Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel."
But Elisha said, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.
The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?"
"Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it."
Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho."
And he replied, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho.
The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?"
"Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it."
Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan."
And he replied, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on.
Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"
"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.
"You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours — otherwise not."
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.
He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, "The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha." And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. "Look," they said, "we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley."
"No," Elisha replied, "do not send them."
But they persisted until he was too ashamed to refuse. So he said, "Send them." And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?"
2 Kings 2:1-18
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Can you remember the time that you received the Spirit of the Lord into your life for the first time?
I know I can.
It was such an awesome feeling…and one that continues to repeat itself as the Spirit is alive and well inside me daily.
But it just wasn’t enough for me to just receive the Spirit. No…I needed to do something with it once I received it. In fact, by way of Christ’s Great Commission, I knew I was required to spread the Spirit to all I would meet, baptizing and teaching others…helping them become new creations in the Lord Jesus.
Well, in our scripture passage from the 2nd Chapter of 2 Kings, we see a passing of the Spirit take place…this time from one prophet to the one chosen to be his successor.
We pick up in Chapter 2 with Elijah and Elisha on their way from Gilgal. And scripture makes sure we know that Elijah is not long for earth as the Lord would soon take him to heaven in a whirlwind.
While on the way from Gilgal, Elijah told Elisha to remain behind as he was called by the Lord to go to Bethel. Elisha, faithful to Elijah and knowing that the Lord had selected him to take his place, refused to stay behind saying:
"As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you."
And Elisha made good on his promise, going with Elijah to Bethel.
Once there, Elisha was confronted by a “company of…prophets” who asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?" Elisha admitted he knew what was to come but asked that the prophets not discuss it further.
Meanwhile, Elijah was set to move out once again, this time heading to Jericho by order of the Lord. And again, he urges Elisha to remain behind but Elisha refuses again saying:
"As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you."
And so they traveled on to Jericho.
Once in Jericho, Elisha was once again approached by a “company of…prophets” who, like the ones in Bethel, asked, "Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?"
Again, Elisha responded that he knew but did not wish to talk further about it.
This was followed by Elijah speaking to Elisha for a third time, asking him to stay in Jericho as he answered the Lord’s call to go to the Jordan.
And as in the two prior instances, Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you."
And Elijah and Elisha went on to the Jordan.
As they got to the river, Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground…similar to the way that Moses had divided the Red Sea so Israel could escape Pharoah’s oppression (Exodus 14)…and how the Jordan had spread wide as the Ark of the Covenant, carried by the priests, passed through and allowed all of Israel to cross as well into the Promised Land in the early days of Joshua’s leadership (Joshua 3).
Now we read where “fifty men of the company of the prophets…stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped and then crossed at the Jordan. And there they remained after Elijah and Elisha crossed to the other side.
Scripture tells us that after Elijah and Elisha had crossed, Elijah asked Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"
This was quite a question and reminded me of when the Lord spoke to Solomon in a dream. You may recall that the Lord opened Himself up to the king and asked him what he would like the Lord to give?
And Solomon asked for a discerning heart so he could “distinguish between right and wrong”.
Now, Elisha asked what he might want from Elijah, known to have the power of God in him, asks for a “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit…which in essence was asking for a double portion of the Lord’s Spirit within him. His words showed the Lord he was indeed ready to take over and follow in Elijah’s footsteps.
Well, we read where Elijah replies to Elisha’s request by placing one condition on the Spirit inheritance Elisha sought. All Elisha had to do was be able to see Elijah as he was taken from earth into heaven by the Lord. And with that, they continued to walk along.
As they were “walking along and talking together”, scripture tells us that “a chariot of fire and horses of fire” suddenly appeared, separating Elisha and Elijah. Elijah was then swept up “to heaven in a whirlwind”…an act witnessed by Elisha who cried out:
"My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!"
And with that…Elisha saw him no more.
So had Elisha received the inheritance he asked for? Had a double portion of the Spirit been passed onto him?
Let’s see what our scripture tells us.
For we read that Elisha “picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back” to stand “on the bank of the Jordan”. Once there, he “took the cloak…and struck the water with it saying, “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?"
And as he struck the water, it “divided to the right and to the left”, allowing him to cross back over to the other side. Indeed, the Spirit had been passed. Elisha was now ready to carry on Elijah’s prophetic legacy.
As Elisha returned to the “company of the prophets from Jericho”, they too knew that the Spirit had been passed saying, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha." We read where they bowed down before him and then asked if they could go and search for Elijah. The prophets were confused and thought that the Lord had simply picked Elijah up and set him back down in another place…like on a mountain or valley. Elisha tried to discourage them from going but the men persisted and went off anyways, searching for three days to no avail before returning to Elisha in Jericho who reminded them, “Didn't I tell you not to go?"
As we now follow Elisha’s work for the Lord we will indeed see that he not only received the Spirit…a double portion at that…but he also will put the Spirit to work.
The Lord expects nothing less than that from anyone He passes His Spirit to.
So how well are you putting His Spirit to use if you’ve received it?
The Lord is watching with great expectation.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
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