The Double Edged Sword Of The Lord

I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to the book 2 Kings chapter 2, 2 Kings chapter 2, that's on page 356 in most of the few Bibles, 2 Kings chapter 2. We revisit this chapter tonight to pay particular attention to the latter part. And before we read it, just to remind you of what we have presented thus far, that the ministry of Elijah was characterized by the announcement of the judgment of God against the apostasy of Israel. Their denial of God in their worship of false gods. And Elijah's ministry emphasized the justice of God. The judgment of God. Even though he called Israel to repent and return to their covenant God, his emphasis was, of course, on judgment. And last time as we read this chapter we considered the last act of his ministry that displayed the departure of the Spirit of the Lord from Israel by his retracing in reverse the conquest under Joshua until he was outside the promised land and was taken up into heaven in a fiery tempest. And as we saw last time that end of his ministry marked the beginning of Elisha's ministry. Faithful to his promise to Abraham, the Lord showed mercy to Israel by bestowing his spirit on Elisha and sending him back to the promised land. And in our text this evening in verses 19 through 24 of chapter 2, we find Elisha following in the footsteps of Joshua to reconquer the land. Moving from the Jordan where he passed through on dry ground to Jericho and from Jericho to Bethel. Now, as a prophet of the Lord, his weapon of conquest was the Word of God. What John describes in the book of Revelation as the sharp, double-edged sword that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Now, children, you have sharp knives in your home, and I'm sure you're not supposed to touch them. But I suspect that most knives in your home have a single edge, a kitchen knife, or a chopping knife. But the Word of the Lord is like a double-edged sword. A double-edged sword that cuts two ways whenever it is thrust. A powerful instrument of conquest. And this double-edged sword, the Word of the Lord, even the Gospel, always causes division. With its single thrust, it cuts two ways. On one side, showing mercy and bringing life. And on the other side, exercising justice and bringing death. And from this text tonight, as we consider the latter part of this chapter, we consider the double-edged sword of the Lord as it is employed by the prophet Elisha. And then as that shows us how it is embodied in the Lord Jesus Christ. And finally, how it's employed by the true church even today. We will read chapter 2 in its entirety because it is a story that stands alone. But our text again will focus on verses 19 through 24. Hear the word of God. When the Lord is 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 he went down, 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, but do not speak of it. Then Elisha said to him, Stay here, Elisha, the Lord has sent me to Jericho. And he replied, As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you. So they went to Jericho. The company of the prophets of 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, but do not speak of it. 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 of 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, his mantle, 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. 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've asked a difficult thing, Elijah said, yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours. Otherwise, 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 own clothes and tore them apart. He picked up the cloak, the mantle that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak, the mantle that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah, he asked. And when he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. 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, 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 ashamed 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 men of the city said to Elisha, Look, our Lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive. Bring me a new bowl, he said, and put salt in it. So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, This is what the Lord says, I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive. And the water has remained wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken. From there, Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. Go on up, you bald head. Go on up, you bald head. He turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria. Here ends the reading of God's word. May he add his blessing to his presentation and preaching. That's an incredible story. And I loved reading it again. But this evening we want to focus on just the last part that we didn't really touch on with much detail last time. In verses 19-24 to see how the double-edged sword of the Lord, the word of God, was employed by the prophet Elisha. As the successor of Elijah, he re-entered the land, bringing the word of the Lord to the people of Israel. And with this word, this covenant word, came covenant sanctions. Blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience. And as the word of the Lord was thrust into Israel, it cut two ways. Blessing for Jericho and cursing. for Bethel. Now children, you know the story of how Joshua fought the battle of Jericho. How the walls came tumbling down. I'm sure you have songs about it. But you might not know that the justice of God, the covenant justice of God required that everyone in that city would be killed. And that everything inside would be burned