“Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen when he was taken up. Then Elisha returned to the bank of the Jordan River. He struck the water with Elijah’s cloak and cried out, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” Then the river divided, and Elisha went across.” 2 Kings 2:13-14 NLT
Just moments before these verses, the agreement for Elisha to succeed Elijah had just barely made the deadline of God whisking Elijah off to heaven in spectacular style – fire driven horses and chariot, flaming from the sky scooping up Elijah in a whirlwind. Elijah’s cloak comes floating down to the ground at Elisha’s feet! Elisha had just asked Elijah for a double portion of the power God entrusted in His prophet. Elijah kinda shrugged it off – yeah, we’ll see.
Then we find Elisha standing alone in the field. Elisha had just witnessed a most unexpected, extraordinary miracle, but as he stands there, he realizes, “I have no idea what to do now!” Elijah’s last order was to stay in Jericho, but Elisha refused, not wanting to let Elijah out of his sight.
What does one do when your mentor has moved on? Now, Elisha would be self directed, depending completely on the Lord to lead him. And in that awkward silence, Elisha picks up Elijah’s cloak and walks back to the edge of the Jordan river, where he and Elijah had previously seen God miraculously part the water to walk across on dry land. As Elisha stood there, the Bible reveals his anxious heart when it says, he struck the water and cried out. It reminds me of Moses and his hit-the-rock moment!
Oftentimes, I’ve noticed, the Old Testament prophets had shown a wide variety of real emotions, mostly angsty, deeply dark and moody. Sure, the miracles are amazing, but prophets obviously carried the difficult weight of delivering God’s word often to leaders who did not want to listen and definitely did not want to obey God. After the water parting, Elisha did go on to perform twice as many miracles as his mentor, Elijah – https://bit.ly/ElishaMiracles. The Talmud records that Elisha struggled with this anger his whole life, eventually becoming the cause of his own death, “The Talmud teaches, Sotah 47a, that Elisha had been sick with the same sickness twice before and he recovered. His sicknesses were a punishment for his having behaved in a harsh way twice. Once, when he cursed the youths who had behaved in such an insolent fashion towards him. The second time was when he excommunicated Gechazi and cursed him with Tzara’at (a form of spiritual leprosy).” Even though God used Elisha in extraordinary ways, Elisha could not get free from his own issues. Even after Elisha’s death, it’s recorded that his own bones had the power to bring a dead man back to life! According to 2 Kings 13:21, a corpse touched Elisha’s bones and was restored to life!
Elisha’s life and calling from God tells a story as well. Was Elisha too young? He was probably in his twenties when Elijah met him in his family’s field. Was his time with Elijah too short? He served under Elijah for six years. Was Elisha influenced by Elijah’s own self esteem and even depression towards the end of his own ministry?
Sometimes, with folks that have “seen it all” in ministry have a darker reality of what ministry really looks like. Personally, I watched the effects of longtime ministry on my own mentors. It changed them, it seemed to have sucked some of the joy and faith out of them. Whatever it was, I often said, “I had no interest of sitting in that seat of leadership.” I wonder how much of all that Elijah faced impacted Elisha?
Prayer
Dad,
As I read about Elijah’s life and ministry calling and compared it to Elisha’s, I realized – everyone has issues they have to deal with from within. Ministry calling, although fulfilling in so many ways, is also an exposure to the full gamma of human expression from the people we serve. The highest of highs, but also the lowest of lows! I’ve seen people behaving at their best, as well as at their worst. I’m privy to the most private behaviors in families and relationships. It is a lot to carry. At this season of life, I understand far better of how the world works, the church works and how hard it is to keep our souls in shape before you. Thank you for your long suffering grace as we do life over the long haul.