In the books of 1-2 Kings, the prophet Elisha is the Spirit-filled man of God who walks with God, represents God, and shows the way to covenant faithfulness through word and deed. Elisha shows Israel who God really is, particularly when compared to the false gods the people are choosing to worship, and he shows them the kind of life they too can experience through the power and presence of God.
However, Elisha serves a central role not only in the narrative of 1-2 Kings, but in the whole of Scripture, anticipating the ultimate Spirit-filled man of God, Jesus Christ. In doing so, he also serves as a preview of what it means to know God in the new covenant through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in Christ.
One of the primary ways Elisha demonstrates the power and presence of God in his life and therefore anticipates Jesus Christ and the new covenant believer’s life in the Spirit is through his royal presence. 1-2 Kings presents Elisha as a royal figure, a unique depiction among biblical prophets that positions Elisha as the prophet par excellence. This paper will establish this understanding in three ways.
First, it will explain how 1-2 Kings establishes Elisha as a royal prophet in the succession narrative in which Elisha inherits Elijah’s vacated prophetic office (2 Kings 2:1-18).
Second, it will explain how Elisha’s royal presence is then established in the subsequent passage, 2 Kings 2:19-25, which indicates that his entire mission and ministry (2 Kings 3-7) should be understood in this way.
Finally, it will explain how Elisha’s Spirit-empowered royal presence anticipates the Spirit-empowered royal presence of Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate Prophet and King. In fulfilling what Elisha’s ministry anticipates, Jesus then makes it possible for new covenant believers to experience and extend his royal presence through the Spirit.
In establishing this truth, this paper intends to further understanding of the Elisha narrative within 1-2 Kings and its significance within biblical theology for our understanding of Jesus Christ and the believer’s life in him.