The PURPOSE of our lesson this week is to help class members understand how authority passes from one prophet to another, to encourage them to obey the words of the prophets, and to assure them that the power of God is greater than any other power.
In an Ensign article titled, “The Mantle of Elijah,” Bruce L. Andreason, referenced the story of the transfer of prophetic authority from Elijah to Elisha. It reads as follows:
The prophet Elisha and an Old Testament group known as “the sons of the prophets” (see Bible Dictionary, “Schools of the Prophets,” 770) experienced a similar situation. The story of how the mantle of prophetic authority was passed from Elijah to Elisha offers helpful counsel when the Lord releases one Church leader and calls a new one.
A New Leader Is Prepared
No danger or duty was too severe to shake the confidence of the prophet Elijah. “His recorded words are few but forceful, and his deeds are explicit evidences of his strength of will, force of character, and personal courage” (Bible Dictionary, “Elijah,” 664). Perhaps you have known a bishop, stake president, or other Church leader much like Elijah.
Some six or seven years before the end of Elijah’s mortal ministry, the Lord revealed to him that Elisha would be his successor (see 1 Kgs. 19:16). So Elijah went to meet him and found Elisha plowing a field. Elijah approached him and threw his mantle (cloak) over Elisha’s shoulders, signifying Elisha’s call to be his attendant and disciple. Elisha then kissed his parents good-bye, gave away all he owned, and “arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him” (see 1 Kgs. 19:19–21).
Elisha served and matured spiritually under Elijah’s direction through several major events. First, Elijah confronted King Ahab and Queen Jezebel and reproved them for the murder of Naboth (see 1 Kgs. 21:1–29). Then Elijah twice called down fire from heaven to consume 50 soldiers sent by the king to arrest him (see 2 Kgs. 1:1–12). Finally, Elijah rebuked Ahab’s son King Ahaziah for seeking counsel from false gods, prophesying of Ahaziah’s imminent death (see 2 Kgs. 1:13–17). Elisha was an eyewitness to the power of Elijah’s priesthood keys. In like manner we can be assured that the Lord is preparing mighty leaders today to move His latter-day kingdom forward through their service to the Master, Jesus Christ.
The Mantle Is Passed
Chapter 2 of 2 Kings records the final dramatic events of Elijah’s mortal ministry. Elijah set out on a journey with Elisha from Gilgal to Bethel, then from Bethel to Jericho, and finally from Jericho across the Jordan River (see Bible Map 4). At each place Elijah directed his faithful disciple, “Tarry here, I pray thee” (2 Kgs. 2:2, 4, 6). But each time Elisha refused to leave his master’s side. He was determined to follow his leader until the very end of his ministry.
At each stopping place, Elisha was questioned by the sons of the prophets, “Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day?” (2 Kgs. 2:3, 5). Elisha’s simple reply each time was, “Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.”
Elisha’s loyalty to Elijah and his response to the sons of the prophets reminds us of the importance of sustaining our leaders right up to the time they are formally released, even when we know this may be soon.
As Elijah and Elisha approached the banks of the Jordan River, Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water with it. Then something occurred that hadn’t happened since the days of Joshua over 450 years before: the water “divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground” (2 Kgs. 2:8; see also Josh. 3:14–17). This was witnessed by 50 of the sons of the prophets.
Once across the river, Elijah and Elisha continued their journey. Elijah asked his student-prophet what he would desire of him before his departure. “I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me,” Elisha replied (2 Kgs. 2:9). The term double portion refers to Elisha’s desire for the special inheritance that belongs to the worthy firstborn male in a family (see Bible Dictionary, “Firstborn,” 675). Elijah deferred the granting of this request to the will of the Lord, saying, “If thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee” (2 Kgs. 2:10).
