19 22<\/strong>. Elisha heals the noxious water at Jericho (Not in Chronicles)<\/p>\n 19<\/strong>. And the men of the city<\/em> ] These are the ordinary inhabitants. From the sons of the prophets they would gather that Elisha was now gifted with the spirit and power of Elijah. The situation of Jericho, near the passage of the Jordan, was such as to attract a considerable population after it was rebuilt, and for the sake of the prosperity which came to them in other ways they were content to dwell in such an unwholesome place. Now however they saw a hope of benefit and with this thought they came to Elisha. ‘It is good making use of a prophet while we have him’ (Bp Hall).<\/p>\n I<\/em> [R.V. we<\/strong> ] pray thee<\/em> ] The Hebrew is a mere interjection. The change in the English is justified because the petitioners were numerous.<\/p>\n the situation of<\/em> this city<\/em> is pleasant<\/em> ] Jericho was a part of that country which, in Gen 13:10<\/span>, is compared to ‘the garden of the Lord’.<\/p>\n the water<\/em> is naught<\/em> ] This word is of frequent occurrence in the English of the 16th century in the sense of ‘bad’. So too ‘naughty’. Cf. Jer 24:2<\/span>, ‘naughty figs’. And for ‘naught’ cf. Shakes. As You Like It<\/em>, I. 2. 68, ‘The mustard was naught<\/em> ’. Much Ado<\/em>, v. I. 157, ‘If I do not carve most curiously, say my knife’s naught<\/em> ’.<\/p>\n and the ground barren<\/em> ] R.V. and the land miscarrieth<\/strong>. The R.V. is explained in a margin ‘casteth her fruit’. The evil effect was clearly in consequence of the hurtful water, for the healing of the spring is to bring a remedy for the other evils. It seems therefore that the water was such as caused the trees to shed their fruit prematurely and the cattle which fed on the herbage which it watered to cast their young untimely, and it may be that the mischief extended also to the human beings who drank thereof.<\/p>\n The water is naught – <\/B>i. e. bad.<\/P> And the ground barren – <\/B>Translate and the land apt to miscarry. The stream was thought to be the cause of untimely births, abortions, and the like, among the cattle, perhaps also among the people, that drank of it.<\/P><\/p>\n 2Ki 2:19-22<\/span><\/p>\n And the men of the city said unto Elisha.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n The bitter waters sweetened-Elisha the healer<\/strong><\/p>\n Jericho, a city of high antiquity, was one of the most important in the land of Palestine. Its walls were so broad, that at least one person–Rahab–had her house upon them. Silver and gold were so abundant that one man–Achan–could stealthily appropriate 200 shekels. Between the city and the far East, there had existed for years, before its occupation by the children of Israel, a wide and extensive commerce, of which the goodly Babylonish garment, purloined in the act of dishonesty just mentioned, may be accepted as proof. The New Testament notices of Jericho are full of interest. The lonely limestone rocks behind the city formed the scene of our Lords temptation. It was down the banks of the Jordan, at Jericho, the Master had previously gone to be baptized. Three times in Jericho did our Blessed Lord give sight to the blind. Once in Jericho, the descendant of Rahab the hostess accepted the hospitality of Zaccheus the publican. For five hundred and fifty years a doom had lain upon Jericho. She had been the first city to resist the advance of Israel under the leadership of Joshua. She was therefore not only condemned to fall before the captain of the Lords host, and amid the much ceremony with which we are all familiar–the annihilation was accompanied with a terrible curse. The man who ventured to rebuild Jericho was to lay the foundation in his first-born, and in his youngest son to set up the gates. Josephus describes the district in his day as <\/strong>quite a fairyland, with its palms and roses, and fragrant balsams and thickly dotted pleasure grounds–a perfect garden and paradise of Eastern beauty. At the period of the text, however, things were very different. The spring was still suffering from the old doom pronounced against Jericho, it was noxious, unfit for drinking, prejudicial to the soil: The men of the city said unto Elisha –who was at this time residing here in the sacred college–Behold. I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my Lord seeth, but the water is naught, and the ground barren.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>The Gospel is a new cruse for the world. Christianity comes not in the oldness of the letter and the law, but in the newness of the Spirit. The Gospel, too, begins at the origin of the evil–the heart–that is <\/strong>the spring of the waters. What is needed is a clean heart and a right spirit; the poison is at the fountain-head, and must be dealt with there. Once again, like the salt in the cruse, how unlikely and insufficient at first sight the simple Gospel appears for the worlds conversion. The words with which Elisha accompanied tile casting in of the salt, and the consequent working of the miracle, are very noticeable: Thus saith the Lord, exclaimed the prophet, I have healed these waters. How the change was effected, we cannot tell. Means were employed to show that God in His greatest works has a place for the instrumentality of man. Elisha cast in the salt.