Join the Chariots and Horsemen of Israel
If you're in a battle, you better know whom you're fighting for and have a lot of courage. As we read in 2 Kings 2:1-14, that's what Elijah knew and had and what Elisha wanted and needed. That's what we want and need, too, because we're in a war against the devil. So, "Join the Chariots and Horsemen of Israel!" February 19, 2012.
When I think of chariots, two things come to mind – races like Charlton Heston in Ben Hur and war. When I think of horsemen, three things come to mind – cowboys, show jumpers, and war. As recorded in today’s first lesson from Second Kings chapter two, Elisha saw chariots of fire and horses of fire, and when he did, I would venture to say that he thought of war because the fiery chariots and horses were a vision of God’s angel armies. I believe he also thought of war when he called out to Elijah, “You are the chariots and horsemen of Israel,” a fitting title because Elijah had been a faithful soldier for the Savior God in a life-and-death war, a war for the souls of the people of Israel. King Ahab’s chariots and horsemen, that is, the prophets and preachers he hired, were leading the people into behaviors that would make pimps blush, and Ahab had the gall to call that “religion.” God countered with his own chariots and horsemen, his own prophets and preachers, whose leader was Elijah. But how could Elijah win the war? The odds were against him, and he himself was on his last legs. God had the answer. He chose a successor for Elijah, a man who even had a similar name – Elisha.
If you’re in a battle charging at the enemy in a chariot or on a horse, you better know whom you’re fighting for, and you better have a lot of courage. That’s what Elijah knew and had and what Elisha wanted and needed. That’s what we want and need, too, because we’re in a war. The devil is a terrorist, prowling along the alleys of our city, snaking into our living rooms and family rooms, onto our computer screens, and into the hearts and minds of as many people as he can get to stick their tongues out at God. So, Join the Chariots and Horsemen of Israel!
Burning to know the things of God
For more than twenty-five years of his ministry the veteran pastor had the privilege of serving as a supervisor of seminary interns. Each year the seminary sent him another student, and each year the young man returned for his final year of seminary classroom work more poised, more confident, and more committed to serving his Lord as a pastor. But this year was different. The veteran pastor heard from his doctor, “You’ve only got a few weeks to live.” His family, saddened by the news, found comfort in Jesus’ promises of life eternal. But the seminary intern took it especially hard. Not only would he be losing his mentor and friend, but he was asked by the seminary and the congregation to take up all the pastoral duties on his own. If there were cymbals between his knees, they would have been clanging loud enough to wake the dead. The fear factor zooming around his brain reached Mach 2, especially since he knew that he was following a veteran soldier who had fought the good fight in the war for souls.
In some way, shape, or form God informed Elijah that his days on the battlefield for souls were numbered. Perhaps he wanted to spend time alone in reflection and prayer, but Elisha, his intern, wouldn’t hear of it. “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” Elisha wanted to squeeze everything he could out of every remaining moment with Elijah, because he learned from his mentor that, if you’re going to be a soldier in the war for souls, you better know whom you’re fighting for. That’s why, Elisha asked Elijah, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.” He had a burning desire to know the things Elijah knew, the things of God. “Elijah, God pulled back the veil like the host of a special banquet who has kept the best of meats and the finest of wines (Isaiah 25:6) under a large sheet and voila! – there it is! God revealed to you that if sinners are not linked closely with him, he’ll stick them like a bug that wiggles in pain with a needle through its back, pinned to the floor. He also revealed to you that through the promised Savior he pulls the pin out and sets sinners free. Those are the things of God that fired you up to be a chariot and horseman in Israel, and those are things of God I want to know and grasp and hold in my heart.” As Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind, Elisha got a glimpse of those things of God, just as the disciples got a glimpse of God himself on the Mount of Transfiguration. After all, Elijah had surely shared with Elisha the story of his own weaknesses and fear, how one day he went AWOL from God’s army and sat around a pity-pot whining that he was the only soldier left. Yet, here was God, the God of all mercy and forgiveness, covering a sinner like Elijah in the fire-proof blanket of his mercy and whisking him to heaven. What a message! What a scene! It set Elisha on fire to join the chariots and horsemen of Israel.
