Lessons From Elisha, Part 2
The Chariot and Horsemen of Israel
There are MANY
lessons that we can learn from the prophet Elisha. This is
the second of series focusing on the life of this great
prophet.
"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. 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 own clothes and tore
them apart." (2 Kings 2:11-12)
When I recently reread this familiar story, many things that
I had never considered before caught my attention. One of
them was this curious statement Elisha made as Elijah was
being drawn up into Heaven: "The chariots and horsemen of
Israel!"
In Biblical days, chariots and horsemen were symbols of war,
and the statement "chariots and horsemen of Israel" would
have, no doubt, brought to mind an image of power and
protection. This is what Elisha saw. He saw chariots and
horsemen, and it brought to his mind the image of power and
protection. Could it be that this represented leadership?
But the text says that Elisha made this statement when he
could no longer see Elijah. Why would he have made such a
curious comment just when his teacher and mentor was being
drawn from his view?
Elisha lived in perilous times in Israel's history, littered
with difficulties from the Syrians and others. Thoughts of
war would have been foremost on many of the minds of Israel.
The kingship lay in the family of Ahab, the king who is
known for having brought Baal worship into Israel (see 1
Kings 16:30). In Elisha's day, the very thing that was
supposed to be there to represent power and protection
served to separate Israel from the One True God.
Just like the chariots and horsemen separated Elisha from
his mentor, the leadership of Israel served to separate the
people from their God, and when Elisha could no longer see
his teacher, he cried out: "The chariots and horsemen of
Israel!"
Do we have any "chariots and horsemen" in our day and age?
Do we have anything that was designed to lead and protect
us, that, indeed, serves to separate us from God?
I would like to suggest that we do. I would like to suggest
that our modern "chariots and horsemen" can be none other
than the church itself. The church, put there to lead us to
Christ, to redirect us when we have gone astray, to protect
us and help us to not fall into the traps of the enemy.
But just like Ahab abused his kingship and, in the long run,
served to separate people from God, religious institutions
can also keep people from know the true God. So many
Christians hold on blindly to what their church teaches
without stopping to verify that it is in accordance with
Truth. Some churches promote the writings of mere human
beings to the same level as the Holy Scriptures, even going
so far as to allow the human writings to interpret the
Bible. Many people look no farther than their pastors and
leaders for Truth. Most go to church out of tradition,
feeling that somehow, if they just go to church often
enough, somehow they will get a few steps closer to Heaven!
Some churches drill certain so-called doctrine into the
minds of their followers, totally forsaking the "sound
doctrine" that Paul tells us to teach (see Titus 2). Often
churches get so caught up in arguing certain areas of
doctrine -- what day to worship on, what version of the
Bible to use, whether or not women should wear pants, etc.
-- that they forget the Great Commission altogether!
The good news, my friends, is that in Elisha's day, God
didn't forsake Israel! Nor has He forsaken His church of
today. Yet, just as He called Israel to repent of their
false gods, to stop blindly following their leaders and
follow Him instead, He is calling us to come out of our
organized religions. To take our eyes off of our church
leaders. To stop blindly believing what the church teaches,
without bothering to check with Truth. He calls us to "sound
doctrine" -- that of living of godly lives (see Titus 2).
He's calling us into a personal relationship with Truth
Himself: The Lord Jesus Christ!
The chariot. A vehicle to God, or a vehicle away from God.
What will it be for you, my friends?
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart,
Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets (
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org ,