This passage is tough on readers. Many readers fix their attention on the parting of the waters and on Elijah being caught up in a whirlwind and they miss the carefully constructed lessons of the text that are as applicable to any reader.
The text is in the Hebrew Bible, our Christian Old Testament; but the text is not ultimately about how a good Jew or a devout Christian can part the waters. In a little over two weeks, I will be Canyon del Muerto on a field experience with a group from Appalachian State University. There is a pretty substantial stream in the canyon, and I am told that, sooner or later, we will find ourselves on the wrong side of it, and we will have to cross it. The professor said that we will take off our shoes and socks and wade to the other side. He said that we will take off only our shoes and socks—despite the possibility of wet clothes, because our Navajo guide is so modest that he will expose no part of his body, and we will honor the customs in his land. I don’t expect to part the waters.
Neither is this text ultimately about how a good Jew or a devout Christian expects to go to heaven. Since I believe in the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah, I am quite confident that there is a heaven, and that God will get us there. That said, though I have been present for the death of many Christians, I have yet to see a single person caught up in a whirlwind or carried home in a chariot. Most of us want to leave this world with as much dignity and as little fanfare as possible. Not long ago, a friend of mine was being taken to the hospital in an ambulance. He looked up at those EMT’s who were assisting him, and said, “I am a Christian; I hope I am acting like one.”
What then are the lessons of this text that are applicable to me and to you?
First, the text reminds us that God’s people are always on a journey.
According to 2nd Kings chapter 2, God “sent” Elijah from Gilgal to Bethel, then to Jericho, then to Jordan. According to Exodus chapter 3, God “sent” Moses back into Egypt to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land. According to John chapter 3, God “sent” the Son into the world, not to condemn it but to save it. (John 3:17)
I think it is interesting that God “sent” Elijah, and Moses, and Jesus to their tasks. We can learn from their experience. God calls us to himself. Then God’s “sends” us out into the world to serve him. The remarkable thing about Elijah, and Moses, and Jesus is that when God “sent,” they “went. ”
This is not true of all Christians in all times and all places. Perhaps you recall that, according to Acts chapter one, Jesus told his disciples that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and in the uttermost parts of the earth. For some time thereafter, the church was quite comfortable hanging around Jerusalem worshiping in the temple, breaking bread in one another’s homes, and enjoying the buzz of being the followers of Jesus. According to Acts chapter 8, it was not until the church was persecuted in Jerusalem that the disciples were scattered like seed all over the ancient civilized world. I wonder if the disciples could have escaped persecution if had they went when sent.
Last week a missionary couple was in attendance. They will soon be leaving for a difficult place. The wife is a beautiful blond. Where they are going she will stand out in every crowd. I reminded her husband that theirs was a dangerous undertaking. He said that he was aware of the risk. But that going to the place where God sends is not nearly as dangerous as refusing to go where we sincerely believe that God sends us.
You will of course remember the story of Jonah, the reluctant prophet, who some think is literal history and some a parable. The lesson is the same. God sent Jonah to Nineveh, but Jonah took a ship and fled to Tarshish, which is about 180 degrees in the opposite direction. According to the text, he “fled from the presence of the Lord.” But we can’t do that. God is everywhere. God sends and God is there to meet us where we are sent. We refuse to go, and God is there with us, in our refusal, sometimes allowing our lives to become more difficult than they need to be. You will certainly remember the details of the Jonah story: the storm, Jonah’s confession that he is fleeing God, the sailors tossing Jonah into the sea, and Jonah’s trip in the belly of the great fish. Eventually God got Jonah to Nineveh, but Jonah’s trip was hardly first class.
Second, the text reminds us that God reveals the journey to us a stage at a time.
Four times we read in Exodus and Numbers that the children made progress through the wilderness by “stages.” (Exodus 17:1; Numbers 10:12, 33:1, 33:2) Likewise, God sent Elijah along by stages. God first sent Elijah from Gilgal to Bethel. Then God sent Elijah from Bethel to Jericho. Then God sent Elijah from Jericho to Jordan. We are not told how God revealed Elijah’s journey to Elijah, but we are told that he did reveal it a stage at a time.
God reveals our journey in stages at a time for at least two very good reasons.
