A portion of notes from my sermon thought from tonight... I want more! In 2 Kings 13, Joash visits the prophet Elisha on his death bed. My father, My father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof! were his words upon entering the room. Where had Elisha heard this before? From his own mouth years prior when his own Prophet was being taken from him. The words heralded in the double-portion blessing hed asked for previously. Elijah told him that if he would see him when he was caught up, the blessing would be his. So, for the next several days Elisha would not leave his side, even refusing to let Elijah out of his sight. Finally, after Elijahs last miracle parting the Jordan river, he was taken up in a fiery chariot and the mantle of anointing fell to Elishas feet. Thats when those words were spoken before. The only other time in all of scripture. The last miracle of Elijah would be the first miracle of Elisha as he would then part the Jordan as well. This set the clock counting for Elisha. Elijah performed 14 miracles, and Elisha had 27 more to go. At the beginning of the miracles, he was probably filled with excitement at what God was doing by his hand. I wonder, though, if as the miracles progressed and the numbers increased if he thought to himself, I should have asked for more! As his sixth miracle, Elisha blessed a widow woman with oil that would flow as long as there were vessels to fill. Perhaps as a prophecy of his own impending death, he watched as the woman gathered the last vessel and her door was closed behind her. I wonder if he thought to himself, she should have gathered more! Indeed, she probably thought the same thing. I should have asked for more! Every miracle he performed, he grew closer to the 28 miracles he was promised. I wonder if, with each miracle performed, he lamented not asking for a greater portion of the blessing. Fast-forward to Joash in the room of the prophet, and we find a man of God laying on his death bed with only one miracle left to fulfill his God-given quota. At the greeting of Joash, Elisha excitedly instructed the King to grab a bow and arrow. This, after all, was a man whose hunger for the blessings of God drove him to proclaim, My father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof! Surely, Joash would receive the mantle from Elisha and make the kind of request that God was worthy of! He probably grew more excited as Joash followed his instructions and shot the arrow out the window toward Syra. Then, Elisha told him to take the arrows and strike them against the ground. Once. Yes! Thats it! Do it again! Twice. Thats the way, Do it again, Joash! Three times. Wonderful! Keep it up! But Joash stopped. The man of God was angry... not that Joash did something wrong, specifically, but that he didnt do it enough. You should have smitten it five or six times, then you would have utterly destroyed Syria, but now youll only defeat them three times, and theyll continue to hinder you! Elisha was angry because Joash was content with less than God wanted him to have. Elisha made his way back over to the side of his bed, lay back, and gathered his legs into his blanket. Shortly after, he died. His final miracle would come as his dead body was lowered into a grave with other men. As his body touched another dead man, the body came to life. But the miracles of Elisha were finished. The vessels were gathered, the door was closed, and there was no more oil to pour. Jesus proclaimed to a crowd on a hillside many years later, blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled! The hungry. Thats what hes looking for. Those who refuse to be content with less than everything God has for them. Those who linger at the table, desiring more. Those who continually pour themselves out so He can fill them up.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 03:53:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015