Long-Haul Faith, Pt 1: Elisha

The following is adapted from a sermon I preached on May 31, 2020.

My grandfather was a long-haul trucker. Grandee, as we called him, had a story about driving through every city in the United States. He also made sure everyone knew the difference between the long-haul trucker and the regular trucker: because of the long hours they spend behind the wheel, long-haul truckers will often have a grizzly look about them. Grandee’s grizzled look was the result of tinkering with an engine or hydraulic lines, cinching down a load, or peeing in a bottle while driving down the road.

Yes, it takes a special type of person to be a long-haul trucker.

Indeed, it takes a special type of person to be in anything for the long haul, including faith. What are the things that set apart someone whose faith will endure? How can we ensure that we are that type of person? Fortunately, we can find answers to these questions in several biblical characters, starting with the prophet Elisha.

By the time we meet Elisha, the northern kingdom was spiraling downward for years. Since its secession from the southern kingdom in 1 Kings 12, each king determined to outdo the wickedness of his father so that, by the time Ahab son of Omri became king in chapter 16, no one batted an eye as he set up a temple and altar for the pagan god Baal; a pole to honor Baal’s consort, a pagan goddess by the name of Asherah; and 850 false prophets between them, all at the heart of the capital city. In chapter 17, Elisha’s predecessor, Elijah, confronted the wicked king, and in chapter 18, the Lord’s victory at Mt. Carmel was so decisive that the people went after the prophets of Baal and Asherah.

After their defeat, Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, vowed to kill Elijah, and between the exhaustion or his victory and the pressure of feeling like the only faithful person left in Israel, the prophet fled into the desert and to Mt. Horeb where he had an encounter with God in chapter 19. By the end of that encounter, Elijah was not fully recovered from his depression, but he was at least able to carry on. And so he set out in 1 Kings 19:19-21 to fulfill the directives God had given him, the first of which was to find his successor, Elisha son of Shaphat:

Elijah left there and found Elisha son of Shaphat as he was plowing. Twelve teams of oxen were in front of him, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah walked by him and threw his mantle over him. 20 Elisha left the oxen, ran to follow Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you.”

“Go on back,” he replied, “for what have I done to you?”

21 So he turned back from following him, took the team of oxen, and slaughtered them. With the oxen’s wooden yoke and plow, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he left, followed Elijah, and served him.

1 Kings 19:19-21 (CSB)

In this passage, there were four characteristics that distinguished Elisha as a long-haul faith type of person.

We must count the cost.

The first of these is found in verses 19-20, where Elijah threw his mantle over Elisha. This outer garment was highly functional in the ancient Middle East. More important than its function, however, was the fact that it became representative of its owner. In fact, in business transactions, buyers would often give their cloaks to sellers as proof that they would pay the agreed price. It was as a signature on a contract. Thus, by placing his mantle over Elisha, Elijah was saying, “You are going to be the next me.” Suddenly, Elisha had a choice to make: would he go with Elijah and become Israel’s next prophet, or would he stay where he was?

The choice may seem obvious to us, thousands of years removed from that moment, but for Elisha, it was perhaps not as simple. When we first met Elisha in verse 19, he was plowing. This, of course, indicates that he was a farmer, but Elisha had twelve teams of oxen driven by twelve workers and pulling twelve plows. In other words, he was rich. Further, in ancient times, farmers typically sowed the seed and then plowed. That is, he had already invested a significant chunk of change into this field. Finally, we discover that the one thing Elisha wanted to make sure he did before leaving was to kiss his parents.

Moreover, Elisha knew how heavy Elijah’s mantle was. He heard what the prophet did at Carmel. He knew that Ahab and Jezebel were out to get Elijah. He surely figured that, if he joined Elijah, they would come after him, too. And what would his friends and neighbors say?

In Luke 14:28-30, Jesus spoke of a man who wanted to build the tower. Of course, he said, that man was going to sit down before he ever began construction to “calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it.” Elisha may not have sat down, and he may not have done it out loud, but the text makes clear that he was aware of what he would have to give up to go with Elijah.

If we are going to have a long-haul faith, we also must count the cost and decide that we are willing to leave behind our past to follow Jesus.

We must be decisive.

A second characteristic that made Elisha’s faith one that would endure is found in verse 21. There, we discover that the next prophet of God did not only decide to follow Elijah and God’s calling for the moment. Rather, he “took the team of oxen, and slaughtered them.” Then, “with the oxen’s wooden yoke and plow, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he left, followed Elijah, and served him.” Why would he do this?

Without the oxen, yoke, and plow, there was no way Elisha could finish planting the seed. Without planting the seed, there would be no harvest. Further, by doing this all right now, while all of his assets were tied up in seed that would never be harvested, Elisha ensured there was no way he could raise the cash later to replace the oxen, yoke, and plow. In other words, there was no way Elisha could later leave Elijah and return to farming, even if he wanted to.

The NIV Zondervan Study Bible offers an apt description of what was going on: “Elisha decisively closes that chapter of his life.” Indeed, if we would have a long-haul faith, we also must be equally decisive, resolving to follow Jesus and never go back.

As obvious as this sounds, though, consider how many people have struggled and failed at this point. Solomon, for example, started strong but allowed his love of foreign women to lead him astray. So also, Judas Iscariot thought he would follow Jesus forever until he betrayed him. Even St. Peter insisted on Maundy Thursday that he would never abandon Jesus, but by the very next morning, he had denied his lord three times.

