2:1 Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a
whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.
2:2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as
far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as you
yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.
2:3 The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha,
and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your
master away from you?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent."
2:4 Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me
to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself
live, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho.
2:5 The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha,
and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your
master away from you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know; be silent."
2:6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to
the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself
live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on.
2:7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at
some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.
2:8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the
water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until
the two of them crossed on dry ground.
2:9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I
may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please
let me inherit a double share of your spirit."
2:10 He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me
as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it
will not."
2:11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and
horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a
whirlwind into heaven.
2:12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The
chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer
see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
First Thoughts: I need to include verses 13-14 in this pericope to
talk about "passing the mantle".
Elisha is like a shadow or "glued to the hip" of Elijah as Elijah
tries to slip away without notice.
Lots of litanies in this text: "Do you know...Yes, I know" - twice;
"As the Lord lives...I will not leave you." - three times.
Obviously, good story telling effects. Anything else? Caroline in
CT/USA
I can't believe how many people are chatting in Mark, but not in 2
Kings!!! This is such a great story! What did it take for Elisha to
inherit the spirit? The ability to see. (How many of us are willing
to recognize the spirit at work in our lives?) And in order to see,
he had to be in the right place at the right time. This was not a
question of chance or luck. Three times Elijah told Elisha to stay
behind while he went on ahead. But Elisha stuck to him, following
him from town to town, even though Elijah discouraged him from
coming. He saw because he WANTED to be there. And why did Jesus
appear to Mary after he rose from the dead? Because she was there.
In order to see, you have to be present where God is acting, and
open your eyes. I hope some other people join the chat. Debra in NYC
Matthew Henry has a marvelous section on the 2 Kings reading. There
is a marked contrast in the events of Elijah's departure in Kings
and his meeting with and departure from Jesus in Mark. In Kings,
Elisha is devastated by the spectacular exit of the great prophet.
He mourns. In Mark's Gospel, the disciples are in awe of the events.
Jesus, however, does not leave them. Rather, he descends with them,
erasing all sorrow and fear, and leaving the memory, the awe, and
the comfort of His presence. Can I so reflect Christ's glory in my
life that others will see Him, desire to follow me, as Elisha did
Elijah? Can I shine with His light so that others may catch a vision
of the glory yet to be revealed? Shall I make each moment, each step
count as I prepare to depart and be with Christ? Chaplain E, USARMY
We are in the second week of a capitol campaign. Thought I would
deal with the passing of the mantel, thoughts of how each generation
cries out for those who hunger for those who are willing to pick up
the mantel and dare "strike the water". How many fallen mantels lie
untouched because none dare draw near? Jp
JG in Wisconsin
Ravi Zacharias preaches on this text and teaches regarding the
lessons Israel learned at the various places they went before Elijah
went up.
In Bethel, they learned of Jacob and how he worshipped God.
In Jericho, they learned of Joshua and how God fought for Israel.
In Gilgal it was shown that even the stones can speak of the past
and point to the future.
Just some thoughts.
Thanks, Jp. We are also doing a Capital Funds Drive. I have already
announced my sermon title as "Passing the Mantle" but had no idea
where I would go with it. You have given me - did anyone ever call
you "Holy Spirit" before - just what I need. Especially since a
large part of our drive is debt reduction on a building addition
completed in 96 and we have lots of new families since then.
Thanks again! Caroline in CT/USA
Two things are happening in our church which make this story timely.
First, there have been many deaths of long time leaders in the
church, one of whom was a beloved former pastor of 13 years. Who
will pick up his mantle? I have even thought of having one of his
stoles available to pick up and pass around. That may be too much?
Second, we are in the midst of developing a system of lay
mobilization. We are in the first real phase of invitation to have
persons discover their gifts, consultation, matching, evaluation,
etc. This is a great story to help pass on the ministry to the
laity.
My choir director suggested that we have ribbons or "pieces of the
cloth" available for everyone so as to invite them to symbolically
take up the mantle.
I thought about the title "Heavy Mantle Band" but that may be a
little too much. Yet that is what the church really is: a band of
followers joyfully toating a heavy mantle.
Fred in LA
Why does Elisha want a double portion of Elijah's spirit? Why does
he keep following him around? I get the sense that Elisha was the
student who wanted to become greater than his teacher. From a
teacher/mentor perspective, would that every student have the drive
to surpass the teacher. I just wonder about his motives.
I find it interesting that Elijah knows that it is a hard thing to
reward and I get the impression that Elijah understands his spirit
as a gift from the Lord.
John near Pitts.
