Commentary - 2 Kings 2:19-22

Bird's-eye view

This brief account of Elisha's first public miracle after receiving the double portion of Elijah's spirit sets a significant pattern for his entire ministry. Unlike the grand, nation-shaking confrontations of Elijah on Mount Carmel, many of Elisha's miracles are acts of mercy and restoration, addressing the tangible, daily needs of God's people. Here, at the very beginning, we see him dealing with a foundational problem: bad water that leads to death and barrenness. The city of Jericho, a place with a history of being cursed (Josh. 6:26), becomes the site of a potent blessing.

The passage demonstrates the authority of God's prophet, whose word carries the power to reverse the curse and bring life out of death. The means are simple, even strange, a new jar and some salt, but the power is entirely from Yahweh. This act is a microcosm of the gospel. God does not fix the old, corrupt source; He makes it new. Through the simplest of elements, consecrated by His word, He brings purification and fruitfulness. This is what God does through Christ, and it is what He continues to do in our lives and communities, turning bitter waters sweet and making barren lands fruitful to His glory.

Outline

Context In 2 Kings

This miracle occurs immediately after Elisha has witnessed Elijah's ascension and has taken up his mantle. The healing of Jericho's water serves as a crucial, public validation of his ministry. It demonstrates to the "men of the city" and to the reader that the spirit of Elijah does indeed rest upon him, and in a double portion. This is not Elisha showing off; it is God authenticating His chosen instrument. The event stands in contrast to the judgment that follows with the bears and the mocking youths, showing the two-edged nature of the prophetic word: blessing for those who honor God's messenger and curse for those who despise him.

This act of purification at Jericho, a city once cursed by Joshua, is theologically significant. It signals a new work of grace and restoration. Elisha's ministry will be characterized by such acts of life-giving power, from multiplying a widow's oil to raising the Shunammite's son. This first miracle sets the tone for a ministry that brings God's healing and provision directly into the broken and barren places of His people's lives.

Verse by Verse Commentary

19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the habitat of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”

The men of Jericho approach Elisha with a mixture of respect and desperation. They address him as "my lord," acknowledging the spiritual authority he now carries. Their problem is a fundamental one. On the surface, everything looks good. The "habitat," the situation of the city, is pleasant. It's a nice place to live, aesthetically pleasing, well-situated. But this pleasantness is a facade, because the source of life for the city is corrupt. The water is bad. And when the water is bad, everything that depends on it is affected. The land is "unfruitful," which literally means it "causes to miscarry." This isn't just a lack of produce; it's a land of death and failed potential. This is a perfect picture of our fallen world. From a distance, it has its glories, its pleasant habitats. But at the source, it is poisoned by sin, and the result is always death and barrenness. The men of the city rightly identified the problem and, more importantly, they brought it to the right person. They didn't form a committee or try a new irrigation technique; they went to the man of God.

20 And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.

Elisha's response is not what a city council would expect. He doesn't call for a geological survey. He calls for a new jar and some salt. The natural mind would object immediately. Throwing salt into a freshwater spring is precisely what you do not do if you want things to grow. Salt makes land barren. But God's methods are not man's methods. The power is not in the salt itself, but in the salt as an instrument in the hand of God, applied according to His word. The jar had to be new, unused. This is significant. God's work of purification and healing is not a patch-up job. He does not pour new wine into old wineskins. The healing He brings is a new creation. The men's response is simple obedience. They didn't argue or question the strange command. They simply "brought it to him." True faith responds to God's word with unquestioning obedience, trusting that His wisdom far exceeds our own understanding.

21 And he went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or barrenness any longer.’ ”

Elisha goes to the source of the problem. He doesn't treat the symptoms downstream; he goes right to the "spring of water." This is how God deals with our sin. He goes to the heart, the fountain from which all our actions flow. Elisha then performs the action, throwing the salt in, but the action is meaningless without the word that accompanies it. The true power is in the declaration: "Thus says Yahweh." Elisha is merely the mouthpiece. The healing is a divine act. God declares, "I have purified these waters." The verb is in the perfect tense, indicating a completed action with ongoing results. At the moment God speaks, the thing is done. The promise is clear and absolute: no more death, no more miscarriage. This is a gospel proclamation. God, through Christ, has dealt with the poisoned spring of our sinful nature. By His word, He declares us purified, and promises that from us will flow rivers of living water, not death and barrenness.

22 So the waters have been purified to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

The conclusion is a testament to the enduring power and faithfulness of God's word. The healing wasn't temporary. It wasn't a short-term fix. The waters "have been purified to this day." The author, writing years later, confirms the lasting effect of this miracle. And to what does he attribute this permanent change? Not to the salt, not to the new jar, and not even to Elisha himself, but "according to the word of Elisha which he spoke." And the word Elisha spoke was the word of Yahweh. When God speaks, reality is altered permanently. Curses are reversed, death gives way to life, and barrenness becomes fruitfulness. This is the confidence we have as believers. The word of forgiveness and new life spoken over us in the gospel is not a temporary reprieve. It is an eternal reality, secured "to this day" and forever, according to the powerful and unfailing word of our God.

Application

This story is a straightforward lesson in the power of God to bring life where there is death and fruitfulness where there is barrenness. We all have Jericho springs in our lives, our families, our churches, and our communities. These are areas that seem pleasant on the outside, but at the source, something is poisoned. The result is a lack of spiritual fruit, broken relationships, and a recurring pattern of death and failure.

The temptation is to try to fix the problem with our own wisdom. We try new programs, read new books, or implement new strategies. But the men of Jericho show us the right path: they took their problem to the Lord's prophet. We must bring our barrenness to God. We must confess that our own springs are poisoned and that we are powerless to heal them.

God's solution may seem counterintuitive, like throwing salt in a spring. He calls us to repent, to trust in Christ alone, to take up our cross, to use the simple means of grace He has appointed: the Word, prayer, the fellowship of the saints. These are the "new jar and salt" that God uses. The power is not in the means themselves, but in the word of God that accompanies them. When God declares through the gospel that we are healed in Christ, that our sins are forgiven, and that we are a new creation, that word accomplishes what it says. The healing is permanent and its effects are lasting. Our task is simple obedience, to bring the new jar and the salt, and to trust the word of the Lord who alone can say, "I have purified these waters."