Passing the Batton

2 Kings 1 to 4

All these big and small stories.

About living long in the land that God is giving them.  

This promised land and broken promises.

God showing up.

In the big things and in the little things.

It’s all relative.

The four chapters of todays stories take us all over the map.  There are stories of national significance where the three local kings go up against the king of Moab.

Stories of spiritual significance.

Elisha loses his mentor Elijah, who is taken to heaven in a whirlwind. 

Alive like Enoch.  

All that’s left is an armful of the cloak. 

And he asked Elijah for a double portion of his spirit.  

Hoping to be half the man Elijah was.  

About Elisha receiving the Word of the LORD, waiting with a harp playing. 

Echoes of David.  

About God promising to show up if they will but dig a valley full of ditches and God would send the water.  

God promising to show up in a big way, if the people will step up the plate and demonstrate their eager expectation.

And that this would be an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD.  (2 Kings 3)

But so many of the stories impact just individuals.  

Elisha receiving the cloak of Elijah.

Of the Shunnamite woman whose son dies of heat stroke. 

Elisha raises this single little boy, for this single widow lady.

The widow’s jar of olive oil, that does not run dry until her two boys have brought her every jar and pail in the neighborhood. 

This God of Israel. 

God of the fatherless and single moms. 

And many stories show miracles to small multitudes

The feeding of a company of prophets with 20 loaves of first-fruits barley bread in the middle of a famine. 

Purifying a well, and removing toxins from a pot of stew.

Fire coming down from heaven to consume companies of soldiers.

Small miracle stories.

Small places God shows up.  

These stories offering a glimpse of the pockets of faithfulness of the people. 

The foreign widow building a room of Elisha to stay. 

The 20 loaves of first fruits bread.  Brought to Elisha, and not the pagan temple. 

Showing Elisha that he was not alone, as Elijah often felt, fighting the fight alone.

And I love how that speaks to our stories today. 

Yours and mine and ours. 

Because when God shows up, it is never a small thing. 

His Glory completely occupying and filling a sacred moment.

Pieces of story.