2 Kings 2:14

Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.   

2 Kings 2:14

Elisha had just witnessed his mentor Elijah being caught up into heaven by a whirlwind in a chariot of fire.  He had mourned and torn his clothes but when the fire glow ebbed and the dust from the whirlwind had settled, there at his feet laid his master’s mantle, that representation of the office of prophet.  Even though this was a holy moment,  God was faithful to his servant’s humanity and reinforced his need for something tangible, the mantle.

Now Elisha has a dilemma.  He was on the wrong side of the Jordan.  All he had in his hand was the mantle that had fallen from Elijah.  When God blesses us, He will very often test us to see if we will use it.  His blessings are not meant to be hoarded. So Elisha cries out, “Where is the God of Elijah?” in a sense saying, “Prove to me that You will be with me as You were with my master.”  God honors the fact that Elisha puts the blessing to use, and He parts the waters of the Jordan.  So, Elisha’s first miracle was a duplication of his master’s last miracle.  Has God blessed you with something special lately?  Are you sitting on that blessing or are you putting it use so that God can multiply it and be glorified in it.

Using the blessing to honor the Blesser,

Pastor Gerard Deleeuw