Another way to look at Elisha's desire for a double portion of the
spirit is to see him as having a sense of inadequacy. How would we
feel having witnessed Elijah's works and power and knowing that we
are to take up his mantle? How do we feel when we think of taking up
Christ's mantle? I want to ask for a double portion too, just in
order to get the job done. Bob in WP,NY
Thanks everyone for all your thoughts, I'm getting some great
ideas... especially since I'm about to leave my job, the passing of
the mantel is helpful. More thoughts: the double portion is the
portion of the heir, or the first born. Elisha is not asking to be
twice as good as Elijah, but to be his spiritual successor. I'm also
thinking about why Elijah kept telling Elisha to stay behind. Could
it be that he was testing him to see whether he was just the kind of
person who simply obeyed orders and stayed with the crowd, or
whether he could act for himself and do what he felt was right, even
in the face of discouragement? Debra in NYC
This story always makes me think of pastoral care workers who
minister with the dying. Sometimes when people are dying they say
they "don't want to be a burden" and try to push others away.
Perhaps Elijah was hoping that by telling Elisha to "stay here" that
he would spare Elisha some pain at his passing. But Elisha stays
with Elijah until the end of his life on earth. I wonder if Elijah
was comforted by Elisha journeying with him? Elisha went through a
period of mourning, but he had also been richly blessed by sharing
this final journey with Elijah.
MN
Compare Elisa's 3 refusals to stay behind with the story of Jesus
and the disciples in the garden at Gethsemane. They were begged
repeatedly to just stay awake yet dozed.
Consequently, they were not prepared for their master's removal and
scattered in fear. Elisha kept his eyes open and stayed with Elija
and was rewarded with the mantle.
I believe Matthew also has the three amigos dozing on the mount of
transfiguration, and stuttering like fools when the lights come on.
I'm reminded of an old song line, "the movie's over, it's 4 o'clock,
and we're in trouble deep. Wake up, little Suzy, we gotta go home."
I think there is a message in here for Deliberate Discipleship. Care
to help flesh it out? tom in TN(USA)
As I get closer to the task of preaching, I found the striking
contrasts in the OT lesson and the Gospel. One bids disciple to
stay, Jesus bids disciple to follow him. Elisha KNOWS what is about
to happen. Jesus' band of three is CLUELESS. One is a vision of
spectacular action (horses, chariot), the other brightness and a
conversation. One is taken away who spoke of God. Jesus remains and
God speaks of Him. Elisha sees a whirlwind take Elijah and is left
alone. Peter, James, and John are enveloped in a cloud and are left
with Jesus only. Elisha grieves. The disciples wonder and ponder.
Point: God's action in our lives happen expectedly and unexpectedly;
they may be spectacular or quiet; they show us our humanity and the
hope of heaven. - Army Chaplain E
I don't question the motives of Elisha. I know why he wanted a
double portion of Elijah's spirit. HE WANTED MORE OF GOD. I see so
many Christians content with going as far as there leader has gone
or content with what they have. God wants us HOT. He longs for us to
long for Him. His desire is our sancification, our holiness, our
becoming like Him.
As I read how the prophets tried to discourage Elisha, I am reminded
of many instances in my own life where I have been encouraged to be
less zelous, less certain, and more tolerant of the religions of the
world. No thanks.
I long for that wirlwind to come for me. I love that line of a song
by Margaret Becker "I want to be there when the horses come for me."
I not only want to be there, I want to be ready, willing, and eager.
I want to be on fire, I want to be annointed, and I want ALL that
God has in mind for me.
I want to be so annointed that every child I see in a wheelchair
suffering from Multiple Scl. or Msy. Distrophy or any other disease
or accicdnt will jump out of that chair totally healed when I pray
for them. I'd love to empty hospitals, mental wards, and dead
chruches with the healing power of Jesus the Christ. And my motives?
To be famous? NO. To be looked up to? NO. To have more power than
any other preacher or pastor on the planet? No.
I want to give glory to God, see his power manifested to those in
need around me, and make the Kingdom of God available to any and all
who seek their creator.
There's fire, fire, fire in the house. There's fire, fire, fire in
the house. There's strength and healing power, there's fire.
Dale in Kansas
Like others, I was struck with the three time repetition of Elisha's
"I will stay with you," in contrast with the three denials, the
three times asleep in the garden, and the three statements of "feed
my sheep" at the end of John. I believe my sermon will be dealing
with the fact that we talk alot about Jesus sticking with us through
the hard times, but what about us sticking with Jesus? There's a
definite discipleship challenge here. (Interesting side note that I
may use as a sermon illustration: the tabloid paper "The Sun" had a
headline this week that I saw while standing in the check out line
at the grocery store..."Scientists cause controversy by trying to
clone Jesus!")
