Smolensk icon of the Mother of God during the holiday. Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God

Prophet Elisha Prophet Elisha performed many miracles. One day he came to the city of Jericho, where the inhabitants began to complain to him that their water was not good and harmful for drinking. The Prophet threw salt into the spring, the water became tasty and healthy. Elisha set off from Jericho to Bethel. When he

Prophet ELISHA June 14/27 The Holy Prophet Elisha was the son of Shaphatai from the tribe of Reuben. He was born in the city of Abel-Mechol (see: 3 Kings 19:16) and was a great miracle worker. His very birth was accompanied by miraculous phenomena: in the city of Shiloh, far from Jerusalem, there stood

Elisha the Wonderworker Many years have passed since Elijah tore Elisha away from the plow and oxen. He became a man of heavy build, with a half-head bald spot. Absorbed in himself, he seemed not to notice anything around him. But when, near Betil, children followed him screaming

Prophet Elisha Prophet Elisha became famous in his life for his especially numerous miracles. After Elijah was taken to heaven, Elisha had to cross the Jordan River. He hit the water with Elijah's mantle, the water parted, and the prophet walked across the dry bottom. When he came to Jericho, he

In this article we will study the life of Elisha, the biblical prophet. His father was Safat, a wealthy plowman. In the year of Jehu’s accession, Elijah the Seer invited him to serve as his assistant (1 Kings 19:21). After the teacher’s miraculous ascension into heaven alive, Elisha himself became an independent prophet (2 Kings 2:15).

Life of Elisha

The prophet Elisha zealously followed the teachings of his teacher, the seer Elijah. He prophesied for more than 65 years, during the reigns of six Israeli rulers (from Ahaz to Joash). Elisha fearlessly told them the truth, exposing their dishonor and tendency to idolatry. The seer died at an old age (about a hundred years): he took up prophetic service under King Ahab (3 Kings 19:19) - around 900 BC, and reposed under King Joash, in the 30s of the 9th century. BC (about 835).

Believers read the Akathist to the Prophet of God Elisha with reverence. After all, many miracles are associated with his name - from the fabulous crossing of the Jordan to the healing of the infirm and the resurrection of the son of a hospitable Shunammite wife. His well-known wonders are also: an increase in oil at the request of a poor widow (2 Kings 4:1-6), an increase in the firstfruits of grain (2 Kings 4:42-44), the healing of the Syrian commander Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-19 ).

In all the stories, the prophet Elisha is depicted as a deeply insightful man, strong in spirit and faith. In those days, there was a rapid development of the ancient institution known as the “prophetic hosts,” or schools, which were a kind of mobile religious and educational communities. It was there that the younger generation studied under the guidance of experienced and famous soothsayers.

The prophet Elisha alone observed Elijah's ascension to heaven. As an inheritance from him, he received a mantle (cute), which was considered visible sign heritage of the prophetic spirit. The name of Elisha was glorified in literary works. Jesus of Sirach speaks of him with the highest praise, pointing out that he did not tremble before the kings, telling the truth (Sir. 48:12-14).

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). Memory of him Orthodox Church takes place on June 14 (by Julian calendar), Catholic also on June 14.

Elisha in the Koran

Elisha - biblical prophet, which is also present in the Koran. Only in this book he is represented by the prophet Al-Yasa, who is written about in the Quran verses 38:48 and 6:86. Together with the prophet Ilyas (Elijah), the seer called on the Israeli people to follow the laws of the Taurat (Torah) and the Sharia of Musa (Moses).

After the people of Israel did not respond to the call of Ilyas, expelled him from the country and began to worship the idol Baal, Allah severely punished them by sending them a drought. The lost Israelites had to flee from hunger: at that time they ate carrion.

The people of Israel survived all the misfortunes that befell them, and again invited the seer Ilyas to their place. The residents returned to faith in Allah, but then some of them again moved away from it and began to commit immoral acts. The prophet Ilyas left them and began to prophesy faith among other tribes of Israel.