up. Except for two things. First, all the precious metals went into the treasury of the house of the Lord. because he was the victor. And to the victor goes the spoils. And secondly, Rahab and her family who had helped the spies, they were spared. They were showed the mercy of God. So even as Rahab was blessed because she had submitted to the Lord, Jericho was cursed. Joshua said in verse 26 of chapter 6 in his book, Joshua, Cursed before the Lord Lord is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son, he will lay its foundation. And at the cost of his youngest, he will set up its gates. And during the ministry of Elijah, that curse was fulfilled. We read in 1 Kings 16, verse 34, that in Ahab's time, that's the time of Elijah, Hile of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid his foundations at the cost of his firstborn son, Abiram. And he set up the gates at the cost of his youngest son, Sigub. In accordance with the word of the Lord spoken through Joshua, son of Nun. And now Elisha, re-entering the land, brings the word of God first to Jericho. In verse 19 of our text, we hear the men of that city plead with him. For they're a cursed city. They say, look, our Lord. This town is well situated as you can see, but the water is bad. And the land is unproductive. It's accursed. Now, to appreciate their plight, you just need to imagine Escondido without any good water. A dry and miserable and barren place. Instead of supporting life and fruitfulness in the fields and in the flocks and in the households of these people, the water of Jericho brought death and barrenness. There's a suggestion that perhaps there were even miscarriages in the animals and in the women of Jericho because the water was so poisoned. And they had been worshipping Baal, who was said to be the lord of the rain and of the waters, and yet the problem persisted. And when the men of Jericho heard of Elisha and his power over the water at the river Jordan, they went to him and they approached him with respect and addressed him as our Lord. And they humbled themselves before the Lord's anointed. And in humbling themselves before him, they humbled themselves before the Lord. And Elisha responded immediately with word and with deed. And he asked them for a new bowl, one that was unused and therefore undefiled. And he asked them to put salt in it. And he took that salt to the spring, the source of their water, and he poured it in. And he announced the word of the Lord to bless what had been cursed. And to bring life to what had been dead. They said, this is what the Lord says, I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive. And the writer of 2 Kings notes that in his day, the land was still good. And I checked on the internet the other day, the land's still good. Lots of fruit in Jericho. So as we hear this text, we have to wonder, we have to ask the question, why the salt? Have you ever wondered, why the salt? On the one hand, salt can cause barrenness, even more than it can cure it. Who among us would water our lawns with salt water? And in ancient warfare, the victor would often salt the city and salt the farmland so it couldn't produce. It was a means of cursing. So why did Elisha use salt? Because, on the other hand, salt has another meaning. A covenant meaning. It's a symbol of covenant relationship. In the Middle East today, you may hear Arabic expressions, There is salt between us. Or he has eaten of my salt. To indicate that there's a close relationship that was established and confirmed over a meal. A covenant relationship. In the 2nd Chronicles chapter 13 verse 5. The Lord's promise to David. That the kingdom would belong to his household forever is referred to as a covenant of salt. It's nothing that's ever expressed in detail in the scriptures. but it's something that sits behind the Scriptures as a symbol of covenant relationship. All the grain offerings in the ceremonial worship of Israel were to be sprinkled with salt. The salt of the covenant, Leviticus says. And so I believe it's because the covenant submission in Jericho, when Elisha, the man of God, came, they submitted before him. He announced covenant mercy by the word of the Lord as he poured out the salt of covenant renewal. And by the word of the Lord, he blessed what had been cursed, and he gave life to what had been dead. And from there, we read in verse 23, he went on up to Bethel. Bethel, now that was a great city in Israel. Abram settled there when he came from the land of Ur. That's where he settled and established an altar to the Lord. Bethel is where Jacob slept and had his vision of the ladder from heaven to earth and the angels ascending and descending. And during the conquest under Joshua, Bethel and I were given to Israel complete with walls and homes and orchards, everything. But I was burned because of the sin of Achan. But Bethel remained a city. A very important city that in time, during the time of the judges, the Ark of the Covenant would come there and the people of God would go to Bethel to inquire of God. During that time, it was true to its name, Bethel, which means the house of God. But by the time of Elijah, Bethel had become a center of rebellion against the Lord. In Jeroboam's rebellion against the throne of David, in breaking that covenant of salt, he had established idol worship at Bethel and at Dan. And Ahab, his successor, had kept up the practice so that Bethel was no longer true to his name. In fact, the prophet Hosea would later call it Beth-Avon, the house of nothing, because the Lord was not welcome there anymore. The citizens of Bethel had joined their kings in