Introduction
Last Sunday we
started a series on the life of Elisha, and if you weren’t here, let me briefly
summarise where we got to.
Elisha was a
prophetic leader, called by God, to minister in the northern kingdom of Israel during
the reigns of some dismally bad kings. It was a time of national spiritual decline.
The books of Judges and Kings cover the dark ages of Scripture.
The nation did not
turn back to God. But despite this quite depressing context of spiritual and
moral decay, there were occasional bursts of light and hope. It feels to me like
we live at such a time now.
The church is overall
in numerical decline in the Western world. Everywhere else on the planet Christianity
is growing at this time. But here in the west, immorality and ignorance of God
are widespread. It’s a spiritual dark age.
But up and down the
land, God is raising up great churches. Christians are disproportionately
involved in social action; street pastors, food banks, holiday hunger, helping
people out of debt and addiction.
There is a recovery
of faith in the God of signs and wonders; healing on the streets, Alpha Holy
Spirit days, and prophetic movements. These are the days of Elijah – and
Elisha.
We saw last Sunday that Elisha was coached and trained
as a man of faith by his mentor Elijah. By faith, Elijah strikes the Jordan with
his jacket and the river divides so they can cross without getting wet.
Everyone knows that it takes more than an old coat to separate
the waters of a river. How do you pass on that kind of anointing? How do you
impart spiritual authority and conviction?
Was it the academic approach? Did Elijah write an
essay, quoting the original Hebrew, on bypassing the laws of physics? Was it
the motivational approach? Did he give Elisha an inspirational pep talk? “You can
do it, Elisha. You just need a bit more gravitas.”
Neither. Elisha learned on the job, as a bag-carrying
assistant, for ten years. The word “companion” literally means “one with whom I
share bread” and that is what these two men were.
Now Elijah is gone. Elisha is on his own. 2 Kings 2. All
Elisha has is Elijah’s old cloak. Verse 14; “Where now is the Lord God of
Elijah?” he asks. A crowd is watching. There’s nowhere to hide. Now it’s my
turn.
The stabilisers are off the bike. I glide forward
gracefully or I wobble and crash. Some of you today are in exactly this situation.
Today’s passage is about three incidents. Each is a
test as Elisha begins his new ministry - which is what usually happens whenever
God raises up new leadership to follow what came before.
My personal experience confirms that whenever you step
up to serve the Lord, he starts
by testing you. Even Jesus was tested severely and repeatedly at the start of
his ministry, following his baptism.
In each of the
churches I have been honoured to lead, including here (in fact especially here),
the first year was the hardest of all. Why doesn’t God make it easy and settle
us in comfortably? Why does he test us?
The answer is simple.
When Boeing or Airbus produce a new model, they subject it to rigorous examination
in the factory before it flies. They won’t send a new aircraft up into the air
until it has survived punishing stress checks first. Only then will a test
pilot be sure that even severe turbulence and a hard landing won’t break the
plane in two.
God tests us for two
reasons; to strengthen our resilience and to bolster our confidence. Will I
curl up in self-pity? Will I quit at the first sign of discouragement? Or will
I look to God and take the battle to the enemy?
I can’t think of
anywhere in the Bible where God asks anyone to do anything easy. From the Bible’s
very first page, where God has modest little job of bringing a universe of chaos
into order, this book is all about how the impossible gets done - by faith.
So, Elisha faces three
tests right at the start of his public ministry and that’s why.
Test 1: The Test of Authority
Test number 1 is about people’s attachment to the old
leader. Elijah has gone. Elisha is the new leader. God has very visibly put his
stamp on the transition from one to another…
It’s so clear in the first half of this chapter. Two
prophetic schools say to Elisha that his mentor and guide Elijah would be taken
from this life that very day. Now he’s gone, and they can see (v15) that the
Holy Spirit rests on the successor.
So, they approach Elisha and, while they sort of acknowledge
him as the new leader, the first thing they say to him is, “Let’s send out a
search party and look for the old one.”
Elisha says, “Don’t bother.” But they insist so stubbornly
that it all gets a bit awkward, so Elisha lets them get on with it.
What’s going on here? Is it just that they want to
locate Elijah’s remains for a decent burial? Maybe they want to set up a shrine
for a place of pilgrimage? That would add a bit of prestige to their prophetic
school. People would come from all over and admire this nearby monument and
say, “This is where Elijah rests, the greatest prophet of our generation.”