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>In the redemption of a lost world, God has room for the <\/strong>energies of believing men. As ye go, preach. Sow beside all waters. But God is the grand agent. The power of the healing waters comes from the Great Physician. The new cruse and the salt in it, both are Gods sufficient honour for poor sinful men to be their administrators–let God be All in All. There was no mistaking the result of the Divine interposition by the hand of Elisha in relation to the bitter waters of Jericho. Thus saith the Lord, there <\/strong>shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>The figure is that of the Gospel again, both in its influence on society at large and the individual believing heart. Put the new cruse and the salt once really in, and a new heart leads to a new life, and the world at large, once its springs are really touched, feels <\/strong>it through all its tributaries and ramifications. What has Christianity not done for the social life of man? It has abolished polygamy. It has put honour on the marriage tie. It has created lazar-houses for the sick, and asylums for the penitent profligate. What has it not done for the cause of civil liberty? It has struck the fetters from the negro. It has proclaimed freedom of conscience. What has Christianity not done for the commercial enterprise and the outward prosperity of the world? The missionary is the pioneer of the merchant. (H. J. Howat.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Cleansing the fountain<\/strong><\/p>\n Elisha began his work as a leader of the church of his time by a deed of mercy. Elisha made no claim that he had healed the waters himself, and he did not pretend that there was any power in the salt to work the change. He was simply Gods minister, and the salt was used simply as <\/strong>a symbol of Gods presence in the cleansing of the fountain. We have in this cleansing of the fountain suggested to us: that a mans surroundings may be very pleasant, and his temporal circumstances such as to cause the envy of his neighbours, and yet his life may be embittered and his career utterly despoiled because of some malady of the spirit that takes away his peace, and ruins his happiness. Elisha assumed that it would be useless to change the water in the stream, for the evil fountain left unchanged would continue to pour forth its poisoned waters. So he went to the spring, and cast in the healing salt at the fountain-h cad. We are reminded of the words of Jesus where He declares that A good man, out of the good treasure of heart, bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil mare out of the evil treasure, bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. And again our Saviour says, For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: and He adds, These are the things which defile a man. The poisonous stream of conduct is poured forth because the heart is evil. It is one of Aristotles axioms that the goodness or badness of anything is determined from its principle: hence it is that we call that a good tree that hath a good root, that a good house that hath a good foundation, that good money that is made of good metal, that good cloth that is made of good wool; but a good man is not so called because he has good hands, a good head, good words, a good voice, and all the lineaments of his body similar and composed, as it were, in a geometrical symmetry, but because he has a good heart, good affections, good principles of grace, whereby all his faculties, both of body and of soul, are always in a readiness to do that which is right. Plutarch tells us that Apollodorus dreamed one night that the Scythians took him and tortured him, and as they were putting him to death in the boiling cauldron, his heart said unto him, It is I that have brought thee to this sorrow; I am the cause of all the mischief that hath befallen thee. And it is certainly true that the heart of man is the forge and the anvil where all the actions of his life are hammered out. You must give your whole heart to God and obey Him in every way, or else all pretensions to religion are hypocrisy. The secret of Christianitys great power in the world is in this transformation of the heart. Elisha made sure that the water in the stream would be clean and pure, by cleansing the fountain. Christ makes sure that the new life of the man who truly comes to Him shall be good, by cleansing the heart. (L. A. Banks,<\/em> D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Elisha healing the water, and the means he used<\/strong><\/p>\n What a true picture is here delineated of things on earth! What a living sample of its present state! Look where you will, go where you please, there is something pleasant and something unpleasant. May we not hereby learn how sin has defaced this fair creation, so that nowhere can perfection be seen. And now, therefore, the Lord will bring good out of evil. He will make this city a resting-place for his prophets.