Image from truthsnitch.com
Hear the podcast here: https://bit.ly/3yaG98C Watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/R7m65xbLA5M
1 Now when the LORD was about to take Eli'jah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Eli'jah and Eli'sha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 And Eli'jah said to Eli'sha, "Tarry here, I pray you; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel." But Eli'sha said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. 3 And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Eli'sha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take away your master from over you?" And he said, "Yes, I know it; hold your peace." 4 Eli'jah said to him, "Eli'sha, tarry here, I pray you; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho. 5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Eli'sha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take away your master from over you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know it; hold your peace." 6 Then Eli'jah said to him, "Tarry here, I pray you; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Eli'jah took his mantle, and rolled it up, and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Eli'jah said to Eli'sha, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you." And Eli'sha said, "I pray you, let me inherit a double share of your spirit." 10 And he said, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if you do not see me, it shall not be so." 11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Eli'jah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Eli'sha saw it and he cried, "My father, my father! the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces. (2 Kings 2:1-12 New Revised Standard Version)
May this be a wonderfully blessed Wednesday for you, dear Friend is my prayer for you. May our time in prayer bless the family of God as we pray for one another. The family of Elenenor Ehrig is mourning her passing, and may we ask God to bless them with comfort and peace. Pray for your own needs, and pray for the needs of the world. Pray for rain, for peace in the Ukraine, for those who face financial difficulties, and for those who seek and need inner peace.
The joke was that ministers had a retirement plan that was out of this world. And this story illustrates this. To be honest for me it is never easy to hear of pastors dying, especially those whom I knew personally and whom I counted as friends and colaborers. And I once had a church member who very seriously would say, "You preachers talk to us about heaven, but you all are afraid to die!" I couldn't argue with him. And at that point I had already had two phone calls from pastors who were dying and they called me to tell me they were afraid. And we remember that all of us are humans with human feelings and emotions, and fear of the unknown is not just for super humans, and the reality of death as well as its finality in human terms scares everyone. And this holds true for two awesome prophets of their day. Elijah may not have been as afraid of the end as his protege Elisha; but what didn't help was the almost comical ribbing of the "sons of prophets" (read P.K.s!) and their taunts of "Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?"
Their trek to the place where God would show up to receive Elijah included a miracle at the Jordan River. Elijah takes his mantle, rolls it up, strikes the water, and the water parts and the two are able to cross over on dry land . It is at this point that the older prophet asks the younger one what he can do for him and the younger prophet shows his wisdom in asking Elijah to grant him an inheritance of a double portion of his spirit. Elijah replies this is a difficult decision but if Elisha sees him as he is taken from him then it will be granted. If he does not see him, then it will not happen. As they continued their walk they see a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and this chariot comes between the two prophets and Elijah is taken to Heaven up by a whirlwind. The younger prophet can only say, "My father, my father! the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And he was no longer able to see the elder prophet any longer. Then the younger prophet ripped his clothing in two pieces as part of his mourning and grief. He had said his goodbye, painful as it was, and was granted the gift he requested of receiving a double share of Elijah's spirit. The same spirit that saw him defeat the 400 priests of Baal. The spirit that allowed the old man to continue onward and upward with his ministry as God's spokesperson to the people of Israel; the same spirit that helped him live even with Ahab and Jezebel wanting to kill him. And the same spirit that saw this young prophet have his own great ministry among God's people.
The presence and power of God's Holy Spirit in this Old Testament story blesses us with hope as we read how Jesus encountered a man filled with demonic spirits, so many that he was named Legion. And Jesus with His spirit defeated all of those demons; and that brings hope to us even in spite of what we may be facing.
PRAYER: Loving God, bless our hearts as we struggle and wrestle with things beyond our control. May the Holy Spirit be He Who blesses us and grants us victory after victory; all for Thy sake; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Live a life of hope and power today in ways that invite others to see Him in us!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