So, Ilyas settled in the home of a woman who lived with her son Al-Yasa. Al-Yasa was suffering from a terrible illness at that time. The mother asked Ilyas to help her son, and he offered a prayer to Allah for healing. As a result, Allah healed Al-Yasa. After his amazing recovery, the young man followed his savior until the end of his life and memorized Taurat under his guidance.

After the death of Ilyas, Allah made Al-Yasa a seer and obliged him to call his people to believe in Allah. Unfortunately, the people rejected this creed. At that time, a struggle for power flared up between the various tribes of Israel, and Allah sent disaster to them in the form of the Assyrians.

The Assyrians conquered the territory of Israel and took them into slavery huge amount residents. Subsequently, the Israelis sometimes submitted to Al-Yas, and sometimes rebelled against him. Before leaving for the other world, Al-Yasa appointed Zulkifla (Ezekiel) as his successor.

Miracles of the Seer Elisha

It is known that the holy prophet Elisha was born in the city of Abel-Mechol (1 Kings 19:16) and was known as great miracle worker. Already his very birth was accompanied by miraculous phenomena. In the town of Simon there was a golden heifer, to which the people of Israel worshiped as a deity and made sacrifices. When Elisha was born, she screamed so heart-rendingly that even the residents of Jerusalem heard her roar.

When everyone was surprised at this, a certain clergyman said: “The great seer Elisha has been born today! He will crush the mighty and destroy the idols!”

Elisha, having led a sinless life, reached adulthood. And then the Lord placed him in prophetic service. The holy seer Elijah received a command from the Almighty to anoint Elisha as a soothsayer in his place.

When Elisha, the prophet of the Old Testament, was plowing a field, the holy seer Elijah came up to him, entrusted him with his mantle, and, telling him the will of the Most High, called him a prophet. Then Elijah ordered him to follow him. Elisha hurried after the teacher and served him, learning from him the knowledge of the mysteries of God.

When the Lord was pleased to take His servant Elijah to heaven in a hurricane on a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:1-15), Elijah asked Elisha: “What gift do you want from the Lord that I can obtain from him through my prayer?”

And Elisha wished to receive the gift of prophecy and the gift of miracles that Elijah had, but twice as much! Elisha wanted to teach the lost people who were deviating into the service of Baal with a prophetic word, assuring their covenants with miracles, so that through such deeds he could turn them again to the true one God.

Elijah said to him: “If you watch me being taken up into heaven from you, your desire will be fulfilled.” Then they continued on their way and talked among themselves. Suddenly a fiery chariot and horses of fire appeared, which pushed them away one from the other: in a whirlwind, Elijah was carried away into the sky. Elisha looked after him and cried out: “My father, my father! The cavalry of Israel and his chariots!”

When the chariot disappeared into the sky, Elisha saw a mantle dropped from above by Elijah, which covered him. He took it as a sign of the special spirit Elijah had received. Then Elisha wanted to cross; he hit the water with a mantle, and the river parted, and Elisha crossed the barrier along the dry river bottom. The prophetic disciples living in Jordan saw this miracle. They became convinced that the Spirit of Elijah had settled in Elisha and, coming to him, they bowed before him.

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.

Illness of the famous governor

What else was the prophet Elisha famous for? We study his life further. One day, the famous commander Naaman, who served the king of Syria, fell ill with leprosy. It is known that he was famous for his military victories and his courage. He was sick for a very long time and could not find doctors who would heal him.

One day, Syrian soldiers from the country of Israel captured a girl and gave her to Naaman’s wife to serve. The girl heard about the holy seer Elisha from her father and mother: they told her about the great miracles that happened through his prayers. She told her mistress about it.

“Oh, if my master visited the seer Elisha, who lives in Samaria, he would heal him of leprosy,” said the girl. Naaman’s wife retold her words to her husband, and he visited his king and began to ask him to allow him to travel to Israel for healing from the prophet.

The king allowed him to go and carried with him a letter to the ruler of Israel, Jehoram. Naaman took with him gifts for Elisha - ten changes of rich clothes, ten talents of silver and six thousand gold coins. Soon he arrived in Israel and gave King Jehoram a letter in which his king wrote: “From my message that you will receive, learn that I have sent my servant Naaman to you so that you can cleanse him from leprosy.”

