Talk 17

0:00 This is the final talk from the Book of Kings in this series, and it features one of the most interesting and most dramatic events in the Bible. It's also the source of the title of one of my all-time favorite movies, Chariots of Fire. I'm sure some others like that movie, the story of two young men seeking different kinds of glory at the Paris Olympics in 1920, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell. At the end of that movie, they sing the song based on William Blake's poem, Jerusalem. And one of the lines in that poem is, bring me my spear, O clouds unfold, bring me my chariot of fire. And that phrase comes directly from our reading, the final phrase, 1 Kings chapter 2. And as many of you know, Blake's poem became a song, which is sung in the final scene in that famous movie. It's possibly a song you sang at school, and maybe you've heard sung if you didn't join in at the odd rugby match over the years.

1:18 That image of the chariot of fire is a very powerful symbol of glory and victory and all of those great things. Now, I should warn you, what we're about to read doesn't fit with the way most people perceive reality. where the universe is a closed shop and there's no possibility of any divine interference as people see it. With the result that many people consider what we're about to read myths. In other words, they are just constructed stories that contain a spiritual truth, although people disagree over what that truth might be, but there's no actual historical reality in them. However, the writer of Kings doesn't claim at all that what he's writing is myth. He presents it in a very matter-of-fact way as literal history. And the truth is that if we have problems with divine intervention, accounts of divine intervention in human history and with miracles, then we're going to have serious problems with Christianity itself.

2:41 Because at its heart, it is based on the supreme miracle of God incarnated, of God on a cross. The Lord Jesus, the Son of God raised from the dead, ascended back to be with the Father. the coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and then the event that is still future, the return of that same Jesus literally, physically, to this planet. That's the heart of Christianity. And I suppose, well, my own position is that I think it's only logical to presume that the personal creator God who made everything work the way it normally does has the perfect right and ability to interfere with it to put his finger in if he so chooses. The question is why would he? What's the point of these stories? So we're going to read five readings today.

3:50 Aren't you fortunate? Five readings. And we're going to start in 2 Kings chapter 1 and the very first verse. After Ahab's death, Moab rebelled against Israel. Now we're going to chapter 2, verse 1. When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. And Elijah said to Elisha, stay here. The Lord has sent me to Bethel.

4:23 But Elisha said, as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you. So they went down to Bethel. The company of the prophets of Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today? Yes, I know, Elisha replied. So be quiet. Then Elijah said to him, stay here, Elisha. the Lord has sent me to Jericho and he replied as surely as the Lord lives and as you live I will not leave you so they went to Jericho the company of the prophets of Jericho went up to Elisha and asked them do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today yes I know he replied so be quiet then Elijah said to him stay here the Lord has sent me to the Jordan and he replied, as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you. So the two of them walked on and 50 men from the company of the prophets went and stood at the distance facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan.

5:26 And Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. And when they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you? Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit, Elisha replied. A double portion was what the firstborn received. So it's basically saying, I want to be your inheritor, the same spirit you have. I want to have that spirit. You have asked a difficult thing, Elijah said.

6:08 Yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours. Otherwise it will not. And as they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them. And Elijah went up to heaven in wind. Elisha saw this and cried out, my father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel. And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. Elisha then picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.

6:50 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah, he asked. And when he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. Now over into chapter 3 of 2 Kings and verse 5. But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. So at that time, King Joram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. He also sent this message to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. The king of Moab has rebelled against me.

7:31 Will you go with me to fight against Moab? I will go with you, replied. I am as you are. My people as your people. My horses as your horses. By what route shall we attack, he asked. Through the desert of Edom, he answered. So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom.

7:51 after a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them. What exclaimed the king of Israel? Has the Lord called us three kings together only to deliver us into the hands of Moab? But Jehoshaphat asked, is there no prophet of the Lord here through whom we may inquire of the Lord? And an officer of the king of Israel answered, Elisha, son of Shaphat, is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, the word of the Lord is with them. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Edom, went down to him.

8:32 And Elisha said to the king of Israel, why do you want to involve me? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother. No, the king of Israel answered, because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to deliver us into the hands of Moab. So I've read a little bit more that is on the screen. I was just getting so excited with the story got carried away there. You'll pardon me. Let's hop over then into the New Testament for two readings. One in Luke chapter 24.

