Elisha Steps Forward – A New Prophet with God’s Power (2 Kings 2:13–25)
Have you ever taken on a role that someone else left behind? Maybe it was a job, a ministry, or a responsibility in your family. It can feel both exciting and overwhelming.
In 2 Kings 2:13–25, Elisha finds himself in that exact situation. His mentor, the prophet Elijah, has just been taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. Now, Elisha is the one God has chosen to continue the work. This passage shows us how Elisha steps into his new calling—and how God confirms that He is with him.
Let’s walk through this powerful story.
1. Elisha Picks Up the Mantle
After Elijah is taken up, Elisha bends down and picks up Elijah’s cloak. This cloak isn’t just a piece of clothing—it represents Elijah’s role as God’s prophet.
By picking it up, Elisha is saying, “I’m ready to step into what God has for me.”
Lesson: Sometimes God asks us to carry on what others started. It takes courage and faith.
2. God Shows His Power at the Jordan
Elisha returns to the Jordan River, the same place where Elijah performed a miracle just before leaving. Elisha strikes the water with Elijah’s cloak and asks, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”
The waters part—just like they did before. It’s clear: God is now with Elisha, just like He was with Elijah.
The other prophets who were watching from a distance see this and say, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.”
Lesson: When God calls you, He gives you the power and help you need.
3. A Search That Wasn’t Needed
The other prophets still aren’t quite sure Elijah is really gone. They beg Elisha to let them search for him. Elisha says no—but they insist.
So they search for three days and find nothing.
Elisha patiently says, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
Lesson: Sometimes we have trouble letting go of the past, even when God has clearly moved us into something new.
4. Healing the Water in Jericho
Next, the people of Jericho come to Elisha with a problem. Their town is nice, but the water is bad, and it’s causing problems with crops and health.
Elisha listens and asks for a bowl of salt. He throws the salt into the spring and says, “This is what the Lord says: I have healed this water.” The water is healed, and it stays clean from that day on.
Lesson: God can use us to bring healing and help when we listen to Him and act in faith.
5. A Serious Warning from Bethel
On the way to Bethel, a group of boys come out and begin mocking Elisha. They make fun of him, saying, “Go up, baldhead!” This may seem like just teasing, but it was actually deep disrespect—not just toward Elisha, but toward God’s chosen messenger.
Elisha calls down a curse in the Lord’s name, and two bears come out of the woods and attack them.
It’s a hard moment, but it shows how seriously God takes disrespect toward His servants.
Lesson: We need to treat God’s work and His people with respect. What may seem like a joke to us might be something God takes very seriously.
Final Thoughts
This passage marks the beginning of Elisha’s journey as a prophet. In just a few verses, we see God confirming his calling, working through him with miracles, and even defending his honor.
Elisha wasn’t trying to be Elijah. He was simply faithful to do what God asked of him. And that’s what God asks of us too.
Are you being called to step into something new?
Don’t be afraid to pick up the mantle. If God is calling you, He will go with you—every step of the way.
2 Kings 2:13-25 (WEB)
2:13 He also took up Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and struck the waters, and said, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” When he also had struck the waters, they were divided apart, and Elisha went over.15 When the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho facing him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. 16 They said to him, “See now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. Perhaps the LORD’s Spirit has taken him up, and put him on some mountain or into some valley.”He said, “Don’t send them.”17 When they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, “Send them.”Therefore they sent fifty men; and they searched for three days, but didn’t find him. 18 They came back to him while he stayed at Jericho; and he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t go’?”19 The men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, please, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is barren.”20 He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” Then they brought it to him. 21 He went out to the spring of the waters, and threw salt into it, and said, “The LORD says, ‘I have healed these waters. There shall not be from there any more death or barren wasteland.’ ” 22 So the waters were healed to this day, according to Elisha’s word which he spoke.23 He went up from there to Bethel. As he was going up by the way, some youths came out of the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldy! Go up, you baldy!” 24 He looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the LORD’s name. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of those youths. 25 He went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.