The Mantle of Elijah

In sharp distinction to the colorfully clad false prophets of Elijah's day, like John the Baptist after him, Elijah stood out singularly and strangely-a different kind of messenger with a different kind of message, wearing a different kind of mantle. Elijah's mantle was not the colorfully embroidered garments of the wealthy, much less the elegant robe of royalty, nor even the typical garment of the average man; neither was Elijah's mantle the soft clothing of false prophets, those reeds forever shaking in the capricious winds of popular doctrine. No, Elijah's mantle was the rough and rare garment of the Divinely-called prophet. Let the true sons of Elijah take heart with Elisha, for God has sovereignly chosen to leave the mantle of Elijah upon the earth, even upon the shoulders of men with like passions as Elijah, men of frailties and fear, failures and foibles, but also men of power through the amplitude of Elijah's mantle. If we would rightly claim the mantle of Elijah, we must wear it as he wore it, our ministries attesting to the same Divine power that the mantle invested upon Elijah our forerunner. So let us ask ourselves: If Elijah's mantle signifies his singular, unique, and divine authority as a God-called preacher, what is the fabric of such a mantle and of such a preacher, and, most importantly, has the mantle of Elijah fallen upon us, and are its threads woven into our ministries? If we would bear Elijah's name and wear Elijah's mantle, we must serve Elijah's God; like the rugged prophet, we must be "very jealous for Jehovah, the God of Israel"; otherwise, no matter how we may array ourselves, we cannot claim Elijah's mantle if we do not proclaim this one truth, the very essence of Elijah's name and the very fabric of his mantle-Jehovah is God. Let us not claim Elijah's mantle if we deny Elijah's God.