9:07 And this is after the resurrection of Jesus, where he is speaking to his disciples and tells them they're going to be witnesses of the things that they have seen. But verse 49 of Luke 24, I am going to send you what my father has promised, but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. And then finally over into Acts chapter one. Acts chapter 1. And we're going to read from verse 6 to verse 12. Then they gathered round him and asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said to them, it's not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.

10:08 And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And after he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes. And a cloud hid him from their sight. And they were looking intently up into the sky as he was going. When suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. Men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. I hope maybe even from that final reading you begin to see some of the connections that I'm planning to make because the idea is to see what we can learn.

11:03 Paul in his letter says that these things in Kings written for our learning. So the way that I've been approaching this, just to give you a little explanation, has been first to see what did the people at the time learn? What was the point for them? But at the same time, for us living now, what are the major lessons that we take? Because we're in a different position. We come after the coming of Jesus, the coming of the Spirit, etc. So it's that twofold look. And if you feel a bit dizzy because we're going like a tennis match, so the ball's over here in that court and then it's in this court, well, try to follow as we go through.

11:48 The inspired author is very careful to place the dramatic story of Elijah's handover to Elisha in the context of a rebellion. So get that idea into our minds, the rebellion. And it comes in chapter 1 and again in chapter 3. And then we read that story I was getting so excited about, but we didn't have time to read it all, how Elisha was able to succeed in dealing with the rebellion when the kings were unable to do so. So the question raised then is we have a rebellion. How is it going to be dealt with? And in particular then, what is the secret? what was the secret of Elisha's success in dealing with this rebellion?

12:42 So let's dive down a little bit more. After the death of Ahab, the small nation of Moab rebelled against Israel. But at that crucial moment, unfortunately, Israel's king Ahaziah, as we looked at last week, he fell in his own palace and was now seriously ill and dying. So that adds another feature into this. We have a rebellion. We have a king who falls in his own castle, in his own palace, and who is now seriously ill. So he can't deal with the rebellion. So naturally enough, he sends for help.

13:25 And foolishly, and we looked at this in detail last week, he was sent for help to Baal-zebub, the false god, the idol of the nations around them. And since he was a mere idol, the production of human imagination and human hands to create the idol itself, well, Baal couldn't speak, Baal couldn't help. And Elijah sent a rather interesting question to the king Ahaziah. Is it because there's no living God that you're chasing after these other false gods? And Ahaziah, instead of repenting, got angry and sent a squad of soldiers to get Elijah and whereupon God sent his judgment and Ahaziah died as Elijah had said. That's the backdrop to what now follows. Ahaziah's failed attempt to deal with the rebellion. And that image that we begin a second king's with of a king fallen in his own castle, in his own palace, has just played in my mind most of this past week.

14:50 And it's made me think of my mum because she had a little phrase. Some of you may have heard this little phrase. She used to repeat that an English man's home is his castle. And some of you probably heard that, even though most of us, I suspect, aren't English. But the idea is there. The idea is that the home is your safe space, is your sanctuary. That's our castle, and we have rights to do what we want in our castle. and we're in control and that's where we have the say.

15:24 And of course, that's the way a lot of people look at their own life. It's my body, I can do what I want with it. It's my life, it's me. I've got to say. The problem with that is that he had fallen in his own castle. So he wasn't in control anymore. In fact, he was desperately sick. And that, as I say, has stuck with me.

15:51 What happens when you've fallen in your own castle? Because that is really when we take it to ourselves is the problem with all of us. Fallen no longer in control. You see, one of the results of being fallen is that you don't have control over the powers that we have. For example, your tongue, the facility of speech. It's a wonderful thing. You can say such lovely things. I love you.

16:32 Wow. And you can encourage and you can use your tongue to bless. But boy, can we use our tongue for other things. and we lose control. The perfect person, according to James, is the one who can control that, but that's the trouble. We're not perfect people. We lose control. There's a sense, isn't there, that there is a rebel within and it's the same with our feelings.

17:01 Feelings are wonderful things. I mean, what would life be without feelings and emotion and passion? And they make wonderful servants, but they make terrible masters when they get in control. And anger builds up, or lust builds up, and you lose control. Fallen in his own castle. Turning to idols is not going to help. Deal with rebellion. And we find ourselves, as C.S.