mocking God by worshipping golden calves that they said brought them out of Egypt. The man who rebuilt Jericho was a citizen of Bethel. He mocked God by rebuilding that cursed city. And by the time of Elisha, the sons of Bethel had grown up to be like their fathers, mockers of God. And so as Elisha, we read in verse 23, was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. Go on up, you bald head, they said. Go on up, you bald head. Now you need to be clear that these were not young children at play. These were not idle words. These youths were old enough to serve as soldiers in the army. They were young men of mature body and mature mind. And 42 or more of them came out to intimidate and confront Elisha. I would think your worst nightmare in a dark alley in San Diego. And they mocked him by calling him bald. And they challenged him by saying, go on up. Now most commentators believe that they mocked Elisha's personal appearance in order to add insult to their challenge. But the truth is, we don't know how much hair Elisha had. We don't even know where he had hair. And we can't be sure that go on up, what it means. It's so short and it's so unique. It could mean just go on up the road and get lost. We do know that it means they didn't want him there. But I do believe, I've thought about this a lot. But I do think that there's significance here that ties back to what happened at the River Jordan. And if we remember what happened there with the mantle of Elijah. The mantle was a garment made of hair. Now we think, all the stories I heard about Elijah was this rough camel-haired, awful-looking thing. But all the resources seem to suggest that it was quite a fine garment made of hair. Unique to the prophets. A sign of their office. And that mantle came from Elijah to Elisha. And I believe we hear in the taunts of these youth a direct challenge to Elisha's claim to be the successor of Elijah. Despising his authority by calling him hairless when he wore the garment of hair. And defying his power by taunting him to go on up to heaven just as Elijah had done. They mocked the Lord's anointing. They challenged His power and His authority. And in so doing, they challenged the Lord who sent Him. They challenged the Lord's power. They challenged the Lord's authority. And Elisha responded with word and with deed. In verse 24, we read that he turned around. He looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the youths. now this can be a troubling verse the ministry of elijah is characterized by mercy just as elijah's was by justice and here we have first thing in this ministry of mercy a curse and death it can be troubling we can ask and i've heard it asked how could a man of god do such a thing which is to ask how could god do such a thing but we must remember that what happens here is a matter of covenant significance it's a matter of covenant responsibility and obligation the youth of Bethel had mocked the prophet of God sent on his authority and to do so was a sin for which Judah would eventually pay the ultimate price of exile we read about this in 2nd Chronicles chapter 36 where it said that the Lord, the God of our fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, but they mocked God's messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of God was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. We see a picture of that in the ewes of Bethel. They deserved the wrath of God. They were his covenant people. And they had rebelled against their Lord. And according to Leviticus chapter 26, one of the curses due for that rebellious idolatry of Bethel was this. I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children. Destroy your cattle and make you so few in numbers that your roads will be deserted. You see, it's because of covenant rebellion at Bethel that Elisha brought covenant justice by the word of God and by the tearing of flesh. And by the word of the Lord, Elisha called down cursing on what had once been blessed and death on what had once enjoyed life. This is the double-edged sword of the Lord in action. His word cuts two ways. And it cut two ways when Elisha brought it into the land of Israel. To the humble and the repentant in Jericho it brought mercy and it brought life. but to the proud and the rebellious in Bethel, it brought cursing and death. Now we need to know that the effectiveness of the sword of the Lord is not in the hand of the man who wields it. It wasn't because Elisha was such a great man. It's because of the nature of the word itself. That fact is confirmed when we consider the double-edged sword of the Lord as it came embodied in the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Word of God, incarnate. As Christians, we confessed, we confessed tonight that the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man. And we believe with the Apostle John that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. And we believe that the embodied Word of God was given the name Jesus. Because He will save His people from their sins. And we rejoice in the incarnation. Not only at Christmas, which is coming up, but always because apart from the Son of God coming into this world in the flesh, There would be no way for us as sinners to escape the justice of God. In the person of Jesus Christ, the double-edged sword of the Lord cut two ways. Jesus said of his purpose in Luke, chapter 12, verse 51, Do you think I came to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but division. And according to Matthew, he said, God did not come to bring peace, but a sword. He came to separate, to divide, to cut both ways. And we