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Elisha’s Cloak
"He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back and stood by the bank of Jordan; and he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over” (2 Kings 2:13, 14). What story does this make us think of? What important symbolism is seen there?
Read 2 Kings 2:15–18. Try to put yourself in the place of these prophets from Jericho. Why might they have reacted as they did, trying to find Elijah, even though they knew that he had been taken?
It is obvious from earlier texts that the prophets knew Elijah was going to be taken. The text doesn’t say if they themselves saw the event. In one sense, it doesn’t really matter, because they knew that the “Spirit of the Lord” had taken him. To where, though, was another matter. For some reason they believed that Elijah still could be found “on some mountain or in some valley” (vs. 15, NIV). Perhaps not prepared for the idea of someone being whisked off to heaven like that, they assumed the Lord did something else with him. And though they had the words of Elisha not to bother trying to find him, they insisted on it anyway. Perhaps, only then, after not finding him, did they realize what happened. Yet, even then there was room for doubt. Maybe the Lord set him down on some mountain or valley they hadn’t checked?
In the end, no matter the experiences or miracles we have seen, we still need to exercise faith, or else sooner or later doubt will creep in and seriously challenge our Christian experience.
Think about some powerful experience you had with the Lord. No question, at the time and right after, your faith was strong. Over time, however, what happened, especially as the experience itself started receding in the stream of time? Thus, why is it important that you, on a daily basis, do things that can help keep your faith strong?
| THURSDAY | May 5 |
"He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back and stood by the bank of Jordan; and he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over” (2 Kings 2:13, 14). What story does this make us think of? What important symbolism is seen there?
Read 2 Kings 2:15–18. Try to put yourself in the place of these prophets from Jericho. Why might they have reacted as they did, trying to find Elijah, even though they knew that he had been taken?
It is obvious from earlier texts that the prophets knew Elijah was going to be taken. The text doesn’t say if they themselves saw the event. In one sense, it doesn’t really matter, because they knew that the “Spirit of the Lord” had taken him. To where, though, was another matter. For some reason they believed that Elijah still could be found “on some mountain or in some valley” (vs. 15, NIV). Perhaps not prepared for the idea of someone being whisked off to heaven like that, they assumed the Lord did something else with him. And though they had the words of Elisha not to bother trying to find him, they insisted on it anyway. Perhaps, only then, after not finding him, did they realize what happened. Yet, even then there was room for doubt. Maybe the Lord set him down on some mountain or valley they hadn’t checked?
In the end, no matter the experiences or miracles we have seen, we still need to exercise faith, or else sooner or later doubt will creep in and seriously challenge our Christian experience.
Think about some powerful experience you had with the Lord. No question, at the time and right after, your faith was strong. Over time, however, what happened, especially as the experience itself started receding in the stream of time? Thus, why is it important that you, on a daily basis, do things that can help keep your faith strong?
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