2 Kings 13: 20-21 (NIV): 20 Elisha died and was buried. Now Moabite raiders used to enter the
country every spring. 21 Once
while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders;
so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's
bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.
Elisha was a
prophet in Israel after David and Solomon, about 800 years before Jesus. This
incredible miracle happened a year or so after Elisha died. Some poor guy had
died and was about to be buried in a tomb when Moabite raiders came over the
hill. The men conducting his funeral were too frightened to continue a proper
burial and funeral, so they just threw his body onto the bones of Elisha. When
they did, he came back to life! Can you imagine everyone’s surprise?
Back then, people
were buried in caves that had a shelf hewn out of the rock. The deceased would
lie on the shelf until he turned to bones; they would then take the bones and
place them in an ossuary and reuse the tomb. Elisha’s tomb must have been
nearby, so they just threw the corpse in there to escape the raiders.
I want us to notice that God continued to use
Elisha even after he was gone. That’s the legacy I want too. I want God to
continue to bless people through my children, family, and circle of influence.
I want my life to be a blessing now and after I am gone. What legacy will you
leave behind?
The second point is
that God could use Elisha, even when Elisha was at his weakest. God can always
use us. The supernatural power that raised the man to life belonged to God, not
Elisha. God has placed each of us where we are to be used of him to be a
blessing to others. You may not think God can use you, but I can assure you, if
he could use a man who was dead and gone, he can use you, no matter your
circumstance. In fact, God can use us more when we are humble and realize that
we are nothing without him.
And don’t miss
this: God loves to turn around a bad day. It couldn’t have been any worse for
the dead man in this passage. He was dead and his funeral was ruined by
marauding Moabites. But as soon as his body hit Elisha’s bones, he came back to
life. God is always up to something good and you never know how he might take
an awful situation and turn it into something unbelievable.
