Walking in faith

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, "but do not speak of it."

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, "but do not speak of it."

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 of 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 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 (2 King s 2:1-12c).

The theme of today’s Old Testament lesson is traveling. We see Elijah and Elisha traveling from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to the Jordan. We see Elijah travel up to heaven, riding in a chariot of fire. And there is a third journey as well, although we’ll talk about that one a little later.

Elijah was a man used to traveling. His ministry as God’s chief prophet took him to Samaria, the capital of the northern nation of Israel, where he confronted King Ahab and Queen Jezebel over leading the people in the worship of false gods. After warning of severe famine as a punishment for abandoning God, he went to a city on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, where by God’s power he kept a widow and her son alive and well fed while everyone else was starving. Three years later, Elijah traveled south to Mount Carmel, where he challenged the priests of Baal to show the power of their god; when fire from heaven took Elijah’s sacrifice and the priests of Baal were left with their frantic prayers unanswered, Elijah ordered the 450 false prophets put to death, according to God’s Law. Threatened with death for doing this, Elijah traveled south out of Israel, through the nation of Judah, and out into the desert, going all the way to Mount Sinai where God had given Moses the Ten Commandments. But although a fierce wind tore at the mountain, a thundering earthquake split the rocks, and these were followed by a blazing fire, the Lord revealed Himself to Elijah in a gentle whisper and gave him new instructions. Elijah was sent back north along the Jordan River to the desert of Damascus, far to the northeast of Israel. There he placed God’s blessing on a new king to replace Ahab, and he also anointed Elisha as the man who would one day succeed him as God’s prophet.

Elijah was used to traveling as he went about the Lord’s business, so it was no surprise that Elijah’s last day on earth would involve considerable walking. Elijah and Elisha were already on the road when God sent instructions to visit the prophets in Bethel, a town in the Judean mountains about 10 miles north of Jerusalem. Probably Elijah was being sent to give these prophets their final instructions before he left this world. From Bethel, the man of God was sent down the mountainside to the prophets living in Jericho, a trip of about 14 miles. After a brief stop there, Elijah was sent on 5 miles more to the Jordan River, where after crossing on dry ground, he was to be taken up into heaven. Altogether, Elijah and his protégé must have walked over 20 miles that day; assuming that they had arrived in Bethel fairly early in the morning, it was probably close to dark by the time they crossed the Jordan.

We aren’t told much about Elijah’s appearance; although artists usually depict him with gray hair, we have no indication from Scripture as to how old he was. The only description we are given is that he dressed clothing made from hair and wore a leather belt, a style of dress later seen on John the Baptist. Most likely, Elijah was not a young man; nevertheless, right up through the end of his last day on earth, God had work for him to do, work that involved dedication and effort. Elijah’s last day shows us that as long as God permits us to draw breath, He has things for us to be doing on His behalf.

Elijah’s travels took him from the top of mountains to the bottom of valleys; he visited the palace of a king and found shelter with a poverty-stricken widow. Elijah’s life shows us that when we accept the Lord’s invitation to follow Him, the resulting journey can take us to some unexpected places and unforeseeable situations.

But Elijah’s last day on earth was the beginning of a new journey for the man of God; Elijah was taken up into heaven bodily in a whirlwind. Elijah received a remarkable blessing; he was permitted to leave this world without first tasting death. Only one other person in the Bible received such a gift—that other man was Enoch, who lived back in the early days of Genesis. No one else has gone into heaven without first dying—not even the Son of God, who died to pay the penalty for our sins before He rose from the grave and ascended into heaven.

What made Elijah so special that he was spared the agony of death? Was his life so perfect that he deserved this special treatment? Not at all—like everyone else, Elijah was a sinner. When Queen Jezebel put a price on his head for ordering the deaths of her 450 priests, Elijah’s confidence broke. In the past, Elijah had always waited for God to tell him where to go; but with his life threatened, Elijah became terrified and fled into the wilderness. There, alone in the desert, Elijah asked God to take his life, a request both selfish and lacking in faith. It was a selfish request, because Elijah did not ask God what he should do next--he simply wanted out from the hard work the Lord had assigned him. If was also a request that demonstrated a lack of faith; Elijah had lost hope that God could salvage things and make tomorrow a better day.

Thankfully, God did not show the anger He must have felt upon hearing Elijah’s despairing words. Instead, God showed His mercy by sending an angel to refresh the prophet with food and encouragement. Thus strengthened, Elijah went to God’s holy mountain, where the Lord, rather than beating Elijah down, instead gave him renewed purpose and sent him back to work. Elijah, like each of us, was a sinner who could only find renewed life through God’s undeserved mercy. Elijah was obviously someone close to God’s heart to be spared death the way he was, but this wonderful gift was not something Elijah earned by being a holy man.

