WE hear nothing of Elisha from the time of his call, until the day when Elijah is translated. This we can understand, seeing that Elisha was anointed to be the prophet in the room of Elijah. The two ministries could not co-exist. When, however, the end of Elijah's pilgrimage is reached, Elisha comes to the front as the companion of his last journey and the witness of his rapture. As we follow these men of God in these mystic scenes, does it not become clear that the circumstances connected with Elijah's translation to heaven, become Elisha's preparation for service on earth?
How often we are permitted to see, in Scripture, that God trains in secret those whom He purposes to use in public. Joseph has his secret training with God in prison, before he can be a public witness for God in the palace. For forty years Moses keeps the flock of Jethro at the back of the desert, before he becomes the leader of God's flock through the desert. Unknown to others, David overcomes the lion and bear, before he publicly enters into conflict with the giant. So Elisha must have his training as the servant and companion of Elijah, before he can take his place as the prophet of God and the witness of grace. Thus only will he be a vessel and fit for the Master's use and prepared unto every good work.
In this last journey there are scenes to be visited, tests to be faced, and lessons to be learned. The places visited, so famous in Israel's history with God, must surely have had deep significance for Elisha as indeed for all who would serve the Lord.
Gilgal, the starting point of their journey, was the place of Israel's first encampment in the land, after their passage of the Jordan. There the people were circumcised, and there the Lord could say to Joshua, " This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you " (Josh. 4:19: v. 2-9). In the light of Christianity we are privileged to enter into the spiritual meaning of circumcision. From the Epistle to the Colossians we understand that this rite sets forth the judgment of the body of the flesh in the death of Christ, and the believer's practical mortification of the flesh (Col. 2:11: iii. 5). Not only has God dealt with the believer's sins, but, at the cross, God has dealt with the old man that produced the sins. God's abhorrence of the flesh, His judgment upon the flesh, and His sentence of death against the flesh, have all been expressed in, and borne by, Christ on the cross. So the believer can say, " Our old man has been crucified with Christ." On the ground of what God has wrought through Christ, the believer is exhorted to " mortify " every form in which the flesh may seek to show itself. We are to treat every expression of the flesh as a member of that " old man " upon which death has been executed. If the flesh is thus judged the reproach of Egypt will be rolled away from us. It will no longer be manifest that we have ever been in the world; the manner of life we lived when in the world will no longer be allowed or seen. How deeply important that we should learn, and put in practice, this first great lesson, if we, in our day, are to be, in any sense, in the room of the glorious Man that has gone to heaven.
Bethel was the second stage of the journey—a place famous in the history of the patriarch Jacob (Gen. 28:15-19). There the Lord appeared to poor failing Jacob in the dreary place where his sin had cast him, and in sovereign grace blessed him unconditionally. For twenty years Jacob was to be a wanderer in strange lands; but he is assured that God will be with him, God will keep him, God will bring him again to the Land, and that God will be true to His word. Thus Elisha, at the commencement of his ministry, is assured, like Jacob of old, that he is blessed by the sovereign grace of a faithful God of which he is to become the witness. Good too if we take our pilgrim journey in all the blessed assurance that God is with us, will support us, and bring us at last to see for ourselves that what His love has purposed for us is the only thing worth living for.
Jericho is the next halting place in this remarkable journey. It was by Jericho that Joshua had the revelation of the Captain of the host of the Lord, with the drawn sword. At Jericho, too, the people first encountered the enemy that barred their entrance to the Land; there to learn that the Captain of the Lord's host was mightier than all the power of the enemy (Josh. 5:13-15; ch. 6). Good for the man who is going to witness before kings and face their murderous hatred, to be reminded that in fighting the Lord's battles he will be supported by the Lord's host directed by the Captain of the host. And so, in after years, Elisha found, when besieged in Dothan by a host with horses and chariots, that the power for him was greater than the host of the Syrians that encompassed him, for " Behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire." In this the Christian day, it is still our privilege to take our journey to glory, and face every enemy, that disputes our present possession and enjoyment of God's purpose for us, under the leadership of the Captain of our salvation (Heb. 2:10).
