On the Road to Pass the Mantle
On the Road with Elijah
On the Road with Elijah to Pass the Mantle
II Kings 2
 
I Know I told you last week we only had one more stop on our road trip with Elijah.  But I think we need to travel with him to one more destination before he goes home to be with the Lord. 
 
The accountis found in 2 Kings 2.  We find out in the opening verse of the chapter that it’s almost time for Elijah’s earthly ministry to come to an end, and we the role of prophet of God will pass to Elisha. 
 
And even though they are both prophets of God, there is a great contrast in their personalities and ministries. 
 
The name, Elijah, mean the Lord Yahweh lives while
Elisha means God is salvation. Elijah was the fiery type with almost an arrogance in his confidence. He is the one, who on the mount of Carmel, confronted the prophets of Baal and called down the fire of God upon the sacrifice. He was the one that was filled with lightning. He was the one who could call down fire or rain, which ever was needed.
 
On the other hand, his young successor, Elisha, seems to be more of the gentle spirited kind. It reminds me of the contrast between John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus. You may remember that John the Baptist was the fiery preacher in the wilderness. He was not much of a social person. He was a bit withdrawn.
 
 
The Lord Jesus came and He was one who mixed and mingled with the people. He felt quite at home in social gatherings. People loved to be around Him.
 
God uses different personalities. God uses different kinds of servants in different ways and at particular times.
 
So we find out the time for this transition to be made is nearing.  God is going to call young Elisha to carry on the ministry which Elijah had begun. We are told about the call of Elisha back in chapter 19 of I Kings.
 
verse 19
 
Here was Elisha out in the field working. He was a busy man. He was involved in something when the call of God came upon his life. The ministry is no place for lazy people. It's hard work serving the Lord. It's hard work being in the ministry of the Lord. God has called us to work and to serve Him with the very best we have. So most often God calls busy people.
 
Here was Elisha plowing and Elijah took off his mantle (kind of like an overcoat or cape) and cast that mantle on him. That was a symbolic way of saying, "God is calling you into service."
 
So up and sells out, burns his bridges behind him and becomes a young protégé of the prophet Elijah.
 
Now if you fast forward to II Kings 3:11 you get a little insight into the heart of Elisha.  Remember God has called him. He is going to have a ministry of his own.
 
But for a period of time he is going to be under the mentorship of Elijah, the older man.
 
In the last part of verse 11 it says, "Here is Elisha, the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah." He poured water. He ministered to the older man, Elijah.
 
What you have there is a beautiful picture of cooperation in ministry with the older man, Elijah and the younger man Elisha. There is no evidence here of a generation gap. There is no old versus the young. They are working in tandem. They are working together. You see no indication here of a personality clash. They are obviously very different in personality yet they work in cooperation and partnership.
 
Now back in chapter two, here we are on the last day of Elijah’s life on earth.  He’s about to go home to heaven, and it seems to me that on this last day of Elijah's life that memories begin to well up in his heart.
 
Memories are important. Memories can be very special and they can be very helpful and very meaningful to you. And it’s important to remember. So what I want to do on this last stop on the road with Elijah is just walk with Elisha and him down memory lane as he spends some time
 
I. Remembering God’s Power   
 
First of all, Elijah takes Elisha to
 
1. Gilgal
 
Verse 1
 
Gilgal is the place of beginning. It was there that the children of Israel camped after crossed the Jordan River. 
 
It was their first st campground as they went into the Promised Land. We ought to remember that place of beginning.
 
Do you remember your place of beginning? Do you remember where you met the Lord? Where were you when you met the Lord? I do.  It is still so real to me even though it’s now been 30 years. 
 
And every time I hear mention of Rexroat Baptist Church, one of the things that come to mind is my salvation and baptism.  All you have to do is mention that name and it takes me back to my beginning.
 
Maybe your place of beginning was a little country church where you first began to walk with the Lord and to know the Lord. Maybe it was in a revival meeting or at Falls Creek.  Or maybe someone loved you enough to come to your haome and share Jesus with you.  Maybe you had a godly mom or dad who set you down and told the plan of God.  We ought never forget that. We ought never get over that place where we first began to know Jesus as our Savior.
 
Then, in verse 2 Elijah says to Elisha, "I'm going to
Bethel, you stay here. You just tarry right here."
Elisha refuses to do it. He says, "As the Lord lives and your soul lives, I will not leave thee." He knows this is the last day for Elijah. They are close. They love one another.
 
 
When someone you love is dying, it's a painful experience. You cherish every moment of time, every opportunity to be with that person.
 
