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G. Campbell Morgan · Citado em PreceptAustin
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Morgan - Swing Low, Sweet Chariot Near to the Heart of God: Meditations on 366 Best-Loved Hymns Fisk University in Nashville was established after the Civil War to provide training for newly liberated African Americans who wanted to gain an education. The school’s treasurer, George Leonard White, a devout Christian, put together a singing group that came to be known as the Jubilee Singers. One of White’s finest singers, Ella Sheppard, brought him this song, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” claiming her mother had written it in slavery. On the evening of October 5, 1871, White and his singers gathered for prayer, and the next morning they took off from the Nashville train station, hoping that a string of concerts would raise much-needed funds for the school. No one dreamed they were about to introduce the world to a new genre of Christian music—the Negro spiritual. OCTOBER 5 I looked over Jordan and what did I see Coming for to carry me home A band of angels coming after me Coming for to carry me home Sometimes I’m up and sometimes I’m down Coming for to carry me home But still my soul feels heavenly bound Coming for to carry me home The brightest day that I can say Coming for to carry me home When Jesus washed my sins away Coming for to carry me home Swing low, sweet chariot Coming for to carry me home Swing low, sweet chariot Coming for to carry me home H A
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Morgan - 2 Kings 2. 12. There is something weirdly pathetic in the final movements of Elijah. Accompanied by Elisha, and watched by the prophets, he moved from place to place. It would seem as though he endeavored to escape into complete loneliness for that translation which he knew was at hand. Elisha, upon whom his mantle had already been cast, followed him loyally, determined to stand by him to the last. It was permitted to him to do so, and to see the chariot and horses of fire, which parted them as Elijah was caught up to heaven by a whirlwind. Then this great cry escaped from the man who was left. That cry almost certainly took this particular form as the result of the vision, but its reference was not to the fiery chariot and horses upon which he had looked but to Elijah. Elisha saw that the strength of Israel had been that of the presence of the prophet of God. It is more than a coincidence that when presently Elisha himself passed away, Joash, the reigning king, uttered the same exclamation (2 Kings 13.14). This is ever so. The last line of strength in national life is never that of munitions or money, nor even of men. It is that of the word of the living God, declared, interpreted, applied, by messengers whom He calls and sends. It is by this word that men live, are strong, and overcome. Without the guidance of this word, munitions, money, and men are employed to no purpose. Under the direction of this word, they all contribute to the reaching of true national strength and stability. Charles Swindoll - MANTLE OF POWER Read 2 Kings 2:12–15 Great Days with the Great Lives: Daily Insight from Great ... - Page 188 Elijah’s no-death contract suddenly went into effect. Elijah, prophet of power—gone. Elisha, prophet of double power—here, ready, and about to be used greatly by his God. When a man or woman of God dies, nothing of God dies. We tend to forget that. We get so caught up in the lives of certain individuals that we begin to think we cannot do without them. What limited thinking! When even a mighty servant is gone, God has seven thousand who have never bowed the knee to Baal. He has them ready, waiting in the wings. Classic case in point: Elisha. God always has a back-up plan. Think about it. Through the ages He has had His men and women in every era to carry on His work. Never once has God been frustrated, wondering, What will My people do now that he’s gone? Now that she’s no longer with them? Our Creator-God is omnipotent. He is never caught shorthanded. Elisha may have been momentarily surprised and stunned, but that didn’t last long. Remembering Elijah’s words, he reached down and picked up the prophet’s cloak. Claiming the power that now was his, he crossed back over the Jordan and began his own prophetic ministry. God’s plan never missed a beat. Exit Elijah. Enter Elisha. We can’t help but wonder if, in the years to come, Elisha didn’t stop and study that old mantle, calling to mind those great days of the past when his mentor and friend stood alone, representing God’s presence and proclaiming God’s message. The memory of the older Elijah—a man of heroism and humility—served to strengthen the younger Elisha, whom God destined to serve in even greater ways. There are times, to this day, when I call to mind my granddaddy, L. O. Lundy. His wise words of counsel still linger. His life of quiet, deep character sometimes seems so close to me I can almost feel his warm breath on the back of my neck. Yes, to this day I miss him, but the mantle of his memory spurs me on to greater heights and deeper devotion. The good news is this: I will one day see him. And we, together, will worship the same Lord face to face, “ . . . and thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Whose mantle have you received? And what will you do with its inherited influence? Charles Swindoll - REDIRECTING OUR GAZE Read 2 Kings 2:12–15; Matthew 17:1–13 Great Days with the Great Lives: Daily Insight from Great ... - Page 189 The Christian’s greatest goal is to be like Christ. We want to emulate His exemplary life, model His method of teaching, resist temptation as He resisted it, handle conflicts as He did, focus on the mission God calls us to accomplish as Christ focused on His. And certainly it is our desire to commune with the Father as the Son did throughout His ministry and suffering. No greater compliment can be given than this one: “When I am with that person, it’s as if I’m in the presence of Jesus Himself.” Throughout this study of Elijah, I have often thought of how closely the great prophet’s life resembled the Messiah, who was yet to come: the way he spent time alone; the courage he showed as he stood in the presence of his enemy and delivered God’s message; the power he exhibited when it took a miracle to convince his audience that he was a man with a message from God—the one true God; the compassion he demonstrated when he cared about the widow’s grief and brought her son back to life; even the anguish he felt in his own Gethsemane as he wrestled in his soul. And finally, how much like Christ was his departure. As others stood staring, he was taken up to heaven out of their sight. Is it any surprise, then, that when our Savior asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” the answer