<\/p>\n The pleasant and the painful<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>It is so materially. How much we have in this material world that is pleasant to our senses, and healthful and strengthening to our bodies; but amidst all there is the painful. There are malarial swamps, pestilential winds, roaring earthquakes, and poisonous minerals and plants, etc. etc.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>It is so intellectually. There is much in the region of intellect that is pleasant–bubbling springs of thought, tempting regions of inquiry, bright visions and hypotheses bespangling the heavens. But with all this there is much that is painful–dense clouds of ignorance hanging over the scene, hideous doubts howling in the ear, terrific chasms yawning at the feet.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>It is so socially. How much in social life is pleasant–the friendly grasps, the affectionate greetings, the sweet amenities of those with whom we meet and mingle. But with all this there is much that is painful–social unchastities, hypocrisies, frauds, insolences.<\/p>\n 4. <\/strong>It is so religiously. The religious, where the idea of God <\/strong>fills the horizon, there is the infinitely pleasant But in this wonderful region how much of the painful do we experience, what temptation to doubt, what infidelity and blasphemy often assail us, and bring over us the horror of a great darkness.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>The separation was a supernatural one. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, etc. The Gospel is the true cruse for separating the painful from the pleasant in the experience of human life. Thank God for the pleasant in your life. Seek earnestly that Gospel cruse whose salt alone can rid your life of all that is deleterious and distressing. (Homilist.<\/em>)<\/p>\n Verse 19<\/span>. The water<\/B><\/I> is <\/B>naught, and the ground barren.<\/B><\/I>] The barrenness of the ground was the effect of the badness of the water.<\/P> <\/p>\n Either it was so orignally, at least as to that part of the city where the college of the prophets was, for it is not necessary to understand this of the whole territory; or it became so from the curse of God inflicted upon it, either when Joshua first took it, or afterwards when Hiel rebuilt it. Howsoever, upon the prophets care, it grew exceeding fruitful, and therefore is commended for its fertility by later writers. <\/P> <\/p>\n And the men of the city said unto Elisha<\/strong>,…. The inhabitants of Jericho, perceiving him to be a prophet, and endowed with a power of working miracles:<\/p>\n behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth<\/strong>; in a plain, surrounded with gardens and orchards, with vineyards, oliveyards, and groves of palm trees, and other odoriferous ones:<\/p>\n but the water is naught, and the ground barren<\/strong>; that is, that part of it where this water was, or ran, for from thence it became barren; or “caused to miscarry”, as the word signifies q; not only trees cast their fruit, which it watered, but women became abortive that drank of it, as Josephus says r, and so cattle. Abarbinel thinks it was so from the times of Joshua, being cursed by him; but, if so, it would not have been inhabited again; rather this was owing to a new curse, upon its being rebuilt; though this might affect only a small part of the ground, not the whole, as before observed.<\/p>\n q “orbans”, Montanus, Vatablus; “facit abortum”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. r De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 3.<\/p>\n The Waters of Jericho Healed; the Death of the Mocking Children.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 895.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is<\/I> pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is<\/I> naught, and the ground barren. 20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it<\/I> to him. 21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD<\/B>, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.<\/I> 22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. 23 And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD<\/B>. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. 25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.<\/P> Elisha had, in this respect, a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, that he wrought more miracles than Elijah. Some reckon them in number just double. Two are recorded in these verses–a miracle of mercy to Jericho and a miracle of judgment to Bethel, Ps. ci. 1<\/span>.<\/P> I. Here is a blessing upon the waters of Jericho, which was effectual to heal them. Jericho was built in disobedience to a command, in defiance to a threatening, and at the expense of the lives of all the builder’s children; yet, when it was built, it was not ordered to be demolished again, nor were God’s prophets or people forbidden to dwell in it, but even within those walls that were built by iniquity we find a nursery of piety. Fools, they say, build houses for wise men to dwell in. Here the wealth of the sinner provided a habitation for the just. We find Christ at Jericho, Luke xix. 1<\/span>. Hither Elisha came, to confirm the souls of the disciples with a more particular account of Elijah’s translation than their spies, who saw at a distance, could give them. Here he staid while the fifty men were searching for him. And, 1. The men of Jericho represented to him their grievance, v.