Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground. (v8)

Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. (v14)

The narrative in 2 Kings is a story of the passing on of baton from one prophet to another. Elijah walked as the Lord sent him from Bethel, Jericho and finally across Jordan. Elijah struck the river of Jordan and walked over on dry ground before he was taken to the heavens by the Lord. In the same way, Elisha used the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, the water parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. Then he returned the same way back to Jericho, and then to Bethel to continue the works of Elijah for the Lord.

The cloak, or kadarat in Hebrew, served as the motif to identify the prophet of God. This word kadarat was often used in association with the role and power of a prophet (1 Kings 19:13, 19, 2 Kings 2:8, 13, 14) or with the idea of glory (Jonah 3:6, Zech 11:3).

Earlier in 1 Kings 19, Elijah was told by God to anoint Elisha to be the next prophet in his place. Elijah then went to look for Elisha and cast his cloak upon Elisha to symbolise God’s call to serve Him in the role of a prophet. Now in 2 Kings 2, the Lord took Elijah, while he was alive, to heaven in a whirlwind, and it was time for Elisha to step up to take over his role as a prophet of the Lord as God had called.

One can only imagine the fear of Elisha having to fill in the big shoes that his teacher and mentor, Elijah left behind. Elijah was a fighter, and was seen fearless in the battle against the 450 prophets of Baal. He was a man of faith and God answered his prayer by raining fire on the altar leading him to a great victory against false gods. On the contrary, Elisha was younger, and had no such encounters of his own. That was why when Elijah was gone, Elisha exclaimed, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” The heart question Elisha was asking was this, “God, are you with me?”

Elisha, struck the Jordan river with the same cloak that previously belong to Elijah. The same water parted, but this time it was different. Elisha had personally witnessed the power of God through him. The same God who had first cast the cloak on Elisha, continued to be the God who parted the water for him. Elijah might be gone, but Yahweh remain the God at work in Elisha’s ministry.

As a young pastor, there were many moments of self-doubts. When I look at my predecessors in ministry, I often ask, “Am I doing this right?”, “Am I good enough to lead and shepherd?”, “I can never teach like how those spiritual giants teach”, and the list of doubts continue. The key question amidst all these questions was not, “Am I good enough”, because I knew that I will never be good enough. The better question we should ask is, “God, are you with me?” The right question will turn to God to look for right answers.

God has said in Hebrews 13:5, ““Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” We can always trust God and our response can be like the psalmist in 91:2. “I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Will you make that declaration this morning?

Prayer : Dear Lord, I claim your promise that you will never leave me, never you will forsake me. Lord, I too want to declare by faith, that you are my refuge and fortress, and in you, I put my trust. In Jesus name I pray, amen.