He Took Up... the Mantle of Elijah. Old Testament Lesson 29: 2 Kings 2; 5-6

Transcription

1 He Took Up... the Mantle of Elijah Old Testament Lesson 29: 2 Kings 2; 5-6

2 To download the this lesson in PDF format click the logo on the left or the link below. View or download lesson videos. Look at previous lessons and firesides. Regular blog posts. Comment and subscribe via the website. Click the logo above or visit

3 Reading Spoons Each week there is a selection of wooden spoons at the front of the class. Volunteers can take a spoon. If you need to leave the class, please leave the spoon behind. Every time a scripture needs to be read, a spoon holder raises their spoon when they have it. I will then choose a spoon holder to read the scripture. As a thank you for volunteering, spoon holders will never be asked to expand upon a scripture or a related question (unless they offer to do so themselves). This approach allows the rest of the class to follow along and think about the scripture.

4 52 Week Challenge Through The Old Testament - Week 31 Job 22 to God layeth not folly to them The footnote suggests does not give heed to their prayer (Job 24:12). He bindeth the floods from overflowing means He restricts the rivers and the streams (Job 28:11). the secret of God, the footnote replaces secret with friendship or confidence (Job 29:4). The organ is a pipe or a flute (footnote to Job 30:31). Cockle is a plant whose name derives from the Hebrew word for stink. It appears in Scripture only in Job 31:40 and modern translations refer to brier or thorns. Next weeks reading: Job 39 to Psalms 28.

5 2 Kings 2; 5-6

6 What are some symbols of power or authority?

7 What is the mantle of authority? The prophet Elijah wore a mantle. We do not know exactly what the mantle looked like, but it apparently was a cloak made of cloth. The passing of the mantle from Elijah to Elisha symbolised the passing of prophetic authority to Elisha. In modern times we sometimes speak of the mantle of authority that the prophet receives when he is ordained and set apart. Although the prophet today does not carry a cloak or piece of cloth, God bestows the keys of the priesthood on him. These keys give him the power to act in God s name as the leader of the Church on the earth. When a prophet dies, this mantle of authority is given to the new prophet.

8 Who Was Elisha?

9 Who Was Elisha? Prior to his call, Elijah found Elisha plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him. Elisha was wealthy enough to have servants drive the other yokes (pairs of oxen) (see (1 Kings 19:19). After Elijah cast his mantle upon Elisha, Elisha requested that he had time to say goodbye to his parents. Again the scriptures hint at his wealth and calling acceptance as Elisha burns the oxen equipment to cook a last meal for his people (see 1 Kings 19:20-21). Elisha becomes a follower of Elijah, as he poured water on the hands of Elijah indicating that Elisha was the servant and disciple of Elijah (see 2 Kings 3:11).

10 Elijah is translated (2 Kings 2) Elisha knows that God is going to take away Elijah, he confirms it will be today with the sons of the prophets (v3,5). Elisha and Elijah leave the sons of the Prophets and travel together. Read v7-8. Elijah asks Elisha what he can do for him before he is taken away. Read v9-11. Elisha sees the translation of Elijah and takes the mantle that fell upon him. Read v12-14.

11 Orson Pratt... the Prophet Elisha, knowing that he must succeed the Prophet Elijah in the ministry, and that Elijah was about to be translated and taken to heaven, asked of him a certain favor before he ascended, namely, that a double portion of his (Elijah s) spirit might rest upon him. Elijah said in response, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou seest me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. It pleased the Lord to grant unto Elisha his desire, for he beheld the Prophet ascend to heaven in a chariot of fire, drawn by horses having the appearance of fire. He then took the mantle of Elijah, that fell from him, and with it he smote the waters of the Jordan, saying, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And they parted hither and thither, and Elisha went over on dry ground.