Actually, most people didn’t say that in Elijah’s
lifetime. Just like in Westminster Abbey there’s an ornate marble memorial venerating
John Wesley. It contains an engraving of him addressing a crowd in the open
air.
The reason why he’s preaching in the streets is
because every Church of England parish banned him from the pulpit, so he had
to preach outside. Every day, people heckled him, poked fun at him, threw cats
at him... He was persona non grata in the C of E when he was alive. But once
he’s dead, we can put up a nice plaque in one of our great Cathedrals and say
what a legend he was.
Maybe that’s their motivation and perhaps that
explains why Elisha tries to dissuade them. Or is it that they are hopeful that
maybe - just maybe - Elijah could have fallen back to earth from the whirlwind,
like his cloak did? What if he’s lying injured somewhere and can be nursed to a
full recovery?
Are they setting up this search and rescue expedition
because they cannot accept the change that has come? Are they in denial? It’s
tragic when God’s people live in the past, emotionally attached to a kind of
golden age.
But change is
inevitable. In just two days’ time, tomorrow will be yesterday. The only thing
as predictable as change is that someone will resist it when it happens!
There’s a story about a parishioner who sent a note to
a church council meeting that was convened to discuss the potential purchase of
a new chandelier.
This is what she wrote: “I am definitely opposed to
the purchase of a new chandelier, for three reasons:
1) I cannot spell chandelier.
2) Even if we bought one, who is going to play it?
3) If we have that kind of money in the bank, why
don’t we spend it on something more useful, like a light fixture to brighten up
the church?”
The American author
Marilyn Ferguson once wrote, “It’s not so much that we’re afraid of change, or
so in love with the old ways, but it’s that place in between that we fear… it’s
like being between trapezes. There’s nothing to hold on to.”
This is what Elisha
can see; insecure student prophets between trapezes with nothing familiar to
hold on to. He has to say to them, “Move on. Let the past go. Yes, God has done
great things in years past, but we cannot live there now.”
Well, they insist on
going anyway and, as predicted, waste their time. But Elisha passes this test
of authority; he urges them to move on and when they don’t listen, he says, “I
told you not to bother” and leaves it there.
Test 2: The Test of Faith
Test number 2 is found
in v19-22 and it’s a test of faith. Faith is more than what you believe. Faith
is what you do. Faith is not just believing that Jesus is walking on water; it’s
leaving the boat to join him.
Someone once said, “The
difference between people who do things and people who don’t is that people who
do things - do things.” That’s faith.
Here’s the test; the search party returns empty handed. Elijah
is officially gone. Now it’s your turn, Elisha. There’s a spring that causes
sickness and death. It’s poisoning the land. Can you help?
There is only one spring
close to the ancient city of Jericho. It is known today as Ain es Sultan and
it’s located near the base of the mound that is today all that remains of the
old city wall that collapsed in Joshua’s time. This source irrigates the valley
below and it is still referred to today as the Spring of Elisha. So, we know exactly
where it is.
If you go there
today, you can cup your hands and drink this water; it is pure and refreshing.
The land round about is green and fertile. It’s a natural oasis. But at that
time, the water from this spring was polluted, making the soil unfertile. Nothing
grew there. Furthermore, the water was toxic. Those who drank from it became
ill and even died. Women miscarried. Livestock perished.
There’s a fascinating
note in Richard McNeely’s commentary about a recent geological study of the
region which reveals that certain spots near Jericho have a high level of
naturally occurring radioactivity in their mineral deposits.
Studies suggest that at one time this stream flowed
underground through this rock strata contaminating the water, but that at some point an underground tremor diverted the water
away so that it is no longer dangerous. If that is true, that would certainly explain
from a geological point of view how this spring became healthy.
Scientific research often throws light on how things
that are recorded as miracles in the Bible happened. What it doesn’t explain is
how a natural event is timed to the exact moment when Elisha throws salt onto
the spring, speaking a word of faith and authority.
Terry Virgo once said, “Faith is not a leap in the
dark; it’s a step into the light of God's truth.”
God’s word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit. “This is what the Lord says:
I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land
unproductive.”
Who would have taken the first sip to see if the water
had become healthy? The Bible does not say, but I can only guess it was Elisha
himself.
