Episode #5

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Welcome to the CWA Radio Network. 
You are listening to A Musing hosted by me, Heather Randall.

What if every thought is deeper than a daydream. What if it's a
seedling from our Heavenly Father, our one true muse, pointing us to something we need to know? Let's embrace the freedom to wonder, take the invitation to explore, and learn everything He has to teach us in this amazing journey of life. 

Hello and Happy Friday! You are listening to episode 5 of A Musing.

Today we’re mulling over the Biblical concept of a mantle. Some questions we’ll ask are “What is a spiritual mantle? What examples do we have of mantles in scripture? How does one wear a mantle? Can we still receive a mantle today?”

We finished episode 4 by talking about crowns so let’s start with that same imagery. Have you ever seen a beauty Pageant? The winner from the previous year is always present and their authority as beauty queen does not end until the new queen is crowned. The one to crown the new Miss Universe is always the former Miss Universe. It’s like passing a baton. Their power and influence in that arena is now resting on the head of the new queen.

For a more sophisticated example, we could say the same of our presidential elections. The new president may be voted in on election day but does not take the position of President until the former president leaves the White House and the new President is sworn in. The authority of President is no longer possessed by the former president. He may be remembered and respected but He is not in charge.

A spiritual mantle occurs the same way.

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God has work to accomplish and since he is no respecter of persons, meaning he has no favorites, He works with the gifts we all possess to bring forth His work here on earth.  He also frequently bestows power and authority on ones he knows are worthy. These mantles of authority designate a person for a task or mission in the kingdom. They wear them until the job is done or their life ends.

Before we go any farther, let’s identify the meanings of the word mantle within scripture. According to strong’s concordance the English word mantle has four possible Hebrew words or meanings attached to it.

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Judges 4:13 Let's start there. It reads:
Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come, my lord, come right in. Don't be afraid." So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

I’m reading in NiV today and that word "blanket" has also been translated as rug or mantle. Rug comes closest to the Hebrew meaning. In this case, Scripturally we can see that this is not a spiritual covering she is laying on him. She certainly isn’t laying power or authority on a man she’s about to literally nail to the ground. This covering is not an anointing, but a strategic tool to make Sisera gain trust, relax and show vulnerability. This example is #8063 in Strong’s and just means rug. It’s not the meaning we’re searching out today.

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So let's move on . . .
Next up we have #4598 in Strong's which is the most frequently used version of mantle. It means a covering, robe, coat, cloak (an outer and upper garment). An example in scripture could be Job.

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In chapter 1:20, upon hearing of the death of his children it says: At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship.

{He of course is tearing a literal robe, a sign of grief and repentance in those times. He isn’t shredding his authority or destroying his Godly mission but tearing an actual physical garment. #4595 in strong’s is very similar in meaning. It also points to a coat or cloak style clothing.}
Then there is the meaning we’re talking about and that’s #155 in Strong’s and means

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splendor, glory, garment, goodness, robe, ample (enough). It’s still a physical literal robe, but with it comes a spiritual anointing of splendor, glory and goodness and the wearer is gifted with ample ability to accomplish a mission, not lacking anything.

Let’s read

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1 Kings 19:19-21: 
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. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”
“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?” So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.
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Elijah knew his season was winding down and he needed to create a disciple, someone to carry his mantle and complete the mission in his absence. We’ve touched on the importance of discipleship in other episodes, but a key principle in discipleship is submission. Here we can see that Elisha had to leave something to follow Elijah. He had to surrender the life he knew and be willing to be a servant to a new way. As he walked under Elijah he learned much.

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Let’s jump forward to 2 Kings 2. Warning, I’m going to stop and start a lot so be sure to listen and jot down scriptures so you don’t get lost. Starting in verse 1:
When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.  Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”
“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”

I want to stop here. We’re about to witness a huge shift and a transition of leadership and I want to compare this to the shift from Moses’s leadership to Joshua’s earlier in scripture.
Let’s hop to Numbers 27

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Starting in verse 12:
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites. After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes.” (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)
Moses said to the Lord, “May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership,a and lay your hand on him.  Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.”
Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.