17:38 Lewis once put it, we find ourselves prisoners inside a cell inside our own castle, controlled by things beyond our control. The disaster for King Ahaziah was that he went to idols to seek for a solution. He died, but his death didn't stop the rebellion. In chapter 3, as we read, the opening line is repeated. After Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. So it's Moab. The rebellion, it's about Moabites.

18:13 And they were a subservient nation to Israel. In return for Israel's protection and all the rest of it and fellowship, they gave them, in the form of annual taxes, a large number of lambs and a great deal of wool. And that kept people warm and fed during the winter. So very useful. As long as they were in that subservient position, they were extremely helpful as servants. But that depended on keeping them under control. And that was the problem. Good servants don't always make good masters.

18:53 And once they got out of control, the Moabites had a tendency to cause trouble. And they were famous for it. And those of you who will know the Old Testament stories will know that there was a very famous incident involving Moabites when Israel was on their journey towards the promised land and Moab weren't happy about this new nation coming in. And they paid the false prophet Balaam to come and curse them. but Balaam wasn't able to do it because God was for Israel and shielded them from this direct spiritual attack, but Balaam was coming, and since the direct spiritual attack didn't work, he taught the Moabites how to cause Israel to stumble on their journey, and the way they did it was this. They invited Israel to join them in their religious festivals, but the way they sent their invitation was very innovative for the time, they sent out their young woman, and the best of style, with the invitations. And of course, you can imagine, you know, through the desert, after years of journeying, these glamorous young things appear out of Moab, brandishing invitations and saying, guys, come on, we want to invite you to a religious ceremony. oh, well, that was okay then.

20:23 It was religious. It was spiritual. That would be fine. But it was so interesting, so enticing, so different from what they'd been used to. Because these young ladies were, well, progressive. They were advanced, sophisticated, modern. Not old sort of fuddy-duddy types under Moses teaching the Ten Commandments and all that stuff. This was liberation.

20:50 This was freedom. and so many were taken and they went and they went to these religious festivals but these were festivals of false gods and they involved a lot of drinking and dancing and one thing led to another and they were eating food that was offered openly to idols and they committed immorality because you don't want to fuss with all that old Moses stuff you know sex outside of marriage nonsense you need to grow up that was for then we live in a modern age come on and it was a disaster but you can understand the power of the temptation if you've been going through the desert and all you've seen is sand and heat and rock and vultures and all you've eaten is manna and quail You're getting tired of the diet. You're getting tired of the environment. It's hard work. Years of this. And suddenly a vision bursts on your eyes.

22:02 And you think, well, why not? I'm tired. That's how Moab worked. Playing on desire. And they found that their desire got out of control. That's not just an ancient story, is it? The risen Lord Jesus writing to the church at Pergamum. And his letter to Pergamum writes this.

22:35 There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam. Who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin. so that they ate food, sacrificed to idols, and committed sexual immorality. It was right there in the first century church. And that's amazing. I mean, the gospel has only been going for 20 or 30 years. And it's there already. People are getting tired of Paul, getting tired of Jesus, getting tired of morality, biblical morality, and wanting it.

23:10 Well, we like all that stuff about forgiveness. but I mean, you know, we want to get liberated here. And there were teachers in the church who were promoting this in the name of Christianity. How do you deal with it? How do you deal with rebellion of that kind? Have you never felt it in yourself? You're tired, weary, you want to break, There's just something inside that wants to break free of any restraint to be like everybody else. Well, Ahaziah failed.

23:53 He died. He had no heir. His brother Joram took over the throne. And he was a bit of an improvement on his brother, but just a bit. And he mobilized his troops. He invited Jehoshaphat to join forces. And since they had to go through the desert of Edom, they invited the king of Edom to join with them, to put down their rebellion. So off they went.

24:14 We three kings and their horses and their soldiers and all the king's men and all the rest of it. And they couldn't put Humpty together again. It was a disaster. Because after seven days of pursuing Moabites, they got thirsty. And they ran out of water. And they had no resource to deal with the Moabites. In fact, the reverse was the case. They nearly were annihilated as a result.

