[Ill.u.s.tration: _Curtis Publishing Company_

_The Parting of Elijah and Elisha_

Painted by W. T. Taylor]

Then she called her husband and said, "Send me one of the servants and one of the a.s.ses, that I may go quickly to the man of G.o.d and return."

He said, "Why do you go to him to-day, for it is neither the feast of the new moon nor the sabbath?" She said, "I have good reason."

Then she saddled an a.s.s and said to her servant, "Drive on fast, do not stop until I tell you." So she went to the man of G.o.d on Mount Carmel.

But when Elisha saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi, his servant, "See, there is the Shunamite! Run down to meet her and say to her, 'Is all well with you? Is your husband well? Is the child well?'" And she answered, "All is well." But when she came to the man of G.o.d on the mountain, she caught hold of his feet. When Gehazi tried to push her away, Elisha said, "Let her alone, for she is deeply troubled and Jehovah has not told me the reason." Then she said, "Did I ask a son of my lord? Did I not say, 'Do not deceive me?'"

Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tighten your belt, take my staff in your hand and go! If you meet any one, do not speak to him, and if any one speaks to you do not answer him, and lay my staff on the face of the child."

But the mother of the child said, "As surely as Jehovah lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So he rose and went with her. And Gehazi had gone on before them and had laid the staff upon the face of the child, but there was neither sound nor sign of life in the boy. So he went back to meet him and told him, "The child has not awakened."

When Elisha came into the house, there was the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and shut the door after them and prayed to Jehovah.

He also went up and lay upon the child and put his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands. As he lay upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. Then he turned and walked backward and forward in the house, and again went up and lay upon him, and the child sneezed seven times, and then opened his eyes. Calling Gehazi, he said, "Call this Shunamite woman." So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, "Take up your son." Then she went nearer, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; after that she took up her son and went out.

A SLAVE GIRL WHO HELPED HER MASTER

Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a man who was beloved by his master and was held in high honor, for through him Jehovah had given victory to Aram. He was an able man, but he was a leper.

Now the Arameans had gone out to rob and had brought away captive from the land of Israel a little maid who became the servant of Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "O that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy." So Naaman went in and told the king what the maid from the land of Israel had said. The king of Aram said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the ruler of Israel."

So Naaman set out and took with him a thousand pounds of silver and six thousand gold pieces and ten suits of fine clothes. He also brought to the ruler of Israel the letter, which read: "This letter is to tell you that I have sent Naaman, my servant, to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy." When the ruler of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I a G.o.d, who can kill and make alive, that this king sends a man to me to cure him of his leprosy? But you can clearly see that he is seeking a quarrel with me!"

When Elisha the man of G.o.d heard that the ruler of Israel was tearing his clothes, he sent this message to him: "Why are you tearing your clothes? Let him come now to me and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel!" So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him to say, "Go and wash seven times in the Jordan and your flesh will again be well and clean."

But Naaman went away in a rage, saying, "I expected that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of Jehovah his G.o.d and wave his hand over the place, and so cure the leper. Are not Amana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?

Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. But his servants came near and said to him, "If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? Why not, then, when he says to you, 'Wash and be clean!'" So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan as the man of G.o.d commanded; and his flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was cured of his leprosy.

Then Naaman, with all his followers, returned to the man of G.o.d. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no G.o.d in all the earth, but in Israel; therefore accept a present from your servant." But Elisha said, "As surely as Jehovah lives, before whom I stand, I will take nothing." And although he urged him to take it, he would not. Then Naaman said, "If not, at least give your servant a load of earth, what two mules can draw, for your servant will from this time on offer burnt-offering and sacrifice to no other G.o.d but Jehovah." And Elisha said to him, "Go, and may good fortune attend you."

But when he had gone from him a short distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of G.o.d, thought to himself, "My master has let this Naaman the Aramean go without accepting what he brought! As surely as Jehovah lives, I will run after him and take something from him." So Gehazi ran after Naaman; and when Naaman saw some one running after him, he stepped down from the chariot to meet him and said, "Is all well?"

Gehazi replied, "All is well. My master has sent me to say, 'Just now two young men of the followers of the prophets have come to me from the highland of Ephraim. Give them a hundred pounds of silver and two suits of fine clothes.'" Naaman said, "Agree to take twice as much silver." So he urged him and bound up two hundred pounds of silver in two bags, with two suits of fine clothes, and laid them on two of his servants, and they carried them before Gehazi. But when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and hid them in the house and let the men go.

