Elisha and the Mainline

One of the intriguing aspects of Elisha’ ministry is his attitude toward Jehoram. The house of Ahab was doomed before Jehoram ever became king. Their fate was sealed during the lifetime of Ahab. And Jehoram shows few signs of repentance. He put away the pillar of Baal that had belonged to his father (2 Kgs 3:2), but continued in the sins of Jeroboam. He was not a faithful king.

And yet Elisha, leading this free church movement, forming an alternative Israel within Israel, continues to have contact with Jehoram. That in itself is remarkable. He is apparently with the king during his military excursion against Moab. He has a house in Samaria, the capital city, where the king lives. More astonishingly, whenever Elisha does have dealings with the king, he blesses him. He prophesies relief and victory over Moab; he gives Jehoram intelligence about Aramean troop movements; he prophesies the deliverance of a city that he knows is full of idols. Unlike Elijah, who had sporadic contact with Ahab, who never confronted Jezebel directly, who spend much of his ministry outside the land – Elisha ministers to the king, and does good. He rebukes him for his idolatries, but he does good.

Of course, things were different for Elijah, who stood over against Ahab to confront him. For Elisha in the second phase of Israel’s renewal, the formation of an alternative Israel within Israel does not lead him to cut himself off from the mainline church. There is a lesson in that.