2 Kings 6:32
“But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”
Two stories are found that have similar beginnings but different results. The first story is when Jezebel threatened Elijah and promised to have him killed. When Elijah heard of the threat, he ran to the desert, sat under a juniper tree, and asked the LORD to kill him. The second story is found in the verse above when Elisha had a similar threat from the King of Israel. Instead of running to the desert like his predecessor, he sat in the house and trusted God’s power to protect him.
There is no doubt that Elisha had to know about Elijah running from Jezebel. Whether or not Elijah taught Elisha from his experience we won’t know, but one thing we do know is that Elisha learned from the weaknesses of his predecessor and didn’t make the same mistake. Four lessons can be learned from these stories.
First, don’t be shocked when you discover a weakness in your predecessor. Why should you be shocked? Every leader is human, which means every leader is a sinner. Just because you may have set them up in your mind as someone with no weaknesses doesn’t mean they don’t have them. If you spend enough time around a leader, you are going to see their weaknesses. Don’t let the revelation of their weakness lead to dismay.
Second, don’t criticize a predecessor’s weakness, but learn from it. Elisha didn’t spend the rest of his life criticizing Elijah’s moment of weakness; instead, he allowed it to be a lesson to know what to do if it ever happened to him. Criticizing the weaknesses of previous leaders only shows your insecurity and inability to learn. The weakness of any leader is a learning opportunity that God allowed you to see so that you can learn what to do when faced with the same situation.
Third, don’t try to destroy your predecessor when you discover their weakness. Elisha didn’t go on a campaign to discredit all that Elijah did; in fact, you will see that he never mentioned it. The discovery of a predecessor’s weakness shouldn’t lead you on a mission to destroy what God did through them. One day someone is going to discover your weakness, and how you treat the weaknesses of your predecessors will teach your followers how to treat your weaknesses. Don’t start a campaign to discredit your predecessors just because you’ve discovered their frailties.
Fourth, don’t use the weakness of your predecessors as an excuse to discredit the paths they walked. Elisha didn’t compromise his message or standard of living just because Elijah had a weakness. Just because a predecessor has a few weaknesses doesn’t mean the paths they walked were bad. The discovery of a predecessor’s weakness is not a license to compromise. Truth is truth and right is right even if someone who carried the truth happened to stumble or fall while proclaiming it. You are to do right no matter what you discover about your predecessor.
Friend, let the weaknesses of others be your object lessons to learn what to do if you face the same situation. Remember, God allowed you to see it to protect you in the future.