Elijah’s and Elisha’s Mantle
By Stephen Terry
"Then Elijah said to all the
people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the
LORD, which had been torn down." 1 Kings 18:30, NIV
Elijah was a prophet at a time of great
apostasy in
As a lone prophet, he faced down 450
prophets of Baal in an "ultimate smackdown" of faith on
He graciously allowed the prophets of
Baal to go first. If they could get their god to produce fire to burn their
sacrificial offering, it would prove Baal was real. All day they pled with Baal
to respond. Nothing happened. Finally, after waiting all day, Elijah took
his turn. He repaired God's altar that had been neglected, laid out the sacrifice
on the wood and then thoroughly soaked all in water, even filling a trench with
the runoff. When he prayed, God responded. The fire that consumed the sacrifice
even evaporated the water in the trench it was so intense. No one could doubt
which God was real.
The people rose up and slew the prophets
of Baal. It looked like there was going to be a real sea change in attitudes in
Having stood in the power of God and
faced down 450 men, he now quaked before the ire of one woman, Queen Jezebel. She
swore she would kill him, and he fled for his life. Eventually he finds himself
under a bush in such despair that he asks God to take his life. Elijah had
called down fire in the past and destroyed twice large cohorts of soldiers sent
to apprehend him. (See 2 Kings 1) How could a man so full of the power of
God be so despondent now? So many have found themselves in a
similar position. High on faith one day and in the valley of despair the
next, they doubt that their relationship was real.
God is not one to abandon his people.
What happens is that we forget what He has done in the past and lose sight of
what He will continue to do in the future. The same God who had protected
Elijah on
While Elijah complained about the forces
arrayed against him and fretted about standing alone in the fight, God
displayed his power and majesty and reassured Elijah that he was not alone in
the fight. Indeed, there were seven thousand others in
Having dealt directly with Elijah's
fear, God then went to the next level of cure for his despair. He put him back
to work. You cannot wield God's power hiding under a bush or in a cave. You
must get to work for God to see His power shine forth. It was not time to
rest yet. Elijah had two future kings to anoint and a successor to appoint.
Then he would receive an honor bestowed only once before.
Recharged and ready to re-enter the
fray, Elijah went forth. He fulfilled the tasks faithfully. He passed his
mantle on to his successor, Elisha. But with the mantle, he passed on no doubt.
The Bible contains no record of Elisha succumbing to the despair that Elijah
did. Perhaps Elijah had learned his lesson so well that while Elisha walked
with him, he saw no evidence of a doubting, despairing prophet. From the
cowering prophet under a bush, Elijah became the prophet who rode a fiery
chariot into heaven without seeing death. Because of his trial with despair and
doubt, he was well able to provide comfort and support to Jesus on the Mount of
Transfiguration as He faced His own dark hours to come. (See Luke 9:28-36)
Elisha, successor to Elijah, asked for
and received double the power of Elijah. Perhaps this great power was because
he never doubted God's power on his behalf. The Bible contains no record of
Elisha wavering in his faith. However, while Elisha raised the dead to life and
cleansed a leper in forecast of what Jesus Himself was to do one day, he never
received the honor that Elijah did. He was never
translated directly to heaven. Elisha eventually died and was
buried to await the resurrection when Jesus returns.
Perhaps this is a lesson to us today
that God does not penalize us for our feelings of despair. Instead, He uses it
to raise us to a higher level of experience. He wants to tell us what is
written in the book of Job: "You will surely forget your
trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. Life will be brighter
than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. You will be
secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest
in safety. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and
many will court your favor." Job 11:16-19, NIV
What a precious hope for God's people.
How wonderful to know that even though we may be overcome by despair, God does
not turn from us. He raises us up and restores the waters of hope to our
crumbling hearts. Only a God of love would do that. A love like that touches my
heart, and I want to love Him, too. Don't you?
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