Elijah and Elisha, or, Following the Master

This post is based on 2 Kings 2:1-18, and is taken from a longer sermon I wrote.

The bible is full of stories. Histories. Stories about people. Some of those stories are about good people, and some are not. Not every action taken by every person in the bible is good, but then, the bible is not just a story book. If we think of it as just a book we grossly undersell it. The bible is the word of God. And there are always layers to his living word. Jesus tells us that the Old Testament points to him. There is so much in this story, and I am sure that the bit I am sharing here is just a part of that.

Elijah was the great prophet of God, possibly the greatest prophet who ever lived, one who, along with Moses, appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration and met with Jesus. Elisha was his servant, who also went on to become a great prophet in his own right.

The master, and the servant.

We are called to serve God. To follow him. To reflect him in our lives. We are the servant. He is the master.

At the beginning of this passage, the master and the servant are in Gilgal.

Gilgal means ‘Circle of Stones.’ It was the place where Joshua and the Israelites placed 12 stones after crossing the Jordan into Caanan, and was the place they renewed their commitment to God through circumcision. It was the base of operations for the Israelites through their entire campaign to take the land. 

They came through the waters, like baptism, and cut off their old life, and set up a base camp in the new land. There is symbolism here of new life, there is symbolism here about setting up a foundation in Christ, there is symbolism here about fighting the good fight for God.

And the master says to the servant “Stay here.”

It is good to remain in this place. There is no condemnation in his voice. To rest in your new life in Christ is good. His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. 

But Elisha replies “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”

The servant follows his master further. Beyond the place of new life.

So they go to Bethel. Bethel means “The Temple, or the House, of God”. It is the place where Jacob had the vision of a stairway leading to heaven, with angels ascending and descending. It is where God told Jacob his promise to give the land to his descendants. The promise that had been given to Jacobs grandfather was also his.

It is a place of worship, a “thin place” where heaven and earth are touching. There are other prophets already living in this place, other servants of God dwell in this place of worship.

And the master says to the servant “Stay here.”

It is good to stay in this place. There is no condemnation in his voice. To live in the place of worship, close to heaven, in the house of God, is a blessing.

But Elisha replies “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”

The servant follows his master further. Beyond the place of worship.

So they go to Jericho.

Jericho had been a stronghold of the enemy, but it was overthrown when the Israelites trusted in Gods word. It became the site of one of Israels greatest victories. It had a spring and an oasis (symbols again of the Spirit of God), and once again other prophets were living there.

Jericho is a place of victory. A place of refreshing.

And the master says to the servant “Stay here.”

It is good to stay in this place. There is no condemnation in his voice. To live in the place of victory, in the place of refreshing, is a wonderful thing.

But Elisha replies “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”

The servant follows his master further. Beyond the place of victory.

So they travel to the Jordan. Jordan means “descending”, and it is often where we go when we leave the place of victory. The hard places in life. The valleys. The rivers we cannot see how to cross. The master doesn't tell the servant to stay here. 

He will never leave you in the hard places. You won't always be rescued from them, but he will pass through them with you.

it's interesting that even here there are other prophets, yet this time they say nothing. They don't get involved, they don't help in any way. But then, they don't share in the glory either.

I think there is something to say here about the ‘company of the prophets’ and whether they are actually doing what they should be doing, but I'll leave that for now.

It is after the master and the servant pass together through the hard times that the master asks the servant what he desires. That the servant witnesses the chariots of God, the heavens opened… That the servant receives the mantle of the master. A double portion of his masters spirit.

John 16:7 – But I tell you the truth: it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor (the Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

John 14:12-13 – I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

Greater things than these.

Greater things than Jesus. 

What does that even mean? The one who could heal the sick, give sight to the blind, cleanse the leper, raise the dead…

Greater things than these.

My dad was dwelling on this verse once, and asking God “what would that look like? How could we do greater things than you?”

And he got a vision of a car crash, of body parts strewn across the road. Of a car load of young people coming across the scene, and praying, and the body parts coming back together, and the people coming back to life.

Is that what greater things than these could look like?

A double portion.

The mantle of the Master.

With the mantle of the master, the servant crosses the Jordan alone. But not alone, for he has the spirit of the master upon him. With the mantle of the master, Elisha achieves miracles for God. And after the crowd of prophets - who remained silent in the hard times, who tried to make sure he knew of the loss of his master, but who doubted that God had actually done the miracle that the servant claimed to have witnessed - when these servants looked for three days (interesting) and could not find the body of the master, they returned to find the servant staying where? In the place of victory yet again.

There is always deeper to go with God.

If we seek him, we will find him. If we seek him with all our hearts.

Even when we are a good place with God, he can take us beyond where we are.

How far are you willing to let him take you?