Introduction
As we conclude this series on these two great Old Testament prophets,
I want to compare Elijah and Elisha along a number of lines, then look
at certain lessons we can learn form this comparison. First, however,
let's consider how they were similar . . .
Similarities
Both were appointed by God to be the lead prophets of Israel for a period
of time.
Both evidently trained the “sons of the prophets” as a key
priority of their ministries (2 Kings 2:3, 5, 7; 4:1, 38; 5:22).
Both were empowered by God in extraordinary ways. That is, they had ministries
in which miracles played a major role (miracles of judgment on apostasy
and miracles of restoration for the faithful).
Both had very unusual departures from this life. Elijah was taken up
without experiencing death (2 Kings 2), while Elisha's bones brought a
corpse back to life (2 Kings 13).
Differences
Some of the differences between these two men are more basic and constitutional:
SOCIO-ECONOMIC: Elijah came from rustic Gilead beyond the Jordan
River, and was probably from a relatively poor home. Elisha, on the
other hand, came from Abel Meholah in Israel proper, and appears to
have had a wealthy upbringing (12 oxen).
PERSONALITY: Elijah seems to have been a man of moods—experiencing
great emotional swings between euphoria and depression. We see no such
evidence of this in Elisha, who was probably more even-tempered.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: Elijah was a hairy man (2 Kings 1:8),
while Elisha was bald (2 Kings 2:23). (Personally, I think Elisha
got the better deal here!)
Some of their differences are more central to their ministries.
On the one hand, Elisha's ministry superseded Elijah's in certain ways.
Elisha's ministry lasted about twice as long as Elijah's (14 and
prematurely terminated to almost 50 years).
The Kings narrative also records twice as many miracles by Elisha
as by Elijah (14 to 7). Some scholars speculate that this difference
was part of God's answer to grant Elisha a “double portion”
of Elijah's spirit (2 Kings 2:9).
On the other hand, Elijah's ministry was clearly more dominant in many
ways. Elijah was truly a “larger than life” figure.
Most of his ministry was directly confronting powerful worldly figures
(Ahab; Jezebel; Ahaziah). Elisha, on the other hand, dealt mainly
with common people whose names we will never know—a widow, a
laborer, a Shunnamite woman, etc. And when Elisha did deal with powerful
figures, he did so indirectly and carried out God's directives to
Elijah.
Similarly, most of Elijah's miracles were dramatic and judgmental
on apostasy (DROUGHT; FIRE FROM HEAVEN). By contrast, most of Elisha's
miracles were modest and deeds of compassion. He cleansed the waters
of Jericho (2:19-22). He increased a widow's supply of oil, which
saved her children from being sold into slavery (4:1-7). He cleansed
a pot of food into which a poisonous herb had been mistakenly added
(4:38-41). He fed 100 hungry men by multiplying a small amount of
barley loaves and corn (4:42-44). He cured a Gentile of his leprosy
(5:14). He recovered a lost axe head that a man had borrowed, and
thus saved him from financial ruin (6:1-7).
Because of the above, Elijah was and still is famous in his own right.
He towers above every Old Testament figure except Moses. Elisha, however,
remains clearly in Elijah's shadow. He spent the first 10 years ministering
to Elijah. Even after Elijah departed, he was known as ”Elisha . . . who
used to pour water on the hands of Elijah” (2 Kings 3:11).
Even the New Testament recognizes Elijah as the predominant figure.
He is mentioned by name 29 times and alluded to a few other times. But
Elisha is mentioned only once.
Elijah cast a very long shadow, and Elisha lived under it his whole adult
life? Most of us have or will live under someone else's shadow (parent,
friend, ministry leader, etc.), and most us have or will have others in
our shadow (child, disciple, etc.). Do you know how to handle being in
someone else's shadow? Or do you compete, resent, run away from them,
etc.? Do you know how to help those who live in your shadow? We don't
specifically how Elijah and Elisha handled this situation—but we
have principles from scripture that teach how to handle this in a godly
way. Let's look at two of them . . .
Lesson 1
We can get at the first lesson by asking this question: “Who was
better suited for his role—Elijah or Elisha?”
At first glance, most people would answer “Elijah.” He was
the more dominant personality, he performed the more dramatic miracles,
he dealt with the more powerful figures, etc.
Yet the correct answer is: “They were both suited perfectly for
the different roles God gave them.”
Elijah's bold personality and dramatic miraculous deeds were needed
to call the nation back to God from the brink of total apostasy.
Elisha's compassionate miracles for the common Israelites provided
them a needed reminder of God's love for all of them, and of his faithfulness
to them when they were faithful to him.
God says the same thing to Jeremiah when he called him to his to his
unique role as a prophet to the nations of his day (read Jer. 1:5).
Elijah, Elisha, and Jeremiah are examples of something wonderful that
God says about each of us: God has fashioned each of us perfectly for
unique roles in his service.
This is exactly what God says in Ephesians 2:10 (read). Paul here
likens God to a SCULPTOR who fashions each of us uniquely, suiting us
for the significant work he has already planned for us. Your personality,
body, natural talents, spiritual gifting, experiences in your upbringing,
the time and place in which you live, etc.—none of this is a mere
accident of history and genetics and environment because God is sovereignly
over and involved in every aspect of your life. God has a unique purpose
for your life, and he has been mysteriously at work to sculpt your life
for his good purpose, which he wants to lead you into.
