Hi all,
Today we talk about the process of our walk with the Father God and with the Lord Jesus.
Paul stated in I Corinthians 10: 11 that the things that happened to Israel serve as examples for us. So today we will look at the real life events of Elijah and Elisha as they walked to Elijah’s appointment with destiny.
The story is played out in II Kings 2.
Verse 11 says simply: “…as they walked and talked together, a chariot of fire led by horses of fire separated them.” The King James Version uses the word ‘whirlwind’ but it is actually the word ‘storm’ or ‘tempest’, here seen as a fiery storm that disappeared as quickly as it came up.
At least one commentator makes the point the Hebrew could be translated that Elijah was ‘consumed’ by the fire which as a fire does, ascend into the sky. It would mirror his victory on the Mount in I Kings 18: 38 when fire from heaven came down and consumed the offering, in this case Elijah offering himself to the Lord.
In other words, there is nothing to suggest Elijah’s soul went to God’s heaven, but rather he joined the rest of the dead in Paradise as his body was consumed in the fire storm as it dissipated into the heavens.
That’s just something to think about, but this is our focus…
What we are interested in however, is the places they went to before that famous day.
Where they went before Elijah was taken away serves as an example to our own lives, to the processes God works in us as we mature. Some may recall I’ve shared how the Father told me once when I told Him that His life must be boring since He knows everything: “I enjoy the process.”
Having Christ in us means He isn’t ‘out there’ as a mildly interested 3rd party watching us go through things; no, Christ is in us, in our spirit, so He is walking WITH us and IN us as we together walk through life.
Their walk is shown in II Kings 2: 1-11 as Elijah tells Elisha he may leave, even insists he leave, but Elisha refuses. They start in Gilgal, then walk to Bethel and then to Jericho, then ‘to Jordan’. We are told in I Kings 17:1 that was where Elijah was born, so he was headed home to die or be taken.
Each stop along the way is an example to our own ‘stops’ along the walk to spiritual maturity. Elisha is given the opportunity to leave Elijah 3 times, and each time refuses. Haven’t we all also had opportunities to leave our walk with the Lord, and you are reading this today because you refused? Even if you left for a time to get off the path of the Lord, it was just for a time and in the past. There it must stay.
Gilgal means ‘wheel’ or ‘rolling’ as a wheel rolls along: The end of one season and start of anotherWhen Moses died and all that generation that came out of Egypt had died in the wilderness as well, their children entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. (Because of
their obedience Joshua and Caleb were the only 2 from the generation that came out of Egypt to be allowed to enter the Promised Land)
Gilgal is where they stopped, on the border of the wilderness just east of Jericho, not yet in the Promised Land but no longer fully in the wilderness. There, the young men who had been born in the wilderness were circumsiced, which means they newly entered into covenant with the Lord.
Romans 2: 29 and Colossians 2:11 says circumcision is a type, an example for us of the ‘circumcision of the heart’ that happens when we are born again – our proof of covenant with the Lord, who also then seals us with the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1: 13)
Joshua 5: 8-10 records the event, and the Lord makes an interesting statement to Joshua: “Now the reproach of Egypt is off you.”
Why? The act of circumcision for a male Hebrew is an act of making covenant with God, so it is the start of a new walk with God and leaving the past. But notice they were physically on the border between their past and their future. On the border this happened: Not only did their hearts change to go fully with the Lord, but physically they were making decisions and acting on them to move into their future with the Lord.
This is important. We first leave the wilderness in our hearts before we physically leave our situation.
It was in the wilderness these young people had suffered the loss of their parents and that whole generation that proceeded them. All their parent’s friends were dead. All their relatives from that generation died one by one in the wilderness. Cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles – all dead. Only their generation was left alive.
In our own wilderness experiences we too experience death; the death of things, habits, friendships we once considered close. We leave them all behind in order to walk to our Promised Land. At the time, these children who were born in the wilderness, now young adults, had only heard about this Promised Land. They had dreamed about it, talked about it, but only Joshua and Caleb had actually seen it. These 2 men were examples for these ‘children’ of how to live life – perhaps you have a person or two like that in your life – learn from them!
This is the place, Gilgal, where II Kings 2:2 records Elijah first suggesting to Elisha that he stay there
Elisha refuses. He isn’t content just to be in that border town. They are at Gilgal, ‘wheel’ or ‘rolling’, and Elisha wants to keep rolling along the path of his destiny.
He doesn’t want to live with one foot in the past and one foot in the future, for he knows if he stays there he will never see the Promise. So he continues walking with Elijah, leaving the border time behind him and not looking back.
So too did the young Israelites, for after they were healed from their circumcision, the mighty city of Jericho was before them – first step into walking with God and they have a battle! Perhaps they thought walking with God would be easier, but no, the first thing on their walk with His will and it is the mighty walled city that must come down. Rather than shrink back in fear and uncertainty, they sought God, and He showed them how to win their first victory.
We will pick it up there next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
