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Commentary on "Elijah's and Elisha's Mantle"
Day 5: Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - The Taking of Elijah
Overview
Today we are looking at Elijah’s final day here on earth. In doing so we will look at a series of significant events associated with his dramatic departure.
Observations
Several times Elijah tells Elisha to stay behind on this eventful day. Beginning in 2 Kings 2:1-2, we find them traveling from Gilgal to Bethel. In Bethel the ‘sons of the prophets’ tell Elisha that his mentor is going to be taken from him this day. Elisha already knows. Then they traveled on to Jericho where ‘the sons of the prophets there say the same thing.
Elisha, realizing that Elijah is testing his dedication concerning the ministry he is about to embark upon, refuses to stay behind. They now come to the Jordan River where Elijah parts the waters and they cross over to the east side. This is the reverse of when Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan in the very same place many years earlier. As expressed in the words of Joshua before him, Elisha would know that ‘the living God is among you’:
He said: “You will know that the living God is among you and that He will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. (Josh. 3:10 HCSB)
Elijah now asks Elisha “what shall I do for you before I am taken”? Elisha asks for “a double portion of your spirit”. Elijah tells him it is a hard thing he is asking for but if he is there when he is taken up it will be so. No doubt the hard part is the difficult mission Elisha is about to embark upon. Shortly afterwards, chariots of fire and horses of fire separate the two and Elijah is taken up in a whirlwind. One cannot help but wonder this event is a precursor to the return of the Messiah, Jesus Christ:
For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matt 24:27 HCSB)
The utter reality of what he has just embarked upon so overwhelms Elisha, he tears is clothes in two and takes up the mantle Elijah has left behind. Returning to the Jordan River, he parts the water through the use of the mantle and crosses back over. This demonstrates to everyone that he now has the authority and power of God to speak in the name of God. The sons of the prophets who were in Jericho understood this but insisted on looking for Elijah even though Elisha warned them it was a waste of time. Elisha, at their request, purifies their water supply through a miracle. On his way to Bethel, some boys came out to meet and jeer him. He cursed them in the name of the Lord and two she-bears tore apart forty-two of these young renegades.
Summary
- Elisha was anointed and well prepared to embark upon God’s appointed ministry. Even so, when he tore his clothes in two, it showed that he was overwhelmed by the magnitude of what God had in store for him. Without any hesitation though, he took up the mantle.
- The use of the mantle to part the waters of the Jordan River demonstrated to all that he was now God’s anointed.
- The attack of the two she-bears upon the boys who were jeering Elisha demonstrates that there are serious consequences when you mock God or his anointed.
Copyright 2011 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised April 16, 2011. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
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