24:51 And Jehoshaphat had the presence of mind to send for Elisha. And we didn't have time to read the fantastic story of how through Elisha, God miraculously supplied the army with sufficient water. that they were able to subdue Moab. That's a powerful image, isn't it? Marching, fighting, getting tired, weary, thirsty, and having no resource to fight. See, there's nothing wrong with being thirsty, is there? That's a good desire. It's just as well we have it.

25:32 But we'll never fight successfully until our thirst is satisfied. We need to think about that. In all our struggles and fighting, and fighting against sin and rebellion and so on in our own life, and we try our best and we screw up our strength and our courage and all the king's horses and all the king's men, and we do our best with our personal disciplines and all the rest of it, and those are good things in themselves. But in the end, unless our thirst is satisfied, it will count for nothing. We'll not succeed. And I can't help but think, and you probably think I'm fanciful. He's lost the plot. He's gone AWOL.

26:25 But I think of Jesus standing up at a feast. All this religion, people doing their best, trying all kinds of stuff. And he comes with this brilliant statement at the end. Anybody still thirsty? Anybody out there still thirsty? After all this effort, all this religion, all this ritual, let him come to me and drink. And whoever believes in me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. And this he said of the Holy Spirit.

27:05 So this is a basic principle, is a basic principle in the New Testament. I'm using this Old Testament story to illustrate it, but I'm not saying anything that isn't there. The first thing is to make sure that we are satisfying our thirst. in God himself. That we're not some sort of DIY screwing ourselves up to fight this thing. But rather we are opening our heart to God. We're getting to know him. We're spending time in the worship of God.

27:53 We are satisfying the deepest level of our thirst that nothing else in this world can satisfy in the Lord Jesus himself. Do you know that? Do you know what that is like? Do I? Why was Elijah able to succeed when the others failed? Well, they were walking together. I need to be very quick. I just enjoy this so much, and time goes by.

28:27 Let me be fast. They were walking together, Elijah and Elijah. It's just fascinating, this, the whole thing. And they started at Gilgal, and then they made this journey. And in this journey, they met various people who kept saying, do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you? Yes, he knew. Be quiet. I mean, you all laughed when I was reading this, because this repeated, I mean, you know, do we get the Well, he certainly had the point.

28:57 I'm going away. Your master's going away. Okay, I get it. He's going away. And perhaps Elijah is saying goodbye to the various prophets. But this journey is fascinating. If you look at it geographically, Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, across the Jordan, and it's emphasized. You stay here, Elisha, because the Lord has said, no, no, I'm coming you.

29:23 You say here, Elijah, the Lord has said, no, I'm coming with you. You can't miss this. This is what the story is about. It is a journey which is the exact reverse to the journey that the nations took to get into the promised land. And all those key places were key in their journey. And they end the journey with this dramatic event where Elijah smites the water and they cross over where the water's part, and they're on the other side. So they're back on the other side of Jordan. That's where they started out under Joshua, Moses, Joshua, going into the land.

30:01 Why on earth has Elijah taken him out of it? Because at that point then, Elijah says, Bye, the chariot of fire, the horses of fire, separate him from Elisha, and off he goes. What does Elisha do now? well we know literally what he did he went back in but I wonder I wonder if what was in Elijah's mind was this Elisha if you are going to serve me and serve this nation serve God you need to understand what this journey is about let's retrace the steps it needs to be personal for you you need to engage with it Elisha and Elisha watches him go and engages in that journey for himself not now events important events in history and how important it is to know the events in history but how important it is for us individually to engage personally with those events. Think about that for a moment.

31:34 The big question of course was Elijah asking Elisha, what do you want me to do? I'm going away. What's the one thing you would need you'd ask for? What would you have asked for? Sounds like the question given to Solomon at the start of Kings, doesn't it? Here we go again. What's the big thing to ask for? I want the same spirit you have.

31:59 I cannot do this role without the spirit that you have. That was the lesson for him. Very clear. The lesson for us. well I think a few details in the story help us there unless you see me go this won't be real said Elijah to Elisha if you see me go then this is possible and he saw him go and then saw him no more and then he did a very interesting thing he tore his own clothes, his own garment and then picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him as he was taken into heaven. Now, there is no verse in the Bible that says Elisha actually wore Elijah's cloak. But what else do you do with it?

