GIFTS AND RESPONSIBILITY
Opening Prayer
Ruler of heaven and earth, use your Word to increase my understanding of who you are and build into me greater vision for the ways that I can serve you.
Read 2 KINGS 2
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Elijah Taken Up to Heaven
2 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 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.
3 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.”
4 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.
5 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.”
6 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.
7 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. 8 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.
9 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.
10 “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.”
11 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. 12 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.
13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 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.
15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”
“No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”
17 But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
Healing of the Water
19 The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.”
20 “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
21 Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’” 22 And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.
Elisha Is Jeered
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Ask for God’s help to develop the gifts you have been given and to use them wisely, discerningly, responsibly, and sensitively.
Think Further
There are unsettling aspects in this well-known passage, where the mantle of Elijah literally passes to Elisha. Why does Elisha tell the company of the prophets to be quiet? Why does the company of prophets look for Elijah (vs 16, 17) when they know he is being taken from Elisha that day?
God had given foreknowledge to the prophets. Perhaps they felt the need to inform Elisha of Elijah’s imminent departure. Maybe they wanted to test whether he already knew, as an indicator of how worthy a successor he would be. Either way, it seems insensitive. Elisha is about to lose someone close to him (tearing his cloak later probably indicates mourning) and it would be natural for him to require silence. Until Elijah is taken from him, Elisha does not initiate conversation – he simply answers questions and insists on sticking close to his master. Despite their foreknowledge and witnessing of the seamless transition of prophetic role from the hairy Elijah to the bald Elisha with the Moses-like parting of the waters, the prophets want to search for Elijah. They appear not to have pondered the significance of their God-given knowledge nor how best to use it.
Having demonstrated that he has received the requested ‘double portion’ of God’s spirit (vv. 9–12, 15), Elisha brings life by purifying waters. When God gives gifts, however, he does not take away free will and one can misuse God-given gifts. Elisha’s anger, and perhaps fear, flares when he is mocked, and he responds with a destructive curse.
Apply
Employ well the gifts God has given you. Repent for times you have wielded them as weapons, been lazy in developing them, or insensitive in using them.
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for calling me to follow you. Help me to be faithful and to demonstrate your love in ways that lead others to your path of righteousness.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
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