<\/I><\/span> 19<\/span>. God’s faithful prophets love to be employed; it is wisdom to make use of them during the little while that their light is with us. They had not applied to Elijah concerning the matter, perhaps because he was not so easy of access as Elisha was; but now, we may hope, by the influence of the divinity-school in their city, they were reformed. The situation was pleasant and afforded a good prospect; but they had neither wholesome water to drink nor fruitful soil to yield them food, and what pleasure could they take in their prospect? Water is a common mercy, which we should estimate by the greatness of the calamity which the want or unwholesomeness of it would be. Some think that it was not all the ground about Jericho that was barren and had bad water, but some one part only, and that<\/I> where the sons of the prophets had their lodgings, who are here called the men of the city.<\/I> 2. He soon redressed their grievance. Prophets should endeavour to make every place they come to, some way or other, the better for them, endeavouring to sweeten bitter spirits, and to make barren souls fruitful, by the due application of the word of God. Elisha will heal their waters; but, (1.) They must furnish him with salt in a new cruse, v.<\/I><\/span> 20<\/span>. If salt had been proper to season the water, yet what could so small a quantity do towards it and what the better for being in a new cruse? But thus those that would be helped must be employed and have their faith and obedience tried. God’s works of grace are wrought, not by any operations of ours, but in observance of his institutions. (2.) He cast the salt into the spring of the waters,<\/I> and so healed the streams and the ground they watered. Thus the way to reform men’s lives is to renew their hearts; let those be seasoned with the salt of grace; for out of them are the issues of life. Make the tree good and the fruit will be good.<\/I> Purify the heart and that will cleanse the hands. (3.) He did not pretend to do this by his own power, but in God’s name: Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters.<\/I> He is but the instrument, the channel through which God is pleased to convey this healing virtue. By doing them this kindness with a Thus saith the Lord,<\/I> they would be made the more willing hereafter, to receive from him a reproof, admonition, or command, with the same preface. If, in God’s name, he can help them, in God’s name let him teach and rule them. Thus saith the Lord,<\/I> out of Elisha’s mouth, must, ever after, be of mighty force with them. (4.) The cure was lasting, and not for the present only: The waters were healed unto this day,<\/I> v.<\/span> 22<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. What God does shall be for ever,<\/I> Eccl. iii. 14<\/I><\/span>. When he, by his Spirit, heals a soul,<\/I> there shall be no more death nor barrenness;<\/I> the property is altered: what was useless and offensive becomes grateful and serviceable.<\/P> II. Here is a curse upon the children of Bethel, which was effectual to destroy them; for it was not a curse causeless. At Bethel there was another school of prophets. Thither Elisha went next, in this his primary visitation, and the scholars there no doubt welcomed him with all possible respect, but the townsmen were abusive to him. One of Jeroboam’s calves was at Bethel; this they were proud of, and fond of, and hated those that reproved them. The law did not empower them to suppress this pious academy, but we may suppose it was their usual practice to jeer the prophets as they went along the streets, to call them by some nickname or other, that they might expose them to contempt, prejudice their youth against them, and, if possible, drive them out of their town. Had the abuse done to Elisha been the first offence of that kind, it is probable that it would not have been so severely punished. But mocking the messengers of the Lord,<\/I> and misusing the prophets,<\/I> was one of the crying sins of Israel,<\/I> as we find, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16<\/span>. Now here we have, 1. An instance of that sin. The little children of Bethel,<\/I> the boys and girls that were playing in the streets (notice, it is likely, having come to the town of his approach), went out to meet him, not with their hosannas, as they ought to have done, but with their scoffs; they gathered about him and mocked him, as if he had been a fool, or one fit to make sport with. Among other things that they used to jeer the prophets with, they had this particular taunt for him, Go up, thou bald head, go up, thou bald head.