33:00 Especially when you've torn your own. He certainly used it. He struck the Jordan with it and the waters parted as before. The secret of Elisha's power and his success in defeating the rebellion was that he saw a man going into the eternal reality of heaven and now had his clothing. That was the lesson from him. I think the imagery is powerful. and I hope you can now see why I read those passages from the New Testament. Jesus saying to his disciples, I'm going away.

33:51 And he has to repeat it. If you read John 13, 3 to 16, constantly, I'm going away. No, you're not. Yes, I am. I'm going away. They thought he was going on a journey somewhere. They didn't know what he meant. I'm going away, but I will not leave you orphans.

34:10 I will send the Spirit, I'll ask the Father, and he will send the Spirit to you. And again, just before he was taken up, wait in Jerusalem until, and notice the word that is used, you are clothed with power from on high. It just makes me think of this incident. I'm sorry if you don't, but I do. Clothed in power from on high. Not simply endued with power, but literally clothed with it. And then again in Acts, they saw him go. The emphasis on the seeing.

34:53 It was literal, physical, in front of them. They saw him go. Just as they had seen some of them, They'd seen him transformed in the mountain of transfiguration. They saw him go. And one day, we'll see him return physically, literally, as an event in space and time. Here is the motivation for sharing the message. And the power for sharing the message. The motivation, seeing a man.

35:30 risen in heaven. The power, the cloak, the clothing, the coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost to equip and empower the church for their mission in the world. We cannot defeat rebellion by any other means than the resource of God's Spirit placed within each of us. It's not, please don't misunderstand, this is not like, you know, you used to be a Yamaha 50 and now you're a Kawasaki 1000 or whatever they have these days. I couldn't keep up with it up in the North Coast this week. It was great fun, most of it. it's not that we feel powerful

36:31 it's the reality of the spirit of God within us so that when we are weak and learn to cry out to him and we satisfy our desires in him and we drink deeply of the Lord Jesus by the spirit that we find we have the resource we need to take that next step that he is calling us to take. He doesn't leave us orphans. So, let's be practical. What's this about? for us. It's about seeing Jesus

37:32 and savoring Jesus and drinking deeply of the Spirit of God that he has placed in us. It's about engaging with God. Listening to him. There is no other way. I mean, I come to the same point, don't I, at the end of most talks I give, probably. But there's no other secret, no other solution, apart from you coming in person to Christ. No one can do this for you.

38:21 Church can't do it for you. It can encourage you and help you. But without that, and it's no wonder therefore, if we spend a few days a week, a month, who knows, with no engagement with God like that, it's no wonder it doesn't feel real anymore. It's no wonder we have nothing to say, because we have nothing to say. That's the key. This is the key. and this would be a great opportunity this morning for some of us to get this sorted at least for today and maybe an opportunity to pray with someone in the prayer room or to pray with someone in the seats that you're sitting on to take that time to satisfy your own heart in the Lord Jesus to strengthen yourself in him because it's only in him that you'll have the resource.

39:28 I'm going to finish with the words of a poem. A Yorkshire poet, Annie Richter, a poem she wrote in 1834. And it became a hymn, which I used to sing. You're learning things about me. We don't sing it these days here. But here's the poem, We were not with the chosen few who saw thee through the clouds ascend, who gazed and wished to follow to and then on earth all prostrate bend. But we believe that mortal eyes beheld that journey to the skies. Chase every shade of doubt away.

40:12 Light of the world in mercy shine. Illume with faith our erring way. We would no worship own but thine. Bring us to heaven's peaceful shore and make us thine forevermore. Let's pray. We bow before your magnificent majesty. This ancient story pulls the veil aside for a moment. The chariot of fire, the horses of fire, the whirlwind, the going up into heaven, the realization that supreme reality is beyond this world.

41:12 That there is an eternal kingdom. but even more to stand with those disciples and see Jesus being taken up until a cloud received him out of their sight to know that there is a man in heaven Jesus the son of God he died for us who was raised again and who has ascended into heaven and who has sent his spirit and who will one day return in space-time history to this planet. Oh Lord, open our eyes to see To perceive the reality,

42:18 not just of the eternal world, but of the eternal King who loved us unto death. And may seeing Him and knowing the presence of His Spirit in our lives be the motivation and the resource we need to live and share the good news to his glory. Amen. Amen.