THE CALL OF ELISHA - “WALK IN THIS WAY” PART 1 OF 2
SERIES – MESSAGES ON ELISHA – HIS LIFE AND MINISTRY Number 1
Elisha is one of the greatest prophets of the Lord, faithful and true.
Today we are looking at chapter 2 of second Kings, which is our introduction to the prophet Elisha. It is an important chapter because, by application, it impacts all our lives. There are three characters in the chapter, Elijah, Elisha and the sons of the prophets – the latter I will consider as one. Elijah’s ministry had ended, but not before his final appointment had been made, and the demands of the prophetic office clearly laid out. We will look at the steps in commitment, as there is a very lovely progression here. We are going to look at the journey these two prophets took prior to Elijah’s promotion to Paradise (where the righteous went before the ascension). Elijah had been a prophet of the Lord for a long time, a powerful prophet most remembered for his victory over the prophets of Baal. He was a prophet of judgement and will be one of the two prophets to appear in the middle of the Tribulation period in Jerusalem for 1260 days (3.5 years).
Elijah’s mantle is to be passed on to another, but that other must be fit and qualified for service. Elisha would be tested before Elijah was to be satisfied. [This passing on of the mantle, is a very important service, and if not done properly, will cause havoc. Every servant has a specified time of ministry allotted by God, but the time comes when the mantle must be passed on. When must that happen? If the servant is godly and trusts in the Lord, then God will raise up a replacement. This can be a difficult area as to timing, but one massive mistake can be made when a person hangs on to a position through a delusion of self-importance. There are men and women who think they serve God, but they are best out in the pasture. They fail to see God has replacements, but their attitude is the barrier to the door of progress.]
Another massive mistake is made in ministry when those who ought to have the responsibility to train others, have failed to do so, and they have then created a resulting vacuum. The training of others is imperative, and it is in accordance with a biblical principle. Jesus trained His disciples. Paul trained his young men in ministry with him, and when the time came for his departure, he passed the mantle to Timothy and Titus, just two of those he had trained, and to others. Those of us in any position of authority or leadership, fail our responsibility, if we do not train people, especially young people in ministry and service for the Lord. I am aware of churches of two to three hundred in my city that struggle if the minister is absent, and no one feels properly qualified to take a service or a sermon. Why? It is because the minister sees it as his right to own the pulpit. It is serious when we don’t train or prepare for the next passing on of the baton to those who will succeed us, that is, to those we should have trained. (I would love to do instruction on message preparation and public speaking in a church)].
Let us look at the final days of Elijah as he prepares God’s replacement prophet for service. There are FOUR STEPS IN THIS.
[A]. GILGAL (The Shedding of the Reproach of the Flesh).
2Kings 2:1 It came about when the LORD was about to take up Elijah by a whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal,
For the story of Gilgal, we must look back to Joshua chapter 4 where we encounter the first mention (first mentions are very important in Scripture) - Joshua 4 v 19 “Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho, Josh 4:20 and those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal.” We see it was at Gilgal that the memorial of the Lord’s goodness in arriving in the land, was memorialised by the placement of 12 stones from the bed of the Jordan. Those stones signified what they had passed from, which was 40 years of disobedient wandering in the world, now to have their feet standing in the promised land. But there was a problem, for the symbolic cutting off of the old life was not properly realised, and the covenant seal of circumcision had not been observed for 40 years. Now all that had to be attended to at Gilgal. It was at Gilgal (Gibeath-haaraloth = hill of foreskins) where sharp, flint knives were used to cut away the flesh, but what did all that mean? It meant in symbol, the world was cut off, the reproach of Egypt was done away with, that these people were free of the old system, and alive now to the promises of the new land. Elisha (as did all those prophets) knew what Gilgal meant. It meant a separation from sin and a new walk with Jehovah. That is what it is supposed to mean to all the Jews.