<\/I> It is a wicked thing to reproach persons for their natural infirmities or deformities; it is adding affliction to the afflicted; and, if they are as God made them, the reproach reflects upon him. But this was such a thing as scarcely deserved to be called a blemish, and would never have been turned to his reproach if they had had any thing else to reproach him with. It was his character as a prophet that they designed to abuse. The honour God had crowned him with should have been sufficient to cover his bald head and protect him from their scoffs. They bade him go up,<\/I> perhaps reflecting on the assumption of Elijah: “Thy master,” they say, “has gone up; why dost not thou go up after him? Where is the fiery chariot? When shall we be rid of thee too?” These children said as they were taught; they had learned of their idolatrous parents to call foul names and give bad language, especially to prophets. These young cocks, as we say, crowed after the old ones. Perhaps their parents did at this time send them out and set them on, that, if possible, they might keep the prophet out of their town. 2. A specimen of that ruin which came down upon Israel at last, for misusing God’s prophets, and of which this was intended to give them fair warning. Elisha heard their taunts, a good while, with patience; but at length the fire of holy zeal for God was kindled in his breast by the continued provocation, and he turned and looked upon them,<\/I> to try if a grave and severe look would put them out of countenance and oblige them to retire, to see if he could discern in their faces any marks of ingenuousness; but they were not ashamed, neither could they blush;<\/I> and therefore he cursed them in the name of the Lord,<\/I> both imprecated and denounced the following judgment, not in personal revenge for the indignity done to himself, but as the mouth of divine justice to punish the dishonour done to God. His summons was immediately obeyed. Two she-bears (bears perhaps robbed of their whelps) came out of an adjacent wood, and presently killed forty-two children, v.<\/I><\/span> 24<\/span>. Now in this, (1.) The prophet must be justified, for he did it by divine impulse. Had the curse come from any bad principle God would not have said Amen<\/I> to it. We may think it would have been better to have called for two rods for the correction of these children than two bears for the destruction of them. But Elisha knew, by the Spirit, the bad character of these children. He knew what a generation of vipers those were, and what mischievous enemies they would be to God’s prophets if they should live to be men, who began so early to be abusive to them. He intended hereby to punish the parents and to make them afraid of God’s judgments. (2.) God must be glorified as a righteous God, that hates sin, and will reckon for it, even in little children. Let the wicked wretched brood make our flesh tremble for fear of God. Let little children be afraid of speaking wicked words, for God notices what they say. Let them not mock any for their defects in mind or body, but pity them rather; especially let them know that it is at their peril if they jeer God’s people or ministers, and scoff at any for well-doing. Let parents, that would have comfort in their children, train them up well, and do their utmost betimes to drive out the foolishness that is bound up in their hearts; for, as bishop Hall says, “In vain do we look for good from those children whose education we have neglected; and in vain do we grieve for those miscarriages which our care might have prevented.” Elisha comes to Bethel and fears not the revenges of the bereaved parents; God, who bade him do what he did, he knew would bear him out. Thence he goes to Mount Carmel (v.<\/I><\/span> 25<\/span>), where it is probable there was a religious house fit for retirement and contemplation. Thence he returned to Samaria, where, being a public place, this father of the prophets might be most serviceable. Bishop Hall observes here, “That he can never be a profitable seer who is either always or never alone.”<\/P><\/p>\n It has been seen that a man from Bethel, <\/em>Hiel, rebuilt the city of Jericho in the time of King Ahab, contrary to the curse which was uttered by Joshua in the name of the Lord on the day of its fall to Israel.<\/em><\/p>\n (Jos 6:26<\/span>; 1Ki 16:34<\/span>). Yet the city remained under a curse. It appears that the water was so polluted that it caused disease of the people and kept the land from bearing. However, its climate and situation were otherwise very conducive to habitation. It is not known how the people who dwelled there escaped its deadliness.<\/p>\n The elders of Jericho came to Elisha appealing to him to intercede with the Lord to lift the curse from their city. Elisha asked for a new cruse filled with salt. Then he took to the poisonous springs, cast the salt in them, and said in the name of the Lord, “1 have healed these waters.” He promised there would be no more death or unproductive land as a result of the springs. The waters remained fresh and good at the time of the inspired record. Today Jericho is a beautiful oasis, producing beautiful flowers and fruits. Tourists are shown the spring, puportedly the very one healed by the ministration of Elisha (it is called Elisha’s spring or well), and the water is free-flowing and good.