Would you spend one night sleeping in a tomb for $100,000?
The Brewery Ministries Paraphrase
Two men are panting, struggling to carry a body wrapped in linen. They're in a rush; from the distant hills, a band of Moabite raiders is fast approaching. Every spring they come to raid villages and kill stragglers. The men don't have time for a funeral. They don't even have time to dig a new grave.
"There," one of the men gasps, pointing to a cave sealed with a heavy stone — the tomb of the legendary Elisha. Running on adrenaline, they use a large tree branch as a lever to move the stone sealing the entrance of the tomb. As the raiders draw near, the stone budges just enough to slide their friend's body inside. There's a dull thud as the fresh corpse lands on a pile of old bones.
As the two men turn to run, they hear a violent sound from inside the tomb. It sounded like someone gasping for air. Was their friend alive? They hesitated, turned, and peered through the opening into the tomb. In the dark, they could see the outline of a man standing on his feet among the bones. His skin was flush with heat. It was impossible… but there was no time to waste. The Moabites were coming. They could celebrate later. The men barrel down the hillside and disappear into the wilderness.
Two men went to the tomb that day. Three men left.
There must be something about those bones…
Work Through the Evidence
You've probably seen movies about characters like the Moabites — Mad Max comes to mind. Imagine you're out in the middle of nowhere, but in the distance, an entourage of apocalyptic deathmobiles kicks up the dust as it speeds toward you. Would you throw your friend's body in someone else's grave to escape in time, or stay to make sure they get a proper burial?
Normally in the Bible, touching a corpse was a bad thing — a person was considered contaminated (ritually unclean) until they cleaned up. But here, touching a skeleton is a good thing. Why do you think the Bible subverted expectations and flipped the script in this story?
When Elisha was younger, he had a spiritual mentor named Elijah. Elisha asked for "a double portion of your spirit on me." In their culture, firstborn sons received a double portion of the inheritance — so Elisha was symbolically asking to be Elijah's spiritual successor. Have you ever felt that someone else's life's work was so important that you wanted to take it on yourself?
This story is basically a riddle. Elisha's request for a "double portion" of Elijah's spirit is the key. Here are the clues:
- A. During Elijah's lifetime, the Bible recorded him performing exactly 7 miracles.
- B. Elisha asks for a "double portion" of Elijah's spirit to carry on his mentor's work.
- C. Elisha dies after performing only 13 miracles.
How do these clues explain what happened when the corpse came to life after touching Elisha's bones?
If Elisha was even counting, he probably died thinking he didn't quite get what he wanted — double his mentor's impact. After he died though, God apparently still honored his request and granted him one final miracle when nothing was left of him but bones. What do you think the point of the story might be?
Why It Matters
This might seem like a random story — but the authors of the Bible weren't random at all. They were strategic and methodical. Every detail included served a meaningful purpose.
The final miracle likely confirms that Elisha really was Elijah's true spiritual successor. But more than that, the bones returning to life reveal several things:
- 1. Elisha's work wasn't just human work. He really did have God's spirit working in him — so much so that it hung around in his bones even after he died.
- 2. It's never too late when God is involved, even when it looks like it is.
- 3. God had promised to bring everyone who wants to be part of His future back from the dead. Here, He didn't just say He could do it — He demonstrated it.
This helps give us reason to trust God. And trust, when you think about it, is just another word for faith.
So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
What Did You Find?
My Overall Conclusions
I Learned This About God
I Learned This About Myself
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