Tues.’s Devo - Elijah’s Ascent

Read: 2 Kings 2, 4
Elijah’s time on earth is over and Elisha perceives this. Elijah tries to get alone but Elisha is determined to see him leave. Elijah knows that he is going to be taken up to God so he is looking for the right place. The first place Elijah goes is Bethel. Bethel means “house of God”. It was the place God spoke to Jacob twice and he saw heaven open up. Apparently this was not the place so he goes to Jericho. Jericho was the first conquest of the Israelites when they came into the promised land. It is also the opening to the valley of Achor. The valley of Achor symbolized a place which had been a source of calamity that would become a source of blessing. Hosea also (Hos. 2:15) uses the expression in the same sense:"The valley of Achor for a door of hope;" in other words trouble would be turned into joy, despair into hope. This was one of the last places Jesus went before he died.
The last place Elijah went was the Jordan River. The Jordan River means “descender” since it starts at the top of Mt. Hermon and flows all the way down the mountain and ends in the Dead Sea. The children of Israel went across two main waters on their way to the promised land. The first was the Red Sea which represented their salvation. The second was the Jordan which represented their cross into the Spirit. No wonder it would be here that Elijah would be taken by the Spirit into his eternity.
Elijah parted the water, just as Joshua had and went to the other side. There he was taken to heaven by the charioteers of heaven. Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle and struck the waters of the Jordan with it and it parted. He had asked for a double portion of God’s spirit on Elijah and he got it.
The first thing he dealt with was purifying the water. He had to bring new life to the city. They needed their spirits made pure.
Then he had to deal with rejection and insecurity. It came from a group of young boys who were making fun of him. He had to deal with them to be able to do what he was called to do. He cursed them in the name of the Lord and the Lord took care of them.
Next he brought in the oil, the Holy Spirit. The woman stood for the barrenness and husbandless of the land.
He brought the woman of Shunem her lost dream of having a son. When her dream died, he brought it back to life.
The last story was about making the poisonous food healthy. Our food is the Word of God. If we see it as a law to follow to get to God it will be death to us. If we see the Word as Jesus and grace then it is life to us.
These are all processes we go through if we want to mature in the Lord.
Lord, help us to move nearer to maturity where we bring life to those in need.