Daily Bread Tuesday June 21st "Elijah Goes to Heaven, Elisha Takes Over as the Prophet" "Paul and Barnabas Preach Boldly and Many Believe!"
Elijah Taken to Heaven
In chapter 2, we not only see Elijah taken up to heaven in a whirlwind with chariots and charioteers, but the passing on of his prophetic ministry to his young associate, Elisha. Elijah tested Elisha by telling him he was going away, but each time Elisha refused to let him go alone. At each test Elisha proved to Elijah that he was fit to be the next prophet in Israel.
When Elijah finally got to the Jordan river, he used his cloak to part the waters. Then, he asked Elisha what he could do for him. Elisha boldly asked for a "double portion" of the same Holy Spirit that had empowered Elijah. The word "double portion" is what is given to the first born son as an inheritance. So, in essence, Elisha was asking for that inheritance as Elijah's spiritual son.
Elijah told him he would know if he received the inheritiance if he saw Elijah when he was taken away. Sure enough when Elijah was taken to heaven on a whirlwind with chariots and charioteers, Elisha realized the answer was "yes". As soon as Elisha came to the Jordan, he took the mantle of Elijah hit the Jordan river and it split in two. This was a clear affirmation that the same Spirit that led Elijah now was on Elisha. The prophets from other towns recognized immediately that Elisha now occupied the prophet's role and bowed down to him.
Elisha’s First Miracles
Elisha does his first miracle when the leaders from the town of Jericho and tell him about their water supply problem. This was bad for the crops and for the health of the people. Elisha took salt down to the water and threw it in the water. The water supply was cleansed and provided for the people for a long time.
Meanwhile, some rowdy young men from Bethel came and mocked Elisha. They made fun of his appearance and joked telling him he should go to heaven like Elijah did. They had a gross disrespect of the prophetic office. Therefore, Elisha called on God to judge them, and he did through two female bears who came and mauled the boys.
Note, God did the judging not Elisha. Also the word "mauled" does not necessarily mean they were killed, they could have just been badly wounded. Since there were 42 of them, it might have been a dangerous situation for Elisha to be in.
War between Israel and Moab
Though Israel had good relations with Moab under King Ahab, the king of Moab saw Ahab's departure as an opportunity to free itself from Israel. It also stopped paying its tribute of 100,000 rams and lambs. So King Joram of Israel reached out to King Jehoshaphat of Judah. Though Joram was a better king than his father, Ahab, he still made some compromises. King Jehoshaphat took after his father King Asa and was a good king, faithful to the Lord.
The king of Edom and his troops joined them, and they took a southern route to attack the Moabites. But they ended up in a place where there was no water for their men or animals. They feared they would die. Naturally King Jehoshaphat did what he always did, he turned to the Lord. He asked if there was a prophet, which brought them to Elisha. Elisha was reluctant to meet with Joram, but because of Jehoshaphat he met with the three kings. Elisha asked if there was a harpist, which apparently helped him to sense the Lord's presence. We see the role of many spiritual gifts being used to show God's will.
The Lord told Elisha that he would bring water from Edom, which would come down without wind or rain. The water came in the morning with the grain sacrifice and apparently pooled at a "wady" near there. When the Moabites saw the water, they thought it was blood and that the armies had attacked each other. So they came up to the three armies and much to their surprise they encountered a "stout" army and were quickly defeated.
The king of Moab in a last ditch effort offered the son, who would be next in line as king, as a sacrifice to the pagan gods he had trusted in his whole life. Sad!
Paul Turns to the Gentiles
Many Jews came to believe through Paul's preaching, but others resisted and rejected Paul's teaching of the gospel. So Paul started preaching to the Gentiles, whom the Jews thought were to be despised not saved. Paul says something important,
"But you have rejected it and considered yourselves unworthy of the gospel." Paul didn't reject them, they rejected his message and hence rejected God. Paul did his best to share the message with them, but eventually he had to go to the Gentiles which was prophesied in Isaiah 49.
This teaches us a valuable message. We can share the gospel, but we can't make people believe. If people reject us and the gospel, it is better to dust off our feet and move on. You can't convince someone to believe, but the Holy Spirit can take the Word of God and penetrate people's hearts.
Paul and Barnabas in Iconium
They experienced much of the same in Iconium. Some came to faith when they preached the word boldly. They preached with power and BOTH Jews and Gentiles came to faith in Jesus. The Lord allowed them to stay there for a LONG time enabling them to reach more people and build up the ones that had come to faith.
The Lord confirmed their message with signs and wonders. Note a sign always points to something else. The miracles the apostles performed confirmed the power of the gospel coming through mere men like Paul and Barnabas. They were first called apostles here in this chapter.
But a mob of BOTH Jews and Gentiles came and tried to stone them, so they left the city and went on to the towns of Lystra and Derbe.
Map of Paul's Missionary Journeys
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