbandman contemplated with unmingled joy the rich promise of the coming harvest, and the traveller could commend, and celebrates to this day, the exhilarating freshness of the waters of Jericho.
How gloriously was the Almighty revealed in this miracle! What a striking instance was it of his power and goodness! What a notable seal did it affix to the Divine call of the prophet! Who could now doubt, in whose name and authority he appeared upon the plains of Jericho! And what a mild luster did it reflect upon the whole prophetic character of the holy man! Surely no herald of Jehovah had ever entered upon his course in a more evangelical spirit than Elisha. The removal of a curse that had afflicted the land for centuries was his first act. The restoration of a withered earthly paradise was the first seal of his high commission.
We want to see this miracle at Jericho spiritually repeated in our times. We long for it; we implore it. Alas! our streams have become stagnant, corrupted, poisoned, and send forth rivers of death, threatening with moral destruction, not merely a city and neighborhood, but a world. The springs to which I allude, are the modes of thinking so prevalent in this age; the immoral, anarchical, and antichristian principles, that, like a corrupting leaven, infect the mass of the people, and control the judgments and actions of thousands. Witness our pursuits of science, falsely so called, which, casting aside all restraint, and giving loose to the most unbridled pretensions, seek to reduce all Divine mysteries within their own narrow limits. Witness our poetry, whose wit is kindled from beneath, whose inspiration is worldly or carnal lust, and in which a bold contempt of all that is moral and decent often assumes the air of genius. Witness our philosophical theology, the object of which is, to disprove the necessity of an atonement, to undeify the Savior of the world, and to annul all difference between the creation and Him whose word called it into existence. Who can fail to perceive, while reflecting on these things, that our situation is similar to that of Jericho, that our moral springs are poisoned? Our journals and periodicals are conveying these bitter waters through every region; and who, that rightly appreciates them, can forbear taking up the lamentation of Jericho, the city of palms: "Alas! the water is naught, and the land barren!" But, oh! ye of the spirit of Elisha, ye faithful few, to whom the good salt of the word is entrusted, withhold not your hand. Produce it upon all occasions in your new vessels, yes, in any new form you please, but take heed that it be the unadulterated salt, for that alone, under the Divine blessing, can effect the marvellous healing which is needed everywhere. In the name of the Lord cast it into our polluted streams and rivers, and you will accomplish incomparably greater things than did Elisha, for you will renovate a world.