We find here a miraculous part of history. It is the story of Elijah being taken up into glory on one of God’s fiery chariots and the transference of power and authority from one generation to the next generation. And here God is unmistakably teaching a lesson not only to Elisha but to us today. The lesson that God is teaching us is that He wants to do greater things with this generation then what was done with the previous generation.
The Bible says He calls the old because they know the way; he calls the young because they are strong. Elijah represents the older generation while Elisha represents the younger generation. Elisha has done greater works than Elijah, not better, but more in abundance. Elijah is accredited with 16 miracles and Elisha is accredited with 32 which is considered too be a double portion or a greater works. Jesus said greater works shall you do for I go unto my father.
However, in order for the next generation to do greater things that means that this generation must seek God’s face, and experience God for themselves. They must be endued and equipped with power from on high for themselves. Because what momma and daddy experienced through God was good enough for them, but we need our own experience with God.
?We find here in our text the time had come for Elijah to go off the scene, and a shift in the prophetic era was about to happen. This shift was going to take what Elijah had done and move it to another dimension.
However, there was a process that had to be done first.
?In our text today Elijah was about to leave this old world behind and go on into glory. And God had told Elijah to go to a certain place, and from that place he would be rapture away. Elijah and Elisha begin a process that will bring supernatural results. So, Elijah and Elisha left Gilgal.
Now Gilgal is the place where the children of Israel came after they crossed the Jordan River. It was at Gilgal where Joshua had them to erect 12 standing stones as a witness of what God has done. Gilgal means standing stone or witness. Gilgal represents the church because the church is a witness to the world of what God has done. Although Gilgal represents the church; nevertheless, in order for the shift that was to happen they had to leave Gilgal, the church. They had to leave their comfort zone, their traditions, their familiar surroundings; they had to leave what they were used to because it was part of the process that was going to bring about a change.
And if we’re ever going to be successful, this means that we’re going to have to leave our comfort zone. Once they left Gilgal, or the religious system, they came to Bethel. Normally the name Bethel means “House of God” but here it represents the world because Bethel had a great spiritual heritage but something happened to the city. And Saints it’s not about what you used to have in the Lord, but instead, it’s about what you have right now.
Now Jeroboam the 1st king of the northern kingdom of Israel, set up a golden calf in the city of Bethel causing the people to be worship idolatry. As a result of these action an entire generation had become lost to skepticism, mockery, scoffing they became contemptuous, disdainful, scornful, and disrespectful and making fun of Elijah and Elisha as they walked through the streets of Bethel. And may I tell you that people will laugh at you when you are trying to live right.
Elijah the older, wiser, spiritually matured prophet looked at this back slidden generation, no doubt with a tear in his eye and wanted to fight sin and change their evil ways, but his strength wasn’t as it use to be.
This new generation was more hardened, godless, rebellious, and evil then he had ever dealt with before. Elijah knew Elisha was younger, he knew Elisha talked the talk of this generation so he says to Elisha why don’t you stay here in Bethel.
But Elisha knew that he had to go through the process. He wasn’t worried about making a name for himself, he wasn’t worried about a title, but he wanted to be endued with power, so he said to Elijah “As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee”. He understood that there was still something he needed to learn from Elijah The man of God, and in order to learn it he had to go through the process. But the problem with most people is that they don’t want to go through the process. (They want everything right now everything instant)
?Elijah and Elisha leave Bethel and come to Jericho. Jericho means “A place called pleasant. Although the name means pleasant, Jericho was barren, dry, lifeless, unresponsive, unmoving, motionless, and dead. There were no trees, no flowers, all of the fruit had withered. Because poison had infiltrated the water supply of Jericho and killed life or rather the reproduction of new life.
The city of Jericho represents dead and dry Christianity. In this city of Jericho there were some prophets there. These prophets were students of the scriptures, they even had a prophetic vision because they knew that Elijah was going to be taken away today, but something was clearly wrong with them, they lacked power, they didn’t have any type of anointing, and they didn’t know how to operate in the spirit of the Holy Ghost. They could preach with the best of them, they could speak in tongues, witness like it was no body’s business, but they hadn’t experienced God’s anointing for themselves, they couldn’t effectively make a change, they were caught up in a fleshly ministry.
They represent church people that have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. They constantly tried to recreate something that happened in the past, they were crying for an old time revival instead of realizing God wants to do a new thing. Elijah looked at this dry group of people and said to Elisha why don’t you stay here. But Elisha said “I will not leave you”.
?So Elijah and Elisha leave Jericho and they come to the Jordan River. The name Jordan means “flowing down” and a river of a natural stream of water, and water in the Bible represents God’s spirit.
At the Jordan River, something was going to happen. There was going to be a shift that would take place at the Jordan River.
Elijah the seasoned prophet took his mantle wrapped it together and smote the water; the waters divided representing the dividing of the spirit, distinguishing the old and the new.
The Bible says they crossed the Jordan on dry ground. Verse 9 says Elijah asked Elisha “what shall I do unto thee” Elisha said “Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me”.
You see Elisha knew he had to do a new thing and he knew that it was going to take more power to deal with what he had to deal with, he needed the anointing to be stronger, because he was going to be dealing with a new generation of sinners that were more hardened then the previous generation. He knew that just putting his hand behind his ear and screaming wasn’t going to be enough for this new generation. So he said a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. What you have is good enough for you, but I need more, so let more fall upon me.