The Israeli sovereign, having studied the letter of the ruler of Syria, was greatly saddened and, tearing his clothes, said: “Am I the Lord, who alone can give life and death, that he sent his servant a leper to me so that I could cure him of leprosy? Apparently, he is looking for an excuse to start a war against me!”

The seer Elisha learned that the king was upset and tore his clothes. He sent people to tell the ruler: “Why are you upset and why did you tear your clothes? Let Naaman come and see that there is a seer of God in Israel!”

Naaman came to Elisha's house and stopped near it with horses and chariots. The Prophet told him through the servant: “Go and plunge into the Jordan seven times, and your body will be cleansed. It will become the same as it was before.”

Naaman was offended when he heard such words from the prophet, and left, crying: “I hoped that he would come to me and, standing in front of me, call the name of his Lord, touch my leprous body and cleanse it, and he tells me to bathe in the Jordan ! Are not the rivers of Damascus, Farphar and Awan better than the Jordan and all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I bathe and be healed in them?”

And Naaman went back from Samaria in great anger. On the way, the servants asked him to listen to the command of the seer of God and said at the same time: “If Elisha had ordered you to do something more difficult, would you not have fulfilled his commands? But he only told you to plunge into the Jordan for cleansing, but you don’t want to do that either.”

Naaman obeyed his servants, went to the Jordan River and plunged into it seven times, as the seer of God commanded him, and at that very moment his body was cleansed. He returned to Elisha with those accompanying him and, standing in front of him, said: “Now I have believed that only in Israel there is God. Therefore, accept from your servant the gifts that I brought you.”

Naaman offered the seer silver, clothing and gold. But Saint Elisha said to him: “The Most High lives, whom I serve, and I will not take anything from you.” Naaman began to convince the prophet to accept what was brought, but he was unshakable. Then Naaman asked the saint: “Let your servant take as much land as my two mules can carry. Having delivered her home, I will build an altar to the Lord God of Israel, for from now on your servant will not make sacrifices to other gods, but only to the One true God.”

The seer allowed him to take what he wanted and let him go in peace. When Naaman left, Elisha’s servant Gehazi began to reflect: “This is what an invaluable service my master did to Naaman the Syrian and did not take a single gift from his hands. I’ll catch up with him and ask him for something.”

And he stood up and hurried after Naaman. The commander saw Gehazi, got down from his chariot and greeted him. Gehazi said to him: “My master has sent me to tell you that today two prophetic disciples have come down to him from Mount Ephraim. He asks you to give them two changes of clothing and a talent of silver.” Naaman invited him to take two talents and ordered him to put the silver in two bags. He provided Gehazi with his servants to carry the gifts, and also gave him two robes.

Gehazi came home at sunset, hid what he had taken in his dwelling, and he himself went to his master. God's seer Elisha asked him: “Where did you come from, Gehazi?” He answered him: “Your slave did not go anywhere.”

Then Elisha said: “Didn’t my heart follow you and see how that man came down from the chariot and came to you, and how you took his clothes and silver? Don’t I know that you want to use this silver to buy vineyards and olive trees for yourself, oxen, sheep, maidservants and servants? For this reason, Naaman’s leprosy will stick to your offspring and to you forever.”

And Gehazi came out from Elisha white as snow: he was immediately covered with leprosy.

Acts of Elisha

Do you know that the akathist to the prophet Elisha works miracles? After all, other wondrous prophetic gifts and deeds of Elisha were also known, which are written about in detail in the books of Kings. It was he who prophesied about the seven-year famine that raged in the lands of Israel (2 Kings 8:10). He predicted the death of Benhadad, the Syrian king, and announced the transfer of the kingdom of Syria into the hands of Hazael. It was Elisha who anointed Jehu, one of the kings of Israel, to the kingdom, and then encouraged him to destroy the idolatrous, God-hating house of Achaab, all the Baal magicians and priests.

When Joash (the grandson of Jehu) reigned, the prophet Elisha, already an ancient old man, became very ill. The Israeli king Joash visited him and, weeping over him, said: “Father, father, Israel’s chariot and his horses!”

