TWICE ELIJAH'S MANTLE

FOUR SUCCESS STORIES OF DILIGENCE IN ONE

Main Readings: I Kings 19: 19-20, 2 Kings 2:1-14, 2 Peter 1:5-11

The first and the last thing Elisha received from Elijah was his mantle or robe. In the first instance he was called to sacrificial study towards leadership, and the second was a release to lead. Although Elijah had initially indicated that the mantle was Elisha’s for the taking, Elisha learnt eventually that he could not have had it without diligence (careful and persistent effort). Jesus commands immediate diligent service in His disciples (see Matt. 11:28) and this is echoed by Peter (see 2 Pe 1:10) and Paul (see 2Tim 2:15). Through diligence, Elisha was able to secure the guarantee that He was going to be twice as successful as his predecessor. The following discourse examines how critical diligence is for success in Christian ministry.

1.      DILIGENT RESPONSE:

When, Elijah threw his mantle on Elisha, he was telling him, on the surface, “Now you can go out dressed as me, and do things in my name; those who receive me, will now receive you and those who persecute me will do you same favour”. Elisha’s diligent response, however was, '“As the Lord lives and your soul lives”, I am not stepping past you yet, until I have fully learnt what it takes to be you and more!' Elisha then followed, served and understudied Elijah faithfully for about 6 years. Elisha's response meets the demands of Jesus's call in Matthew 11:28.  He said, “come…take my yoke …and learn, … then you will find rest." The call of God thus entails the following three crucial steps:

a.      Come: Coming to Jesus is and admission that you needs rest from the wicked labour under the burden of sin. Elisha used to work for himself (which is what sinners do). He had to leave this, and move to be with Elijah (working solely for God's profit). 

b.      Take: Taking the yoke of Jesus is willingly sharing in His burden of saving the world immediately we come to Him. Elisha immediately shared Elijah’s burden by being the one who “poured water on the hands”. A yoke is equipment that can be placed on two or more oxen to use their combined strength for ploughing. It the lifelong commitment of the disciple to share in His ministry. He learns by doing. No other way.

c.      Learn: Learning how to carry the power of the prophetic ministry was necessary for Elisha. Elisha might have heard of the ups and downs of Elijah’s ministry and needed to learn how he had survived and prevailed with both God and men. Jesus said that the disciple must learn of Him in order to be successful in ministry, especially His gentleness and sincere humility. Clearly the gifts of God are irrevocably given instantly, but the character to make them fruitful must be patiently learnt or cultivated with the help of the Holy Spirit (see Luke 8:15, Gal. 5:22-23)

2.      DILIGENT FOLLOWING

Jesus makes the point that the worthy disciple takes up his (the disciple’s) cross daily and follows Him. This makes it clear that a true disciple of Jesus knows that he has a daily responsibility to the Lord, and he seeks it and discharges it. Elisha displays this in following Elijah from day 1 to day last:

a.      From onset, Elisha made it a point to subject even dealing with his parents to the permission of Elijah, indicating a total surrender to his new and higher calling. In similar fashion the disciple of Jesus must always endeavour to remain within the guidance of the the Lord and His Church, ever seeking to follow the steps of Christ within the body of Christ.

b.      Elisha assumed a mindset of seeing his ministry through to the very end, no matter what. Even in what appears to be his resisting Elijah’s attempt to stop him from serving to the end, Elisha demonstrated that his duty to Elijah was to God first.

c.      The completeness of Elisha’s obedience resulted in God hearing him on even the difficult issue of doubling the anointing (see John 15:16).

3.      DILIGENT SERVICE:

In apparently stopping Elisha from following him in the last days of His ministry, Elijah, the agent of Elisha’s calling, did not always appear to be on the same page with his follower, but Elisha insisted on serving God by serving Elijah. He did not focus on Elijah as a person per se, but rather on the ministry God delivered through Elijah. Diligent service opens doors to greater capacity because:

a.      The agent of Jesus on earth is the Church, the means of calling to faith and service in Christ. This focus must be kept diligently. Though the Church would not always be in agreement with every disciple, yet, it still represents the Lord. The Church must be maintained and served, even against its best efforts at sometimes appearing to prevent disciples from doing so. (see 1 Cor. 11:29)

b.      The request for greater harvest capacity is always rightly motivated by an existent faithful service. He was not bashful about his subordinate position at all: In fact he was well known only as one "which poured water on the hands of Elijah". When he was told that, Elijah was about to be removed as his head, he did not consider it good news to celebrate, rather, he felt he needed his master to be present twice as before! He felt too weak to carry on with Elijah's work without a double of  his anointing. In other words, it was in being faithful in the “little” he was entrusted with that his request for greater clout was justified (see Lk 19:17).

c.      The question that led to the request for double came through Elijah, the agent for Elisha's calling. This is an indication that God operates through His agents, which in our case is the Church, and if we remain faithful within, doors to greater ministry will yet open through the Church. 

4.      DILIGENT REQUEST

At Elijah’s imminent departure, he parted the Jordan with his robe, then asked Elisha to make a request. Elisha requested double portion of Elijah’s anointing. Elijah said the condition for that was still diligence in his present capacity. Elijah was taken up when they were still "going on and talking together". Elisha was left with at least His robe! He picked it up and began his ministry where Elijah had ended his -  parting the Jordan with the prophet’s robe! His prayers were answered! This happened because:

a.      Elisha prayed out of humility. He recognized that he could only maintain or raise the size of the harvest through greater ability. This is consistent with what Jesus promised faithful disciples (Joh 14:12), and the prayer of the early apostles (Ac 4:29). He realized that it is not even what he has learnt from Elijah alone that would make him successful, but rather greater grace as only God could grant.

b.      Elisha did not pray amiss, as in asking for something for his own pleasure (See Ja 1:4). Rather knowing that the ministry of the prophet was essentially for the safety of the whole of Israel, he asked that it be enhanced.

c.      He paid attention to the reaction to his prayer by Elijah. This kind of mediation work is done for us by Christ through the Holy Spirit, and we benefit greatly when we pay attention to His guidance during prayer. He is the one who guides us in what God requires of us in every petition. After all, our ministry only has legitimacy as a continuation of His.

CONCLUSION

Elisha was guaranteed greater success at the commencement of his ministry because of his diligence. He responded to his call with understanding, submitted to learn, committed to serve and measured his prayers according to the demands of his calling. Therefore, his focus never shifted, his character developed, he earned a greater service, and his prayers were answered.