And basically what we see is that Elisha just refuses to leave Elijah. He's sticking with him. He's not going to miss anything.
 
So they go from Gilgal, the place of beginning, down to
 
2. Bethel
 
verse 2
 
What do we learn there about God's power in Bethel? Bethel is the place of returning. It was at Bethel where Jacob had an experience with God and he called it the house of God. Down through the years of Jacob's life, as Jacob wandered away from the Lord, the Lord spoke to him and said, "Jacob, arise and go back to Bethel." Bethel is the place of returning.
 
A lot of people need to come back to Bethel.  They  need to return to the Lord and come back to that place of close fellowship with the Lord.
 
You used to spend a lot of time in the Word, but you’re not there now and yo need to return.  You used to love to come to church and fellowship with God’s people, but something happened and you got away from it.  You need to return.  It used to be sweet to pray and just be alone with God and feel His presence, but it’s been a long time since you felt anything.  He’s waiting for you at Bethel. 
 
Now in verse 3 the sons of the prophets come into the narrative. These were preacher boys. It seems that Samuel established a series of preachers' schools for these sons of the prophets. They are young aspiring preachers. They were trained there.
 
And evidently Elijah would go to these schools and teach.  There are the sons of the prophets and they seem to have a little inside information. When a young preacher learns something he thinks nobody else knows, he wants to show it off.
 
They said to Elisha, "Do you know Elijah is going to heaven today?" Elisha says, "I know. Hold your peace." There are some moments that are just too sacred to speak.
 
They move from there to
 
3. Jericho
 
Verse 4
 
What do you learn in Jericho about God's power? Jericho is the place of overcoming. It was Jericho where God gave the children of Israel a great victory. As they learned to obey God's word and in obedience to God's word they walked around the walls of Jericho and at the right moment, on that seventh day, they blew their trumpets and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. You learn there how to overcome.
 
You need to learn God's power to overcome in the battles of life. Your Jericho can be conquered also.
Now the sons of the prophets come and basically the
same thing that happened in verse 3 happens in verse 5.  Then notice what happens in
 
verse 6
 
Now they come to the  
 
4.  Jordan River
 
The Jordan River was the place of entering. God parted the Jordan River to let the children of Israel enter into the Promised Land. We must remember that God can part the waters for us.
 
You may be facing an impossible stream, but there's a little chorus we used to sing. "Got any rivers you think are uncrossable? Got any mountains you can't tunnel through? God specializes in things thought impossible. He can make a way that no other can do."
 
Never underestimate the power of God to part the waters.   Has God parted the water in your life? Have there been those experiences in your family life when you have seemingly insurmountable problems and God just parted the waters? I've seen God part the waters in our church. I've seen God work miracles in our church.
 
Oh, what a picture that day! Here's Elijah. It's his last day on the earth, but he's taking this young preacher and showing him God's power. He's remembering God's power.
 
 
 
Then notice what happens beginning at verse 7. 
 
Now God is getting ready. The mantle of ministry is going to be passed.
 
Notice verses 7-12
 
Now next week we’ll spend some time with Elijah’s homegoing, but in the meantime notice what happens here.  What is Elisha asking for?  He is
 
II. Requesting God's Power
 
He is asking for God to give him the power to perform his ministry. He recognizes that he has to have God's power. He has to receive God's power and he is recognizing that Elijah was mightily used of God, a man of great power.
 
So he says. "I want a double portion of that power on my life. I want the same power you had in your ministry, in my ministry."
 
Understand a couple of things about that:  First of all, Elisha couldn’t serve God with Elijah’s power.  He had to have his own supply. 
 
We also need to keep in mind we can’t get the job done in our won power. 
 
But here’s the good news:  We don’t have to serve the Lord in our own power and in our own strength nor do we have to depend upon the strength and power of another because the Bible tells us that God will give us His Holy Spirit. He will empower us to do what He’s called us to do. 
 
When Jesus went into the wilderness temptation, the Bible says that He went in the power of the Spirit. When He returned from that experienced, He returned in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
 
And in like manner, you and I can be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Bible says not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.
 
Philippians 1:19 talks about the supply of the Spirit. You can have as much of the power of God as you are willing to claim from God to do your work for the Lord. Every Bible teacher needs to pray for a double portion of God's spirit.
 
Every time I walk in this pulpit, I pray for the Spirit of God to come upon me.
 
I love the old hymn that says:
 
All is in vain unless the Spirit of the holy one comes down.
 
