Leave Not Post
Ecclesiastes 10:4 (NIV)
4 . . . do not leave your post . . .
I would like to focus on the five words of the scripture above which say “Do Not Leave Your Post” and speak about how this can have application to a Fivefold Ministry Levite. This can have several applications in that the Levite must not leave his anointing or God-given authority and this also has the application for the Levite remaining in his ordained place where God has planted him.
Elijah was an example of a prophet who dropped his God-given authority and this authority was then used against him and caused him to run for his life.
First-What Are You Doing Here Elijah?
1 Kings 19:9 (NASB)
9 Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
God spoke these words to Elijah after he left his post and ran away from the woman Jezebel. God said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” This question was intended to provoke Elijah to think about his situation and why it was that he ran away from Jezebel.
1 Kings 19:10 (NASB)
10 He said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
But Elijah was so full of self-pity that he could not see the situation for what it really was. Elijah left his post when he ran away from Jezebel and abandoned his calling and dropped his God-given authority.
Second-What Are You Doing Here Elijah?
1 Kings 19:13 (NASB)
13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
God asked the same question of Elijah a second time but Elijah was too distracted in mind to see what God was saying to him. Elijah answered in the same way as he did before and again he spewed out his volley of self-pity before God.
1 Kings 19:14 (NASB)
14 Then he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
The Lord could do nothing more with Elijah who had slipped into self-pity after he had dropped his God-given authority.
1 Kings 19:15-16 (NASB)
15 The LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram;
16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.
At this point God could do nothing more with the prophet who had fallen completely into self-pity. So God arranged to replace Elijah and gave him the assignment to mentor his new protege “Elisha” the son of Shaphat.
1 Kings 19:17 (NASB)
17 “It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death.
God had ordained the destruction of the ring-leaders of wickedness and Hazel and Jehu and Elisha were to weld the sword of destruction to purge the nation of those who were wicked in God’s sight.
This is what Elijah should have done after he had executed the false prophets at Mount Carmel.
1 Kings 18:19 (NASB)
19 “Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
Elijah had told King Ahab to gather the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah who were under the support of Jezebel together with all Israel to Mount Carmel.
1 Kings 18:36-40 (NIV)
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD–he is God! The LORD–he is God!”
40 Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
The 450-prophets of Baal were considered as belonging to the male deity and the 400-prophets of Asherah represented the female deity. Only 450- prophets of Baal were mentioned in the contest between the God of Elijah and the false god Baal but possibly it was understood that the 400-prophets of Asherah were also included among them. It could have been that after the show-down was completed that Elijah had the crowd of Israelites seize all of the 450-prophets of Baal together with their 400-Asherah counterparts and so the total slaughter of false prophets could have numbered 850 (assuming none of them escaped).
This was a fulfillment of God’s purpose of purging false religion from the land of Israel which was introduced by Jezebel the pagan wife of Ahab.
1 Kings 18:45-46 (NIV)
45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.
46 The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
God supernaturally empowered Elijah by the “Working of Miracles” to outrun a chariot and horses for a distance of over 25-miles!
See the link “Spiritual Gifts” for more details.
Few people understand that the reason that God empowered Elijah for this task was that Elijah was to run to Jezreel and there put Jezebel to the sword before her husband Ahab arrived by chariot. This would have been a fitting purge to cut the head off the snake after Elijah already had the crowd of Israelite onlookers execute all of the false prophets of Baal (and probably Asherah also). If Jezebel was left alive, she would only hire some more false prophets and continue the defilement of the nation with false religion just as before Elijah’s purge at Mount Carmel.
But somehow Elijah failed to cut the head off of the snake when he did not put Jezebel to the sword. He should have used this divine enablement and spiritual authority and put this wicked woman to death even before Ahab arrived home in Jezreel.
But when Elijah failed to use his God-given authority to executed this wicked woman then Jezebel was able to use that authority against him and threatened to put Elijah to death instead. This made Elijah run for his life and this was the reason that God asked Elijah “What are you doing here, Elijah?” What on earth was Elijah running away from this woman when in fact Elijah had the power and authority of God to put this evil woman to death?
Possibly Elijah felt that he gave it his best shot at Mount Carmel when he defeated the false prophets and executed them all! But he failed to cut the head off the snake who was Jezebel the instigator of false religion in Israel. It was for this reason that God empowered Elijah to run faster than horses and chariot and arrive in Jezreel ahead of Ahab. Elijah should not have hesitated in his assignment but instead should have put this wicked woman to death before her husband Ahab arrived home in his chariot!
