Then [Elisha] took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces. And he took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, "Where is the the Lord, the God of Elijah?!" And when he had struck the water, the water was parted from one side to the other; and Elisha went over.
Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him over against them, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him. And they said to him, "Behold, now, there are with your servants fifty strong young men; pray, let them go and seek your master; it may be that the Spirit of the Lord has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley."
And he said, "You shall not send." But when they had urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send."
They sent therefore fifty men; and for three days they sought him but did not find him.
And they came back to him, while he tarried at Jericho; and he said to them, "Did I not say to you, Do not go?"
Now the men of the city said to Elisha, "Behold, the situation of the city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful."
He said, "Bring me a little bowl, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him. Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it, and said, "Thus says the Lord, I have made this water wholesome. Henceforth neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it." So the water has been wholesome to this day, according to the word which Elisha spoke.
7 comments:
“.. there are with your servants fifty strong young men; pray, let them go and seek your master; it may be that the Spirit of the Lord has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley."
I remember. I remember my own first experience of Awakening while reading John. First time through. No prior Christian training to speak of. Raised in a predominantly atheist home. Going back generations. When I began asking open ended questions about the text (“what? – if this is true, then”? - million open questions), and when Love poured into me like a Flood in this three or four hour process (it seemed), thne I came to some passage in John.
Don't know what set me off. I wondered whether Jesus might still be hanging around? -- on earth somewhere? Like, literally? Physically? In some valley? On some mountain?
It’s not that I wanted to run out the door. Just wondering. “This guy’s kinda cool. He can’t just split. I really want to meet this hippie.”
I came later to another passage in John. The passage isn’t before me right now. About Jesus leaving. And we can’t follow. He will send the Spirit. Forever. That’s it!
I have a tender empathy for the guys wanting to scrounge around. They probably stunk. Half of ‘em wanted any excuse to go dig mushrooms or buttons. The other half of these prophets want to get the yet-other-half to the mountaintop so they can push them off the cliff. They’ll argue about who is the greatest as they scrounge around. I’m with ‘em.
But really, why take a hike? – when the Truth has come down?
Some people just tune to John. Okay, I guess! Finding God is where/how you're found when it happens. John continues to sound strange to me, but if he pulls anybody in, out of all the flying brown-stuff, then yay John!!!
I've occasionally wondered about Jesus coming back physically. (I might even have met him, but don't know!)
Anyway, these are the same group who (a few words ago) were telling Elisha that his master would be going away. Or: Some of them knew; some of them hoped it wasn't so. Now they send out the search parties: "No, he didn't come down anywhere around here!" Giving the world a legendary figure who can show up at Passover dinner, or come to reconcile everybody before Drastic Sanctions might need to set in.
He rent his clothes and then picked up his master's staff and cloak.
Where does spiritual power/strength come from? Where does faith come from? We are used to thinking that it belongs to long dead guys like Elijah or the Twelve disciples. Or that it comes direct through experience. But it is also inherited--passed on from one to another in akind of apprenticeship.
Mind you, in order for the apprentice to become the master--she/he must make that spirit/Spirit her/his own.
All very Star Wars--don't you think?
This was, after all, part of the big message from that little voice, one booklet ago: to ~'anoint Elisha to be prophet in your place.' We're just starting to see the fallout from that one flash.
'Star Wars' really milked the old 'archetypes.' Cheap wows. Milk-wows? Ows!!! [I seem to be verbally waxing something this morning, wish it were poetic!]
That "asking open ended questions... if this is true, then?"
I was in a strange place with strange wonderful people, alasly long ago... listening to the Incredible String Band:
"Who would lamb,
and who would lion,
and who would be the tamer?
And who would hear
directions clear
from the Unnamed All-Namer?"
---
and I said to 'myself', "Wow! Can we really do that?"
God reaching through the texts, and when He gets a nibble-- There we are wriggling in the bottom of the Big Boat!
----
That 'commissioning thing...' When I first decided that I should be a "poet", having written some verse-- didactic verse abt the evolution fuss, now that I think of it. Wow! [Moo?] That evening I wrote some verbal courtship displays at some silly singles' group, that ended up at a lame diner where they were giving out a door prize... a cheap briefcase!
-----
The prophet I met-- said he wore an army blanket for professional appearances. You don't need a fancy all-weather bathrobe... Well, Lake Tahoe weather, maybe you do? But the essence of what he said he was about was "Listening."
Jim wrote: ".....Love poured into me like a Flood in this three or four hour process (it seemed)".
PTL, Jim; me, too. It was 65 years ago,
and after that my life became readically different; still is for that matter. I appreciate anybody honest and straightforward enough to witness like that.
See Larry, it’s like this. I had a dear heart-sister friend at Chicago. She was doing her PhD in William Blake. I would visit her sometimes after my day of long laboring at cognitive-rational-Newton-like work. She would make me look at Blake etchings. She told me I used too much reason. And I needed some Blake. I was never sure what this ritual meant. I had a difficult time keeping up with Urizen and Los and Spanky and Our Gang (I don’t think the latter is Blake?) One day, she showed me Blake’s etching of a demon. Or demons. I’m not kidding. The ‘things’ started moving. Blake’s etching was alive. No, I hadn’t augmented my senses or my chemical state with anything ‘extra.’ It was pure Blake. I don’t how Blake works. I just know that Blake was inspired. The Spirit used John to lead me to Love. The Spirit used Blake to show me that other things are ‘alive’ too. It could have worked the other way around. For all I know. Blake first. Then John. I can’t really tell which experience proved most vivid. The Gospel of John. Or Blake. I’m still recovering from the trauma! And love both. I hope you’ll pray for me. ~ Jim.
Re your comment: "I hope you’ll pray for me. ~ Jim."
Boy! you better believe it.
For years Ellie and I have been looking for another Blakean Christian, and suddenly we've found one. Reading your comment was traumatic for us in the highest degree.
I've often wondered why Blake never mentioned the Quakers. He did speak approvingly of John Wesley. The eerie thing is that George Fox, John Wesley, and William Blake were all buried at Bunhill Cemetery: (http://ramhornd.blogspot.com/2009/10/spiritual-cause.html); there's something very moving about that.
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