The Big Cloak

Anyone in here do track in highschool or college?

you ever do any relays?

Because if you have done a relay you know that the runners carry a baton with them as they run and their is this crucial part of the race where the runner will pass the baton onto the next runner.

And some runners get PTSD from this because this is the part of the race that makes or breaks the entire race.

If you do it to slow, you loose a ton of speed and loose the race

If you do it to fast though you risk either dropping the baton, or there are times where runners will fall and crash and it litterly looks like a nascar crash just with a person

In fact this happend in the US mens 4 by 100 2021 Olympics

The mens team were favored to win or at least finish on top, but the button got dropped and because of that they failed too even qualify for the finals

And really today we are talking about transitions, because this is a little bit of a spoiler but life is full of transitions

I remember a few years ago having this weird transition when coming to family Thanksgiving, where all of the sudden instead of just showing up we started to bring things.

Some of us have or are getting ready to transition our kids out of the house and we are going this is big

Kids you may be the one getting transfered you are getting ready to get a lot of responsibility

Some of us have had a loss of a parent and we are already feeling all the responsibilities and even the legacy that this parent had being transfered to you.

And so what we are going to do is look at this major transition that happened in the Bible between this guy we have been looking at named Elijah and this other guy named Elisha, (yes very simaler, but different)

And so we will be in 2 Kings 2 and there is a lot here, but we will be starting in verses 1-6 and you will notice it repeats itself over and over again. Look what it says:

2 Kings 2:1–6 NIV

1 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.” 4 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho. 5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.” 6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.

So right from the start you can see just how big this transition is, because we are told Elijah is about to be taken up to heeaven.

And I have to clarify a bit because this is not through death, but through God taking him to heaven.

And this is somthing that only happens one other time to a guy named Enoch in Genesis.

And we do not know exactly why God does this, but we think it is because of their faithfulness. (but we do not know.

And so you probably noticed thaat people keep coming up to Elisha and going you know they are getting ready to take your master away.

And he keeps telling everyone be quite!

Basically I am not ready!

And I think there is something here, because very rarely when a major transition in life is getting ready to happen do we feel ready,

We never feel ready to move

We never feel ready to make a transition at work

in fact Elijah says here you stay back, but Elisha keeps going I can’t.

I am not ready.

And this happens three or four times and whenever the Bible repeats something its trying to show us something.

Its almost like when we ask our kids 20 times to do something.

Clean your room, clean your room, clean your room.

We are really trying to emphasize for our kids to what? (clean their room)!

And you will notice in this story that every time it repeats itself its where Elijah is taking Elisha to a different location.

And if you look throughout the bible each of these locations are really signifigant.

One area was Jericho, where the Isralites won this battle where God had them walk around the city for 7 days and then the walls fell

Another was an area where Mosses built an alter to God

Anoother was the Jordon where eventually Jesus would be baptized

And peopl believe what Elijah is doing is not just saying bye to all his friends but he is taking Elisha on a spiritual journey

Becauss all of these places are places where God has moved or would move.

and you can picture Elisha seeing the Miracles that Elijah did, and then seeing how God has moved and maybe even will move in the future.

And every place is a reminder that God has been faithful and will continue to be faithful.

And Elijah is building Elisha’s faith for this transition.

Its almost like a chair.

When you sit in a chair how do you do it?

You just plop down right?

You do not need to think about it.

Why because the chairs do not typically give out on you.

And evertime you sit in a chair and it holds you, might not think about it but you get more faith in this chair.

And Elijah is going look at all the times the chair has held. It has never collapsed.

We can have faith in our God.

And if you are questioning can I just encourage you start journaling, because I think so often we miss how God is moving in our lives

And lets keep moving onto verses 7-8. It says this:

2 Kings 2:7–10 NIV

7 Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. 10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

So they get ready to cross the Jordan and Elijah takes off his cloak and scholars believe in Biblical times it represented authority, responability and other things,

but he then rolls it up and hits the water to part the water so they can cross (once again recalling a significant event where God moved in the past)

And they get to the otherside and Elijah asks a really interesting question:

He says: “Tell me what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

You know if you have ever had someone reach the end of their life usually the we ask them “what can I do for you?”

But here is the amazing thing the Elijah says: “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken?”

If you are in a transition and you are the one handing over the responisibility, this is a really great question to ask

And if you are the one making a transition this is an important question to awnser

Basically what do you want out of this transition?

Do you want success?

Are you hoping for comfort?

Are you making the transition for money?

but Elisha says just let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.

And their is a lot of historical background behind the idea of a double porition that we do not have time to get into

But basically Elijah is saying I want the presence of God in me like it is in you.

When we are making a transition we have to get money, comfort, for a job, or are we doing it because God is at the center and this is where He is leading me.

And this is hard. In fact you will notice Elijah goes this is a really difficult thing. Because just having God in your life does not make like a walk in the park.

I mean Elijah knew thins things were hard for Him following God.

He constantly had is life threatened, and he found himself in a place where he had to fully relie on God.

But God was with Him in every high and low

And lets look at this last part verses 11-14. It says:

2 Kings 2:11–14 NIV

11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. 13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

So a charriot of fire takes Elijah up to heaven and Elijah tears his garmet because this was his mentor, probably his friend, and even though he isn’t dying Elisha is mourning.

but as the passage gets ready to close I love the imagery, because once Elijah fully disappears Elisha walks over to Elijahs cloak he took off (this symbol of responsibility) and he puts and continues where Elijah leaves off.

You know this morning I believe some of might be in a period of transition.

Others there is one coming.

And for some of us we have this responsibility (hold jacket) in front of us

And I think this is heavy.

and the question becomes are we ready to pick up the cloak?

And you might look at this and go I am terrified.

I can’t do that, but if God is in the center you can.

Remember all the places God has been faithful, remember what your Elijah gave you, and remember that the cloak has been placed on your shoulders and if God has been in the center then God has placed you there

And he will not abandon you, but will lead you step by step.

What Cloak are you called to grab this morning?

Pray

Mention sign up sheet and maybe the cloak is being a part of what God is dooing at Buchanan naz.