Elisha In His Early Ministry – Part 1 - The Judgement Is Bad Series

ELISHA IN HIS EARLY MINISTRY – PART 1 - THE JUDGEMENT IS BAD

SERIES – MESSAGES ON ELISHA – HIS LIFE AND MINISTRY Number 3

[A]. THE UNDERSTANDING IS BAD

2Kings 2 v 15 [[Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha,” and they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him, 2Kings 2:16 and they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley,” and he said, “You shall not send,” 2Kings 2:17 but when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men and they searched three days, but did not find him. 2Kings 2:18 They returned to him while he was staying at Jericho and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”]]

(1). God had taken up Elijah in a whirlwind and I believe he went to Paradise. Elisha testified to that fact. His word was not good enough for the sons of the prophets. They lacked discernment and understanding. Also from verse 15 they acted on appearance and were opportunistic. They followed Elisha only when they saw he had been anointed by God.

(2). In spite of God’s power in the parting of the Jordan, verse 16 reveals the sons of the prophets had no spiritual perspective here. They used a rational approach to try to answer God’s program. They did not look at this spiritually. Verse 16 ? 50 strong men is the use of the human might. Elijah did not need to be found, as the Spirit of God led him in all his ways. Beside, he went to Paradise. It also shows a very poor understanding of the Holy Spirit. The sons of the prophets used the expression “and cast him on some mountain or into some valley” which is an appalling understanding of the tender care of the Holy Spirit, as if He would drop off Elijah at some random place. Matthew Henry adds this – “Traversing hills and valleys will never bring us to Elijah, but following the example of his holy faith and zeal will, in due time, bring us to the place where Elijah is.”

Verse 17, and the latter part of 16, is plain and exact to Elisha. The sons of the prophets did not want to act alone, and sought Elisha’s support. They would not accept his truth as they thought they knew better. As a result, it was a worthless search. Their arrogance to argue with God’s anointed, and oppose him to the point of his giving permission, is like God in the end, allowing a Christian to go down the wrong way after the internal opposition of witness, from God, and the upbraiding of the bible. It is Israel all over again demanding a king of Samuel. The desire to control our own lives will always bring us to oppose God’s will, and if we persist, God says, “Go your own way.” In this case the sons of the prophets met failure. Our own will in our control, always brings failure. A nation that rejects God’s guidance, is allowed to go its own way and what a mess it makes of the situation.

Verse 18. The prophet is at Jericho (rest and faith) while the sons of the prophets were wasting their time in the wilderness. These were the same prophets, you remember, who did not go through Jordan. They did not take the step of death, of dying to oneself, but were the knowalls, the arrogant, with supposed head knowledge, but not the wisdom of walking with the Lord.

That brings us to a very important point today. There is a link between age and experience and wisdom. When I was young, and television first came to Australia, the presenters were strictly news readers with a few factual video clips introduced later on; they were not dramatists as we have been indoctrinated with today. All these presenters were men and women of maturity, most being in their 40s and 50s. This is when the news was properly and impartially given, not invented or slanted according to agendas as it is now. We don’t put down young people, but the younger must learn from the older. That is a biblical principle. Today you see only a young generation sitting and standing at the News desks. In many industries, once people get to a more mature age they get sacked. The older person is rejected in job interviews. In the New Testament, churches had elders, and through the bible, Israel had its elders. This is biblical, that the elder teaches the younger, and the younger learns from the older. Like so many of the ethics and standards in the bible, this generation has dismissed what God has given.