We cannot operate in our own strength. We need the power of God. What a desire. A double portion!
 
Notice verse 10-11
 
He went out just like he ministered. He went out in a blaze of glory. All of a sudden, chariots of fire. Wind blowing everywhere. He was gone!
 
That's the way it's going to be when you and I leave.
The rapture or the resurrection, either way, it's not going to matter. We are going out of here.
 
 
Elisha looks up and sees Elijah going up.
 
verse 12
 
By the way, that's a military term. He is basically saying, "Elijah, you are more valuable to God's people than military armies."
 
I think about the true strength of our nation. I've been reading and listening about the awesome military power of America. We have redefined what military conflict is in the world today with our smart bombs and our astonishing technology. We are indeed the most mighty, the most powerful nation militarily on the earth.
 
But I have news for you. That's not the source of America's strength. The source of America's strength is the people of God who love Jesus and know how to pray. There is more power in praying people than in all of the smart bombs in the arsenals of our nation.
 
He is saying, "There goes one of the sources of our strength, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof." That same thing is going to be said about
Elisha when he dies.
 
Then in verse 13 we move to,
 
III. Receiving God's Power.
 
Elisha takes up the mantel that fell on him. The mantel has been passed. He's God's man and he goes back and stands before that bank of Jordan and takes off that mantle.
 
verse 14
"Where is the Lord God of Elijah?"
 
Elijah is gone, but Elijah's God is not gone. The saints of God move on. The men of God move on.  God love them and we thank God for them and we praise their ministry and the way God used them. But God's people go on, but God is still here. God is still alive. God is still in the miracle working business.
 
Elisha begins to do miracles. He DID get a double portion. He ministered twice as long as Elijah did. He performed twice as many miracles as Elijah did. He got his double portion.
 
There are three miracles right here. One is the miracle of the parting of the Jordan.
 
In verse 15 the sons of the prophets see that. They say in verse 15, "The spirit of Elijah does rest on Elisha." They recognize he is the new spiritual leader. They see God's power on him.
 
Now, in verse 16 and following they want to go look for Elijah. He lets them go but they don't find him.
 
Eventually they make their way to Jericho.
 
verse 19
 
They are saying that the water is bad.
 
Elisha says in verse 20, "Bring me a new cruse."
 
That means a new container. He put salt in it and he puts that into the stream of the water and he says, "I have healed these waters."
 
Verse 22 says they are healed unto this day.
 
When you go to Jericho now, they will take you to a place they call Elisha's Spring and invite you to drink. They invite you to drink and they say the waters are sweet.
 
In verse 23 one of the most amazing, fascinating passages. This passage has been attacked by enemies of God and haters of the Bible through the years. It does call for some explanation.
 
Verse 23-24
 
What's going on here? God letting bears come out and maul little, sweet innocent children. How cruel!  But you have to keep in mind that we are reading an English translation. When the King James Version translates "little children" or the NKJV says “youth” you have to keep in mind that the particular Hebrew words used here are used in other places not to refer to little boys and girls, but to those who are young but hardly innocent.
 
For instance, this same term is used of the citizens of Sodom who came to the house of Lot and wanted to commit acts of sexual perversion.
 
So when it says little children or youth here you get the wrong message. This is not innocent little children, it's talking about young hoodlums. It's talking about thugs. These are reprobates.
 
 
 
 
 
They are like those of II Chronicles 36, verse 16:
 
"But they mocked the messengers of God and despised his words, and misused his prophets until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people till there was no remedy."
 
That's the kind of thing you are dealing with here.
 
They were just like the young punks and hoodlums and thugs that terrorize the cities of America. That's who is involved here. They are making fun of the things of God. They are making fun of the Word of God. The Bible says, "Touch not my anointed."
 
"Go up thy bald head." They are basically saying, "We wis you would disappear just like Elijah. We would like to have you off the earth."
 
There is a culture in America today that hates the things of God. They hate the men of God. They hate the Word of God. They hate the children of God. There is a culture in this country that would like to see this church shut down and dry up and be gone. They don't like the moral and the ethical and the spiritual stand we take.
 
But God had a message of judgment for them. The message is, don't mess with my messengers. Don't mess with my works.
 
Verse 25
 
I wonder what he’s thinking about as he approached Mt. Carmel?  Do you think he must have thought about what Elijah, his great mentor, did up there?
 
But you can't stay on Mt. Carmel. "From thence he returned to Samaria." Exit, Elijah. Enter, Elisha.
 
Let's bow our heads in prayer.