2 Kings 13:19-21
14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. 15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. 16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands. 17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. 18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. 19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. 20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. 21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.
One day all of us are going to leave this world through death. The Bible assures us, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Have you ever considered the legacy that you will leave behind? How will you be remembered? The Apostle Paul reminds us of the reality that we will have some kind of impact on the people we leave behind, “For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself” (Romans 14:7).
Elisha was a great prophet in Israel. He had big shoes to fill because he was the successor of Elijah, one of the greatest prophets that Israel would ever have. Elijah, along with Moses, appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17 and he was also was taken up in a chariot of fire into heaven in 2 Kings 2. Elisha left his family farm to follow Elijah and got to see Elijah taken up into heaven along with many other things that Elijah did.
Elisha would leave a similar lasting impact, but even on his deathbed, when he was ill with the sickness that he would die from, God used Elisha to powerfully influence the kingdom of Israel. In Elisha’s dying and death, we learn three principles that we should live by as we consider the reality of what we will leave behind after we’re gone.
First, don’t miss out on God’s influence from your life. Even the wicked King Joash recognized the influence of Elisha. He cries over Elisha and recognizes the sanctifying influence that God had on Israel through Elisha’s life. Something about true people God is that they leave such a godly influence that the world is worse off without them. They are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). We must recognize the greatness of our God and how He has ordained us to good works that we should walk in (Ephesians 2:10).
Second, don’t settle for less than God’s will for life. Many people fall far short of the potential that they have for the kingdom of God because they settle for less than God’s will. We have to, “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). When Elisha gives the command to Joash to shoot arrows, they symbolize the victory of Israel over their enemies. By failing to shoot more arrows, Joash demonstrated a lack of commitment to what God would do. So many people are like this. They simply believe that God will sell them short if they give everything to Him. The opposite is true. His will is best and walking in His will is essential to leaving a legacy that He will use after we’re gone.
Third, don’t underestimate God’s power in your life. After Elisha dies, some Moabites throw a dead body into his tomb. The body touches Elisha’s bones and the man comes to life. This does not mean that you and I have power to raise the dead or do miracles. It doesn’t mean our bones will have healing powers. What it does is point to the only One who has overcome death and has power over all life (Revelation.1:16; John 5:20-29). Jesus alone has overcome death. He took our sin on the cross and offers eternal life to all who believe. When you and I live for Him, His life in us impacts those around. When we live a life that points others to Him and glorifies Him, then He will still bring others out of spiritual death into life after we are gone.
What kind of legacy are you leaving behind? Will anyone look at your life and see Jesus as glorified and most precious to you? The people around us are watching. The world is desperate for people on fire for God. After you’re gone, what kind of impact will you have? The writer of Hebrews writes about the great heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11. After listing the great men and women and their exploits, he concludes by writing, “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:40). That means that their influence was still going after they were dead in all of those who heard of their testimonies and were impacted by them. What will people remember about you? What influence will your life have? Consider what will happen after you’re gone.