12 In what ways did Elisha use his power and authority? After Elijah s translation, Elisha prophesied among the Israelites for sixty years and became the lead prophet in the Northern Kingdom and a trusted adviser to kings. Although the book of Kings is mainly a narrative of Israelite history, several of Elisha s miracles or use of his power and authority are recorded in the text. These include parting the Jordan River, healing the waters of Jericho, multiplying a widow s oil, raising a widow s son from the dead, making poisonous food edible, feeding a hundred men with twenty loaves and corn with food left over, healing a Syrian officer of leprosy, causing an axe to float, and blinding the Assyrian army (see 2 Kings 2-7). Such miracles are a representation of how [Elisha] used his power and authority the double spirit of Elijah and God s unlimited power.

13 Before we move on...

14 James E. Faulconer This is one of those difficult Bible passages where there is do much distance between ancient times and our own that it is very hard to know what is going on. There are several possible explanations, though perhaps none of them is satisfactory to us: First, most commentators agree that the little children were probably young men. A rabbi had said that the Hebrew word used here means the young men were bare of Divine commandments ; in other words they didn t practice their religion. Some suggest that bald head was an obscene remark making fun of the fact the prophet was circumcised. Others say that the prophets may have shaved their heads (like some medieval monks did) as a mark of their office. Still others suggest that the young men are comparing Continued

15 James E. Faulconer Elisha (who is bald, and baldness was considered a disgrace) with Elijah (who was hairy). Go up probably means If you re Elijah s successor as prophet, prove it by going up as he did. However we interpret this passage, it is clear that these young men are questioning Elisha s status as a prophet. Often, when we hear people repeat this story, we hear them say that the bears killed the young men. However, the verse does not say that they killed the young men. However we explain the details of the story, though, I don t think it has any completely satisfactory explanation. It is one of those stories that many of us will have to put on the shelf as something we don t understand.

16 Naaman is healed from Leprosy

17 Rules for Clean and Unclean: Leprosy In Leviticus skin diseases and molds in clothing and households are also identified as agents that render a person unclean. The Hebrew word tsara at was anciently translated by the Greek Septuagint with the word lepra, which has lead to the English translation of leprosy. This word is used... to refer to a wide range of diseases of human skin... People... were considered contagious and were to be cast out of the community until the symptoms disappeared and they could be cleansed. While some of the conditions described may have included the disease currently known as leprosy (Hansen s Disease), tsara at covers a wider variety of skin diseases, some of which could clear up within seven days (unlike the classic leprosy).

18 L. Whitney Clayton Consider Naaman, a captain of the host of... Syria,... a mighty man in valour, and a leper. A servant girl told of a prophet in Israel who could heal Naaman, and so he traveled with an escort of servants, soldiers, and gifts to Israel, eventually arriving at Elisha s house. Elisha s servant, not Elisha himself, informed Naaman that the Lord s command was to go and wash in [the river] Jordan seven times. A simple thing. Perhaps this simple prescription struck the mighty warrior as so illogical, simplistic, or beneath his dignity that he found the mere suggestion offensive. At the very least, Elisha s instruction didn t make sense to Naaman...

19 Naaman follows Elisha s counsel and is healed [06:30]

20 Click the following to learn more: Elijah and Elisha (Parallels in Scripture) Sanctified Dirt Blog Article by Michael S. Heiser Elisha and the Children by Fred E. Woods (Exploring the Bears and the Children)

21 Prophet Succession in Our Day [02:15]

22 Time to Ponder.. Q. Why is it important that we immediately accept and sustain a newly ordained President of the Church? Q. How have you been blessed as you have followed Prophetic counsel? Q. Like Naaman, we do we sometimes struggle to follow the small and simple counsel within our own lives?

23 Closing thoughts... Elisha wrought many miracles, in a time and a place where God was not worshipped correctly. Do we feel like Elisha at our workplace or school? Elder Rex D. Pinegar asked, Are we not sometimes like Naaman, looking for big or important things to do and bypassing simple things which could change our lives and heal us of our afflictions? The Saviour has given the keys of the priesthood to each of the latter-day Apostles. However, only the President of the Church, who is the senior living Apostle, may use these keys (or authorise others to use them) on behalf of the entire Church.

24 Next weeks reading assignment Lesson 30 - Online link Come to the House of the Lord 2 Chronicles 29-30; 32; 34 Online link to today s first slide picture Online link to today s reverence music source