Gilgal was to become the first decision Elisha was to make regarding his future. As the children of Israel committed themselves afresh to the Lord at Gilgal, so Elisha was prepared to stand for God with the trappings of the world cut away, prepared to follow Jehovah without turning back or failing in the way. He rejected the world, and separated himself to God, making the decision to place his whole life in the Lord’s hands. Elijah told Elisha to remain at Gilgal for he was going on to Bethel. Elisha’s reply was significant - 2Kings 2 v 2 [[and Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here please, 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.]] Where does each of us stand right now in our walk with Jesus? Is there the willingness to cut off the flesh with its sinful desires and to remain true to God alone? Place yourselves on the dirt at Gilgal. Do you see there separation from the reproach of the world, from sin in your lives, from the old life with its sinful hooks. Place your feet on the promises of God. That is the beginning of a successful life with God.
It is the circumcision of the heart that is important. Romans 2 v 29 [[but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, and his praise is not from men, but from God.]] The old life is cut away and the whole new life has come through Christ. Colossians 2 v 11 [[and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.]] We all must answer the question God would put to us – “Are you circumcised in heart, with the unprofitable ways of Egypt (the world) cut off and forever abandoned, or are you carrying around with you the tattered garments of Egypt, and the attractions of this world, and the weights of a worldly life, that will take you no further than Gilgal, keeping you ineffectual in your spiritual journey?” Elisha was sold out to God with no desire to linger in Gilgal. So must we.
[B]. Bethel. (Communion and Fellowship in Oneness). And so the decision was made by Elisha to go on without any hankering or doubt. The Lord had sent Elijah to Bethel, and Elisha was certainly going also. As Gilgal was significant, so too was Bethel. Again I will say it is always important to trace the first mentions in Scripture and they mark out the understanding of any issue. What does Bethel mean to us, but equally important, what did it mean to Elisha who was soon to arrive there? Our consideration of that would take us to Genesis chapter 28 to see there the life-transformation of Jacob. Let us read from verses 10 to 22 - Genesis 28:10 [[Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran, Gen 28:11 and he came to a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set, and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head and lay down in that place. Gen 28:12 He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven, and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Gen 28:13 Behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Gen 28:14 Your descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Gen 28:15 Behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Gen 28:16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it,” Gen 28:17 and he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Gen 28:18 Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top, Gen 28:19 and he called the name of that place Bethel. However, previously the name of the city had been Luz. Gen 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, Gen 28:21 and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the LORD will be my God. Gen 28:22 This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”]]
The verses I want us to apply are 13 (promise); 16-17 (the very presence of God) and 19 (the house of God). The term “the house of God” or “the temple of God” in our Christian world, is very often applied to the place of worship or to the local church where one attends, but it is not really what it is at all, and much that goes on in the churches, is not actually in the presence of God. Stay with me on this one. Don’t throw daggers. Sunday morning meetings have often taken the form of meetings designed for the comfort of members. What then is Bethel, the house of God? From those key verses I selected, it is a very holy place, one of awe, the house of God and the gate of heaven, even in the presence of angels. This is the place where the child of God is in the very holy presence of the holy God.
It means a spiritual walk of communion in the very continual presence of God. This is a personal walk that always touches the gate of heaven, and to be with the Lord as His guest in His house (in the closeness of His presence). It is life-changing, a committed, sanctified life that is consecrated to the Lord. This is not playing church. Nor is it just having enough Christianity to make you feel you have played your part. It is a true commitment, I think the sort of commitment that created the hymn “Take my life and let it be, Consecrated, Lord, to Thee”.
Elisha was prepared for full commitment to Jehovah. He has cast off the fleshly life, and now desires to walk in the presence of God. This man was showing he was real, and the Spirit of God controlled his life. He would not stay at Gilgal but desired a deeper walk with God, and he triumphed through Bethel also. Elijah, one on one with Elisha, told him to stay at Bethel for the Lord was sending him on to Jericho. 2Kings 2 v 4 [[Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please 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.]] This city was also very significant and a further step in any believer’s life. We see Elisha did not remain at Bethel but desired to move on to Jericho, for he desired the full will of God in his life, so he walked the path to Jericho. What is the significance of Jericho? That is clearly set out in the book of Joshua, and again we turn to the first reference.
END OF PART 1
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