Passing on the Torch

by Frank Luke

Sermon Introduction

At National Rendezvous, the theme was passing on the torch. More than half the attendees were 25 or younger. That shows a great future for the ministry.

A clan, tribe, or ministry who does not prepare the next generation will die out. The Bible has many examples of those who prepared those who came after them and those who did not. Neither of Moses’ sons followed in his footsteps. In fact, they disappear from the record, and we don’t even know if Moses had grandchildren. On the other hand, Aaron’s sons served as High priest for centuries. Aaron, Eleazar, Phinehas, Abishua were the first four high priests; save Aaron, each the son of the one who came before.

Today, we will examine two very famous Hebrew prophets: Elijah and Elisha. Both had successful ministries, but only one passed on the torch.

Scripture Introduction

1 Kings 19:19-21 ¹⁹ So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him.  ²⁰ He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”  ²¹ So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him.

2 Kings 2:9-15 ⁹ When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”  ¹⁰ He said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.”  ¹¹ As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.  ¹² Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.  ¹³ He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.  ¹⁴ He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.  ¹⁵ Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

2 Kings 5:20-27 ²⁰ But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not receiving from his hands what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”  ²¹ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?”  ²² He said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.'”  ²³ Naaman said, “Be pleased to take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes and gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them before him.  ²⁴ When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.  ²⁵ But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.”  ²⁶ Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and to receive clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female servants?  ²⁷ “Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

This is more text than we usually examine for a sermon, but the theme runs through them all.

Elijah Chooses a Successor

1 Kings 19:19-21 ¹⁹ So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him.  ²⁰ He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”  ²¹ So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him.

Among the non-writing prophets, Elijah has five chapters to his ministry. He ministers in 1 Kings 17-19 and 2 Kings 1 and 2. Over those chapters, he is responsible for eight miracles. The most famous event in his life is the stand off with the prophets of Baal. I adore his taunt to them, “shout louder, perhaps Baal is on the toilet.” However, for our purposes, we are looking at when Elijah chose a successor.

Chose is the wrong word here. God told Elijah to anoint Elisha as his successor with the warning that Elisha will not minister in a time of peace. The enemies of God who escape King Jehu will be executed by Elisha.

When we meet Elisha, he is plowing a field with 12 pairs of oxen. This is impressive. Elisha is a big man, able to handle oxen that way.

When Elijah sees the farmer, he throws his mantle on his shoulders. The prophet’s mantle showed the authority given by God to the prophet. He who had the mantle would speak for God, perform miracles, and represent God to the people. Placing the mantle on Elisha’s shoulders marked Elisha as the successor.

Elisha then asks if he can say good-bye to his parents. Elijah replies, in effect, “I don’t care.” Notice quickly that this is the opposite response that Jesus gave to a similar question. A man who asked to stay  with his parents until they died was told he did not think highly enough of the Kingdom.

But Elisha goes, butchers the oxen, breaks the yoke, and cooks the meat for those nearby. He then follows Elijah.

Elijah picked God’s man and it was well.

Elisha Receives the Torch

2 Kings 2:9-15 ⁹ When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”  ¹⁰ He said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.”  ¹¹ As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.  ¹² Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.  ¹³ He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.  ¹⁴ He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.  ¹⁵ Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

At the end of Elijah’s ministry, he asks Elisha what he would have for an inheritance. Elisha asks to receive a double portion of the spirit on Elijah. In the parlance of the time, Elisha was asking to be made the choice heir.

Elijah knows that Elisha is the chosen heir. God sent him for that very reason. Elijah also knows that he should not let Elisha think, even for a moment, that the choice was Elijah’s. So Elijah gives Elisha a sign. “If you see men when I am taken, it shall be.” You know that Elisha didn’t let Elijah out of his sight for the rest of their time together.

Long story short, Elisha sees Elijah taken to Heaven and receives the mantle. Elisha then enters ministry as God’s prophet.

Elisha asked for a double portion. If you count the miracles recorded, Elijah had 8 in his ministry while Elisha had 16. Elisha’s first miracle is to divide the waters of the river Jordan. In his life, he has a total of 15. After he died, a dead body was dropped into his tomb and came back to life.

Elijah took the time to mentor Elisha and teach him the ways of God. In their day, many sought to be prophets. A whole guild traveled around calling themselves “Sons of the Prophets.” They worked with Elijah, and one of their number would be the successor. When Amos later says that he is not a “son of a prophet,” he means he is not part of a prophetic guild.

Elijah named Elisha, out of all the sons of the prophets, as his successor. The sons of the prophets show no jealousy nor resentment. Elijah passed on the torch and Elisha served as God’s prophet to the northern kingdom.

Gehazi Fails

2 Kings 5:20-27 ²⁰ But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not receiving from his hands what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”  ²¹ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?”  ²² He said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.'”  ²³ Naaman said, “Be pleased to take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes and gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them before him.  ²⁴ When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.  ²⁵ But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.”  ²⁶ Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and to receive clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female servants?  ²⁷ “Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

Now we come to the unfortunate end of Elisha’s legacy. All mentors want to pass on the torch, but it isn’t up to only the mentor. Elisha had Gehazi as his apprentice. Elisha intended to give the mantle to Gehazi. Yet, Gehazi failed a very important test. All Gehazi had to do was stay at Elisha’s. If he hadn’t followed after Naaman, Gehazi might have been the next great prophet of the northern kingdom. However, Gehazi chose to pursue Naaman and ask for a reward in Elish’as name! Worse, he lies to Elisha about it.

Gehazi lies about everything to Naaman. Two sons of the prophets had not come. Elisha had not asked for such a mighty reward. Gehazi asks for 75 pounds of silver–$33,600 in today’s money. Naaman gives him 150 pounds. Naaman bears no guilt here for believing a lie. Just as one who issues a loan with usurious terms is the sinner in the contract, so it the liar the sinner.

Gehazi then lies to the prophet; the man he knows sees visions from God. Absolute idiocy. Gehazi had probably been with Elisha for more than 10 years at this point.

Let’s look at Gehazi’s sins here. 1) He went against the prophet’s wishes when he asked for a reward; 2) he lied to Naaman about what the money would be used for; 3) he hid the money, not even giving it to Elisha; and 4) he lied to Elisha. Gehazi’s reward for his iniquity was to become leperous as well as his children.

What might have Gehazi done otherwise? What would the rest of 2 Kings look like had Gehazi taken the mantle and become Elisha’s successor? We will never know because that torch sputtered and died out.

Conclusion

In the parable of the talents, the final servant is condemned because he did not grow what God gave him. The most important way to grow the talent is to pass it on.

Who do you know that you can pass it on to? Who do you know that needs mentoring?

The last night of Rendezvous, the speaker asked all those under 25 to come forward and for all the old timers to come pray for them. I would ask the same of the youth now. Will you come forward so we of the church may pray for you and commit to showing you the righteous way?

Please visit Frank Luke’s Blog where this sermon is also posted.