The Seer asked him to take arrows and a bow, open the eastern window to look towards Syria, and pull the bowstring. The king fulfilled his request. The Seer of God, placing his hands on the king, said: “Let an arrow towards Syria.” And the sovereign shot an arrow.

The seer said: “This arrow is the arrow of God’s salvation, and you will defeat Syria.” And again he ordered Joash to take the arrows and bow in his hands. The king took it. Then the seer said to him: “Strike the ground with an arrow.” Joash struck three times and froze. The seer Elisha was angry with him, saying: “If you had struck five or six times, you would have won complete victory over Syria. Now you can only inflict three defeats on her.”

Thus, prophesying to Joash, Saint Elisha reposed and was buried with respect.

Miracles of Elisha after death

The prophet Elisha did many good deeds. His prayer could even send heavy rain to the earth. It is known that the seer Elisha not only performed miracles during his lifetime, but also showed himself to be a miracle worker after his death. A year after he passed into another world, one deceased person was carried outside the city to be buried. At that moment, a horde of Moabites appeared, carrying out a raid on the lands of Israel.

The people who were carrying the deceased noticed the enemies from afar and left the corpse in a nearby cave. This was exactly the cave in which the ashes of the seer Elisha rested. The dead man touched the bones of the soothsayer and instantly came to life: he left the cave and hurried to the city.

So after death the Lord glorified His saint. People celebrate the day of the Prophet Elisha with reverence. Marvelous is the Lord God of Israel in His saints.

Icon

How can it help miraculous icon Prophet Elisha? She will protect the person who asks from all sorrows and troubles, illnesses, and will help him gain spiritual strength and peace of mind.

Eliseevsky Temple

The Church of Elisha the Prophet is located near St. Petersburg on the shores of Lake Sidozero, near holiday village with the same name. Previously, the Yakovlevskoye 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 is 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.

History of Elisha Church

It is known that the Church of the Seer Elisha was consecrated on June 13 (26 according to the new style) in the village of Sidozero. This building did not appear by chance. Its unique dedication is due to the fact that the temple was erected on the burial site of a certain monk Elisha. Folk legend called him a monk of the nearby Yablonskaya Hermitage - a small monastery located on the Yablonsky Peninsula, in the middle of Svir.

According to legend, in Time of Troubles When the Yablonskaya desert was ravaged by the Poles, Elisha escaped in the forests on the right bank of the Svir. He settled on the coast of Sidozero. Local residents are still in late XIX centuries they talked about the “monk’s path” that the seer walked from Sidozero to his ruined monastery. It was here, on Sidozero, that Elisha reposed.

An impressive cross was placed on his grave. Local residents from for a long time They revered Elisha's grave; everyone had an icon of the prophet Elisha in their home. In 1870, in memory of the end of the epidemic among rural livestock, it was decided to celebrate the memory of the seer Elisha every year on June 14. At the same time, a chapel was erected over the burial place made of wood. Every year the number of pilgrims visiting this place increased holy place, and at the end of the 19th century people decided to build a special church here.

Why were the children cursed?

What happened when the prophet Elisha and the children met on a deserted road? Why man of God cursed the kids? Let's look at this complex issue.

1. In the original text of 2 Kings. 2:24 the word "forest" can be translated as "grove" or "oak grove." At that time, in those places there were many oak forests and groves, and the animals had not yet been exterminated. Therefore, there is nothing strange in the fact that bears could wander wherever they wanted.
2. The seer cursed more than just small children. After all, the original uses the word “small”, which can be translated as “smaller”, “younger”, and “children” can be translated as “boy”, “young man”, “servant”, “slave”. In fact, what we see here is not kids, but a crowd of angry teenagers. But they didn’t just ridicule the seer. They called him bald and called him to ascend to heaven. The evil teenagers demanded from Elisha, mocking him, that he ascend to heaven, like his teacher Elijah had recently done. This was not only a disregard for the prophet, but also directly for God.

We hope that this article helped you study the life of the seer Elisha.

