6. The Testing of Elisha

The Testing of Elisha

"And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el." (2 Kings 2:1-2)

We have first this divine choice, Elisha was chosen by God, and then he was called by God, through Elijah, and how readily he answered to it. Now comes the test. This is always a problem. We think of the call of God (and we are very thankful that we are called of God), but very often when the testing time comes our faith gives way, the difficulties are too great, the problems are too many, and we wonder if we have stepped out on the right pathway, if we have done what is right. God tests us, and it is right that He should. You think of the Master Himself, He was thirty years in obscurity before He served for three and a half years in public. That is a good ratio. There is more of an iceberg under the water than is showing above it, and perhaps our lives should be similar, that is, there should be more devotedness in private in view of our public service. The first thirty years of the Lord’s life is shrouded in obscurity before He stepped out in public service for God; and oh, how wonderful those years were! We get an idea of their worth when the Lord Jesus was at the Jordan and the heavens were opened upon Him and God declared His delight in His well-beloved Son. Was it just for that moment? No, I believe those thirty years of obscurity were revealed to us in this one great statement, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased". In those thirty years everything was pleasurable to God although hidden from our eyes. Then followed three and a half years where the Lord walked here in public witness to God. Oh, how wonderful that six days before the Lord Jesus died, God could say again, "This is my beloved Son, hear him". This is God’s testimony to His own beloved Son. So I believe the testing time comes, as it did in the life of the Lord, where, immediately after the Father’s delight was expressed in Him He was tested of Satan for forty days in the wilderness. So we are not surprised if we are tested by difficulties and trials and oppositions so that God might prove us to be reliable servants. I believe, dear brethren, that the more often we are faithful in private, in secret, there will be more indication in our public lives for God.

Briefly now we will look at this incident in 2 Kings 2:1-25. There are four places mentioned here: Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho and Jordan. Elijah and Elisha are in Gilgal and Elijah said to Elisha "You stay here, I am going to move on a little further". Elisha replied ’No, this is what I have desired, this is why I am called, I am going to follow you’. And they went to the next place and the same things were said. And so they go through the four until they came to the end and then we find the wonderful evidence that the mantle of Elijah had definitely fallen upon Elisha, and he was able to perform a mighty act of power that indicated that God was with Elisha just as He had been with Elijah. I believe these four places represent principles that ought to govern us if we, in our day, want to follow the Lord.

What does Gilgal represent? There came a moment in the history of the nation of Israel when they arrived at Gilgal (Joshua 5:1-15). All the males who were there were all the new generation, all those who had come out of Egypt having perished because of their unfaithfulness, save two, Joshua and Caleb. Now this new generation had to enter into God’s land, this being God’s purpose for them, but not as uncircumcised persons, as they were at that time, they were to be circumcised at Gilgal, and then enter into the land as circumcised persons. This was to remind them of God’s covenant with Abraham. So at Gilgal they were circumcised. This signified that they were no longer just like ordinary persons, they were persons who belonged to God through covenant. They were persons who belonged to this great line of promise and blessing, and as such were the true representatives of God. Gilgal represents the cutting off of the flesh, that is, the reproach of Egypt. There is a great deal of ministry in the New Testament that helps us to understand this. Oh, if there is anything that hinders us in our service for God it is the flesh! Oh, what a wicked thing it is, pride, anger, envy. We read all about these things in Galatians 5:17-21, and indeed, in all Paul’s epistles. What an awful thing the flesh is! Paul encourages us to see that at the cross of Jesus the flesh was condemned in all its evil features and was put aside, and in the power of the Spirit, believers today are enabled to live for Christ, to follow God, and to do the things that are pleasing to Him. So what Elijah was really saying to Elisha was ’Now look Elisha, are you prepared to stay here at Gilgal or are you prepared to answer to the principles regarding the destruction of the flesh? Are you prepared to move on with me?’ And Elisha was prepared to deal with these problems, he was prepared to enter into the principle regarding the destruction of the flesh and, in the power of that, move on to the next step whatever it might be. So, dear brethren, this is one thing we must all learn if we are going to serve God effectively in whatever place He puts us, that is, we can place no reliance on the flesh, no reliance whatsoever. We cannot serve in our own strength, we cannot serve as men of the world serve, we must serve in the power of a judged flesh, we must be prepared to put it aside and answer to the claims of God. Gilgal is a very important place for us to be to learn these lessons and, having learnt them, to move on for the glory of God. Elisha was prepared to learn these lessons and he was prepared to move on, and he did so.

Then they came to Bethel. Bethel represents the house of God. Jacob, in Genesis 28:1-22, had a wonderful vision that made him wake up and say "How dreadful (or, awesome) is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (v.17). I believe Bethel represents just that, the presence and the holiness of God. Elijah was saying in principle to Elisha, ’Stay here. Are you prepared to learn the lessons that are involved in Bethel, and having learned them, move on?’ And Elisha replied ’Yes, I am going to learn these lessons and move on. I am not going to stay here. I am not going to be held up by refusing to learn these things, I am going to learn them and move on.’ Oh, how wonderful it is if we serve with this in mind, that it is God whom we serve. How we ought to behave ourselves in the house of God! Oh, what lessons are to be learned! What a vast subject it is to learn how to behave ourselves in the house of God, to have God’s presence regulating our lives, our thoughts, whatever we do or say. What a lesson to learn. Elisha was prepared to learn it, and having learned it, to move on, and he did, and they came to Jericho.

