“And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber. Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith Jehovah, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not. So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. And when he came, behold the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain. And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of Jehovah, even over Israel. And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Jehovah, at the hand of Jezebel” (2 Kings 9:1-71And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead: 2And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber; 3Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not. 4So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. 5And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain. 6And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel. 7And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel. (2 Kings 9:1‑7)).
The time had now arrived for God's judgment to be executed upon the house of Ahab. And Elisha, whose ministry was so eminently characterized by grace, was the chosen vessel God made use of to sanction and attach His own authority to those retributory forces both in Syria and in Israel which were to carry all before them. We might have thought that Elijah would have been the more suited servant for such a work, and as to his personal temperament, if that were all, undoubtedly he was. It still, however, connected itself morally with the ministry of that holy man, but in the many manifestations of mercy experienced by Israel and Syria, mercy was debating with judgment, and now judgment must have its way. “Hath he smitten him as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him? In measure when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it; he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind” (Isaiah 27:7, 87Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him? 8In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind. (Isaiah 27:7‑8)). It is interesting and instructive to observe the way by which the man of God approached this somewhat unusual service. He did not actually anoint Hazael, nor did he require of him any pledges as to his subsequent conduct, although the divine insight given him into the future by Jehovah was of such a disquieting nature that “The man of God wept.” Just the briefest intimation of the fact that he was to be king of Syria was enough to act upon Hazael's ambitious nature, and to urge to the commission of such deeds as he himself would under other circumstances have shrunk from in horror.
A different subject is before us here, but scarcely a more inviting one. The prophet does not personally act; he does not appear in the business, but he lays strict injunctions upon the young man as to his conduct in the matter. It may be that in this there is a lesson for us. Spiritual discernment was the great thing in Elisha's ministry.
He felt and rebuked its absence in those about him. In one way or another it appears in every one of his miracles. Truly it is no less important in this clay of the Spirit's presence upon earth and in the church. Christ Himself being now necessarily absent (John 16:77Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. (John 16:7)), the Spirit of Christ is here to make known what He is, and He produces that which answers to His character and that meets with His approval. A mechanical service will not suit Him. The written word throws its light upon the whole scene. The Spirit of God enables us to understand and apply it, and thus the spiritual character is developed in the saints. It is not enough that Christians are in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. We are exhorted to be “filled with the Spirit.” “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Then we shall be not carnal, walking like “men,” but “spiritual.”
The apostle Paul based all his exhortations in his epistles upon this fact—so lost sight of in Christendom—that the Spirit of God now abides in the Christian. It is not intelligence or vigilance merely, but the quickness of affection to follow up and act upon that which is grasped by the mind. Here the young man was to faithfully represent the one who had sent him. There were reasons, as we have seen, why Elisha could not go himself. There was to be no show of fellowship where it could not be real. Jehu was a vessel in which God could have no delight; nor could His servant Yet was Jehu put under the responsibility of specific instructions, with power given for carrying them out. If God lays a responsibility upon any He does not withhold the power needed for carrying it out, if looked to and counted upon. But power does not of itself set us in communion with God, or keep us in His presence. We see this in the history of Jehu, for did not power characterize him right through? Yet the spirit in which he fulfilled his mission was most offensive to God. However commended for his zeal, it was but a fleshly energy in which he could and did boast—it fell in with his own ambitious projects.
One scripture will be sufficient to illustrate this: “And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing-house in the way, Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen. And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing-house, even two and forty men: neither left he any of them. And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he saluted him and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot. And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for Jehovah. So they made him ride in his chariot. And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of Jehovah, which he spake to Elijah” (chap. 10:12-17). It was the fulfillment of Elijah's prophecy, and the answer to Elijah's complaint on mount Horeb.
We now come to the closing act of Elisha's ministry, so beautifully in harmony with his long life. “Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face and said, O my father, my father! the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof! And Elisha said to him, Take bow and arrows: and he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow: and he put his hand upon it; and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of Jehovah's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times, then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shall smite Syria but thrice” (chap. 13:14-19).
Scarcely less glorious than the translation of Elijah was the calm and dignified ending of Elisha's service. The king of Israel might lament over him in a natural way, but it seemed more like “late remorse” than any genuine appreciation of the great realities which Elisha's ministry represented. We know not whether king Joash had any understanding of the significance of his own words, but certain it is that just as the cloud in the wilderness appropriately enough represented Jehovah's care and goodness in guiding and protecting His people passing through that great and terrible wilderness, so just as suitably the chariots of fire represented Jehovah in all His power and majesty on behalf of Israel against their enemies. God might at all times be trusted to do this, but the failure has always been in His people, who would not trust Him; and Elisha immediately puts the question to the proof with the same result as ever. God in His power and goodness was the same still, but Israel was not ready, they would not trust God or give Him credit for sincerity. “According to your faith be it unto you.” The faith of Joash could only trust God for three victories, but the five or six would have been definitive. So we see the apostle Paul at a later day rebuking the half-hearted timidity of the Corinthians: “But as fellow workmen we also beseech that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. For he saith, I have listened to thee in an accepted time and in a day of salvation have I succored thee. Behold now is a well-accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:1, 21We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:1‑2)). “Our mouth is opened to you Corinthians. Our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. But for an answering recompense (I speak as to children), be ye also enlarged” (2 Corinthians 6:11-1311O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. 12Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. 13Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged. (2 Corinthians 6:11‑13)).
This dear, dying saint, we might almost say, like Paul, would commend to God and to the word of His grace. Israel was not then, nor are they now, ready for the glory. The “chariots of fire and horses of fire” might go back without them, as indeed they have, but the day shall yet come when Israel shall own and worship Him who shall come in the name of Jehovah. The praise that is now silent in Zion shall then be rendered to its worthy object. This joyful resurrection of the nation seems to be typified in the incident which closes Elisha's history. “And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulcher of Elisha. And when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood up on his feet” (vers. 20, 21).
When Israel are confessedly in the place of death, and bow to the righteous judgment of God, then will they find that One has been there before them, who has robbed death of its sting and of its victory. “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it.” “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they rise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead” (Isaiah 25:8; 26:198He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. (Isaiah 25:8)
19Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. (Isaiah 26:19)).
“The glory” cannot identify itself with the people until they have reached the lowest point and are ready to own it. “Then shall they look upon him whom they pierced, and mourn for him.” Elisha's ministry was the pledge and guarantee of that faithfulness which never fails. He will guide by His counsel, and “after the glory” He will receive them (Psalm 73:2121Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. (Psalm 73:21); Zechariah 2:88For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. (Zechariah 2:8)).
G. S. B.
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