Listen here.
Welcome to
Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the appointed Scripture readings for
the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
in Hudson, OH.
Thank you for
being with me today.
This Sunday is
Transfiguration Sunday, and yesterday we read about Jesus’ transfiguration from
Mark 9:2-9. The lectionary – the list of appointed readings for any given
Sunday – gives two possible readings for this week. The first is from 2 Kings,
and that is the reading we will do on Sunday. The other is from Exodus 34. 2
Kings records the end of Elijah’s earthly life as he is swept up to heaven in a
fiery chariot. Exodus 34 tells us about when God declared His glory before
Moses, an event that left Moses with a face that shone with light. Each of
these Scriptures refers to one of the two prophets that appeared to Jesus on
the mountain; who talked with Him while He Himself shown with glorious light.
Perhaps you are
wondering why I chose to use 2 Kings for our reading as opposed to Exodus 34.
The reason is simply that last year’s lectionary and next year’s lectionary
have us reading about Moses. This year, we’ll read about Elijah.
The Reading:
2 Kings 2:1-12 ESV
Now when the LORD was about to take
Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from
Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here, for the
LORD has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD
lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down
to Bethel. 3 And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came
out to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take
away your master from over you?" And he said, "Yes, I know it; keep
quiet."
4 Elijah said to him, "Elisha,
please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho." But he said,
"As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you."
So they came to Jericho. 5 The sons of the prophets who were at
Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that today the
LORD will take away your master from over you?" And he answered,
"Yes, I know it; keep quiet."
6 Then Elijah said to him,
"Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." But he
said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave
you." So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the sons of
the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were
standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it
up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the
other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah
said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from
you." And Elisha said, "Please let there be a double portion of your
spirit on me." 10 And he said, "You have asked a hard
thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you,
but if you do not see me, it shall not be so." 11 And as they
still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated
the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12
And Elisha saw it and he cried, "My father, my father! The chariots of
Israel and its horsemen!" And he saw him no more. (2 Ki. 2:1-12 ESV)
Comments
One of the things
that Moses and Elijah have in common is the strange ways their earthly lives
ended. As we just read, Elijah didn’t die. He was taken directly to God by a
heavenly chariot. Moses on the other hand, was commanded by God to go up on Mt.
Nebo so that he could see the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 34 tells us that Moses
died there, and that God Himself buried him. (Interestingly, some think that
because of the way Moses’ face shone with God’s glory that his body could not
decay and that is why God did this. However, there is no evidence of that from
Scripture.)
The events of our
reading speak for themselves. Everyone seems to know that God is about to take
Elijah away, even if Elijah isn’t talking about it. And when the time comes,
there is little sentimentality. Elijah has accepted what is about to happen. I
do not know why he seems to be trying to shake Elisha off. He only seems firmly
committed to his role as the LORD’s prophet, going where he is sent. And even
when it is time to go, he really only asks Elisha, “What do you want?” There
are no words of farewell, guidance, wisdom, or anything, only one more oracle –
“If you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you
do not see me, it shall not be so.”
Elisha’s request,
however, which Elijah says is difficult, is an interesting one. “Please let
there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” Some hold that this means that
Elisha hoped to be Elijah’s heir in ministry. He does indeed take up Elijah’s mantle
and continues the prophetic ministry much as Elijah did.
What I find
fascinating about the idea of a double portion of spirit is the connection to
the Holy Spirit. I am reminded of 2 Peter 1:21, “For no prophecy was ever
produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along
by the Holy Spirit.” It was the Holy Spirit who made both Elijah and Elisha
prophets. It is also the Holy Spirit who creates faith in us, makes us God’s
people, and equips us to proclaim the deeds of our Savior, who called us out of
darkness and into his marvelous light.
I’m not saying
that we are all called to be prophets. We are all, however, equipped to share
the hope we have in Jesus because the Holy Spirit is at work in us. He is God’s
gift and guarantee to us to keep us in faith, to strengthen and encourage us in
Christian living, and to give us the words we need when we speak of Jesus.
Meditate on this
today: You received the Holy Spirit when you came to faith – whether that was
through Baptism or through hearing the Word – and He works in you and through
you. You can trust Him to strengthen you, guide you, keep you, and He will give
you the words you need to speak of Jesus.
Prayers
Father in Heaven,
Your servant Elijah was one of the great prophets of the Old Testament and he
talked with Jesus at the Transfiguration. You put Your Spirit on him so that he
would speak Your Word to Your people. You have put Your Spirit on us, as well.
Thank You for being present among us and working so intimately in our lives as
You do by Your Spirit. Forgive us for the times we have remained silent when
the Spirit prompts us to speak. Forgive us for fearing that You have abandoned
us. Please keep us steadfast in Your Word and give us a double portion of Your
Spirit so that we will life faithfully and speak about Jesus as the Spirit
leads us. Amen.
Memory Verse:
2 Corinthians 4:6
- For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 4:6 ESV)
Thank you so much
for using Devotions for Worship, I pray that our time together has blessed you
and given you something to meditate on – some reminder of God’s grace to rattle
around in your brain – for the rest of the day.
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favor? If you got something out of this devotional time, would you like and/or
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God bless you!
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