Then he went in to Elisha; but when he stood before his master, Elisha said to him, "Where do you come from, Gehazi?" He answered, "Your servant has not been anywhere." But Elisha said to him, "Was I not in spirit with you when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Now you have received money and you may get clothes, olive yards, vineyards, sheep, oxen, and slaves; but the leprosy of Naaman shall stick to you and to your children forever." Then Gehazi went from Elisha's presence a leper as white as snow.

ELISHA'S WAY OF TREATING ENEMIES

Once while the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he said to his officers, "In such and such a place we shall hide and surprise them."

But Elisha, the man of G.o.d, sent word to the ruler of Israel, "Take care that you do not pa.s.s that place, for the Arameans are hiding there." So the ruler of Israel sent soldiers to the place of which the man of G.o.d had told him. Thus he warned him many times, so that he could there be on his guard.

The king of Aram was very much troubled by this, and he called his officers and said to them, "Can you not tell me who has betrayed us to the ruler of Israel?" One of his officers replied, "No one, my lord, O king, for Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the ruler of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchamber." The king said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him." And they told the king, "Elisha is now in Dothan."

So the king sent horses and chariots there and a great army. And they arrived at night and surrounded the city. When the man of G.o.d rose early the next morning and went out, an army with horses and chariots was about the city; so that his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" He answered, "Fear not, for they who are with us are more than they who are with them." And Elisha prayed and said, "Jehovah open his eyes, that he may see." Then Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the highlands around about Elisha were full of horses and chariots of fire.

When the Arameans came toward him, Elisha prayed to Jehovah, and said, "Make this people blind." So Jehovah made them blind, as Elisha asked.

Then Elisha said to them, "This is not the way nor the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek!" So he led them to Samaria.

But as soon as they came to Samaria, Elisha said, "O Jehovah, open the eyes of these men, that they may see." And Jehovah opened their eyes, so that they could see, and there they were in Samaria. When the ruler of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, "My father, shall I cut them down?"

Elisha answered, "You shall not cut them down; would you cut down those whom you have not taken captive with your sword nor with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master." So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had had food and drink, he sent them back to their master. So the robber bands of Arameans no longer invaded the land of Israel.

Later, Benhadad, king of Aram, gathered all his army and besieged Samaria. The famine was so severe in Samaria while they were besieging it, that an a.s.s's head was sold for eighty pieces of silver.

Once as the ruler of Israel was pa.s.sing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, "Help, my lord." He answered, "If Jehovah does not help you, from where can I bring help to you? From the threshing-floor or from the wine-press?" However, the ruler of Israel said to her, "What is the trouble with you?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow!' So we cooked my son and ate him, and I said to her on the next day, 'Give your son that we may eat him'; but she has hidden her son."

When the ruler of Israel heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes; and as he was pa.s.sing by on the wall, the people looked and saw that he wore sackcloth next to his skin.

Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders beside him; and while he was still talking with them, the ruler of Israel came down to him and said, "See, this is the evil that comes from Jehovah! Why should I put my hope in Jehovah any longer?" But Elisha said, "Hear the word of Jehovah, for he says, 'To-morrow about this time a peck of fine meal shall be sold for a piece of silver and two pecks of barley for a piece of silver in the gate of Samaria.'" Then the charioteer on whose arm the ruler of Israel leaned answered the man of G.o.d, "If Jehovah himself should make windows in heaven, could this be possible?" He said, "You shall see it with your own eyes."

Now there were four lepers just outside the gate; and they said one to another, "Why do we sit here until we die? If we say, 'We will enter the city,' then, since there is famine in the city, we shall die there; but if we sit here, we shall die too. Now, come, let us go over to the army of the Arameans. If they spare our lives, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die."

So they set out in the evening to go over to the camp of the Arameans.

But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Arameans, no one was there, for the Lord had made the army of the Arameans hear a noise of chariots and of horses and of a great army, and they said to one another, "Surely the ruler of Israel has hired the kings of the Hitt.i.tes and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us." So they rose and fled in the twilight; and they left their tents, their horses and their a.s.ses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their lives. When these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank and carried away silver and gold and clothing and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried away what was in it and went and hid that.

Then they said to one another, "We are not doing right; this day is a day of good news. If we keep still and wait until morning punishment will overtake us. Now, come, let us go and tell those in the palace." So they called the watchmen at the city gate and said to them, "We went to the camp of the Arameans, but there was no one there and no sound of men's voices. The horses and a.s.ses were tied and the tents were just as they had been."