from some was, “Elijah.” Why, of course! Small wonder, for in many ways their lives paralleled. And when the two men appeared before Jesus and three of His disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, one was Moses, and the other was none other than Elijah (Matthew 17:3). Elijah’s heroic and humble life urges us to be like Christ—to lift our eyes from the grit and grind of today’s woes and to turn our attention to the glory and hope of another land. Immanuel’s land! And in that frame of mind, we’ll redirect our gaze from who gets the glory to who gives the grace. Then, while fully focused on Him—our King of grace, the gentle Lamb of God—the deepest longings of our souls will be satisfied. If you compare your life to Christ, how long would your list be of matching characteristics? Oswald Chambers - This experience must come And he saw him no more. 2 Kings 2:12. It is not wrong to depend upon Elijah as long as God gives him to you, but remember the time will come when he will have to go; when he stands no more to you as your guide and leader, because God does not intend he should. You say—‘I cannot go on without Elijah.’ God says you must. Alone at your Jordan. v. 14. Jordan is the type of separation where there is no fellowship with anyone else, and where no one can take the responsibility for you. You have to put to the test now what you learned when you were with your Elijah. You have been to Jordan over and over again with Elijah, but now you are up against it alone. It is no use saying you cannot go; this experience has come, and you must go. If you want to know whether God is the God you have faith to believe Him to be, then go through your Jordan alone. Alone at your Jericho. v. 15. Jericho is the place where you have seen your Elijah do great things. When you come to your Jericho you have a strong disinclination to take the initiative and trust in God, you want someone else to take it for you. If you remain true to what you learned with Elijah, you will get the sign that God is with you. Alone at your Bethel. v. 23. At your Bethel you will find yourself at your wits’ end and at the beginning of God’s wisdom. When you get to your wits’ end and feel inclined to succumb to panic, don’t; stand true to God and He will bring His truth out in a way that will make your life a sacrament. Put into practice what you learned with your Elijah, use his cloak and pray. Determine to trust in God and do not look for Elijah any more. Oswald Chambers - This Experience Must Come 2 Kings 2:12-23 And he saw him no more. 2 Kings 2:12 “And he saw him no more”—in the way of leadership. If you have been learning a truth with a man or woman of God, there comes a time when you see him or her no more, not necessarily physically, but in your spiritual experience they stand no more to you as your guide and leader because God does not intend they should. That is the time you accuse God of making blunders—“I can’t go on without Elijah.” God says you must. 1. Alone at Your Jordan (2 Kings 2:13-14)—Your Seal Your “Jordan” is some type of separation in which no one can have any fellowship with you, and no one can take the responsibility for you; you have to put to the test what you learned when you were in communion with your “Elijah.” As a saint in God’s work, your experience is that you have been to Jordan over and over again with your Elijah, he taught you wonderfully how God did things, and you saw how God worked through him, but now you are up against it alone. There is no use saying you cannot go on without him, this experience has come and you must. What did Elisha do? He took up the mantle and did exactly what he had seen Elijah do. In the discipline of fellowship God always makes us go first as apprentices. He gives us comrades and leaders and guides whom we depend upon up to a certain stage, then there comes the experience of going alone. It is not wrong to depend on Elijah so long as God gives him to you, take all you can get from him, but remember the time will come when he will have to go. Beware then that you don’t look for Elijah, don’t look for any assistance, but call on God and He will give you your seal. “The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha” (2 Kings 2:15). There is no sentiment here, but reality. If you want to know whether God is the real God you have faith to believe He is, then go through your Jordan alone. Jordan is taken to mean death, but here it means the threshold of life. We have to go through our Jordan as men and women who have really learned of God. 2. Alone at Your Jericho (2 Kings 2:16-22)—Your Sin. Jericho is the place where you have seen your Elijah do great things. There are times in your life when Redemption and rationalism come into conflict, and your faith in God seems the most feeble and ludicrous thing there is. If you have learned well of your Elijah, you will never trust your reason, or wits, or anyone else’s wits, you will remain true to what you learned with Elijah, and you will get the sign that God is with you; but you must go there alone. When you are up against your Jericho, you have a strong disinclination to take the initiative and trust in God, you want someone else to take the responsibility. While you are with your Elijah he takes the responsibility, but you come to the place where Elijah is no more use. Whether it be your Jordan or your Jericho, stand true to what you learned with your Elijah, and don’t side with the clamour of the educated prophets. 3. Alone at Your Beth-El (2 Kings 2:23)—Your Sacrament “And he went up from thence unto Beth-el.” Beth-el stands for the house of God, the place where God revealed Himself to Jacob. Elisha had been with Elijah to all these places—“and they two went on,” and now Elisha goes alone, and at Beth-el he is slandered and treated as a hypocrite. At your Beth-el you will find yourself at your wits’ end and at the beginning of God’s wisdom. When you get to your wits’ end and feel inclined to succumb to panic, don’t. In spiritual matters never do what you feel inclined to do naturally. If you knuckle down to the tyranny of physical conditions, it is all up with learning God’s lesson at that particular Beth-el. Stand steadfastly true to God, and God will bring His truth out in a way that will make your life a sacrament, i.e., the abiding presence of God will come through the simple elements of your life, but you must wait for Him. Perhaps this experience has come in your life, not in a sentimental way that makes you interested in yourself, but in reality, and you are up against it. The only thing to do is to put into vogue what you learned with your Elijah—use his cloak and pray; determine to trust in God and don’t look for Elijah any more. When God removes His servants He never allows any time to mourn over them. “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise. . David