When Mantles Fall

2nd Kings Chapter 2 is a very famous story in the Old Testament, but before going on, let’s get some context. Elijah now knows that he is about to leave earth and the school of prophets were waiting and watching to see what would happen to Elijah’s mantle. When Elisha is asked what he wanted by Elijah, he answered “a double portion of your anointing” Then Elijah said “if you see me go, then you will have it”. Eventually Elijah is taken to Heaven, but his mantle fell to the ground for Elisha to pick up. It was a signal of saying it’s Elisha’s turn, and God did amazing things.

One of the first things we see here is that there was a season of transition. The school of prophets knew Elijah was about to leave; which always interested me on how they knew such thing. Well, they had discernment. This is when the Holy Spirit enables you to see, know, and\or hear something beforehand or without any human telling you. The Hebrew word for transfer is “tirgam” meaning exchange. The prophets knew that the season of the exchange was finally here.

In a track relay, there is a process to correctly pass the baton. This would be the preparation stage for the mantle. 1) Precision \ Accuracy: we do this through prayer and discernment. We position ourselves to receive. 2) Receiver jogs forward as the passer comes: what are we doing for Christ right now before the mantle falls?. 3) When the passer is ready to pass the baton they shout “up” and receiver stretches their arm back to grab it.

Now we get to the good part when the mantle falls. Great men and women of God always leave behind their mantle when they go to Heaven because in Heaven they won’t need their preaching, evangelistic, or healing ministry. So they leave it here. Each prophet wore a mantle as a sign that they were anointed for that purpose. The mantle was an indication of the person’s authority and responsibility. Elisha was receiving the anointing, authority, but also the responsibility that carries along with it.

In closing, people, like the school of prophets, are watching and waiting to see who will want to get up and get the fallen mantle that is still lying on the ground. More importantly, our generation and the ones to come are also waiting. When Joshua received Moses’s leadership mantle He had a whole new generation of people who were about to enter the Promised Land, but he needed to open the Jordan River first. It only takes for someone to get up and get the baton and run with it. The question is not if the mantle fell or not, the question is are you going to get up and get it?