But there is one more journey that we need to consider—that is the journey of Elisha. Elisha had been committed to following Elijah from the first day that the two men met near Damascus; although a member of a wealthy family, Elisha left everything behind without hesitation to serve God’s prophet and learn from him. So when the day came for Elijah to be taken up into heaven, Elisha insisted on staying by his master’s side; he followed Elijah every step of his final journey to the Jordan. When their time together was nearly at an end, Elijah asked the younger man if there was anything he could do for him before the two were parted; in response, Elisha asked: "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit." To understand this request, you must know something about Old Testament customs regarding inheritance. When a man died, his property was divided into equal shares for each of his sons; however, the eldest son received a double share from his father’s estate. So when Elisha asked his mentor for a double share of his spirit, he was requesting the privilege of the first-born, to inherit Elijah’s position as God’s chief prophet. However, this was not something that Elijah had the authority to promise—and so he left it in God’s hands, saying: "You have asked a difficult thing…yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours--otherwise not." If God allowed Elisha to see his master’s miraculous departure, this would be evidence that the Lord approved Elisha’s request.

Why did Elisha want the job of chief prophet? Was he like some modern televangelists, who soak up public attention like a sponge? No, because Elisha continued to live a life of relative solitude. Did Elisha seek the position for the rewards it could bring? Again, no—when Naaman later tried to reward Elisha with gifts in thanks for curing him of leprosy, Elisha refused to accept them. The reason that Elisha asked to be appointed as Elijah’s successor was simply this: he wanted to serve the Lord with his life. He was grateful for the opportunity to grow closer to God through his years at Elijah’s side and wanted to show his gratitude to the Lord by serving Him. He also knew how important and demanding the job of God’s chief prophet was, and he wanted to be properly equipped to carry on Elijah’s work—so he expressed his need by asking for a double portion of the spirit that had lived within Elijah—the Spirit of God. And because his request was honorable, God rewarded Elisha with a breath-taking vision—he was allowed to see a chariot of fire, drawn by a team of blazing horses, sweep Elijah away in a wind of tornado-like force. Elisha was so astonished that all he could do was cry out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" Because of his sincere devotion to the Lord, Elisha was permitted a glimpse of the Almighty’s glorious power. And because of Elisha’s commitment to the Lord’s service, he did become God’s chief prophet, and was empowered to perform miracles even more dramatic than those done by his mentor Elijah.

What can we learn from the journeys of Elijah and Elisha? Elijah’s journeys through life teach us two things. First, being a follower of God can take you in unexpected directions and land you in some surprising situations. Nevertheless, we should never be afraid—God promises to be with us and to guide us as we seek to do His will. Paul reassures us in Romans chapter eight that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him. Second, we learn that from cradle to grave, our lives have purpose; God always has something useful for us to do in His service, right up to the hour of our death. Regardless of age or sickness or disability, no one should think of themselves as useless to the Lord, not when Ephesians 2:10 tells us we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Elijah’s journey into heaven also reminds us of two things. First, we are reminded that even the best of us are sinners, people who do not trust God as firmly as we should and make decisions that do not conform to His perfect will. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Second, we learn that there is more to our God than justice; He is also a God of mercy who speaks to us softly and restores us to the paths of righteousness. This is demonstrated most clearly through the sending of His Son Jesus, who suffered and died in our place to spare us the punishment that our sins deserved. Because of this great act of mercy, we are offered forgiveness on Jesus’ credit and the opportunity to join Elijah in God’s eternal kingdom. Hebrews chapter nine states: Christ is the one who mediates a new covenant, so that all who are invited can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under the first covenant.

Elisha’s journey reminds us what God wants from us. The Lord wants us to value our life with Him over earthly lives dedicated to wealth and popularity. He wants us to be unwavering as we devote ourselves to serving Him. And we are shown that those who put God first in their lives are allowed to see things that are reserved only for the eyes of the faithful—we who follow are permitted to see the glory of God at work in the world around us. We might not see anything as dramatic as fiery horses and chariots, but is there any greater miracle than a baby being washed clean of sin by holy Baptism? Is there any miracle more impressive than seeing an unbeliever renounce his sin and turn to Christ in faith? God’s glory is at work in the world every day, but only people of faith can see what’s really going on.

Elijah and Elisha’s journeys are over; they are at rest in the eternal home of God. As your life’s journey continues, commit yourself to walking with Christ, and He will one day transport you to a place so magnificent that fiery horses and chariots seem merely commonplace.