When Elijah hesitated to kill Jezebel, this was a breach of his own divine authority and enabled this wicked woman to use his own authority against him and cause Elijah to run for his life!
1 Kings 19:1 (NIV)
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
Killing all of the prophets could have included the full number of 850-false prophets which could include the Baal counterparts of Asherah prophets as well. This would have destroyed the body of the snake and purged Israel of this false religion. But the problem was that the head of the snake remained who was Jezebel herself. As long as Jezebel lived, she could again hire more false prophets and restore false religion to Israel the same as it was before the showdown of Elijah at Mount Carmel.
Years later Jehu finished the task but the leaders and followers of Baal were again multiplied before Jehu had them destroyed completely. This was because Jezebel was busy in reestablishing her false religion and hiring more false prophets to replace those whom Elijah had executed on Mount Carmel.
1 Kings 19:2-4 (NIV)
2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
Jezebel perceived that Elijah had hesitated because he did not execute her even after arriving in Jezreel ahead of Ahab and his chariot. So, she sent a messenger to threaten Elijah and no doubt this messenger was ordered to watch the response of Elijah and report it to Jezebel. Sure-enough Elijah dropped his God-given authority and was seized with fear and ran for his life!
Jezebel probably remained alive several more decades and used this time granted by her failed execution (by Elijah) to reestablish her false religion again.
1 Kings 19:15-17 (NIV)
15 The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.
16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.
17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.
Again, God told Elijah to return the way he had come. This has application that a man of God must return to his ordained authority and never run away from it again. God then told Elijah to anoint Jehu king over Israel and Hazel king over Aram and Elisha son of Shaphat to replace Elijah as prophet. These three men, Hazel, Jehu and Elisha would put to the sword all those of the house of Ahab including the religious leaders and followers of the false religion started by Jezebel his wife.
2 Kings 10:24-28 (NIV)
24 So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: “If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life.”
25 As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill them; let no one escape.” So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal.
26 They brought the sacred stone out of the temple of Baal and burned it.
27 They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.
28 So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel.
It was at a later time that Jehu called a sacrifice for Baal and deceived all of the leaders and followers of this false religion to assemble for a sacrifice to Baal. Then he had them all slaughtered by the sword thus purging Israel of this false religion started by Jezebel.
Jezebel may have lived several more decades because of the failure of Elijah to execute her when the anointing was present for him to do so. She was able to rehire more false prophets to replace those killed by Elijah at Mount Carmel. The false religion again expanded until the time of Jehu who killed both Jezebel and the remaining leaders and followers of Baal.
2 Kings 9:30-37 (NIV)
30 Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she painted her eyes, arranged her hair and looked out of a window.
31 As Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?”
32 He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him.
33 “Throw her down!” Jehu said. So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot.
34 Jehu went in and ate and drank. “Take care of that cursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.”
35 But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands.
36 They went back and told Jehu, who said, “This is the word of the LORD that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh.
37 Jezebel’s body will be like refuse on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, ‘This is Jezebel.'”
It was Jehu who finally killed Jezebel by having her thrown from an upper-story window, trampled by horses and fed to the dogs. But this was long after she had intimidated Elijah who had failed to put her to the sword when God’s anointing was present to do so.
This can be used an illustration that those called into the Fivefold Ministry (especially Apostles and Prophets) should never to back down or receive intimidation but are put disorder and sin to the sword of God’s word. They are to fulfill their calling without hesitation. If a Levite compromises in order to please humans for financial reward then his gift will do dormant and he will have no authority whatsoever.
This is what happened to Elijah who hesitated when the anointing was present to destroy Jezebel and because of this his gift went dormant. Then when Elijah failed his leadership this wicked Jezebel was able to prolong her life and even reestablish the false religion of Baal which was first destroyed by Elijah at Mount Carmel.
Never should a Fivefold Minister ever back down or hesitate or he could have his gift go dormant. It was for this reason that God had to replace Elijah with “Elisha” to complete the purge of the wicked dynasty of Ahab and the false religion started by Ahab’s wife Jezebel.
Installing Insecurities in Fivefold Levites
Satan is busy at work seeking to install insecurities in the lives of Fivefold Ministry Levites as soon as they are born. Often Satan will use parents and siblings and other relatives to install insecurities into Levites from childhood. If the devil can install insecurities into Levites this can cause them to drop their God-given authority and then Satan can use that authority against them.