At the New Wine Leader’s Conference, a couple of years ago,
Kris Valatton spoke about a time he was preaching and he noticed a man in the
congregation he had never seen before, about 25 years old, and prompted by the
Holy Spirit, he interrupted his own sermon and asked the man to stand.
What everyone could see is this: his hair was a bit
unkempt. And he was unwashed. What they couldn’t see is this: he was a heroin
addict. He was unable to sustain any kind of relationship. He was living in
squalor. He was unemployed and unemployable. And the word from God Kris had for
him declared that God saw in him a holy man.
Eight years later, the same guy walks up and says, “do you remember
me?” Kris says, “Honestly, I’m sorry I can’t place you.” So, he explains. I
turned up to your church one day and you asked me to stand and you spoke some prophetic
words over me.”
In that moment, as the word was spoken, that young man was
instantly delivered of his heroin addiction. Within months he had found a job. He
settled down. He met a girl, got married and bought a house. And all that time
he was walking with God. There is power in declaring the word of the Lord.
With Elisha, the salt wasn’t magic;
it was a visual aid. A bit like anointing oil for the healing of the sick or
water in baptism. The words Elisha spoke weren’t a spell. And he wasn’t just
reciting words from a book.
Elisha had gleaned from Elijah’s
faith, as his disciple. Jesus said, “Students, when they
are fully trained, will be like their teacher. (Luke 6.4). Paul speaks about
his apprentice Timothy in 1 Corinthians 4. He says, “I'm sending you Timothy;
he knows my ways in Christ.”
This is what we want to encourage here. Again, I asked
last week, but I’ll repeat it; who are you investing in so they can go further
in faith, inspired by yours?
Test 3: The Test of Mettle
Test number 1 is a test of authority. Test number 2 is
a test of faith. Test number 3 is a test of mettle, v23-25.
As a follically challenged human being, I find great
tidings of comfort and joy in this story. I’m sure all the bald men here today
(can you stand please, gentlemen…) we would just like to draw everybody’s
attention to the weighty spiritual lesson right here in God’s inspired word.
In all seriousness, at first sight, this is puzzling isn’t
it - even disturbing. Who would put Elisha in charge of health and safety, or
safeguarding? At best, he seems lacking a sense of humour and insecure.
At worst, you’d say he is vindictive and vengeful.
Would a man of God send wild beasts to attack and harm cheeky kids who are just
having a bit of fun?
In fact, these were not little boys, but yobbish youths.
I’m not a Hebrew scholar but the word translated “boys” is the same one used of
Ishmael when he was 16, Isaac when he was 22 and of fighters who routed the
Syrian army in 1 Kings 20.4.
Elisha turns around to see them, which means they must
have been coming up behind him. It paints quite an intimidating picture. It’s
an ambush.
42 get attacked and mauled, it doesn’t say killed, by just
2 bears. I would guess, allowing for those who must have got away unharmed,
there may have been well over a hundred of these hooligans. It’s a mob. And Elisha
is alone. He is massively outnumbered.
Who are these bullies? Significantly, they come from Bethel,
which was at that time one of two national centres of idol worship. 1 Kings 12
says that King Jeroboam set up a pagan shrine there, appointed bogus priests
and established a festival where people went to worship (would you believe it?)
a golden calf.
This is where these youths are from and this is why
they want Elisha out of town. They know he will denounce their charlatan racket,
so they gang up and taunt him, “Get lost, spam head!”
Notice that Elisha himself doesn’t respond with violence.
In test number 2 he speaks blessing. In test number 3 he speaks a curse the
name of the Lord.
In the New Testament, in Romans 12, we’re told to
bless those who persecute us and not curse, to not repay evil for evil, to not take
revenge, but to leave things with God. But this ambush would have really tested
Elisha’s mettle but he passes test number 3 as decisively as he passed 1 and 2.
Ending
Let me wrap this up. Are you being tested right now? It’s
not just you. Every Christian experiences this.
Do you wonder if you really have what it takes? That
you’re up for the job? That God can actually use you? God qualifies and equips
those he calls.
Does it feel like you’re facing the impossible? That your
faith is too weak? Our God is able, his hand is mighty to save.
Is personal criticism getting to you? Is Satan
accusing you night and day? “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you
will refute every tongue that accuses you” (Isaiah 54.17).
Finally, a word I felt that God impressed on me from 2
Corinthians 1. Someone needs to claim this today. It says, “We were under great
pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life
itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened
that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”
Let’s pray…
Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 6 October 2019
