From Holding On to Carrying On
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.
Transitions are tense times. They come upon us and we experience anxiety about them because we are human, we are limited; we don’t really know how the transition will turn out.
Transitions are tense because they always involve loss. That is why they are transitions – something is left, and something arrives; someone is let go of, and something is picked up: life carries on.
This account of Elijah and his departure by whirlwind and chariot of fire is all about transition. It is another big transition moment in the story of God’s promised future for his people.
The concern is that when Elijah departs, the voice of God will be lost, and his plan of promise ended. The Lord has done good things through Elijah. When he departs, will the Lord still do those same good things via someone else? Is there someone else?
We always have two options in transition moments. We see them in Elisha in this text. We either trust that the Lord is present in this transition; that he has us in mind and will continue his work by some means in and after this transition, or we cling on to what we have known and fight to keep it because we just cannot trust that the Lord’s plan will continue after this loss.
Elisha seems to start in one but eventually, by Elijah’s leading and the communities telling, he successfully transitions to trusting the Lord in this transition. As a result, the prophetic voice of God continues to work out his promises for his people.
Elijah’s starts out clinging on to what he loves and knows – Elijah.
In this strange little ’farewell tour’ that goes around in a circle and ends up across the Jordan river, Elisha is like a faithful puppy with a much loved yummy bone. No matter how hard Elijah tries to shake Elisha loose, Elisha is not going to let his teacher go.
But Elisha said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel.
4 Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.’
‘As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.’ So they went to Jericho.
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.
Elisha is sticking close to what he knows and loves. He knows Elijah. Elijah is his teacher, his father in the faith. Elisha has experienced much of the Lord’s blessing and presence through this ‘father’ in the faith and he is not willing to let him or what he has known through him out of his sight. He fights for it. He loves it. In many ways he is a model of loyalty and faithfulness. He knows the Lord is at work in this man and he wants to stay close to the Lord’s work.
But Elijah, his teacher, and it seems, the whole prophet community know that this is a moment of transition that requires something else from Elisha.
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?’
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
The prophets are aware and ready to see the transition. They all know it is going to happen because it has to. The Lord is in it. They even know how it will happen – by whirlwind.
Elisha is still struggling to stop holding on and is resisting carrying on. The prophet community are telling him, Elijah is telling him, the Lord is telling him through them that the transition from what was to what the Lord has next is about to occur.
So far, Elisha has told them all to be quiet.
Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?’
‘Yes, I know,’ Elisha replied, ‘so be quiet.’
Strange isn’t it? Elisha knows what is going to happen and that it must happen, but he just can’t let it happen, even when it is the Lord telling him through his mentor and his community.
Elisha has heard but he does not want to hear. He loves this man and what has been. Because he can’t let it go, he cannot trust the Lord’s leading in this transition.
Like Peter up on the transfiguration hill, Elisha wants to put up some tents and make this last, not let it go and trust the Lord for his next steps down the mountain. Therefore, Peter and Elisha are in danger of contributing to the very thing they fear will happen – the ceasing of God working in their community.
I’m like Elisha. You might be too. Transitions are testing. I often need some time to think, time to pray, time to ponder letting go of something I love; something through which I have been blessed by the Lord.
Elisha knows this change will and must happen, but he needs time to be silent and deal with the loss this transition will bring, as all transitions do.
They give Elisha time. The prophet community stay silent when he asks them to, and Elijah allows Elisha to keep close.
Elijah does more to help his son in the faith trust the Lord’s leading so he can stop hanging on and start carrying on. Elijah and the prophets know that the future of the prophetic voice in Israel depends on Elisha making this transition in this transition.
Down at the Jordan, Elijah, like Joshua before him with the Ark of the Covenant, and Moses, before him, with his staff back at the Red Sea, in the very same place that Moses went off into the hills never to be seen again, parts the waters, allowing the two of them to cross over on dry ground into God’s promised land.
Things must look different on the other side. It must bring new perspective. Or maybe Elisha knows it is just time, because finally he begins to accept the Lord’s impending action. He begins to trust that the Lord is in this transition and will continue to speak to his people after it.
Now Elisha is not holding on but beginning to trust the Lord to carry on.
God’s word will not cease, Elisha. The Lord will continue to work among his people through this transition. All the good things he has done he will still do but via a different man.
Letting go of Elijah now, Elisha responds to Elijah’s invitation for a departing gift that will help Elisha carry on, not hold on.
‘Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,’ Elisha replied.
Elisha now welcomes more of the Lord’s power and promise into himself for carrying on his calling. Now he is open, now he is listening. Now he has let go of what has been with thanks, and he is ready to carry on in the Lord.
Elisha is now preparing, getting ready for what the Lord will do on the other side of this transition, back on the other side of the Jordan where he must go. Now he is carrying on not holding on.
Elisha now sees for what it really is – the Lord at work. He then can receive what he needs to carry on.
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….
He saw the Lord’s hand in this transition moment (pretty hard to miss!) and so he can leave what has been and go into what is being.
Friend, this Christian life, this being a member of a church in mission is one of trust; trust enough to not hold on too tight to what has been in the Lord but to pick up the mantle he has given us as his prophets; his spokespersons to his community and carry on his work by various means he presents and powers.
The big difference between Elijah and Jesus is that Elijah did indeed depart from his disciple Elisha forever. Jesus did not depart from his three disciples that day when Moses and Elijah came to have a chat with Jesus.
Jesus never left them. Jesus returned to them and stayed with them and led them into the biggest transition the world has ever seen – the defeat of the curse of death over human beings.
‘Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you? asks Elijah of Elisha.
Tell me what I can do for you as you face transition, asks Jesus.
“Give me, give us, a double portion of your Spirit so we can stop holding on and instead, carry on with the Lord”.
Pick up the mantle, friend. It is ours to gladly carry.
Amen
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