“And it came to pass, when Adonai 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 Adonai hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, as Adonai liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. And Elijah said unto him, tarry, I pray thee here; for Adonai hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, as Adonai liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. 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. And it came to pass, when they were gone over that Elijah said unto Elisha, ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on and talked that, behold there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces. 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 Adonai Eloheinu of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.” (2 Kings 2: 1-2 and 6-14) For the most part, the predicaments in which we find ourselves are often the same as those in the past. We learn that truth in the biblical story of the transfer of prophetic leadership in Yisrael from Elijah to Elisha. It was a new day and Elisha represented a new generation of leadership. Elisha was going to face new challenges and he was going to have to be YAHVEHs person first and his own person second. No one else could do his work for him. Still, Elisha would not be operating in a vacuum and he would not face things that had nothing in common with what had gone on before.

1.) There are predicaments common to every time. To illustrate, we can look at some of the predicaments that were present in Elijah’s lifetime and in Elisha’s lifetime that are also present in our day. First, there is the predicament of war. There was war during Elijah’s life. There was war during Elisha’s life. There has been, there is and there will be war during our lives. It is one of the predicaments of human existence. Second, there is the predicament of natural disaster. In the years of Elijah and Elisha, the natural disaster was the long, agonizing disaster of famine. Our world is also racked by famine and by other natural disasters: hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes and many others. Some “natural” disasters, such as famines and floods, are all too often contributed to by the folly exhibited by human beings in our abuse of the environment and by our wars. Third, there is the predicament of death. Both Elijah and Elisha had to face the death of people to whom they were close and their call was to bring the power of YAHVEH to bear in those situations of grief. We face the same predicament today. Fourth, there is the predicament of injustice. Injustice, the mistreating of people by other people for the sake of personal gain, was rampant in the years of Elijah and Elisha. It was the primary symptom of the falling away from YAHVEH that had occurred in Hebrew society. The extent to which our society has fallen away from YAHVEH is equally clear in the amount of injustice that exists in our day. So you see, the details may change, but the predicaments remain the same.

2.) There is the tradition in which we stand. How do we face the predicaments of our day? In the same ways that Elisha and Elijah did. And the key to their successful ministry in the face of such predicaments was that they stood in a tradition of long standing. That is, they stood in a long line of those through whom YAHVEH has worked and they were empowered by their standing in that line. So can we be, for we can stand in the same line. What do I mean? If you look closely at the text above, it becomes clear that Elijah is presented as being a new Moses. The clearest proof is seen in his striking of the Jordan River with his mantle so that it parted, allowing Elisha and him to cross on dry ground. The truth being communicated is that Elijah has a power and a function like that of Moses. So Elijah stood in the tradition of Moses. Moreover, Elisha stood in the tradition of Elijah. Elisha asked that he could receive a double share of Elijah’s spirit. In effect, he was asking to be treated as the eldest son of Elijah in that he would receive the inheritance of the eldest. He wanted to be like Elijah. Many stories follow that underscore the point that Elisha was anointed with the same power as Elijah. The best illustration is seen in Elisha’s taking of the mantle of Elijah and striking the Jordan with it on his return trip. The river parted for him just it had for Elijah. So Elijah stood in the tradition of Moses and Elisha stood in the tradition of Elijah. Followers of YAHVEH ever since have stood in the tradition of Moses, Elijah and Elisha and other spiritual forebears. We who follow YAHVEH today stand in that same tradition. Yes, we face a lot of predicaments. But YAHVEH’s people have been there before and YAHVEH has seen them through such situations. They knew that they stood in a great tradition and that YAHVEH would help them as YAHVEH had helped before. We stand in that same tradition.

3.) What does it mean for us to stand in YAHVEH’s tradition as we face our predicaments? It means that we live lives of faithfulness. Moses, Elijah and Elisha were all paragons of faithfulness. They also were not perfect; they did not always follow YAHVEH’s will as fully as they should have. Still, they were faithful to their calling. No opposition could stand in their way; nothing was more important to them than doing what YAHVEH would have them do. Sometimes their lives were very difficult; often their predicaments seemed overwhelming. But still they were faithful. We stand in their tradition when we are faithful. It means that we live lives of leadership. Moses, Elijah and Elisha were all great leaders. You may be thinking, “I am not meant to be a leader; I am a better follower.” I will grant you that possibility. Not everyone is meant to be a leader of other people in the sense of setting their direction and then taking them where they need to go. But that is not the kind of leadership I mean. Our three models were leaders in the sense that they lived lives that showed their society what it meant to live lives under the rule and authority of YAHVEH. In this sense, all Christians and Messianic believers are called to be leaders. We are called to stand up to what is wrong. We are called to sow love where others sow hate. We are called to be humble where others are haughty. We are called to lead others by the quality of the lives we lead. It means that we live lives of power. Here is the primary point of the succession story in the text above: Elisha displayed power like the power of Elijah just as Elijah displayed power like the power of Moses. Their power however, was really the power of YAHVEH that can work in any predicament and that can overcome any predicament. If we stand in their tradition, it is present in us too. You see, our world with all its predicaments needs to know: Is YAHVEH still present? Is YAHVEH still working? Does YAHVEH have women and men who wear the mantle of power? And the answer is that YAHVEH does indeed. Ruach HaKodesh is still present in the lives of those who are called by YAHVEH. That power can work to make this world better; that power can work to change this world for good and that power can make a difference in the predicaments of the world.