If being decisive was so obvious and simple, why did St. Paul think it necessary to exhort Timothy to hold on to his faith and a good conscience, warning him of those who had ultimately shipwrecked their faith (1 Timothy 1:19)? Why did Jesus speak in the Parable of the Soils of four types of people, only one of which would reach maturity and yield a harvest (Matthew 13)? And which of us has not known someone who was excited about Jesus and coming to church only to later fade away and return to their old way of life?

Yes, if we want to have a faith that endures for the long haul, we must be decisive, making the decision once and for all. We are going to follow Jesus, and there is no going back. We must be decisive.

We must give thanks.

Yet, counting the cost and being decisive are not enough. A third key to a long-haul faith is hidden in plain sight in verse 21. There, we learn that Elisha slaughtered (CSB) his team of oxen. The ESV, however, makes clear that this was not just a community barbecue when it reveals that Elisha “sacrificed” the oxen and boiled their flesh.

This is significant because sacrifices had specific restrictions on who could and could not eat them. Most were reserved for priests and Levites, but in Leviticus 7, there was one type of offering that was to be eaten by everyone in the community: the fellowship offering. Moreover, the fellowship offering was so closely associated with thanksgiving that, elsewhere in Scripture, it was called the thank offering!

In other words, not only did Elisha give up his profession, fortune, family, and reputation to follow Elijah, but he was actually thankful for the opportunity. This shocking revelation was key to a long-haul faith! We must give thanks. After all, how long will our faith last if we see it as a burden or liability, constantly lamenting the things we could have had or done or been? If we go into our faith with anything other than gratitude, sooner or later, we will begin to resent God, and from there, it is only a matter of time before we walk away altogether.

Now, please do not misunderstand. It is not that the cost of following Jesus is insignificant or that we should not grieve that loss. Rather, we must focus on the blessings that come with faith. Eternity in heaven, of course, is the first that comes to mind, but faith in Jesus yields very real blessings in the here and now as well! For instance, we have freedom from guilt and shame, the power to live a righteous life and begin the process of reconciliation, the privilege of being used to positively impact lives and communities, and more. This is why, when Jesus and the biblical authors spoke of eternal life and the blessings of following God, they almost always used the present tense! Whatever they had to give up for their faith, it paled in comparison to what God was doing in and through them!

Indeed, whenever the cost of following Jesus rises and we are tempted to walk away, we must heed the words of Johnson Oatman’s and Edwin Excell’s 19th-century hymn:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings; name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings; ev’ry doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold.
Count your many blessings; money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged; God is over all.
Count your many blessings; angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Count your blessings;
Name them one by one.
Count your blessings;
See what God hath done.
Count your blessings;
Name them one by one.
Count your many blessings;
See what God hath done.

If we want to have a long-haul faith that will overcome hardship, temptation, roadblocks, and everything else along the way, we must give thanks.

We must be humble.

Finally, we discover still in verse 21 that Elisha “left, followed Elijah, and served him.” As simple as this seems, it actually demonstrated something very important about Elisha. Remember, he was a very successful farmer with at least eleven hired hands. That is, he was accustomed to people following and serving him. Yet, in these final words of verse 21, Elisha became the follower and servant.

There are several things that we could say about this. If we are to have a long-haul faith, we must follow someone who is farther along in their faith. As Christians, we are called to serve God, one another, and our communities. We must be teachable; the author is describing a sort of apprenticeship in which Elisha would learn from Elijah. Any of these is true. All of these are true. Yet, none of them fully encompasses everything that Elisha was doing here. We must, therefore, look for the characteristic underlying them all: humility.

If we are to have a long-haul faith, then we must be humble. We must find someone farther along in their faith and follow their example. We must serve, doing whatever is needed by God, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and/or our community. We must be teachable, committed to asking questions, listening, and learning for the rest of our lives. And we must be willing to examine every area of our lives, recognizing where we excel, and also where we could stand to improve.

This is crucial because there will come a time when we assume we have arrived, would rather not do something God asks us to do, want to stop learning and growing, and/or get humiliated along the way, and without humility, we will choose to walk away rather than stoop low and keep going for the long haul.

Conclusion

Counting the cost, being decisive, giving thanks, and being humble are great truths, but the proof of their crucial role in a long-haul faith is found in the rest of Elisha’s story. For the next five chapters, until 2 Kings 2, this would-be prophet followed in the shadows of his teacher, Elijah. As the time drew near for Elijah to depart for heaven, Elisha asked to receive a double portion of his teacher’s spiritual power. Think of that: twice the spiritual power of the guy who confronted the wicked king (1 Kings 17), prayed that the rain would stop (1 Kings 17) and start (1 Kings 18), and called down fire from heaven (1 Kings 18). Twice the spiritual power of the man who heard the still small voice of God (1 Kings 19).

From that point on, Elisha did some almost unbelievable things. He healed a poisoned spring and cursed some troublemaking youths so that a bear came and mauled them. He gave guidance to the king. There was the widow whose oil jar never ran dry, the Shunammite woman whose son Elisha raised from the dead, and the Aramean army commander that Elisha helped to heal. He made an axehead float, singlehandedly defeated an entire army, and when Elisha died, the king of Israel – remember, this is the same nation whose king wanted to kill his predecessor – came down and wept over him. In fact, even after he died, when some Israelites were ambushed by Moabite raiders, they threw the dead man into Elisha’s tomb, and he came back to life!

To the very end of his life, Elisha was a man of powerful faith. He had a long-haul faith, and if we want to have even a fraction of the faith he did, we would do well to learn from him. Count the cost. Be decisive. Give thanks. Be humble.