<\/p>\n A modern parallel can be made to the condition in Jericho. Theirs was a civic problem, and there is scarcely a city in the world today without civic problems of crime, pollution, etc. The cure for Jericho was a new cruse filled with salt. Mayors and other civic leaders today need to try a “new” cruse filled with “salt of the earth” (Mat 5:13<\/span>). If good Godfearing people could get in control of city government, and all other governments, that would do much to cure the curse on them.<\/p>\n CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES<\/strong>.<\/p>\n 2Ki. 2:20<\/span>. A new cruse<\/strong>A symbol of the renewing power of the Word of God (Keil<\/em>). <\/p>\n 2Ki. 2:21<\/span>. Death or barren <\/strong>land;<\/em><\/strong> death or abortion<\/em>. <\/p>\n HOMILETICS OF <\/em>2Ki. 2:19-22<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n THE HEALED WATERS A SYMBOL OF THE EFFICACY OF THE GOSPEL<\/p>\n It is a proof of the confidence Elisha has already won that the dignitaries of the city came to consult him about a matter of great public concern; they believed he could cure the malefic waters. How potent is the influence of a good man! It is in times of distress and difficulty that his neighbours discover his real value. The transactions related in this paragraph may be used to symbolize the power of the Gospel to heal the poisoned waters of humanity. Observe<\/p>\n I. Humanity enjoys many privileges<\/strong>. The situation is pleasant. All travellers agree in representing the site of Jericho as exceedingly beautiful; its external surroundings were all that could be desired. So mans position in the world has its peculiar advantages. Scenes of beauty and of grandeur meet his gaze in every direction. He is rich with the wealthy accumulations of the historic past. He is surrounded by living examples of noble enterprise and chivalry. He is on the current of an ever-advancing civilization. Opportunities of usefulness open invitingly at every step, and there is everything to call out and sustain his best energies. Life on earth is a grand opportunity which, wisely used, will be fruitful in everlasting good.<\/p>\n II. Humanity is infected with a dangerous and fatal malady<\/strong>. The water is naught, and the ground barren. In the fairest prospect there is some deformity; in the clearest and brightest crystal we may detect a flaw. So the beauties of Jericho were shadowed by the sufferings and disappointment of its inhabitants. The water was bad, and the land unfruitful. So is it with man. The springs of his being are poisoned with sin. Every part of his nature is tainted: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. The fatal malady infects every stream, disorders every project, blackens every prospect, chills every aspiration, withers every hope. The soil of the heart is barren, and every attempt to bring forth the fruit of righteousness is abortive.<\/p>\n III. The Gospel provides the power to heal humanity of its malady<\/strong>. <\/p>\n 1. It is a Divine provision<\/em>. Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters. The healing power was not in Elisha, or in the cruse or the salt; but in God. So the new cruse of the Gospel, and the salt of Christian doctrine, would be ineffectual to heal humanity of its evils without the permeating presence and active power of God. We should be careful, like Elisha, to give to God all the glory of His own work. Man cannot cure himself, any more than the broken pitcher can repair itself. <\/p>\n 2. It is efficacious<\/em> So the waters were healed. The prophet cast the salt into the spring of the waters. The fountain being healed, all its streams participated in the cure. So the Gospel begins its restorative work in the heart, the fountain head of human life. True reformation should ever begin at the source of evil; it will then be thorough and permanent. If God cast into the fountain of our hearts but one cruseful of the salt of His spirit, we are whole; no thought can pass between the receipt and the remedy. If we have not streams of Divine blessing in abundance, we may have enough to refresh, to heal, and fertilize.<\/p>\n If not full showers of rain, yet, Lord, LESSONS:<\/p>\n 1. The gospel has a remedy for every evil<\/em>. <\/p>\n 2. The remedy must be prayerfully sought<\/em>. <\/p>\n 3. Must be believingly applied<\/em>.<\/p>\n GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES<\/em><\/p>\n 2Ki. 2:19-22<\/span>. As we see in the translation of Elijah a type of Christs ascension into heaven, so may we also see in the subsequent career of Elisha a type of the holy apostolic church, clothed with the spirit of the Master, and working even greater miracles than he.<\/p>\n 2Ki. 2:19<\/span>. The material facts thus combined and contrasted are very suggestive to the mind of spiritual conditions. The situation in which we stand is pleasant. While so many fair regions of the earth lie in spiritual darkness, the full and blessed light of Gods truth shines upon our habitations. We have the written word of truthwe have the uttered word of truthone of the first sounds that entered our infant ears was that name which is above every name; and not a day passes in which, under some form or other, we may not see or hear the words of salvation. What situation could be more pleasant, more favourable to our spiritual progress? Surely our city stands upon the delectable mountain whence on any clear day we may have fair prospects of the goodly land that lies beyond the swelling Jordan. Yet, pleasant as all things seem, it is not well with us. The ground is barren.Kitto<\/em>.