They continued to walk and talk, when suddenly a chariot with horses of fire descended from heaven, sweeping Elijah up off the ground toward heaven in a whirlwind. As they parted Elisha cried out, “My father, my father!” Elijah then dropped his well-worn cloak to his faithful follower. When Elijah had disappeared from view, Elisha was overcome with grief, tearing apart his own outer garment (see 2 Kgs. 2:12). The sense of sadness over the release of a leader is often felt deeply by those who have been most affected by the leader’s ministry.
Taking Elijah’s cloak, Elisha began the journey back to Jericho. When he approached the Jordan River, he struck the water as Elijah had and walked through again on dry ground. Witnessing this, the sons of the prophets who had seen the earlier miracle of parting the water exclaimed, “The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha,” and paid appropriate respect to their newly chosen leader (see 2 Kgs. 2:15). When we sustain a new leader, it is our privilege to pray and come to know by revelation that those who have been called to lead us have indeed received authority from God.
Elisha’s ministry lasted more than 50 years and presents similarities and differences to that of his master. Elijah’s mission brought word of the Lord’s judgment upon Israel’s wicked kings, while Elisha’s ministry was primarily that of a supportive adviser to well-intentioned kings. Both men were healers; both were men of many mighty miracles, of kindness, and of mercy.
When a newly called leader comes into our lives, we need to recognize that no two leaders or their ministries are the same. Yet they have one thing in common: they each are expected to bring all that they are and have to the altar of God and offer it for the benefit and blessing of those over whom they preside.
Next, we look to the story of Naaman, the Syian as told by Sandra Stallings
As captain of the king’s army, Naaman was an important man in the country of Syria. He was a good and valiant man, but he was a leper.
Naaman’s wife had a little maid from the land of Israel. She told her mistress that if Naaman were with the prophet in Samaria, the prophet would heal him. When the king of Syria heard this, he sent Naaman to the king of Israel with gifts of silver and gold and a letter asking the king of Israel to heal Naaman of his leprosy.
The king of Israel rent his clothes because he knew that he could not make Naaman well. When Elisha the prophet heard about the situation, he sent this message to the king: “Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him [Naaman] come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
So Naaman went with his horses and his chariot and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. The prophet sent a messenger out to tell Naaman that if he washed himself in the Jordan River seven times he would be healed. This message made Naaman angry. He exclaimed, “Behold, I thought, He [Elisha] will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and [heal me].
“Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean?”
Naaman stomped off in a rage. But his servants followed him and said, “If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?”
Naaman thought it over, then went to the Jordan River and washed himself seven times as the prophet Elisha had instructed him. When he came out of the river, he was completely healed.
Naaman returned to Elisha’s house, happy and thankful. He told the prophet that he knew that he had been healed by the power of God, and he promised that from then on he would worship only God.
Study the following scriptures: 2 Kings 2; 5–6
a. 2 Kings 2:1–18. Elijah prepares Elisha to become the new prophet (2:1–10). Elijah is taken up into heaven. Elisha takes up Elijah’s mantle and becomes the prophet (2:11–15). Fifty men search for Elijah for three days despite Elisha’s counsel (2:16–18).
b. 2 Kings 5. Elisha heals Naaman of leprosy (5:1–14). Naaman praises God and offers Elisha a reward, which Elisha declines (5:15–19).
c. 2 Kings 6:8–18. Elisha guides the king of Israel in a war with Syria (6:8–10). The king of Syria commands his men to capture Elisha, and the army surrounds the city of Dothan (6:11–14). Unafraid, Elisha prays, and the Lord reveals a mountain full of horses and chariots of fire, then smites the Syrian army with blindness (6:15–18).
• What can the story of Naaman teach us about following the counsel of the prophet—even when we may not like or understand it or when it may be about small or simple matters? What are some of the small, simple things we have been asked to do by the prophet or other Church leaders? Why are these things sometimes hard to do? How can we increase our willingness to follow the counsel of Church leaders?
• What did Elisha mean when he told his servant, “They that be with us are more than they that be with them”? (2 Kings 6:16). How have you seen that Elisha’s statement is still true today?
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