Being confused in this part of scripture is no surprise. Joram (Jehoram) and Ahaziah are names that have come up already as kings, only in North Israel instead of Judah. This means we are seeing the names again. Why? Does the confusion in reading speak to the spiritual confusion in the ancient nations of Israel?

Being confused in this part of scripture is no surprise. Joram (Jehoram) and Ahaziah are names that have come up already as kings, only in North Israel instead of Judah. This means we are seeing the names again. Why? Does the confusion in reading speak to the spiritual confusion in the ancient nations of Israel?

Ths Shunammite woman comes back after wandering for 7 years and has her land, home, the bounty that would've been produced from her land restored to her. Next, we finally see the instruction given to Elijah in 1 Kings 19 begin to be carried out by Elisha in the anointing of a Gentile king, Hazael of Syria.

Ths Shunammite woman comes back after wandering for 7 years and has her land, home, the bounty that would've been produced from her land restored to her. Next, we finally see the instruction given to Elijah in 1 Kings 19 begin to be carried out by Elisha in the anointing of a Gentile king, Hazael of Syria.

Surprisingly four lepers become the protagonists of our story in which an enemy army is routed by our God and good news is spread to a besieged and starving population.

Surprisingly four lepers become the protagonists of our story in which an enemy army is routed by our God and good news is spread to a besieged and starving population.

The story of the seige of Israel by the Arameans is strange to be sure. One of the strangest parts is that the woman approaches the king to ask for justice (??) because the other mother has not given up her son to be cannibalized along with this woman's son. Who are these two women? Whom do they represent? The text of Kings and the Old Testament has given us clues. Always, there is more going on than the surface of the text easily gives up.

The story of the seige of Israel by the Arameans is strange to be sure. One of the strangest parts is that the woman approaches the king to ask for justice (??) because the other mother has not given up her son to be cannibalized along with this woman's son. Who are these two women? Whom do they represent? The text of Kings and the Old Testament has given us clues. Always, there is more going on than the surface of the text easily gives up.

Two more Elisha stories shed light on God's work among the wayward people of Israel, but also on Jesus's work among the post-resurrection church. A floating axe head is used to bring attention to baptism along with the cancellation of spiritual debts. Then stories about blindness and sight come together in Elisha's miraculous intervention first against, but then on behalf of, the enemies of God's people.

Two more Elisha stories shed light on God's work among the wayward people of Israel, but also on Jesus's work among the post-resurrection church. A floating axe head is used to bring attention to baptism along with the cancellation of spiritual debts. Then stories about blindness and sight come together in Elisha's miraculous intervention first against, but then on behalf of, the enemies of God's people.