Holy Prophet Elisha, commemoration date: June 27, July 3

Among the saints named by this name is the disciple and successor of the prophet Elijah - holy prophet Elisha. He lived in the 9th century BC, his native village was Abelmaum, near the Jordan. He was called to ministry by the prophet Elijah. At that moment, when the time came for him to be taken to heaven, he asked Elisha what he could do for him. Then Elisha asked to have extra grace, to which Elijah replied that it was quite difficult, but if he was honored to see the prophet Elijah taken to heaven, then his request would be heard by God.
Then they walked along the road together and talked, after a while the chariot of fire separated them both. Elisha exclaimed: “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and his cavalry!” (4 Kings 2:12).
He picked up the cloak of his teacher, the prophet, and through this he received the gift of Elijah to prophesy. Elisha served for more than 65 years. This happened under the reign of six different kings. He performed many miracles: hitting the waters of the Jordan with Elijah's cloak, he divided the waters, made the water of the Jericho spring drinkable, and resurrected a dead baby.
The holy prophet Elisha died in Samaria at a very old age. A year after his death, a dead man was thrown into the cave where his remains lay. From touching them, he was resurrected. Let us note that the prophet Elisha, like Elijah, did not leave books behind him; they preached orally.

On the same day when prophet Elisha met the prophet Elijah, he killed two oxen and made a burnt offering to the Lord. He followed the prophet Elijah, leaving his home and all his property. Such was his faith. After the ascension of Elijah, whom the prophet Elisha followed all the way to Heaven, many miracles happened. The prophets said about him: “The spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha!”

Saint Elisha prophesied to the kings Jehoram, Jehu, Johaz and Jos. He also instructed the common people, showing miracles that were stronger than the laws of nature. The prophet Elisha purified the water, multiplied the poor widow's bread, oil reserves, and much more. In the village of Sonam, the prophet Elisha resurrected the son of a woman, born through his prayer.

Having a prophetic gaze, the prophet Elisha spoke to the kings about the intentions of the Assyrian ruler. He also healed pagans through holy baptism: the Syrian commander Naaman was cured of leprosy by bathing in the Jordan.

It is known that the prophet Elisha cursed the children who mocked him, and the children were torn to pieces by bears that emerged from the forest. In the original text, the prophet cursed not “little children,” but youths. The word children could be translated as “youth,” “servant,” or “slave.”

The Prophet lived to a ripe old age. The wise Sirach will say about him: And after his dormition his body prophesied. And during his life he performed miracles, and after his death his deeds were wondrous.(Sir 49, 14–15).

The miracle performed by the prophet Elisha after his death was that a year after his death, the deceased was carried past the cave where he was buried. Those who buried were forced to throw the deceased man into the prophet’s cave, as they saw the enemy. As soon as the deceased touched the bones of the prophet Elisha, he was resurrected.

Icon of the Prophet Elisha

There are several iconographic images of the Prophet Elisha. The memory of the prophet Elisha is celebrated on June 27 and July 3 according to the new style. On most icons, the prophet Elisha is depicted with a scroll in his hands. On the scroll is one of his prophecies.

There are also known icons in which the prophet Elisha escorts the prophet Elijah to Heaven. Prophet Elijah ascends on a fiery chariot.

The icon of the prophet Elisha, as a rule, is located in the fourth (prophetic) row of the iconostasis.

Akathist to the Prophet Elisha

Believers reverently read the akathist to the prophet who performed so many undeniable miracles: an increase in oil at the request of a poor widow (2 Kings 4:1-6), an increase in the firstfruits of grain (2 Kings 4:42-44), the healing of the Syrian commander Naaman (4 Kings 5:1-19), prophesied about a seven-year famine that raged in the lands of Israel (2 Kings 8:10). It is believed that an akathist to the holy prophet can reveal a miracle to believers.

Even in the early period of the history of the Israeli people, those began to emerge from among them, through whose lips the Lord expressed His will and denounced all those who had departed from Him. sacred covenants. One of them is the prophet Elisha, whose name is translated from Hebrew as “God is salvation.” Carrying out his high ministry for 65 years and outliving 6 Israeli kings, he always fearlessly told them the truth to their face, denouncing, if necessary, idolatry and wickedness. The icon of the holy prophet opens the article.