The last stage of this notable journey is reached at Jordan, the river that is such a constant type of actual death by which all links with the world are broken. Both Elijah and Elisha cross it, indeed, dry shod; but typically they pass through death, one to ascend to heavenly scenes, the other to witness of heavenly grace in a world to which in spirit he is dead.
Thus, may we not say, that through these notable places, Elisha is reminded, and we are to learn, at Gilgal the holiness of God that demands the judgment of the flesh; at Bethel the unchanging grace of God which blesses us, keeps us, and secures to us the end of our journey; at Jericho the mighty power of God by which we are sustained; and at Jordan, of separation from the world that we may enter upon heavenly ground and become the witnesses of a heavenly life that, setting forth the grace of God, can say, " Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?" (2 Kings 5:26).
Furthermore, not only is Elisha reminded of great truths at the different stages of this last journey, but his affections are put to the test by Elijah's thrice repeated words, " Tarry here, I pray thee." The instructions to go forward to these different places were given to Elijah. No command was given to Elisha to accompany him. If then he follows Elijah it is wholly a question of affection. And the test draws out his affection, for three times Elisha replies, " As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee."
Has this no voice for believers in this our day? Is it not by affection for Christ that we are moved to learn the lessons that come before us in the different stages of this striking journey? The doctrine of God's judgment on the flesh, must first be learned as the starting point of our identification with Christ; for who can walk with Christ with unjudged flesh? But can it be learned otherwise than by hearts that are set upon Christ? Then, too, the truth of the House of God, set forth by Bethel, discovering to us the purpose of God, can only be learned by a heart that longs to know the mind of Christ. Further, God's judgment on the world system, set forth in Jericho, can only be entered into by one, who in mind and affection is set upon another world. Lastly, the lesson of Jordan—the waiving and setting aside of the earthly order in favor of a present heavenly order of things, calls for a love that can overcome the land that flows with milk and honey, by being set upon the Man, that has gone to heaven.
Moreover, there were those who twice reminded Elisha that the Lord was about to take away his master. These sons of the prophets, with more knowledge than heart, would only hinder Elisha's communion with his master, by occupying him with himself and his loss. Elisha silences these intrusions upon his soul's communion by saying, " I know it; hold ye your peace." He says, as it were, " Why should I not go with my lord Elijah and learn what it means to be in his company at Gilgal? Why should I not learn with him the lesson of Bethel? Why should I be parted from him, when passing through Jericho? Why should I not be identified with him in his passage through Jordan, even if it means leaving behind the earthly blessings of the Land, to be found with him in the outside place of reproach; for beyond the place of reproach there is another scene, a heavenly scene, and my affections are captured by the one that is going into that new scene?"
Thus the last stage of the journey is reached. Intruders have been silenced, affections have been kindled, leading Elisha to cleave to his master through all these changing scenes. The parting moment has come; Elijah is about to be rapt to heaven; Elisha, bereft of his master, is to be left behind in an apostatizing religious nation, who once were Jehovah's people. In this solemn moment Elijah utters his final word, " Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee." Could this offer have been made before? Is it not, as it were, the supreme test for Elisha? Will not the answer make manifest whether Elisha has entered into the spirit of his call? Whether he has profited by his companionship with Elijah? Whether, above all, he has learned the lessons of Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and Jordan? Will it not make manifest whether Elisha has before him earthly gain, fleshly ambition, and worldly power, or is his sole purpose henceforth to be in the prophet's room, and witness to the sovereign grace of God as the representative of a man that has gone to heaven?
