2 Kings 2:2-3 – Don’t stay stagnant in our spiritual journey

Directed by God, Elijah appointed Elisha, his successor, who was ably prepared to take over. The Bible is silent about the duration of the mentoring. But we know from 2 Kings 2:1 that the time for Elijah to leave for heaven was nearing and God was about to launch Elisha into the ministry. Gilgal was the first place that they began their journey toward Jordan. Gilgal, we have established, speaks of a new beginning. It was here that the second generation of Israelites who were born in the wilderness were circumcised, and their covenant with God renewed. It was here that God rolled away the reproach of Egypt from them. Like Elisha, our spiritual journey starts at our Gilgal. To us believers, Gilgal represents Calvary where our Lord Jesus died for us, to roll away the reproach of our sin. It is here that we have entered a covenant with our Lord and given a fresh start to life.

To be saved is an exhilarating experience for every believer but we must continue to make the journey with the Lord. Like Elisha, we must refuse to stay contented in Gilgal. We must make progress in our spiritual journey. And to progress is a personal decision. Although Elijah told Elisha to remain in Gilgal, he refused. For he had made a choice to follow through with his journey. Some people after giving their lives to the Lord, choose not to progress. Hence, they become stagnated in their salvation experience. Like the Shulamite maid in the Song of Solomon 2:14, they are contented to rest in their salvation or the cleft of the rock experience and not progress with the lover of their souls. But Elisha was not such a person. He turned down Elijah’s advice to remain in Gilgal.

So he followed Elijah to Bethel, which had a rich history. It was at Bethel that God made Himself known to the patriarchs years ago. Before Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, he was at Bethel. Genesis 12:8 said that he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. Then again in Genesis 28, we are told that at Bethel Jacob had the remarkable dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder from heaven. Details can be found in Genesis 28:16-17. This is what Jacob said of Bethel, “…Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it … How awesome is this place.… This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” The original name of Bethel was Luz and it was renamed Bethel by Jacob after that experience. Bethel means the house of God. It is a place of revelation. It should be a place where we believers must come to reflect on the Lord.

Second Kings 2:3 tells us that here some prophets told Elisha, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; be still.” Elisha, like his mentor, must have known that God was going to take Elijah back to heaven. While he was aware, he refused to let that knowledge trouble him. He just stayed still, trusting the Lord. Gilgal speaks of a new beginning, and Bethel speaks of walking, trusting, and growing toward maturity in the Lord. It is a call for us to depend on Him in our daily walk and be a victorious Christian. We are not expected to experience a life of stagnation but a life of progression. To ensure progress, we need to come to our Bethel where God will reveal more of Himself to us, to shape, transform and mature us. It is a call to press toward the mark of the high calling of God. Let’s do it with all diligence!