see this dividing purpose played out throughout his ministry. If you read enough of Scripture, especially the Gospels, you'll see this played out in his ministry. One example, and there are many that we could choose from, but one that in many ways echoes what the ministry of Elisha accomplished at Jericho and Bethel is found in the Gospel of John, chapter 2. I'm not going to read to you that entire chapter and part of chapter 3 because it's very familiar to you. I do invite you tonight to go back and read chapter 2 through chapter 3 where Jesus speaks with Nicodemus about the way of salvation in light of this message tonight. But when we consider chapter 2, we find the very familiar account of Jesus' first miracle. His first miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. In Cana. That's in Galilee. Galilee of the Gentiles. He went to a place that was outside the blessing of God. A land outside the promised land. And it was there in that land that according to Isaiah chapter 9 that was a land of gloom and distress and darkness, he came. They had invited him. And he blessed the wedding in Cana with joy and with peace and with light when he turned that water into wine. And in blessing Cana, he introduced blessing to Galilee. In blessing Galilee, he introduced blessing to the Gentiles. Those that had been cursed had begun to receive a blessing. At Cana, the embodied word of God brought covenant mercy by his own word and by the miracle of water into wine. He blessed what had been cursed. He brought light to what had been dark. And from Cana, John writes, he went up to the temple in Jerusalem. The place of ultimate blessing in Israel. The house of God where he dwelled among his people. And what did Jesus find there? He found men who treated the house of God as though it were a house of nothing. they turned it into a den of robbers Jesus said zeal for his father's house consumed him and he drove them out of the temple turning over their tables pouring out their coins and you know these men they stood up to Jesus and they challenged him and they said what miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this that ought to ring a heavy echo what did Elisha do Elisha not only had the power but also the authority to employ the word of God to call down judgment on those who mocked him as the Lord's anointed and the Lord Jesus Christ the one greater than Elisha in himself was certainly powerful and authorized to bring down the justice of God on those men that day but he didn't he didn't why not because when he said in Luke chapter 12 that he'd come to divide he also said I have come to bring fire on the earth and how I wish it were already kindled but I have a baptism to undergo and how distressed I am until it is completed jesus came to save and jesus came to bring justice but the justice would be delayed because as he had forewarned his disciples he had yet to be betrayed to be condemned to death to be turned over to the gentiles to be mocked and to be flogged to be crucified before he was raised to life again so instead of bringing the justice of God against those men in the temple or against anyone that opposed him throughout his entire earthly ministry Jesus went to the cross like a lamb to the slaughter mocked by the soldiers who crucified him mocked by the robbers who were crucified with him mocked by the passersby and mocked by the religious leaders of Israel and even as he hung on the cross they mocked him and they challenged him They said, come down from the cross if you're the Son of God. And they mocked him to one another saying, let him come down now from the cross and we'll believe in him. Of all men ever born, certainly these men deserved the immediate wrath of God. They mocked God to his face like the youth had mocked his prophet. And still, from the cross, Jesus did not exercise his power and his authority to bring down the curse upon his enemies. Instead, he turned to the thief who repented and he extended mercy to him. And blessed, he said, I tell you the truth. Today you will be with me in paradise. And for those who mocked him, he prayed, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. You see, still, he delayed justice because his work was not yet complete. See, Jesus came to live the life of perfect obedience to the Father on behalf of his people, which he did, even to the cross. And he came to on that cross to take upon himself the curse that we deserve, so that he might secure the mercy that he gives to all who believe in him. And on that cross, he accomplished once and for all the salvation for all who will ever believe in him. But still, even though he paid the price and he could say, it is finished, his work was not yet done. He rose again on the third day. And he ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven in order that he might pour out on his people the Holy Spirit that he had promised. And that Holy Spirit continues to apply the salvation that He accomplished once for all, one by one, day after day, around this world. And He does that through the preaching of the Word, the application of the double-edged sword of the Lord today. Jesus delayed justice. He delayed His judgment. But Paul writes, do not be deceived. God is not mocked. The time for justice is coming. When the Holy Spirit is brought in the fullness of the church, the Lord will come again in glory, and it is then that He'll bring fire on the earth. And it's then that the wicked will experience the justice they deserve, and the righteous in Christ will inherit the blessings of mercy. And it's then, according to Proverbs 3, verses 33 to 35, will be