«　WEEK 2　DAY 4　»

　　2 Kings 2:1 And when Jehovah was about to take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

　　Phil. 3:3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.

　　Elijah is a type of the Old Testament age with the Old Testament economy, and Elisha is a type of the New Testament age with the New Testament economy. The age was changed by passing through four places—Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and the river Jordan (2 Kings 2:1-8). Gilgal was a place where God’s people were circumcised to deal with their flesh (Josh. 5:2-9). (2 Kings 2:1, footnote 1)

　　The Bible reveals that the strongest and most evil enemy of God is our flesh [cf. Rom. 7—8] ...The flesh is thoroughly and absolutely hated by God. God will not tolerate it. In a sense, God may tolerate our mistakes and transgressions, but He will never tolerate the flesh... At the time of the third fall, the entire human race became flesh. Thus, God stepped in and told His servant Noah that He was going to destroy that whole generation. (Life-study of Genesis, p. 369)

　　In [2 Kings 2:1-14] there are four journeys. These include setting out from Gilgal, the journey to Bethel, the journey to Jericho, and the crossing of the Jordan River. Before Elijah was taken into heaven and Elisha received a double portion of the Holy Spirit, they passed through these four places. If we want to be like Elijah, who was taken into heaven, or like Elisha, who received the outer clothing of the Holy Spirit (that is, the Holy Spirit descending upon him like an outer garment), the crucial lesson is that we must travel on these four journeys. Whether we are raptured or receive the power of the Holy Spirit, we all must set out from Gilgal and journey until we cross the Jordan.

　　Gilgal means “to roll away.” Joshua 5:2-9 tells us that the generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt were circumcised; however, those of the second generation, who were born in the wilderness, were not. At that point, they were about to enter Canaan and to receive the inheritance; they needed to have the old flesh and shame of Egypt rolled away so that they could begin a new living. Therefore, the meaning of circumcision is to put off the body of the flesh (Col. 2:11).

　　In the Bible the flesh is condemned by God and is very displeasing to God. The flesh is everything we possess from our birth. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6)... In the flesh there is not only sin, uncleanness, and corruption, but also natural kindness, talent, zeal, wisdom, and ability. The most difficult lesson for a believer to learn in his life is recognizing his flesh. God must bring him through every kind of failure and exposure before he will know the flesh.

　　God says the flesh must be put off; we must, therefore, agree with Him. When God says it must be cut off, we have to cut it off. We must start from Gilgal, and we must reject the flesh. It is not a matter of how much cutting should be done, but a matter of judging the flesh. The present error is that men pay attention to being zealous, doing good, and working, while forgetting to reject their flesh. But it is very important to judge the flesh the way God judges it. According to what I have learned before God, regeneration, sanctification, perfection, the overcoming of sin, and the acquisition of power are not the highest expressions of spiritual life. Rejecting the flesh is the proper spiritual path and goal of spiritual living. All those who have not set out from Gilgal have not started on the spiritual pathway. All those who have not learned to reject the flesh do not truly know the spiritual life. They can be zealous, work, and rejoice, but they do not truly know the spiritual life. (CWWN, vol. 9, pp. 307-309)

　　!Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 9, pp. 307-314; Life-study of Genesis, msg. 27; CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “Basic Lessons on Service,” lsns. 17-18