Lesson 16 – God Healed the Water
Read 2 Kings 2:15-25 https://www.bible.com/bible/59/2KI.2.ESV
2 Kings 2:21 – Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said – Thus says the Lord, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.

A group of prophets saw God take Elijah up to Heaven in the whirlwind, and then watched Elisha use Elijah’s rolled-up cloak to part the waters of the river and walk over on dry ground to the other side.

They exclaimed, “The spirit of Elijah lives in Elisha!” They walked over and welcomed and honored Elisha.

“We are at your service,” they told Elisha. “Let fifty of our most reliable men go look for your master; maybe God’s Spirit has dropped him on a mountaintop or down into a remote valley.”

Elisha answered, “No, do not send them.” But they begged Elisha until he gave in and let the men go search for Elijah. They looked high and low for three days, but found no trace of Elijah.

When they came back and told Elisha, he said, “Did I not tell you this would be the result?”

A few days later the men of the city came to Elisha and said, “Our city is well located, but nothing grows because the water is polluted.”

Elisha said, “Bring me a brand-new bowl and put some salt in it.”

Elisha went to the spring, poured the salt into it, and proclaimed, “God has healed the water. It will no longer kill you or poison your land. And the water remains healed.”


Another time a large group of young men came out of the town as Elisha was walking along the path, and mocked him by saying, “What are you doing, old baldhead! Get out of our way!” Elisha turned around and cursed them in the name of the Lord. Two bears came out of the underbrush and ripped forty-two of the young men to pieces. Elisha continued on his way.

Such incidents should not cause us to accuse God of not being fair. God knows the heart of the person acting in this way – and it is always the heart’s intent which He judges, not the action – see Isaiah 46:9-10.

*When have you missed someone who was a spiritual leader for you and has been taken away? How did God work in your heart to help you keep going?
*Have you ever felt like God wasn’t fair in a judgment He made? How did this change how you trust Him?