The watchmen at the city gate shouted this news to those in the palace.

And the ruler of Israel rose in the night and said to his servants, "I will now tell you what the Arameans have done: they know that we are hungry; so they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, thinking, 'When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and get into the city.'"

But one of his servants spoke up and said, "Let some men take a pair of the horses which are left here. If they die, they will be like most of the Israelites who are dying! Let us send and find out." So they took two men on horseback, and the ruler of Israel sent them after the army of the Arameans with the command, "Go and see." They followed them to the Jordan; and all the way was filled with clothes and weapons which the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the ruler of Israel.

Then the people went and carried things away from the camp of the Arameans. So a peck of fine meal was sold for a piece of silver, and two pecks of barley for a piece of silver, just as Jehovah had said.

THE END OF AHAB'S SELFISH FAMILY

Elisha the prophet called one of the followers of the prophets and said to him, "Tighten your belt, take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth in Gilead. When you arrive there, look for Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, and when you go in take him into an inner room, away from those who are with him. Then from the flask pour oil on his head, and say, 'Jehovah declares, I have anointed you to rule over Israel.' Then open the door and flee without delay."

So the young man went to Ramoth in Gilead. When he arrived, the officers of the army were sitting together. And he said, "Commander, I have a message for you." Jehu said, "To which of us?" He replied, "To you, O commander." Then Jehu rose and went into the house; and the young man poured the oil on his head and said to him, "Jehovah the G.o.d of Israel says, 'I have anointed you to rule over Jehovah's people, over Israel!'" Then he opened the door and hurried away.

When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, they asked him, "Is all well? Why did this insane fellow come to you?" He answered, "You know the man and his message." But they said, "You are deceiving us. You must tell us." Jehu replied, "He said this to me: 'Jehovah says, I have anointed you to rule over Israel.'" Then each quickly took his garment, laid it at his feet on the bare stairs, and blew the horn and cried, "Jehu is the ruler of Israel." So Jehu plotted against Joram.

Now Joram, with all the Israelites, had been defending Ramoth in Gilead against Hazael king of Aram, but Joram had gone back to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received from the Arameans when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu said, "If it is your will, let no one escape from the city to bring news to Jezreel." Then Jehu mounted his chariot and went toward Jezreel.

While the watchman was standing on the tower of Jezreel, he saw the cloud of dust about Jehu, as he came, and said, "I see a cloud of dust."

Joram said, "Send a horseman to meet him and ask whether he comes with peaceful purpose." So the horseman went out to meet him and said, "The ruler of Israel asks, 'Do you come with peaceful purpose?'" Jehu replied, "What have you to do with peace? Turn and follow me." So the watchman said, "The messenger went to them, but does not return." Then Joram sent out a second horseman who went to them and said, "The ruler of Israel asks, 'Do you come with peaceful purpose?'" Jehu answered, "What have you to do with peace? Turn and follow me." So the watchman said, "He also went to them but does not return; however, the driving is like the driving of Jehu, for he drives very fast."

Then Joram said, "Get my chariot ready," and when it was ready he went to meet Jehu and found him in the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. When Joram saw Jehu, he said, "Do you come with peaceful purpose, Jehu?" Then Joram turned to flee, but Jehu drew his bow and struck Joram between the shoulders, so that the arrow went through his heart, and he fell down in his chariot.

Then Jehu said to Bidkar, his charioteer, "Take him up and throw him into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for I well remember that, as you and I rode together after Ahab, his father, Jehovah p.r.o.nounced this sentence upon him: 'Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and his sons, and I will punish you on this same piece of land.' So throw him into this piece of land, as Jehovah said."

Then Jehu arrived at Jezreel. As soon as Jezebel heard of it, she painted her eyes, arranged her hair, and looked out of the window. As Jehu came in at the gate, she said, "Is all well with you, you traitor, you murderer of your master?" But he looked up to the window and cried, "Who is on my side? who?" Two or three slaves looked down at him, and he said, "Throw her down." And they threw her down and the horses trampled on her. When Jehu had gone in and had had something to eat and drink, he gave this command, "Look after this woman and bury her, for she is a king's daughter." But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull, the feet, and the hands. When they went back and told Jehu, he said, "This is what Jehovah declared by his servant Elijah when he said, 'On the piece of land at Jezreel the dogs shall eat Jezebel's flesh, and her body shall be as refuse on the surface of the field, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.'"

THE BOY JOASH ON THE THRONE OF JUDAH