But notice that God's fashioning work is “in Christ.” You
can learn the true purpose for your life and how you have been suited
for it only after you have been reconciled to your Maker. And
you can be reconciled to God only through Jesus Christ, because only
he died to pay the penalty for your guilt before God. That's why this
verse follows 2:8-9 (read). For some of you, this is the first order
of business—be reconciled to God by putting your personal trust
in Christ as your Savior. Then you can begin to discover the true purpose
for your life and how God has fashioned you to fulfill it!
After you have come to Christ, you will need to (repeatedly) agree with
him on this point and affirm from the heart that he knew what he was doing
by fashioning you the way he has. As we look at other people (including
other Christian friends and workers), it is easy for us to conclude: “If
only I had those spiritual gifts/that IQ/that personality/that person's
upbringing/their friends/his looks/her conversion experience/etc., then
I could be more effective and fulfilled.” But such thinking is fundamentally
wrong, and unless corrected it will lead to increasing mistrust in God
and a serious spiritual breakdown.
We all struggle with this at times because we are fallen, but some
of us get stuck here chronically. When this is the case, it is usually
a signal that we still are committed to our agenda for our lives, and
we want God to fulfill our agenda (get others to praise and serve us)—instead
of abandoning this whole project and giving ourselves to God's agenda
for our lives (draw others to praise and serve Christ).
We are like the picture frame, and the picture is Christ. A good picture
frame draws the viewers' attention to the picture rather than to itself
(ORIGINAL FRAMES AT RIJKS MUSEUM IN AMSTERDAM). When you disagree
with God about how he made you, is it possible that you want to be the
picture rather than the frame? If you could change certain things about
yourself, would it be to bring more glory to Christ—or to yourself?
Don't just give the correct answer to these questions—ask God to
search your heart. The result may be painfully convicting, but also
wonderfully liberating when you repent.
If Elisha had compared himself with Elijah, or listened to those who
did so, he could have concluded that he was unsuited for his role. But
thankfully, he affirmed this truth and gave his life to the Lord. When
we feel this way, we need to imitate Elisha.
Lesson 2
The second lesson flows directly from the first lesson. Whose life was
more successful: Elijah's or Elisha's? The answer depends on which audience
you consult.
If you asked the majority of the Israelites at this time, they would
have said that neither was successful. After all, neither sought nor
attained material wealth. Both obstructed the worship of Baal, which
the majority wanted.
If you asked most of those who followed YHWH, they would have said
that Elijah was more successful than Elisha. They're the ones who described
Elisha as the one who poured water over Elijah's hands. After all, Elijah
had the more powerful personality, Elijah dealt with the movers and
shakers of society, Elijah did the dramatic miracles.
Yet both of these evaluations are wrong. To the only audience that
counts (God), I feel certain that his answer is: “They were both
successful because they both fulfilled the roles I gave them.”
Here is another crucial lesson for us to learn. We all want to be successful,
and we all live our lives before the audiences whose evaluation we value.
But God says that success is faithfully fulfilling his role for you.
One of the most important decisions in your life is which audience
matters most to you—other people or God. God has been nailing me
on this issue in a variety of ways for the last several months. I have
been especially arrested by the chapter in Os Guinness' book The
Call which is entitled “The Audience of One.” In it, Guinness
says, ”Most of us, whether we are aware of it or not, do things
with an eye to the approval of some audience or other. The question
is not whether we have an audience but which audience
we choose.”
Conversely, we should not define success by how much approval we get
from our culture. But the Bible calls this way of evaluating your successfulness
fundamentally foolish. Jesus is especially tough on this point. He is
the One who warns us: “That which is highly esteemed among people
is detestable in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15). One of his
favorite expressions was: “Then the last shall be first, and the
first shall be last.” On that day when all of us will be evaluated
by God, there are going to be some big surprises. Many people who were
viewed by their society (and church) as winners will be declared failures
by God; and many for whom society had no use will be exalted and rewarded
by God. The way the world evaluates success is usually so different
from the way God evaluates it that it is both useless and perilous to
look horizontally for your progress report.
Also, we should beware of defining success in Christian ministry by
comparing ourselves to other workers. Those who gauge their success
(including spiritual success) by how they compare to other people inevitably
fall prey to the twin vices of pride and envy. Read Galatians 5:26;
6:4-5.
Pride grows when I conclude that I am more successful than others
in any area. It is not only corrupting, but blind because the issue
is not how much I have accomplished compared to others, but how well
I am fulfilling the potential God gave me to serve him. This is the
perspective that keeps me humble and motivated to press on.
Envy grows when I come up short compared to others in any area of
talent or results that is important to me. I know from personal experience
how ugly this is. Instead of being thankful for their contribution,
I resent their ability and accomplishments because I feel like a failure.
Why? Because I am evaluating my success as a person by arbitrarily
comparing myself to another person instead of simply doing my best
to be a faithful steward for God. When I recover this perspective,
I can focus on simply being where God wants me to be, doing what God
wants me to do—and I then experience God's peace and empowering
and fruit and satisfaction.
Let's listen to Ish Gajary as he shares what he's learned about living
in my shadow . . .
Footnotes
Copyright
1999 Gary DeLashmutt