?In verse 10 Elijah said “Thou ask a hard thing, what Elijah was saying is what I’m about to say to you all this morning and that is be careful when you ask for somebody else anointing because you don’t know what they went through to get what they have. And here he is asking for a double dose of the Holy Ghost. Elijah said thou asked a hard thing but nevertheless. He said if you see me when I am taken away from thee it shall be so unto thee, but if not, it shall not be so.
In verse 12 Elisha saw it happen and he saw Elijah no more. So he tore his clothes into two pieces representing he was taking off the old man, he was taking off traditionalism, he was taking off religiosity, religion that had been warmed over, he was taking off man made rules.
13 says “He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him”. Now watch this. A mantle is a covering, something that encloses, something that clothes. The word clothe in the Greek means to be endued.
?When Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah and placed it upon himself he was endued, covered, wrapped in the spirit.
?Come here verse 14, it says Elisha comes back to the Jordan River (flowing down). At the Jordan River he smote the waters and asked where is the God of Elijah. He knew to smote the river because he had been trained by Elijah, he had gone through the process. When he smote the waters the waters divided and he came across on dry ground. But when he got back across the Jordan he was met by 50 prophets, these were the church folks that were not ready for a change, they wanted to keep on doing things the same old way.
They saw something in Elisha, but they were comfortable with Elijah, they knew Elijah, and they were use to his ways. So because of familiarity instead of wanting to move forward they wanted to go back to what was comfortable to them, they wanted to do what was familiar.
Fear of the unknown kept them from going forward, fear caused them to go back to look for Elijah, they were looking for their comfort zone. For 3 days they looked for Elijah but were not able to find him – why- because a shift had taken place and this was a new thing.
So after 3 days they came back to Jericho, Elisha was there in Jericho, Elisha said “Did I not say Go not” did not I say don’t go backwards God wants to do a new thing.
?Elisha was dealing with people that had a form of godliness, but they denied the power thereof. Now remember I told you that Jericho means a place called pleasant, but there was no life there or rather no new life.
?Well, verse 19 says and the men of the city (they represent the deacons of the church) said unto Elisha “Behold I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant as my lord seeth, but the water (SPIRIT) is naught (ruined, morally bad) and the ground is barren”.
In other words, the church has a form of godliness but denies the power thereof. When lives are not being transformed, people come to church hurt, hungry, thirsting for love, looking for a new lease on life.
We show them how to shout and cry, but we fail to teach them how to live when all that is done. They came to Elisha and said look at what has become of this place.
?Elisha said in verse 20 bring me a new cruse and put some salt in it. This new cruse is a new vessel, it couldn’t be an old one but a new vessel. This represents the next generation, a generation that is not flawed by traditionalism.
It represents those that are willing to be used by God in this next move and are not trying to ride the coat-tails of our predecessors, but those that are willing to do a new thing, I know what you did at your last church, I know what you’ve done with your last pastor, I know how the church was packed years ago but what about now? It time for a new cruse.
So he said bring me a new cruse. Then he said in the new cruse put salt. Salt represents the “Word of God”.
?Elisha cast the salt in the water and the waters were healed. So, what I’m telling you is that when you apply the spirit and the Word of God, things will change , and change will take place.
After Elisha brought about a change at Jericho (the church) was able to move forward, and I think I need to tell you this morning, that if the church gets right then we can change the world.
So after Jericho was healed he went to Bethel the world and worldly system. Bethel means ‘house of God”, but it had become corrupt. God created this world perfect, but this world has become corrupt. And Idolatry, mockery, scoffing is just how Bethel was.
When Elisha came back to Bethel after the shift had taken place and a new thing had come about. So I heard that there came a group of children out of the city and mocked him, they said go up bald head go up. Understand that these were not young children as we suppose, most commentators and theologians agree that these were young people between the ages of 25 – 40 years old, old enough to know better, but they had gotten so far away from God that they did not have any understanding of God, they were a lost generation.
They did not understand that the shift that had taken place, so they were comfortable with making a mockery of Elisha and everything that was Holy, kind of like today. However a new thing had come into play Elisha turned, looked at them, cursed them in the name of the Lord and the Bible says 2 she bears came out of the wood and (killed) 42 of them. Because a new thing was in place.
?Today God is looking for someone who wants a double portion time for the next generation to pick up the mantle and take it to another dimension. ?God wants to do a new thing and He needs some Elisha’s to pick up the mantle that will not compromise.
God needs Elisha’s that will expose and deal with sin. ?God needs Elisha’s that will pick up the mantle and raise the standard of Holiness.?God needs Elisha’s that will die out to self and self centeredness and say here am I Lord send me I’ll go. And not for the short term but for the long haul?God needs Elisha’s who fear the Lord and not man.?God needs Elisha’s that Worship in the spirit and in truth and move beyond spectatorship and entertainment.?God needs Elisha’s who will say for God I live and for God I die.?God needs Elisha’s who will tell the world were not going to stand for this any more.?God needs Elisha’s that will say no we’re not going to take it.?God needs Elisha’s that will not try to counsel everything but operate in the spirit and cast thing out.?God needs Elisha’s that will call down the fire of the Word of God to consume all that is not holy.?God wants Elisha’s that will release the church of the bondage of traditionalism and take her into her destiny.
God needs Elisha’s that are not going to stand for complacency, mediocrity, lukewarmnes, hypocrisy, immorality, profanity, worldliness, a form of godliness and the lack of power.?so my question is:
Are you looking for a double portion?
Who will help me is it you, Is it you is it you?
