“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.’…The company of the prophets at Bethel came out…Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.’…So they went to Jericho. The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha…”                                                         ~ 2 Kings 2:1-5

When Elijah was about to go back to heaven on a chariot of fire, he was going from one part of Israel to the other. He journeyed from one end of the nation to another with Elisha; and everywhere he arrived, he met groups referred to as ‘sons of the prophet.’ Who were these people?

These were the people that Elijah had been developing. Immediately after the spectacles at Mount Carmel, and his encounter with God at Mount Horeb, Elijah appeared to have disappeared . What happened to him?

Well, he went underground; that is, behind the scenes. However, he was engaged in what I’d call a more strategic aspect of his work. He was anointing kings and prophets, as well as developing more prophets. In retrospect, this proved to be a more effective approach to his work. The kings he raised changed the dynamics of the nation. They were able to put an end to Baal worship as a national religion.

In addition, he was no longer alone; he had all these seven thousand people who were prophets. These people were in different parts of Israel, and I believe they became strong advocates of Jehovah. They became an effective counter-force against Jezebel’s idolatrous machinations.

As a leader, are you developing other leaders to continue your mission even after you’re gone from the scene?