Jesus lives for evermore. Therefore, we who are raised with Christ shall live for evermore. The resurrection we long for is not like that experienced by this young man at Elisha’s grave. The resurrection that is coming is a far more glorious resurrection where the resurrected righteous shall be with the Savior Jesus Christ for evermore! The message of Elijah and Elisha is the message today, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall not perish but have everlasting life!
Then Elisha died, and they buried him. And the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year. So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
II Kings 13:20-21 NKJV
For not following the Roman Catholic Church, Thomas Hawkes was burned at the stake in Coggeshall, England in 1555. As a sign to his friends that God helped him endure to the end, he threw up his hands and clapped three times before the fire consumed him. Many believers have experienced great trials but by faith in Christ Jesus they were led safely through to glory in Heaven. The writer of Hebrews affirms that through the witness of God concerning men and women of faith, though they have died, yet they still speak (Hebrews 11:4). They bear witness to those of us now living that we like them should endure to the end looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
After Elisha died, his usefulness to the Lord did not end. The Lord determined to use Elisha’s death and tomb as a message for all ages – the dead will rise. The account in these verses is somewhat mysterious. A dead man was being buried when raiding Moabites showed up. The dead man’s friends had to discard of his body quickly so they threw him into Elisha’s nearby tomb. Instead of forgetting their friend and running, when the man’s body touched Elisha’s bones, immediately he rose from the dead and was alive. The word choice of “revived” in some translations should not concern us as to whether he was dead or not, it is the same Hebrew word for the Widow of Zarephath’s son who was dead but “revived” (I Kings 17:22). It is also the same word translated “restored to life” in II Kings 8:1,5 related to the Shunamite’s son. The man was dead, his friends put him in Elisha’s tomb, and he who was dead rose up and was alive.
