Skip to main content

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! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can't Get No Satisfaction

One of the songs that were popular in my youth was not particularly upbeat or helpful but it probably did express some of the angst of my generation.  It was not one that particularly resonated with me but as I recently read the book of Haggai, it did come to mind, well, at least some of the lyrics did.  It was the Rolling Stones song with the lyrics “I can’t get no satisfaction”.  Take a look at the chorus of that bleak song:   I can't get no satisfaction; I can't get no satisfaction; Gonna try and I try and I try and I try; I can't get no - I can't get no –   Now take a look at Haggai 1:6 – “ You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” It sure sounds like the people of Judah couldn’t get any satisfaction with the things of life that normally should have brought some type of s...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Horse Of Course

In Biblical times, horses represented military power and strength.  And if you had both horses and chariots, well, that was the ultimate of military powers and wars were often won with them. Yet in seeking to have what would normally be considered insurmountable military strength, there was one factor that was often overlooked.  The Psalmist made it clear what that factor was when he wrote:  “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”   (Ps 20:7) While Israel did at times trust in the name of the Lord, there were other times when they tried to trust in horses and chariots to win their battles.  This is what the Lord spoke to Israel through the prophet Isaiah:  “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,   who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots   and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord .”  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stouthearted!

Steve the Stouthearted; it has a nice medieval ring to it, maybe even middle earth overtones.  I noticed that word “stouthearted” recently in Psalm 138, verse 3:   “When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.”   (NIV, 1973) The word stouthearted is used in the Bible to describe individuals who exhibit courage, determination, and resilience, often in the face of adversity or opposition. This characteristic is seen as a virtue, reflecting steadfastness in faith and purpose. The stouthearted are those who remain firm in their convictions and are not easily swayed by fear or doubt (from The Bible Hub website). And yet to be bold and stouthearted for most is not something that just comes naturally, we need the Lord to make us bold and stouthearted.   And, from the verse above, it appears that he does so in response to us calling on him.   So it probably wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that those who have been made bold and stouth...
Post a Comment
Read more