After Elijah trained his servant
Elisha to look and see, listen and hear, and prophesy the word of the Lord it
was time for him to return to heaven. The heavenly chariot of God carried
Elijah away from Elisha into the concealed revelation of 'nothingness' or the
spiritual expanse of heaven's eternity outside of time. Elisha was told by
Elijah, "If you see me (not the chariot or horses) when I am taken you
will receive a double portion of my spirit."
Elisha had to pass many test and
preserver in order to walk in Elijah's double mantle. (2 Kings 2:1-18) Elijah
asked Elisha to stay in Gilgal, the place of cutting, circumcision and the
rolling away of reproach, but he refused. When God removes our past failures
and reproach we must walk through the gates of authority into the new place
with God. Elijah moved on to Bethel, the place or house of God, the gates of
heaven. Bethel was a place where people went to seek counsel from God. Elisha
followed Elijah to Bethel to learn how to obtain God's counsel. We must follow
the leading of the Holy Spirit to the next place of testing to progress
spiritually. We cannot remain complacent or stagnant; the river of God always
flows.
The sons of the prophets came to
Elisha in Bethel and said, "Do you know that the Lord will take away your
master from over you today?' And Elisha said, "Yes I know; be still!"
Elijah told Elisha to remain in Bethel while he went on to Jericho. But Elisha
said, "I will not leave you."
The sons of the prophets in
Jericho, a place of fragrance and warfare, had also been shown that Elijah was
going to be taken away from Elisha that day. Elijah and Elisha traveled on to
Jordan, a place of flowing down or descending, where fifty men of the sons of
the prophets stood opposite them at the Jordan River. Elijah took his mantle,
folded it together and struck the waters of the Jordan which divided allowing
both prophets to cross over on dry ground.
When they
had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you
before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please, let a double
portion of your spirit be upon me." He said, "You have asked a hard
thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for
you; but if not, it shall not be so." As they were going along and
talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which
separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. Elisha
saw it (the chariot) and cried out, "My father, my father, the chariots of
Israel and its horsemen!" And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of
his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 2 Kings2: 9-12
Elijah did not hand his mantle
onto Elisha; Elisha had to pick it up after Elijah was taken into heaven.
The word mantle in Hebrew is
'adar' which is also the word for the last month on the Hebrew calendar. The
month of Adar is the best time to remove any personal barriers to holiness thus
it is a time to create the potential for the greatest joy. Adar is the final
month of the year, it completes the year and hence it is a time of completion.
The root meaning of adar is glorious, splendid, marvelous, and mighty. In a
noun form it is rendered as a cloak or mantle.
He also
took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank
of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the
waters and said, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" And when he
also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha
crossed over. 2 Kings 2:13-14
Jewish traditions indicate that
the mantle that fell from Elijah was a Talit or prayer shawl. The Talit of a
prophet or master teacher would have dark purple-blue threads in the corner
tassel. People believed that the purple thread contained miracle power. This is
why the woman with the issue of blood wanted to touch the hem of Jesus' Talit
or garment. When she was healed Jesus said, 'Who touched me? I felt virtue
leave me." Then He told her 'your faith has made you whole' not a purple
thread.
Elijah's Talit, mantle or Adar
symbolized that Elisha had removed any barriers to his relationship with God.
He was no longer the servant but now stepped into the place of the prophet he
had served. The word Adar is spelled 'Aleph, Daleth and Resh.' The Aleph
represents God or a beginning, a link between heaven and earth. The Daleth is a
doorway to the four corners of the earth or God's creative works in the world,
the Resh represents healing and wholeness. Hence the word Adar has the idea of
God opening a doorway to healing power, restoration and wholeness.
Elijah's mantle was a doorway to
God's power. Clearly the Aleph in the word for mantle 'Adar' suggests that it
is God's doorway not Elijah's. That is why Elijah did not give his mantle to
Elisha. Elijah told Elisha that if he saw him taken, he would have his desire
to carry on the prophetic ministry with a double portion of his spirit.
The mantle is a symbol of joy and
completion. Elijah left his mantle as a sign that he had completed his
assignment. Elisha picked up Elijah's mantle indicating the start of a new
year; he was picking up where Elijah left off and beginning his own ministry as
a prophet. Elijah's mantle was a symbol of an agreement of power and authority
between Elijah and God. Elisha's picking up Elijah's mantle symbolized that he
was entering into the same agreement with God. When Elisha used Elijah's mantle
to part the Jordan River God established His agreement or covenant with Elisha.
Elisha Succeeded Elijah
Everyone is at a different level
of hearing and seeing in their spiritual understanding. Elisha had walked and
been personally trained by Elijah for years. He had been tested and tried in
spiritual disciplines. The sons of the prophets had been through training as
well yet they did not possess the level of seeing that Elisha had developed.
Elisha saw the chariot of fire and the horses come to separate him from Elijah.
He cried out, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its
horsemen!"
The sons of the prophets only saw
the whirlwind the chariot created. The sons of the prophets were left wondering
if Elijah had been translated to heaven or if he had possibly been transported
to another geographic location. They had to search for three days in the
natural to come into peace. Elisha knew Elijah had been taken to heaven because
he saw beyond the natural into the invisible realm of the Spirit.