On the one hand, God shows us the journey a stage at a time because God wants us to fully invest ourselves at every stage of the journey. Jesus is a good example. According to the passion narrative of the four gospels, as the time of his sacrifice drew near, Jesus set his face steadfastly toward Jerusalem. He knew that his destination was the cross. He was anxious to complete his journey, but that did not prevent him from stopping along the way to heal the sick, restore the sight of the blind, or, in the case of Lazarus, raise the dead. The people he aided were glad that he was fully invested at every stage.
God even guides us through preparation. When I was in seminary, some people had no patience with preparation. One young man said that God had called him to preach and he did not need seminary. He dropped out. Some of us felt like we should have a similar urgency. On my professors, Donald Demoray, encouraged us to stay. He said that God guides us through the stage of preparation so that we don’t become, as Phillips Brooks once said, “parsonettes preaching sermonettes to Christianettes.”
God guides us even in the stages of preparation. Some will say, “I will never be fully prepared for God’s service. I am just not able.” The truth is that God is not nearly as concerned with our ability, as with our availability. If we make ourselves fully available at every stage of our journey, God will take care of the rest.
On the other hand, God shows us the journey a stage at a time, because God does not want us to be overwhelmed by what lies ahead. Jesus said that we should let the evil of today be sufficient for today. The truth is that if some of us knew all the trials and tribulations that were coming our way, on the stages of our journey, and if we knew precisely when they would come, we would be crushed by the knowledge. God does not want us to be crushed. He wants us to know two things: 1) As Christians we no longer live in the anxious middle between the womb and the tomb. Our destination is sure. In Christ we know that we have come from God and we are going to God. 2) God wants us to know that he is with us always. As Psalm 139 declares, “If we ascend to heaven, he is there; if we make our bed in Sheol, he is there. If we take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the utter most parts of the sea, even there his hand shall lead us, and his right hand shall hold us.”
Third, this text reminds us that God gives us companions for the journey.
Sometimes, God permits us to take our spouse on the journey. Paul did not have a spouse, but Peter did. It is possible to be a complete person without marriage. It is not possible to have a real marriage without complete commitment. God decreed that a man should “leave his mother and father and cleave unto his wife.” And vise versa. Abraham left his country, and his kindred, and his father’s house, but God gave him Sara to be his encouragement, and his inspiration.
What is true of a spouse is likewise true of our children. Elijah had no children. Abraham went out in hopes of a child. Many people already have children when God calls them out and sends them on their life’s journey, and many more will have children along the way. I have a friend who has a sign in his house, “I want to be half the man my dog thinks I am.” He has no children. I don’t have a dog. I just want to be worthy of my children. Years ago I had a great opportunity—but it involved real risk, and perhaps even some compromise. I knew it was a great opportunity and I was prepared to accept it. That night I had a dream. In my dream I was walking through a patch of Ivy, and snakes were floating up out of it. That memory image comes from my wife who thinks that all ivy breeds snakes. Well, in the dream, I was bushing the snakes aside. They could do me no harm. Then I looked back, and the snakes I brushed aside were falling on my children, biting them. I turned down the opportunity. I decided that though it was good for me, it would be bad for them.
God grants us companions and friends for the journey. Moses had Aaron and then Joshua. Elijah had Elisha. Paul had Barnabas, and then, Silas. Jesus had twelve whom he appointed to be with him. I have been privileged to work with a number of special co-workers. In thirty years of ministry, the members of my congregation have been my closest friends, and I have been privileged to have some remarkable co-workers. When I came here, Ruby Bumgardner was an invaluable help. Judy Knopf who worked here for ten years, Hal Cole, a friend and mentor, and, of course, Ray Troutman. While at New Philadelphia, I worked with Ray longer than anyone. Several years ago we received one of the highest compliments we have ever received from Ray’s son. Craig reminded me that Ray was here with us at New Philadelphia for twelve years. This was despite the fact that, during his active ministry, Ray never served a church longer than eight years. He was an ace and a fireman and always moving around where he was needed.
That was then. This is now. Not long ago, someone said to me, “Worth, you serve with one of the best staffs in the Moravian Church.” Then he added, “…and you serve with one of the best congregations in the Moravian Church.” I know that. I feel about our staff, and this congregation, the same way I feel about my children, and my parents. I don’t want to let you down.
A soldier goes out as a part of a squad, a platoon, a company, a battalion. Many combat veterans have told me that when the fighting starts, they fought not just for their country, but for their friends. I think that those of us who belong to the church ought to feel the same way towards one another, members and staff alike.
