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Cloaked in Mystery?

Leadership transitions are often couched in sports terms such as passing the baton.

Sometimes such transitions go smoothly, the outgoing leader has everything in order and the new leader is prepared to lead.  The baton is passed smoothly and the race continues.

Sometimes such transitions are not so smooth.  The outgoing leader might have to abruptly leave and/or the new leader may not be as prepared as people would like.  The baton is sometimes dropped or the handoff is handled clumsily and the race is impacted.

See which of the following might fit the above two scenarios:

1.  So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. (Ki 19:19)

2.  And they went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.  And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. (Num 20:27-28)

When Elijah threw his cloak on Elisha, he was symbolically designating him as his heir apparent.  The account later indicates that God confirmed Elisha as Elijah’s replacement when He worked the same miracle through Elisha that He had worked through Elijah.  No mystery here.  The baton was passed smoothly.  The prophetic line continued. 

It was very different with Aaron.  Moses stripped Aaron of his priestly garments and placed them on Eleazar who did serve as priest so the priestly line continued.  But part of the consequences of Aaron’s earlier rebellion was that He had to be removed as priest and he was not allowed to place his garments on his son.  The passing of the baton was anything but smooth.    

You might think, well who cares about all this?  I’m not an Old Testament prophet or priest who is going about selecting an heir apparent.

But it does matter!  Every one of us should be modeling 2 Timothy 2:2 in entrusting things to faithful men who will be able to entrust things to other faithful men.  This word “entrust” is translated in other versions as commit, deposit, deliver, share and pass.  It is figuratively putting our cloak on others so that they can do the same.

On the other hand, if we have to be figuratively stripped of our garments, it could be that we’ve been rebelling against God. 

I’m definitely thinking the cloak route is the way to go! 

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