<\/p>\n A crook in every lot<\/strong>. <\/p>\n 1. True of the most pleasantly situated city. 2Ki. 2:20<\/span>. The injurious property and effect was not taken from the water by the salt poured in; for even if the salt actually possessed this power, a whole spring could not be corrected by a single dish of salt, even for one day, much less for a longer time or for ever. The pouring in of the salt was a symbolic act with which Elisha accompanied the word of the Lord, by which alone the spring was healed. Salt, on account of its power of preserving from putrescence and decay, is the symbol of incorruptibility and of life removing death. The new dish was also a symbol of purity and inviolateness.Keil<\/em>.<\/p>\n 2Ki. 2:21<\/span>. In a place where the spiritual fountains are poisoned, and the people receive to drink, from all the pulpits and school-teachers desks, not the water which streams forth unto eternal life, but the death-draught of that modern babble of deceit and falsehood, there is a more deadly curse upon the land than that which once lay upon the district of Jericho. May the Lord of Elisha raise up those who shall carry the healing salt also into these fountains.Krummacher<\/em>.<\/p>\n Moral reformation<\/strong>. <\/p>\n 1. Begins in the soul<\/em>He went forth unto the spring of the waters. <\/p>\n 2. Is accomplished by human agency<\/em>And cast the salt in there. <\/p>\n 3. Is a divine work<\/em>Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters. <\/p>\n 4. Is thorough and permanent<\/em>There shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.<\/p>\n B. THE HEALING OF THE NOXIOUS WATER 2:1922<\/p>\n TRANSLATION<\/strong><\/p>\n (19) And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray you, the dwelling of the city is good as my master sees; but the waters are vile and the land miscarries. (20) And he said, Take for me a new vase, and put salt therein. And they took it unto him. (21) And he went out unto the spring of water, and cast there the salt, and he said, Thus says the LORD, I have healed these waters; no more shall death and miscarrying be from that source. (22) And the waters were healed unto this day according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.<\/p>\n COMMENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n Having heard of the recent miracle performed by Elisha, the civic authorities of Jericho came to the prophet to seek his aid in removing the one unfortunate drawback to their otherwise pleasant community. A bitter and poisonous spring of water gushed forth near Jericho which sent its waters in rivlets across the plain to the Jordan. Nothing could grow near this water; cattle drinking this water would abort (2Ki. 2:19<\/span>).[515]<\/p>\n [515] Gray (OTL, p. 477) takes note of a recent hydrological survey in Israel in which it was discovered that certain springs there are affected by radio-activity which laboratory tests have demonstrated to cause sterility.<\/p>\n The prophet called for a new vase filled with salt (2Ki. 2:20<\/span>). By this action the prophet intended to symbolically teach that impurity can only be cleansed by what is wholly pure and clean. This is the reason he called for a new vase, one that had never before been used and hence could not have been defiled. The salt must also have been emblematic of purity, for no other substance would be more inappropriate for purifying water which already contained too much salt. As he poured his vase of salt into the spring, Elisha uttered an oracle in the name of the Lord to the effect that never again would that spring produce death and miscarrying among people and stock (2Ki. 2:21<\/span>). The waters of that spring were instantly and permanently made whole (2Ki. 2:22<\/span>). The so-called Spring of the Sultan near the ancient ruins of Jericho may be the very spring referred to in this passage.<\/p>\n (19) The men of the city.<\/strong>Not the sons of the prophets, but the citizens make this trial of the prophets miraculous powers.<\/p>\n The situation of this<\/strong> (Heb., the<\/em>) city is pleasant <\/strong>(Heb., good<\/em>).Jericho, the city of palms (Deu. 34:3<\/span>), had a fine position, rising like an oasis from a broad plain of sand.<\/p>\n The water is naught.<\/strong>Heb., bad.<\/em> Naught i.e., naughty.<\/p>\n And the ground barren.<\/strong>2Ki. 2:21<\/span> (from thence) shows that the waters, not the soil, were the cause of the evil complained of. The ground, or rather, the land<\/em> is here put for its inhabitants<\/em>, including the lower animals; and what is said is either the country bears dead births, or, the country has many<\/em> miscarriages (piel<\/em> may be either factitive<\/em> or intensive<\/em>). (Comp. Exo. 23:26<\/span>; Mal. 3:11<\/span>.) The use of different waters is said to have good and bad effects upon the functions of conception and parturition (not a popular superstition, as Reuss suggests). The ground is barren, or unfruitful, is therefore an incorrect translation.