Fourth, the text reminds us that when God has given us friends for our journey, we fear the loss of them.
Elisha certainly feared the loss of Elijah. Elijah was not given to long good-byes. When Elijah set out on his final journey, he urged Elisha to stay in Gilgal, but he refused. Then Elijah urged Elisha to stay in Bethel, but he refused. Then Elijah urged Elisha to stay in Jericho, but he refused. At the same time, the prophets at Bethel and the prophets at Jericho warned Elisha that God was going to take his master away from over him Both times Elisha answered, “Yes I know it; hold your peace.” “I know, but don’t remind me. Don’t talk to me about it.” Elisha not only did not want to be parted from Elijah, he did not even want to hear from his fellow prophets that he was to be parted from Elijah.
It is never easy to break up a good team. Some years ago, in a very different economic climate, I spoke with a man who had accepted a job in another city. It this case it was a promotion. He was to make a lot more money, and he would enjoy numerous perks. Yet he was sad. I asked, “Why?” He said, “Because I am leaving my friends behind.”
I tried to encourage him. I told him that his friends would still be his friends. That was not much comfort. Then I told him to make new friends. I told him the story of Robert Schuller starting the Garden Grove Community Church. He knocked on 5,000 doors. One man asked, “How did you do that? How did you keep up your will and your drive?” Schuller responded, “I just told myself that the most important person in the rest of my life and ministry may be just behind the next door.” That was not much comfort. I made a final effort. I gave him Philippians 4:19: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” I told him that “every need” included friends. I am not sure he was encouraged; but I was encouraged, and over the years he has made a real success.
It was hard for Elisha to picture life without Elijah, but had God not taken Elijah “from over him,” Elisha would never have fulfilled his own destiny.
Finally, the text calls our attention to the fact that Elijah the mentor wanted to make a parting gift to his protegee, Elisha.
It is just as Elijah has reached the end of his path, after they had crossed over Jordan, whatever that means, and it may mean much—, that Elijah turns to Elisha and says, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.”
Elisha asked for a gift that Elijah could not give— a double share of Elijah’s Spirit. Elijah said it was not his to give, and instead, he gave Elisha a sign. He said, “If you see me when I am taken from you, the Lord will grant you your request.”
And Elisha saw the miracle. He saw the chariot and horses of fire. He saw Elijah taken in a whirlwind. Elisha knew what had happened. He never doubted it. Yet even the prophets at Jericho were cautious over whether Elijah was carried into heaven. The text says that fifty of them searched three days without finding Elijah’s body.
But that is getting ahead of the story. More important to us is the fact what Elisha did immediately after Elijah was taken. He tore off his clothes, and picked up the Mantle of Elijah—that Elijah had once cast over his shoulders to call him. (I Kings 19:19) Then Elisha went back to the riverbank, and he smote the river with it, and he cried out, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And the Lord God of Elijah was there, for Elisha passed back over on the dry ground just as Elijah had done. Then, when Elisha approached the prophets at Jericho, they fell down before him, and did obeisance, and said, “The Spirit of Elijah rest on Elisha.”
The text never says that Elisha got a double share of Elijah’s Spirit. Why? Because Elijah’s Spirit was the prophetic Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and God does not give Himself by measure. He gives fully, “both hands full, pressed down, running over.”
Then there is the matter of the mantle. Over the years Christians are want to mourn the passing of a great leader. They begin to ask, “To whom will he pass his mantle.” More than thirty years ago, when I was in seminary, people talked about a replacement for Billy Graham. At that time, Franklin was a rebel. Most thought it would be Billy’s son-in-law, Layton Ford. It was not to be. Layton grew old. Billy stayed young. Franklin returned to the Lord. The truth is, it is always God who determines who wears the mantle.
On a broader note, in each local church, the younger generation invariably mourns the passing of the older. No one who belongs to the younger generation wants to lose beloved companions and mentors. Likewise, those who are older know they going to a better place, and they fear for those who remain. They often want to give those who follow them something to aid them on the journey. The truth is that in the church of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of every generation is the Spirit of God, and if every generation will seek the direction of God’s Spirit then noting of value will finally be lost.
God is able to keep the church stage by stage, and step by step. Indeed, God is able to keep you, and provide you with the task that falls to you.
Finis