Mark 3:20-21 (NIV)
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.
21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
It seems that the half-brothers of Jesus were able to even convince his mother Mary that Jesus was crazy because their whole family came down intending to take charge of Jesus as if he was a mental patient who need to be locked away in a padded room for his own good!
If Jesus the Son of God was treated with contempt then how much more will NT Levites be treated with contempt by their own relatives who had no understanding of the calling of being a Fivefold Minister. If a NT Levite accepts being despised by his relatives and the intimidation that goes along with it then he can cause his gift to go dormant. Thus Satan can achieve a victory by having a Fivefold Ministry Levite fall from his office and anointing and gifts by installing insecurity within him from childhood.
All Levites must be taught to resist this type of intimidation given by relatives who treat them in condescending manner as if they are insane. If they do not resist this demonic attack from their own relatives, they can have their gifts go dormant and cease to function.
Quitter is Marred and Made Ineffective
Also, with a Fivefold Ministry Levite he must ever quit or back down from any situation. Once he quits it will leave a mark on his spirit within which will cause him to struggle with intimidation and insecurity for the rest of his life on earth. Therefore, every Fivefold Ministry Levite must determine never to quit any situation or challenge but continue to push through until they have success by the grace of God. Quitting leaves a defeat of character that will make it easy for a Levite to quit difficult things for the rest of his life and this will result in him failing to overcome. Without being an overcomer, no man will enter the kingdom of God.
See the link “Overcoming Christian” for more details.
Sometimes God will even wait until others force a separation for a Levite just so that the Levite will not have the occasion to quit and leave them. If the other party separates then the blame is not upon the Levite for being a quitter but is upon those who forced the separation.
Back in the days when God used a secular job to develop my character, I received two back to back traffic violations which I felt I was innocent of but resulted in my dismissal as a truck driver. I complained to the Lord about being fired from this job because I would have been happy to just quit if God told me to do so. But God explained that if I had quit then it would have caused a defect in my character. The Lord spoke to me that it was time to move on to the next place and he did not want me to be marred in my character by being a quitter so that is why the situation arose of me being fired instead.
Once someone quits it can follow them for the rest of their lives and create an area of weakness or tendency to quit things that are hard or difficult in the future. For this reason God refused to allow me to quit when things got difficult but always required that I overcome instead.
This can also apply to something like divorce because if someone quits their marriage because it is difficult they will find it easy to quit again if they attempt to remarry in the future (instead of learning to overcome).
If a someone learns to overcome a bully that can give them confidence for life but if they receive intimidation from a bully it can also cause character defects and weakness and insecurity that can follow them for life.
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
It is a biblical principle that God expects the believer to utilize his grace to overcome. Often God uses hard times and difficult experiences to develop character in his children and they are not permitted to quit but they are to overcome and learn to trust God for grace to help them in hard times or in difficult situations.
The same is true of all NT Levites who must learn never to back down or quit but overcome every situation that they face. If they receive intimidation and run away like Elijah they can delay the plan of God for decades and God will have to train someone else to take their place to get the job done later.
Never should a Fivefold Minister ever back down or quit any difficult situation for this reason.
Ordained Place
God has an ordained placed for every Fivefold Minister but this place may not always be a place that they would have chosen for themselves. I once met a pastor of a church in Missouri who hated the climate of Missouri and everything about the location so he quit and moved back to California where he loved it. But what happened was that his church was taken over by a false-cult leader who taught the doctrine of demons called “eternal security” which results in causing those deceived by it to turn away from God and live in wickedness. The Christian school was immediately closed down by the false cult leader and the children were forced to return to the defilement and godlessness of public education and the bullies associated with it. Everything went bad for the people he had abandoned and in fact his own life came to ruination. He found himself out of the ministry and working a poor-paying job as a security guard in California.
His life was a testimony that when God calls a Levite to a certain place then that Levite should not leave his post but remain where God has planted him. The Levite in this example had fruit in Missouri but he had no fruit in California.
It is part of lordship to remain where God posted them whether they like it or not. I would not have chosen Korea myself but I decided to obey where God posted me and then I decided to be willing and obedient in this place where God has planted me.
Some have supposed that if a man was called to a certain place then he will love it there but this is not always the case. Sometimes God does call a Levite to a location and place where he would rather not be. If this be the case then the Levite should be faithful and remain at his post and not leave no matter what happens.
