2 Kings 2:13-15 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
When Elijah went up to heaven, Elisha took up his mantle and walked in the power of Elijah. The Hebrew word for mantle is "aderet." It's root word is "adir" which means excellent, gallant, glorious, mighty, noble and worthy! Elijah was a man with these qualities. The mantle that Elisha received from Elijah meant a calling which was powerful. Elisha had earned it. When the two first met, Elisha had slaughtered the oxen he was plowing with, and burned them on the wood of their yoke as an offering. Then he followed and served the prophet until the day Elijah was taken miraculously to Heaven. An officer of King Jehoshaphat summed up Elisha's life with these simple and beautiful words: “Elisha, son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah. ”
Just before Elijah was taken to Heaven he said to his servant, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” Elisha answered without hesitation, "“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit”. Having served his mentor so faithfully, Elisha boldly and humbly asked for a double portion of his master's spirit, and received it in full. The sons of the prophets at Jericho did not fail to recognize the anointing which Elisha carried. He carried it because of his excellent and faithful service and devotion to the man of God.
We too are called by the Son of God to excellence, devotion and faithful service. The anointing which we carry from Him will express these qualities. Yeshua (Jesus) is our perfect example, our mentor and master. Following and serving him day by day, faithfully and carefully, we will live under His glorious "mantle".
We are called to excellent and faithful service to exemplify and walk in the anointing of our Lord. God has given us a glorious mantle to wear, His very own Spirit, that we might live excellently, mightily, gloriously, gallantly, nobly and worthily. May we receive the grace daily to wear His mantle as Elisha did Elijah's. Even as Elisha received the "double portion", we too may do "greater things".
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]People read this verse, and think God is telling them to be passive — to overlook what happened. That is not a bad thing — but it isn’t exactly what Yeshua (Jesus) was saying. Turning the other cheek is not about being passive. It’s about being active! So active that it actually confounds your enemy! Turning the other cheek is about taking an action so revolutionary, so shocking, so out of the ordinary that it shocks everyone around. It confounds the world — and can also change it!
In the 4th century lived a Christian named Telemachus, in a remote village, tending his garden, and spending much time in prayer. One day, he believed he heard the voice of God telling him to go to Rome, so he obeyed, setting out on foot. Some weeks later, weary from his journey, he arrived in Rome about the time of a great festival.
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One of my heroes of the faith, Watchman Nee, once said something profound about entering the rest of God. He said, “Carnal Christians crave works; yet amid many labors, they are unable to maintain calm in their spirit. They cannot fulfill God’s orders quietly as can the spiritual believers… their hearts are governed by outward matters. Being “distracted with much serving” (Luke 10:40) is the characteristic of the work of any soulish believer. They have not yet entered the rest of God.”
Thousands are gathering in Washington D.C. today to pray for the inauguration of the new president of the United States. I know a number of people who will be there and I think it’s a good thing, but this reminds me of a story I heard once.
We arrived at the airport late Thursday night with our bags and our kiddos only to find out that our flight was canceled because of a freak accident — a tractor ran into the plane, of all things! So we repacked our ourselves tightly into a small rental car to make the two hour drive to get back home to Arad in the middle of the night. Our flight was postponed till Sunday.