NOTES for Ki2 13:1-25

Once again Israel is ruled by a king who does not walk in the way of the Lord. But for Elisha, even such a king is the lawful head of the state, and so Elisha does not refuse him his prophetic counsel. It is remarkable that the king himself, though committed to the old sinful principles of his predecessors, honors Elisha and comes to him before his death.

Until the end of Elisha's earthly days, the Lord not only spoke with him, but also never ceased to reveal His will through him. Yet even after Elisha's death, the Lord performed a miracle using his remains. It is significant that this miracle was the raising of a dead man, through which the Lord showed that the power of death is not limitless. But this miracle also showed that, even after the soul is separated from the body, the Lord's power can act through the physical remains of a holy person. Here we see the biblical basis for the Church's attitude toward the remains of the saints, expressed in the reverent veneration of their relics.