If a Levite lies and uses the Name of the Lord in vain and says that God has called him to go to such and such a place (when in fact God has not called him to move) then he will be judged most severely. This man who left Missouri destroyed the lives of many families who depended upon his leadership and depended on his church for providing a place of security and separation and godly education for their children. Those who sacrificed dearly to build his church lost it all when the same church was taken over by a false-cult leader. All of this occurred when this Levite left his ordained post in order to return to California where he loved the climate and the culture there.
Again, the words, “Do not leave your Post” can have application to the NT Levite and them remaining in the place where God has planted them. All too often Levites will get bored where God planted them and want to reach out for some excitement and then abandon their post and go off to do their own thing. This will result in the destruction of everyone involved including the Levite himself.
Elisha Did Not Leave His Post
Elisha displayed a different spirit than his mentor Elijah because Elisha did not leave his post.
2 Kings 2:1-2 (NIV)
1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.
2 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 they went down to Bethel.
When the time came for Elijah to be removed from the earth then Elisha remained with him steadfastly because he desired to receive a double-anointing from Elijah. Whenever Elijah told him to remain then Elisha refused and was steadfast in his commitment to remain with Elijah.
This shows the good character of Elisha because God had called Elisha to become the protege of Elijah and serve him. So, until God removed Elijah from the earth, then Elisha was not going to leave him. Elisha stuck with Elijah right up into the end because he would not abandon his post which God assigned to him as a servant of Elijah.
2 Kings 2:4 (NIV)
4 Then Elijah 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.
Again, Elijah told Elisha to stay at Jericho but Elisha refused and was determined to stay at his post of being assigned by God as a protégé of Elijah. He was not going to leave Elijah as long as Elijah remained on earth. This shows a good spirit for a Levite to possess that he will not leave his post and only God can separate him from the one he was assigned to. But Elisha himself was never going to be the one to separate because only God could separate him from Elijah.
2 Kings 2:6 (NIV)
6 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.
Again, Elijah told Elisha to stay where he was at while Elijah went to the Jordan river. But again, Elisha refused to be separated from Elijah because that was his posting from God and he was not going to be the one to separate.
2 Kings 2:9-15 (NIV)
9 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.
10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours–otherwise not.”
11 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.
12 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.
13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
15 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.
Elisha asked for a double-portion of the anointing of Elijah and this would be granted him if he saw Elijah taken away by God. So, Elisha was determined never to let Elijah out of his sight and as a result he did receive a double-portion of Elijah. When Elisha tore his own clothing, it speaks of his own role of a “servant” coming to an end and now he was operating in the full-anointing of his predecessor Elijah.
The main point to emphasize here is that a NT Levite is never to leave his post but remain until God separates him. So, Elisha would not leave Elijah until God himself removed Elijah from the earth. It was because Elisha refused to leave Elijah that he was able to receive a double-anointing of Elijah. It was at this point that Elisha moved from the role of apprentice to prophet.
It should be noted that the same applies to a NT Levite that they are never to move from their ordained place even if it seems like the most mundane or trivial or remote place. If they will be faithful to remain at their post then it will be God who will move them out of this posting at the right time and season and they will be promoted to the next level. But if they jump ship or lie and deceive saying God has called them to go on to something else then they will be proven unfaithful and will be disqualified from the ministry. They will never see the promotion from God and and there will be no reward of double-anointing for them.
I admonish all NT Levites that they remain where God has posted them even if that location is remote or boring or seems insignificant or trivial. If they will be faithful then God will be the one to promote them in due season.
In my own case, I remained in Korea from May 2009 to May 2019 and then our brook dried up when our income ceased. Then we began living on our savings without any income whatsoever but I determined that I would not leave my post. God had placed me in Wonju South Korea and I was not going to move for any reason. Only God had the right to move me so even without income I was going to remain until God provided. With or without support I determined that I was not going to leave my post! If I was faithful to God then God could promote me.
All NT Levites must determine that they will never leave where God has posted them and remain there until God moves them to the next promotion just as what happened to Elisha. He refused to leave his post of serving Elijah and did not cease until Elijah was removed from the earth. It was at this time that Elisha was promoted from being a servant of Elijah to a full-ordained prophet himself.
The NT Levite is never to leave their gift and calling and they are never to leave their ordained place where God has posted them. This is part of “lordship” where they no longer live for themselves but only live for God. This means that they do nothing more and nothing less than exactly what God has given them to do. They are never to leave that post for any reason because only God himself can move them. Even if they are cut off from all income they are to remain where they are posted. Only God can move a Levite from his post but they are never to do so out of their own initiative.