2 Kings 2:14: “Then [Elisha] 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.”

July 27th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

In 1 Kings 19:19, the Lord told the prophet Elijah to place his mantle (his cloak) on Elisha’s shoulders, which symbolically represented that Elijah’s calling from God would be passed on to Elisha. Now, in 2 Kings 2, we read that the Lord took Elijah, while he was still alive, to heaven in a whirlwind. And with Elijah’s departure, the time for Elisha to step into his role as a prophet of the Lord came.

Elijah’s cloak had fallen off as he was taken to heaven. And if Elisha would simply pick it up, it would now be his. He realized it would be an expensive cloak to take up and that following God would not be easy. But he did, and as he picked up the cloak and put it on, he also picked up the load of public service that Elijah had left. He went to the Jordan River with the cloak and asked a question that is just as critical for us today as it was then: “Where is the God of Elijah?”

In our 21st-century world, we desperately need the God of Elijah to work in and among us. Where are the men and women of God who are unafraid to take up this mantle of service and speak truth? Where are the leaders who will take a stand for righteousness, calling sin by its name and calling humanity to repentance so that God can forgive our sins and heal our land?

After visiting America in 1831, French writer Alexis de Tocqueville said:

I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests—and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning—and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution—and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!

So we desperately need to pray.

“LORD, we fear that day has come, but we ask that you not leave us here. Please give us again truth-speakers as well as ears to hear and accept the hard truth needed to bring repentance, and then we ask for Your hand of mercy, forgiveness, and cleansing.”