Disciple and successor of the prophet Elijah

Prophet Elisha, whose icon can be seen today in the iconostases of most Orthodox churches, born in the 9th century BC. e. in the village of Abel-Mekhol, located near the Jordan River. Despite the fact that his father was a wealthy landowner, Elisha himself, before devoting himself to serving God, worked in the field along with ordinary workers. There, while plowing, he was found by another great prophet of the Israeli people, Elijah, who became the mentor and spiritual father of the young farmer.

Having become a zealous follower of his teacher, Elisha was honored to be the only witness of his ascension to heaven. The 2nd Book of Kings of the Old Testament tells how, rushing upward in a fiery chariot, the prophet Elijah threw off his mantle (mantle) to his disciple, symbolically betraying with this gesture the power that the Lord had endowed him with.

The power that overthrew the laws of nature

The following describes the first of the miracles of the prophet Elisha: calling on God, he hit the water with his mantle, and the waters of the Jordan parted, allowing him to cross on dry land to the other side, just as the Red Sea once let Moses and everyone who followed him through, fleeing from persecution of the pharaoh.

It is known from the Holy Scriptures that some prophets, wanting to give their words greater power, accompanied them with various visions, while others used for this purpose the shocks and suffering that befell the Israelites for their apostasy. The prophet Elisha was one of those who performed miracles that testified to the truth of his predictions. The Spirit of God resting on him allowed the saint to overthrow the laws of nature and thus proclaim to people the will of their Creator.

Miracles that became a prototype of the Gospel events

It is enough to remember how the prophet turned the musty water of the Jericho spring into clean and life-giving, how, at the request of a poor widow, he increased her supply of oil and fed a hundred people with twenty small loaves. A sign of the special grace bestowed upon him was the gift of resurrection of the dead, evidence of which is given in the 4th Book of Kings. It tells how the prophet brought back to life the deceased son of a pious woman who showed him hospitality during his frequent wanderings. Many theologians pay attention to one interesting detail associated with the resurrection of a child.

There is no doubt that for his resurrection only the prayer of the prophet Elisha would have been sufficient, but the description of the miracle he performed says that the saint lay down on the body of the deceased and, pressing his lips to his lips, breathed life into him. It is generally accepted that this scene is a prototype of how in the future Jesus Christ breathed eternal life into the human race killed by sin.

Among the miracles performed by the prophet Elisha, Christian theologians see another one, which showed a prototype of the future appearance of the Son of God to people. It is said that one day an ax of a worker working on the banks of the Jordan fell into the river and drowned. Elisha, who was nearby, took part of a certain tree and, after praying, threw it into the water, after which the ax, contrary to all the laws of nature, unexpectedly floated up. What is this, in the general opinion, if not a prototype of the future power of the cross of the Lord, raising the fallen human soul from the depths of sin?

The great gift of insight

Having made his chosen one a prophet, the Lord endowed him with an all-penetrating gaze that revealed to him all the secret plans of the enemies of his people. Thus, he repeatedly warned the kings of Israel and those who became their allies about the intentions of the treacherous Assyrian ruler. Thanks to this, every time, wanting to take the Israelis by surprise, the enemy received a proper rebuff from them and was defeated.

The life of the prophet Elisha describes a very significant case. Once Samaria, where he lived in those years, was under siege by Syrian troops for a long time. When food supplies ran out, a terrible famine began among its defenders, as well as civilians, which caused the king to despair, and blasphemies were ready to fall from his lips.

However, the man of God, as the prophet Elisha is usually called, having seen with his inner eye a quick deliverance from trouble, reported this to the king. And indeed, the next day the besiegers had a certain terrible vision, because of which they fled in panic, abandoning all their food supplies and valuables looted during the campaign.

