I believe we could say that Elijah figures to us the Lord Jesus as the One who magnified the law and made it honorable (Isaiah 42:2121The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honorable. (Isaiah 42:21)). He only could meet its holy requirements. He was and is the Truth. “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” John 1:1717For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (John 1:17). Elisha rather figures to us the Lord Jesus in the character of grace; for these two characters, grace and truth, were seen in perfection in the Lord Jesus in His pathway here. Yet just as Elisha’s ministry did not really begin until Elijah had crossed the Jordan and been taken up, so there was a hindrance to the full manifestation of God’s grace until after the work of redemption had been accomplished. The Lord Jesus referred to this when He said, “I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!” Luke 12:5050But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! (Luke 12:50). When at the cross mercy and truth met together (Psalm 85:1010Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. (Psalm 85:10)) and all God’s holy claims against sin were fully met, then the hindrance was removed. Now that the Lord Jesus has “gone up” as the One who has fully glorified God, God has come out in all the riches of His immeasurable grace. This we see, in figure, in Elisha, for we will notice that all his miracles, except one, were miracles of grace. The one instance we refer to is the cursing of the children who mocked him, and figures the awful judgment which will fall on those who reject the grace of God. God is not looking for some good in man now, as under the law, but telling out His heart in grace, even to Gentiles, as typified in the cleansing of Naaman’s leprosy by Elisha. Grace now reaches beyond the limits of Israel. May we be more established in this wondrous grace of God, and manifest it to others.
With this in mind, let us consider the life of Elisha as that of a Christian learning what it is to be “dead and risen with Christ.” When Elisha was first called to follow the rejected Elijah, he was plowing with his oxen, and was not prepared to follow him then. He asked that he might return and kiss his father and mother goodbye, so Elijah told him to return, apparently tang back his mantle which he had thrown over him. What a lesson for us! If we are truly going to manifest Christ here, there must be a break with nature’s ties. There must be a willingness to leave even the dearest things in life, if necessary, to walk in obedience to the One whom we own as our Lord.
It appears that the Lord had been working in the heart of Elisha since the time of his first call, and now in our chapter he was tested again as to whether he valued the company of the rejected Elijah above everything else. What a challenge this was to him, as it is to us! Do we have double hearts? (James 1:88A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:8).) Are we trying to divide them with Christ, keeping a place for other things we hold dear?
Because of this, when at Gilgal, “Elijah said to Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel.” Would he yield to natural desires as he had previously, and turn back, or would he be content to follow Elijah, no matter how difficult the path might be? Elisha’s answer was clear and definite: “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” How beautiful! This was true purpose of heart. May there be more of this in our lives too.
ML 08/23/1956