perfectly and eternally realized. The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous. He mocks proud mockers, but He gives grace to the humble. The wise inherit honor, and the fools He holds up to shame. The word of the Lord cuts two ways. And it will continue to cut until that day, As the double-edged sword of the Lord is employed by the true church in the world. In the power of the Holy Spirit, the word of the Lord, even the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ continues to cut two ways. Paul said of himself and of other preachers of the gospel in 2 Corinthians 2, verses 15 and 16, it says we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing to the one where the smell the stench of death to others we are the fragrance the aroma of life and why is it so that the one word of God cuts two ways because in giving it to the church the Lord has given the word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit what he calls the keys of the kingdom. In Matthew chapter 16, verse 19, the Lord promised the true church, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. And the keys of the kingdom are nothing more and nothing less than the sword of the Lord, the Word of God being applied in the life of the church. We confess in Belgic Confession, Article 29, that the true church of Christ is known by three marks. I hope you're saying them in your head. The pure preaching of the gospel, the pure administration of the sacraments, and the exercise of church discipline toward repentance. Marks of the true church that show that the Word of God is at work. Marks of the true church that show that the keys are being exercised. Marks of the true church that show that the sword of the Lord is continuing to divide between men. You see, in the preaching of the gospel to all men without distinction, through the ears, from the pulpit, through the eyes and the senses, through the sacraments, and in the exercise of church discipline toward repentance, of those who profess Christ. The double-edged sword of the Lord is being applied by the Holy Spirit to divide between men. And just as in the ministry of Elisha, which pointed to the ministry of Jesus Christ, the double-edged sword of the Lord continues to be employed by the true church to cut two ways. To humble and repentant sinners who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. The Holy Spirit applies the mercy of God as He opens before you the gates of heaven forever. But to the proud and unbelieving in rebellion against God, the Holy Spirit applies the justice of God to you that closes the gate of heaven for as long as you refuse to repent. This two-way cutting is true of all the Word of God. Even in our most familiar and most succinct summary of the Gospel from John 3.16. I think the whole world knows John 3.16, even if they don't know the words, they've seen the numbers. In that text where Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, he says, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, That whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. In that short summary of the Gospel, we see displayed the double-edged sword of the Lord. Those who do not believe perish, and those who do believe are not condemned. They do have eternal life. Jesus goes on to explain this in verse 18. He said, whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. The author of Hebrews reminds us that the Word of God, as we've heard and seen today, has ever been and will ever be living and active. Sharper than any two-edged sword, it penetrates. Even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow, it judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart and it divides between men. So to you tonight who are humble and repented sinners, not because you're so humble in yourself, but you've known your sin and you've trusted in Christ, this word should strengthen your assurance of faith and remind you of God's covenant mercy that He's shown you for the sake of Christ who took your curse upon Himself. To any here who are proud and unrepentant, I don't think they need this Savior. This Word of God has announced to you the coming judgment of God against your sin. And it calls you to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ so that He might save you from that justice. So that you too may know His mercy. Let us pray. Almighty God and Heavenly Father, we are reminded from your word tonight of the power and the efficacy of your word. A word that was wielded by Elisha the prophet as he brought it to bear in the land of Israel, bringing blessing to those who bowed before you and cursing to those who stood up against you. And as we considered how the Lord Jesus Christ, the word of God in the flesh, came into this world to also divide between men. and we thank you Father that in his coming you have shown us great mercy as you have chosen to restrain your hand of judgment against sinners against this world as you apply the salvation that he accomplished on our behalf taking the curse that we deserve and granting to those who believe in him the mercy that he merited we thank you Father that you have given the church to the world to announce this truth to announce the coming judgment that is certain and final as we hold out the offer of the gospel to all who will repent and believe that they might know the mercy of God to the salvation of their souls and life eternal in presence of you in heaven bless your word Father encourage your people and cause your enemies to tremble before you that they might bow down now and not on the last day we ask this in the name of Christ our Lord Amen