This won’t come as a shock to you, but it does to lots of other folks – the whole point of human existence is not to make money, live disease-free, relax in retirement, and make it into a casket with little or no pain. No! The whole point of life is to win the war against evil and end up with eternal life. But to win that war, we first have to know whom we’re fighting for. Pray for a burning desire to know the things of God, and then grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Lots of folks here at Grace are reading and studying their Bibles at home. Are you? Want help? Email or call. We’d be glad to get your started. We know moms and dads can’t always get a sitter and come here for midweek Bible studies. We know many of you have commitments at work late into the evening or would have to fight midweek traffic to get to church. That’s why we’re exploring webinars, online studies, small groups, any possible way so you can satisfy that burning desire to know the things of God. You don’t have to get an advanced degree in theological studies. But you can see the mercy and forgiveness of your God at work in your life as he peels back the veil every time you dig into his holy Word. We need to be renewed in the things of God every day because our schedules have a way of dousing the flames of faith and burying all that. But God has given us the status of being the chariots and horsemen of Israel, and you can continue on in the war against Satan as you feed your burning desire to know the things of God.
Bursting to do the things of God
If there’s one thing the seminary intern learned from his mentor, it’s that nothing surpasses the importance of studying Scripture to know the things of God. How could he proclaim the things of God from the pulpit or in Bible class without first fueling his own tank each day? So that is what he did. And what do you suppose happened? The more he fueled his burning desire to know the things of God, the more he was bursting with confidence to do the things of God. A peek at his mentor’s calendar told him exactly what to do.
Elisha picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it … When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. Bursting with confidence, Elisha picked up his mentor’s cloak and did the same miracle Elijah did. The cloak had no magical power. It was simply a sign that read, “Elisha is one of the chariots and horsemen of Israel, a spokesman of God.” Elisha then marched forward and did the things of God. With a caring heart, he attended to the physical needs of people who needed a renewed water supply and the needs of a poor widow whose cupboard was bare. He cranked up his courage and confronted a gang who mocked him as a messenger of the true God. He demonstrated God’s power over illness and death itself, pointing people to real life, life forever with God, and as the kings of Israel continued feeding the supply chain of Satan’s chariots and horsemen, Elisha calmly yet confidently continued to do the things of God, winning one soul at a time. In fact, guess what King Jehoash called him as he was dying, “The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” (2 Kings 13:14)!
This account airmails to you and to me an invitation. “Who will succeed Elisha? Who will go and do the things of God and battle to rescue souls caught in Satan’s prisoner of war camp?” I don’t know about you, but my gut reaction is like that of the seminary intern new on the scene and like Elisha in his internship days. They had fears. They had doubts. They wondered, “Am I the right guy for the job? Maybe I can sit back and watch from the sidelines while others do the things of God. They’re surely better at it than I could ever be” – a thought process not unlike the little boy who cried upon entering the baseball stadium and being given a glove on Glove Day. Dad asked, “Why the tears?” The little guy said, “I really wanted to come to the game, but I didn’t want to have to play.” Who will do the things of God and burst with confidence onto the battlefield as a chariot and horseman for God?
What do you want people to say about you when you are stretched out in a casket? “Oh, he/she looks so nice!” Wouldn’t it be great if someone, even one, would say, “The chariot and horseman of Israel!” It’s possible. You and I do not have a cloak to swat water, but we do have Jesus’ words which can strike hearts and part the river of sin and opposition. Bursting with confidence, take the cloak of God’s powerful words, and slap it on the waters of a dull conscience, causing that prickling sensation, that ouch of “Oh, I’ve done wrong!” Then swing that cloak again, covering sin and guilt with the soothing blanket of Jesus’ life and blood. Confront your cousin about her sinful lifestyle that God does not approve. Tell your brother-in-law about Jesus’ mercy. Answer questions about what’s right with, “What does the Bible say?” You have seen the glory of the Lord made more evident for you than for Elisha on the other side of the Jordan and for the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration. You have been transformed by Jesus from God’s enemy into his soldier. Know the things of God, and do the things of God.
This pulpit is elevated by architectural design so you can see me better. But you should see the view from here. You know what I see? – the chariots and horsemen of Israel! Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on February 19, 2012
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