GOD OF ELIJAH

Elijah was about to be taken up to heaven by God and Elisha was ambitious to be his spiritual heir. This is the meaning of his request for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Elijah had been faithful at great personal cost because of persecution by Ahab and Jezebel. The spiritual atmosphere can be seen by looking at the places visited by the two prophets together in this passage.

At Gilgal, Israel had renewed the rite of circumcision. At Bethel, God had revealed Himself to Jacob. At Jericho, He had shown His mighty power in Joshua chapter 6. Those had been good days. But, by the time of Elijah, all these places were associated with departure from the living God. Yet, there were schools of prophets in them.

Elisha’s determination was tested by Elijah when he urged him to turn back. But Elisha stood firm. It seems as if the two men together reviewed the sad condition of Israel by contrast with its past spiritual vigour. If Elisha was to be heir to Elijah’s ministry he must not only know about his teacher’s commitment and exercise of heart. He must also walk with the great man and face the likely cost of following in the same path.

Using his mantle, Elijah opened a path through Jordan for them by the power of God. The mantle was duly dropped to Elisha as Elijah was taken up to heaven. Now he was to prove whether he had merely a mantle or whether he was the true heir of Elijah. At the Jordan he cried out, ‘Where is the Lord God of Elijah?’ He had got past the trappings of a prophet and saw that God must be with him as He had been with Elijah.

True succession in God’s service is more than receiving His servants’ titles or clothes or rank. It involves an appreciation of how they related to God. A hasty impatience to take over their roles may indicate a false expectation that this will bring us power such as they had. The lust for a place of power is a seductive snare. A spiritual acquaintance with God in their company will lead to an understanding of God’s ways. Our association with them in their trials and exploits will sharpen our expectation of proving God if we seek to follow in the path they have trodden.