"And Elijah said unto [Elisha], Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And [Elisha] said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho." (2 Kings 2:4)

What does Jericho represent? When the children of Israel went over Jordan and into the land, standing to thwart their progress was the city of Jericho (Joshua 6:1-27). It was no use bypassing it. If we read in our history books about the days before modern warfare, castles were very, very important in the defence of one’s country. Round about the border and coastline where we live there are castles galore because these were the places where the English came up and bothered the Scots, and the Scots too went down and bothered the English. They were there and they could not be bypassed. It was no good an army invading Scotland and saying ’We will not bother about these castles’, because from the castles would come out companies of soldiers and harass the communication lines of the invading army, and so they had to be overcome. So it was in Israel’s history, Jericho, a walled city, stood right across the path and it had to be overcome. The ark was carried around it, the priests blew the trumpets and then the walls fell down, and so Jericho was overcome. But what does it represent? We believe that cities in Scripture represent what is good sometimes, especially in Jerusalem, but very, very bad in other senses, being a compact system of administration against God. That is the world. That is exactly what the world is, a compact system without God, energised by Satan, the power of this world in opposition to God. The New Testament speaks about Satan in two different ways, as "the prince of this world" (John 14:30), and as "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4). As the prince (or ruler) of this world he has his power and influence in politics, in business, and in all the affairs of men in a general sense. He makes his presence and influence felt in such a way that it militates against the spread of the truth. Now I know that nine people out of ten would say ’You are talking nonsense’, but this is what the Bible tells us. Satan is the ruler of this world. As the god of this world he has his influence in all the religious affairs of this world, in all the different faiths that are in opposition to the truth of God. Sad to say, his influence has even infiltrated into that which we call Christendom. The power of Satan is now making itself felt in a very distinctive way in the spread of obnoxious doctrines that bring down the glory of Christ, that bring down the truth of God, that challenges the authenticity of the Scriptures and in a thousand ways we find his power bringing down the truth. Satan is the god and prince of this world. But we are particularly concerned about Jericho as representing the world in opposition to the people of God, and how well we know it. If we waste our time in the things of this world how soon our spiritual strength goes. So Elijah said to Elisha, ’Now you tarry here at Jericho’, at the place where the world’s power and domination is seen. But Elisha replied that he would overcome that, and move on. Remember poor Demas who forsook Paul "having loved this present world" (2 Timothy 4:10), and when he left Paul he left the vessel whom God was using for the spread and maintenance of the truth. He said ’I would rather have the world’. How many have we seen going back to the world? Oh, what a sad thing when a Christian gives up his testimony and would rather have the world - the world of business, the world of entertainment, the world of fame, the world of advancement, it does not matter what shape it takes, if it is the world, and we seek after it, it will deprive us of all strength and energy in serving the Lord. Elisha said ’I am going to move on from Jericho, having learnt the lessons that Jericho represented.’ And so they came to the Jordan.

"And Elijah said unto [Elisha], Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And [Elisha] said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on...... And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground." (2 Kings 2:6; 2 Kings 2:8)

’Will you tarry at the Jordan, Elisha?’ ’No’, he said, ’I am going to learn the lessons that are to be found at Jordan’. But what are the lessons? The children of Israel came to the Jordan and they were told to wait there and when the ark began to move they were to follow the ark but were to keep a reverential distance of two thousand cubits. When the ark moved through the Jordan, as the priests’ feet touched the water, the water flowed back. The priests went over on dry land bearing the ark, and the children of Israel followed two thousand cubits behind (Joshua 3:1-17). This represents for us our death with Christ, this being the teaching of the epistle to the Colossians. Paul says there in chapter 3 "Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth" (vv.1-2). The truth can be easily illustrated in the forty days when the Lord Jesus Christ as a man out of death, spoke to His disciples. He no longer had any interest in this world, He never appeared in it publicly, He did not go out and testify in the villages and streets as He had before, He was finished with His public presentation, He was bound for glory. In a few days He was going to ascend back to His Father, He was finished entirely with all that was down here. All the earthly relationships had gone forever, He was a Man who was bound for heaven. That is exactly what Colossians teaches us. Oh, dear brethren, that it might be true of us! Elisha said ’I am moving on.’ And he went on, having learnt that lesson, and the two of them went on together talking.

How well Elisha answered to the test. Three times he was told to go back, but every time he said ’No, I am going to go on’. That is resolution. That is determination. He might easily have said ’Well, the man of God has told me to tarry here. I will do what he says’. It might have been an easy way out. ’Ah, no’, he said, ’I have been called, I have been chosen. I feel the dignity, the responsibility, and I am going to go on and fulfil what the Lord desires of me.’ Dear brethren, let us have this determination to go on. It is so easy for us to give up, not necessarily to stop coming to the meetings, not necessarily in our outward profession as a Christian, but how easy it is to give up in spirit, and say ’What is the use?’ We are to have the energy that faith provides, that the Spirit of God provides, to do what we can, to help the testimony at the present time in its weakness and fight the opposition against it. Oh, may it be so, that we may be those that are marked by this spiritual determination. It is very interesting to notice that there are two other persons in the Bible told to go back, and they said the same. One is Ruth. Naomi said to her "Turn away, my daughters, go your way..... Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her own people, and unto her gods; return thou after thy sister-in-law" (Ruth 1:12; Ruth 1:15). ’No,’ Ruth said, ’I am steadfastly minded to go on’, "Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried" (Ruth 1:16-17). Oh, the determination that marked Ruth! Then there was Ittai the Gittite who was told by David, ’Ittai, you go back, I am in reproach, there is no future here for you Ittai, go back.’ ’No,’ he replied, ’Wherever my lord the king goes there will I be found’ (2 Samuel 15:19-22). There was determination to go on. Oh, dear brethren, let us go on. It is well worthwhile. May we do so for His name’s sake.