Very blessedly Elisha's answer discloses his single-hearted devotedness. He asks for neither long life, nor earthly riches, nor worldly fame. He covets none of those things the natural man values, but rather that which the spiritual man needs; for he says, " Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." This by no means implies that he asks for twice as much gift, or power, as Elijah possessed. The Hebrew word implies the double portion of the elder son (Deut. 21:17). Only Elisha asks not for a double portion of material wealth, but for a double portion of spiritual power. Other prophets will need spiritual power, but, if Elisha is anointed to take the place of Elijah—to be in his room -then, indeed, he will require a spiritual power twice as much as that of any other prophet.
Elijah replies, " Thou hast asked a hard thing." To gain riches, and fame, and worldly power, may entail toil and vexation of spirit, but they are not " hard " things, for men of the world can obtain these material advantages. To obtain, or confer, spiritual power is entirely outside the capabilities of the natural man. Nevertheless, says Elijah, " If thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not it shall not be so." The granting of his request for a double portion of spiritual power, is made to turn upon Elisha seeing Elijah in his new position as the ascended man. The sight of Elijah in heaven will be the secret of Elisha's power on earth.
Herein, surely, are mysteries of which Christianity has revealed the spiritual meaning. For do we not know that faith's vision of Christ in the glory is the secret of power for the Christian on earth?
Was it not strikingly so in the case of the first Christian martyr, for looking up steadfastly into heaven he could say, " Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God." In the light of that vision Stephen was so endued with power from on high that, like his Master, he can pray for his murderers, and, amidst the falling stones, calmly commit his spirit to the Lord Jesus. So, too, the Apostle of the Gentiles, commences his Christian career with the sight of Christ in the glory; and in the light of that vision he walked as a witness for Christ on earth through all the years of his devoted life. For ourselves does not the same Apostle tell us that, " We all looking on the glory of the Lord with unveiled face are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory " (2 Cor. 3 i8)? We must catch the vision of the Lord in glory, if in any sense we are to represent on earth that blessed and perfect Man who has gone to glory.
So it came to pass, " as they still went on and talked, that, behold there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." Elisha saw it, and cried, " My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof."
Nothing quite like this great scene had ever taken place on earth. As one has said, " It is far above the silent removal of Enoch, and far below the calm majesty, of the ascension, when no chariots of fire were needed to sweep the Risen Body of the Redeemer from the earth: when as they beheld, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight."
If, however, Elisha sees his master ascend to heaven, we also read, " He saw him no more." He sees him in the heavens to which he had ascended, but on earth he sees him no more. Has this no voice for the Christian? Does not the Apostle say, " Henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more " (2 Cor. 5:16)? Words that by no means imply that we are not to consider Christ in His path through this world, and learn of Him, as we delight our souls in His lowly grace, His tender love, and infinite holiness. They plainly tell us, however, that we are no longer to know Him in connection with Israel and this world. We are, rather, to know Him as the Leader of a heavenly band, and in heavenly relationships. Devoted but ignorant disciples, may say, " We trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel." Corrupt Christendom may attempt to connect the Name of Christ with their schemes for the improvement of man and the betterment of the world; but the Christian taught in the mind of the Lord will take his place outside the world, while pressing on to Christ in glory, refusing to connect Christ with a world that nailed Him to the cross.
The result of thus knowing Christ in His new place in heaven is very happily set forth in picture in the case of Elisha. The vision of the ascended Elijah leads to a twofold action on his part. First " he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in pieces "; an act that signifies the laying aside of one character in order to exhibit a character that is entirely new, for the garment speaks of the practical righteousness of the saints and the character they exhibit before the world. Elisha did not simply lay them aside to be taken again on certain occasions; he made them useless for future wear by rending them in twain. Then, secondly, " He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him." Henceforth he will exhibit the character of the man that has gone to heaven. So, too, the Apostle after saying we know Christ no more after the flesh, can go on to say, " Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new."
At once Elisha acts in the power of the new life. He comes back into a ruined nation, guilty of having broken the law, defiled by idolatry, and apostate from Jehovah, and in the midst of this scene of wretchedness and desolation he presents the sovereignty of God rising above all man's sin, and acting in the supremacy of grace for those who have faith to avail themselves of blessing on the ground of grace.