<\/p>\n (19-25) Elisha, as prophet, heals the waters of Jericho, and curses the scorners of Beth-el.<\/p>\n ELISHA HEALS THE WATERS OF JERICHO, 2Ki 2:19-22<\/span>.<\/p>\n As we see in the translation of Elijah a type of Christ’s ascension into heaven, so may we also see in the subsequent career of Elisha a type of the holy Apostolic Church, clothed with the spirit of the Master, and working even greater miracles than he.<\/p>\n 19<\/strong>. <\/strong> The men of the city <\/strong> Prominent citizens of the place. Perhaps, as Bahr says, they were the elders of the city who thus applied to Elisha, and their action shows that he had their confidence. As he had now attained the highest eminence in the prophetic office, they, possibly, expected that he might be able to rid their city of its plague. <\/p>\nFuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
I. <\/strong>In what part of the waters did Elisha exert his power? It was the spring. This conveys a deep spiritual truth. We can easily perceive that, had Elishas attention been directed to the water only a few yards from the fountain-head, his labour would have been for nought. As fast as he sweetened the running water, the bitter fountain would still pour out its venom. But we do not so readily see and allow that, except the corruption of human nature be attacked at the fountain-head, the heart, all other remedial measures can only work a passing effect, since the bitter stream of innate depravity will still run out.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>The means Elisha used. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, etc. Salt is a conspicuous article in Scripture. It was a pledge of fidelity, and is so still in the East. If you once cat salt with an Arab, his life is pledged for your life, Some few grains of salt and bread pass the lips, and then the words are used–By this salt and bread I will not betray thee; and in the Book of Chronicles we read–The Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David by a covenant of salt (2Ch 13:5<\/span>). Salt was also a sign cf maintenance. Thus, in the Book of Ezra, the adversaries of Judah, in stating their case to Artaxerxes the king, say, Now because we have maintenance from the kings palace (Ezr 4:14<\/span>), which is literally, as rendered in the margin, because we are salted with the salt of the palace–i.e.<\/em>, supported at the kings charge. When a native of the East means to say he is fed by any one, he uses the expression, I eat such an ones salt. Salt was also a constant accompaniment of the ceremonial law. Every sacrifice shall be salted with salt, are the words of Jesus; and it is in this sense that we find our Lord and His apostles using salt figuratively for grace, saying, If the salt have lost its saltness, wherewith will ye season it? (Mar 9:49<\/span>; Mar 9:1<\/span>). Thus the means used by Elisha to heal the waters point to another deep spiritual truth–they remind every one of this inquiry, Have ye salt in yourselves? Is grace working in your heart, mortifying your evil and corrupt affections, and inclining you daily to exercise all virtue and godliness of living? But there is another feature in the means here used which may convey a useful hint–they were contrary to nature, contrary to any means that man would have employed to produce a like effect. Salt, we know, renders water bitter and nauseous instead of sweet and pleasant to drink, and naturally, therefore, the salt would have served but to increase the brackishness of the fountain. The fact, then, of Elisha using a remedy opposed to the effect wanted, not only went to make the miracle more evident, more palpable, but it also confirmed a stumbling truth–namely, that grace and nature are contrary the <\/strong>one to the other–that the ways of God (so far as seen in this fallen world) and the ways of man in curing an evil are altogether different; both will use means, but the means which it pleases Jehovah to use are not those which man would choose or even think of. My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord (Isa 55:8<\/span>). Surely these opposites–these unlikely means fetching a good end–are meant to teach us something. What can it be? They were intended to humble man, and to bring him into submission to the righteousness of God. God chooses foolish things of the world, or things foolish in the worlds sight, to confound the wise (1Co 1:27<\/span>). (G. L. Glyn.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>Life as it is. That is, with the pleasant and the painful associated. Now, this is a picture of every mans life.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>Life as it might become. The painful and the pleasant separated. Elisha here separates the painful from the pleasant. Two remarks here.<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>The separation was a happy one. He did not take away the pleasant from the painful, but the painful from the pleasant.<\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
A little pearly dew afford;
A little, if it come from thee,
Will be of great avail to me.<\/p>\n
2. Of the most highly favoured nation.
3. In the history of every individual life.<\/p>\nFuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n