Elisha's missionary work among the Gentiles

Elisha’s preaching activity among the pagans was also of great importance, to which he devoted a significant part of his life, and which had a deep inner meaning. In this regard, it is appropriate to recall his healing of the Syrian military leader Naaman from leprosy. The Prophet ordered him to bathe in the Jordan, after which the serious illness subsided in the blink of an eye. This episode is considered by theologians throughout the Christian world as a prototype of the future salvation of the pagans through their acceptance of holy baptism.

Punishment of a lying servant

It is known that the Lord more than once chose the prophet Elisha as His instrument for punishing sin. Thus, the episode described above of the healing of a Syrian military commander from leprosy in Old Testament has a very instructive continuation. The fact is that Naaman, in gratitude, sent gifts to his deliverer, which he refused.

Taking advantage of the situation and succumbing to temptation, Elisha's servant Gehazi tried to appropriate these generous gifts for himself. However, the lies he resorted to to justify his unseemly act, did not hide from the all-penetrating gaze of the prophet, and the deceiver was struck by leprosy.

Punishment for insolence

In the 2nd Book of Kings, which tells about the earthly life of the prophet Elisha, there is one episode that sometimes causes bewilderment for many who open the pages of Holy Scripture for the first time. During the Soviet period, filled with anti-religious campaigns, it was often used by militant atheists. He is known as “the prophet Elisha and the children.” Speech in in this case It’s about how one day a crowd of children angrily mocked the prophet, who by that time had reached old age. Chasing him, they shouted various insults, for which they paid with their lives: two she-bears suddenly appeared from the forest and tore them to pieces. Such a plot often gives rise to questions about how the events described are linked to the mercy of God and the humanism of His prophet.

To correctly perceive this episode, shocking, at first glance, with its blatant cruelty, it should be taken into account that many biblical texts carry a purely allegorical meaning, and, not being a documentary reflection real events, included in Scripture solely for educational purposes. There is no doubt that in this case, the death of children is only an image of the moral death of those who trample established by God commandments, including important place dedicated to honoring elders.

Posthumous miracle of God's chosen one

Prophet Elisha completed his earthly journey as a very old man. Already on his deathbed, he predicted victory over the Syrians for the Israeli king Joash, who came to say goodbye to him. The man of God performed his last miracle when, a few months after his burial, the Moabites who attacked the country threw the body of an Israeli they had killed into his grave. However, as soon as the dead man touched the holy relics, life returned to him, and he glorified the all-merciful God.

The tomb of the holy prophet enjoyed universal veneration even before the appearance of the Son of God Jesus Christ in the world. When in 362 the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate ordered its desecration, the relics were secretly removed from it by pious people and transferred to the temples of Constantinople and Alexandria that bore his name.

Veneration of the Israeli prophet in Orthodox Rus'

In our country, as in everything else Christendom, the Prophet Elisha enjoys universal veneration, as evidenced by the above-mentioned tradition of placing his icons in church iconostases, as well as on Remembrance Day, celebrated annually on July 14, reading an akathist dedicated to him. It lists in detail the deeds of the saint and raises petitions for intercession before the Throne of the Most High for the well-being of all those who follow the path of God's commandments.

In 1899, not far from St. Petersburg, in the area of ​​​​the village of Sidozero, a wooden church of the Prophet Elisha was built. In the 30s, in the wake of another anti-religious campaign, it was closed, and to this day it stands abandoned and forgotten (photo below). And once upon a time, the sound of its bells rang throughout the area, and during services, prayers to the prophet of the Lord were constantly heard.

The Orthodox people hailed the prophet Elisha as the “lamp of God,” who delivered the children of Israel from wickedness and the darkness of polytheism. The Russians asked to confirm them in a living and active faith, they prayed for the sending of grace-filled power in the fight against the enemy of the human race, as well as for the illumination of their hearts with the light of meekness, humility and brotherly love.

Over its centuries-old history, the Israeli people have come a long and painful path from idolatry to the recognition of one God ─ the Creator of the world and the Judge of all living in it. More than once he happened to stumble and reap the bitter fruits of God's wrath. But, out of His boundless mercy, the Lord always sent them those who returned them to the true path, like the lost sheep of His chosen flock. One of them were the great prophets Elijah and Elisha.