We can draw similarities here in that Moses
1. Knew his time had come.
2. Was sent to the place of his death.
3. First he had to appoint an heir to carry on the mission, he had to pass the mantle.
Though there was no physical cloak there was a formal commissioning shifting the power and authority off of Moses and onto Joshua.

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In chapter 1 of Joshua we can read of his acceptance of the call and he instructs the Israelites with all the authority of Moses and then some. Chapter 2 begins with these words:

Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

Highlight in your mind the words Especially Jericho. Now lets return to 2nd Kings Chapter 2 and pick back up in verse 4.
 
4 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”

Stop. Of all places, Jericho. Elijah is like, stay here I was sent, you weren’t .

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He knows he’s facing death at some point in this day and he gives Elisha an out. He doesn’t have to come. But look at Elisha’s reply and see if it reminds you of anyone.

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

Can you hear Ruth in that? Later in the book of Ruth Chapter 1 we can read that Naomi is trying to release Ruth from any obligations of following her but Ruth says in verse 16: 16: 

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

She parrots the heart of Elisha here.
Let’s go back to 2 Kings 2 verse 5:
The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”
“Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”

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{I mean, he’s about to lose his mentor and friend and everybody keeps asking him if he knows and is ready? I’d probably tell them to be quiet too.}

Verse 6:
Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”
And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.
Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

{See? That’s not some ordinary coat.}

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Verse 9:
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

“You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.

Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

Where did he learn this? He saw his mentor just demonstrated how to do this and, not that it was any power in the cloak. Elisha recognized that it wasn't just a magical cloak. Elijah wasn't Superman and Elisha knew this. He'd followed him. He knew all his faults all his little idiosyncrasies. He knew who Elijah was and he knew that he wasn't just some magical man who had this special power to part water and perform this act with his cloak.


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Elisha knew that he had no power apart from what God Himself gave and so Elisha knows the source of the power and he calls on God to transfer that authority that mantle onto him. He follows the example of his leader doing the same exact act with the same tool, but he isn't putting all the credit in the tool (or in his former leader). He knows all of the power and all of the recognition goes directly to God because he knows that God is the source of that
anointing and that power and he wants it for himself.

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Verse 15: 
The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”
“No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”
But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”

The places God takes Elijah before he leaves is just as important as the mantle. They are all places of promise. Bethel is where Jacob slept and had his dream of the latter coming down from heaven it's where he had the promise of Canaan the land of Canaan and then you have the Jordan where God tells them you know walk around and do what I'm telling you to do and through your obedience those walls are gonna crumble.

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You're gonna have this. It's a promise of conquering this people. Yet another promise. And then we have the final promise of right at the banks of the Jordan, right? Crossing over into   . . . into the what? Into into the Promised Land! They're all places of promise that he took Elijah.

It’s like God was walking him through the past, showing him the places God had promised and delivered to His people as a reassurance that Elijah would soon partake in his own special promise of eternal life. At the river, at the point of crossing over, as his feet hit ground in the promised land the chariot arrives.
mantle that was one of our questions

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How does one wear a mantle? That was one of our questions, right? How does one wear mantle? easy you You accept it. You put it on. You carry the mission forward and get the job done. How? Through God's power and authority.

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Elisha took the mantle and ran with it. He operated in authority for every task that God gave him. He held to the mission. 
Will you?

Can we still receive a mantle today?”

Absolutely. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He still uses ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things and he wants to use you.

When your teachers are gone, what will you have you learned? Would you willingly pick up the mantle and advance the kingdom or would you run from the call and deny the appointment? What is God asking you to do? Are you doing it? What mantle, what authority is God giving you and what purpose is it meant to serve? If you don’t know, you need to get with the commander and hear his voice. 

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Ask to understand the blueprint, the Word of God, from which your assignment will come. Let His word impact you and focus on the mission of advancing His kingdom in whatever role you play. Then, mentor another and prepare to pass it on.

I hope you have a wonderful week and I’ll see you back here next Friday. Be blessed.

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