Now when
the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said,
"The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." And they came to meet him and
bowed themselves to the ground before him. They said to him, "Behold now,
there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search
for your master; perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him on
some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not
send." But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said,
"Send." They sent therefore fifty men; and they searched three days
but did not find him. They returned to him while he was staying at Jericho; and
he said to them, "Did I not say to you, 'Do not go'?" 2
Kings 2:15-18 NASU
The New Testament shares an example of the
audible voice of God speaking from heaven when Jesus foretold of His death.
Some that stood by didn't hear anything. Others who were present in the crowd
heard God's voice manifested in thunder, while still others thought it was an
angel.
So the
crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered;
others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and
said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.
John 12:29-30 NASU
The names of both Elijah (The
Lord Is My God, Spiritual Champion) and Elisha (God Will Save Me, Protected)
carries the record of what they represent, but not necessarily how they saw, if
they are thought to be seers. Elijah's name means God is Jehovah or YHVH is my
God. He functioned as the Father's recorder on earth.
In the case of God's servant
Elijah, the chariot was a trans-dimensional carrier of God's servant. The
chariot of God transported Elijah out of time into the eternal realm where
Elijah had always existed in heavenly places. When the fullness of time came,
God reached down to retrieve the recording of Himself He had placed within
Elijah. Elijah came to restore all things back to God. He was called to turn
the hearts of the Father's back to the son's. And to turn the son's heart back
to the father's, to make ready a people for God lest God curse the earth.
Elijah's anointing was to restore righteousness and protect the earthly realm
from being struck with a curse caused by sin.
Elisha's name means 'God is
salvation'; or 'My God is salvation.' He functioned under a double portion of
Elijah's spirit.
The Prophet Elisha
Elisha's eyes saw beyond the veil
of the natural into the supernatural realm where God's army of fiery angels and
chariots reside. His eyes were not limited by situations or hard facts. He knew
to look beyond the natural to see God's provision. He trusted more in the realm
of faith than what seemed to appear in the natural.
When fear blinded Elisha's
servant, the prophet's prayer was able to open the attendant's spiritually
blind eyes to see the coexisting spiritual realms of angels. Knowing that there
are more for us, than against us, brings a peace beyond our present
understanding.
Prayer delivers us from fear.
Prayer opens our eyes to see God's ever present answer, while at the same time
prophetic decree will blind our enemies and place them at our mercy. For God to
trust us at this level, it requires us to develop greater levels of obedience
of compassion. God wants to trust us with the lives of our enemies. God tests
and tries us until He knows that we will not execute our own judgment or harm
people in anyway.
When God delivers our enemies
into our hands we must return good for evil, blessing for cursing, and loving
kindness for abuse. The Lord is the only one who should ever move in judgment.
He said vengeance is mine. We have no right to be vengeful. It is God's place
to vindicate us. We are called to love our enemies, to be kind to those who
persecute, use, and abuse our kindness. We should lead our enemies to salvation
and their eyes will be opened to God's saving word, loving spirit, and grace.
It is time to love like God loves; see like God sees; obey what God's word says
and then do what God does.
Now when the attendant of the man
of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots
was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What
shall we do?" So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us
are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed and said,
"O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened
the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and
chariots of fire all around Elisha.
When Elisha's enemies came down
off the mountain to pursue him Elisha prayed. We should follow his example.
Elisha's prayers struck his enemies with blindness. This removed the enemy's
power and control. They were forced into a vulnerable place wandering in
darkness and confusion. The army had come to do the prophet great harm but God
protected him. The prophet placed his trust in God. In this new state of total
dependence and humiliation, the enemy had to trust and blindly follow Elisha to
Samaria. Elisha said, "Follow me and I will bring you to the person you
seek."
When they came down to him,
Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, "Strike this people with blindness, I
pray." So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
Then Elisha said to them, "This is not the way, nor is this the city;
follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." And he brought
them to Samaria.
Elisha's enemies had to walk
through the process of trusting the one they were sent to destroy. Once they
arrived at the promised location, Elisha prayed that God would reopen their
blind eyes. Their vision was restored. New vision was given in the midst of their
enemies.
When they had come into Samaria,
Elisha said, "O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see."
So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst
of Samaria.
Like most of us who have been
wounded by an enemy or betrayed by a close friend, our first instinct, like
that of the king's was to kill his enemies when they were delivered into his
hands.
Then the king of Israel when he
saw them, said to Elisha, "My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill
them?" He answered, "You shall not kill them. Would you kill those
you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow?"
Elisha told the king of Israel to
respond according to the greatness of God's loving-kindness, to make his
enemies the objects of compassion in the presence of all their captors. Elisha
encouraged the king to feed the Arameans, to provide for and care for his
enemies instead of killing them. The king prepared a feast for the enemy
soldiers and they ate to their fill.
"Set
bread and water before them that they may eat and drink and go to their
master." So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten
and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding
bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel. 2
Kings 6:15-23 NASB
Elisha's mercy triumphed over
judgment. Great grace leads us to victory. The King of Israel's enemies were
delivered into his hands. The King was eager to execute judgment and destroy
his enemies, but the prophet carefully redirected his focus to blessing and not
destruction. Good will always triumph over evil. Love will also bring forth a
better result than hate. Never greet your enemy in the same malignant spirit.
Never return evil for evil but learn to bless instead of cursing. We are not of
this world so we cannot respond in the spirit of this world. God is love so we
must respond in the power of His might.
Barbie Breathitt
Share this
article:
Price: $18.99
Sale! $16.99