2 Kings 2:1-14 - 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, “so be quiet.”
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, “so be quiet.”
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 from 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, it will 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
garment and tore it in two.
Elisha then picked up
Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of
the Jordan. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah 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.
Today we say goodbye to
Elijah with the story of Elijah saying goodbye to Elisha (and everyone else for
that matter). Elijah had chosen Elisha to eventually replace himself. But more
than just choosing him, he took Elisha under his wing and taught him the work
of a prophet. Elisha had the benefit of an apprenticeship for the work he would
do after Elijah was gone. We see this in many places in the Bible - Moses and
Joshua, Jesus and the twelve, Paul and Timothy, Paul and Barnabus and others.
Unfortunately, we don’t
see enough of it today. I just want to encourage you to think about two things
today:
1) Are you being taught
by someone? We never get too old for mentors and we should always be learning.
If you don’t have someone who you are learning from, seek it out.
2) Who are you teaching?
You have knowledge and wisdom that could make someone’s life easier and more
impactful.
Elisha had a fruitful
ministry in large part because Elijah had prepared him to do so.
Prayer: Lord, show me
what I need to learn and who I need to learn it from. Also, show me who I can
help along their way. Amen.
Prayer Focus: The
questions above.
Song: So something a
little different today that goes with the topic. Antonio Salieri, a composer
most known as a Mozart-hater (although this has been seriously
over-dramatized), also mentored and taught the likes of Beethoven, Shubert, and
other notables. Specifically, Beethoven learned vocal composing from Salieri.
Today’s music is a small snippet from Beethoven’s “Choral fantasy.” Enjoy
Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy
performed by the Belin Philharmonic
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