And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
The sons of the prophets lived and learned together with Elisha in a shared dwelling that had become too narrow for them, and they asked leave to enlarge it by building for themselves. Their request shows the growth of the schools of the prophets from two in Samuel's day to more under Elijah and afterward, and stands as evidence of a school where youth seeking wisdom from God were trained to serve as teachers and leaders in Israel. Those ancient schools are the pattern that present schools and church schools must follow more closely, a spiritually guided education founded on the Word of God daily studied rather than training shaped by the world's requirements. The verse therefore gives commission to go forth and build up such schools in more places, with humble buildings, useful labor uniting teachers and students, and training for self-denying missionary service.
Words and Historical Setting
The sons of the prophets lived and learned together with Elisha in a shared dwelling, and that place had become too strait, too small, for them. Their growing company needed a larger place, so they asked to enlarge it by building for themselves. Elisha supported their building work by accompanying and instructing them. Their schools taught useful trades and industries, with many students supporting themselves through manual labor. Their dwelling together provides the model for church schools and for Christian worker-training schools that prepare young people for missionary service, including youth in publishing houses trained to carry the work into new places.
Their request reflects the growth of the schools of the prophets. They began with two in Samuel's day at Ramah and Kirjath-jearim, added two more in Elijah's time at Jericho and Bethel, and afterward added others at Samaria and Gilgal. The fuller account in 2 Kings 6:1-7 shows the students building a house for themselves. When they needed that larger dwelling, God worked a miracle to save one of them from distress over a borrowed ax. That episode shows that God honors practical work and the everyday labor of those who serve Him.
The verse is evidence that Israel had a school of the prophets, or college, where workers were trained. Those schools instructed young people seeking wisdom from God. They prepared them to serve as teachers and leaders in Israel. Their mention of a common dwelling place shows that these communities lived together in a shared school community.
Training and Daily Life
The schools taught useful trades and industries, and many of the students supported themselves by their own manual labor. Teachers and students united together in that useful labor, joining hands in practical work as part of school life. That union of physical work with mental instruction is the standing order, joining agricultural work and vigorous physical exercise in the open air with school teaching.
This combination gives the animal passions a healthy outlet and keeps them in proper bounds, while it strengthens the muscles and encourages proper circulation of the blood. It helps preserve the body from disease and is a great help to spirituality. The schools did not copy worldly customs and ideas but combined physical, mental, and spiritual powers in one balanced training.
The dwelling together of the sons of the prophets with their teacher is the order present schools are to follow more fully. Old methods in education are to be left behind in order to train the very best class of workers as teachers and ministers of the gospel who will be able to educate others. The schools give the model for young and old to learn from God's Word every day, and for carrying on the education of youth through the Word in a way that guards against self-indulgent living.
Pattern for Present Education
The schools where learners lived and learned together with their teacher in a dwelling grown too small are the pattern that present schools must follow more closely and become more and more like. That includes church schools and schools that train Christian workers, preparing youth for missionary service and different lines of missionary work, as a distinct spiritually guided education rather than training shaped by the world's requirements. It is also the model for establishing schools in different localities instead of concentrating in one place. Following that order means conducting the school on a high spiritual plane under competent managers and teachers of ability. It means unselfish, devoted men acting as educators, with young men and young women brought in to learn how to teach others to understand the Word, with ministerial laborers in every school to educate children and youth in Bible lines, and with the pastor working for teachers as well as students. It means self-sacrificing effort by teachers and all connected with the school, sisters working intelligently, devotedly and interestedly to make the school a success, and churches helping, with blessing resting on all who cooperate.
They were residential schools where the learners dwelt together under management, so a school community needs its own adequate tract of land. Provision is to be made first for the teachers and workers who carry the work, with room for students to live apart from parents under qualified teachers of ability. Only a few wise and loyal families proved as supporters of the educational work belong nearby or on the school farm, while a general settling of families close about the school harms both students and managers. Youth living away from parents receive clearer presentation in spiritual lines and far more encouraging development of character.
Schools formed on that pattern are established in a simple style with humble buildings rather than in an elaborate way. Their teachers not only know the truth but do the Word and voice It is written, and missionary work is always connected with the school to help those who are fallen, degraded, wounded, bruised, and ready to perish. They educate and train youth to be self-denying, consecrated missionaries, carried on by consecrated effort in which teachers and students fix attention upon Jesus Christ and let unseen eternal things absorb the mind instead of allowing visible things to absorb the mind and palsy effort, with the Spirit resting in large measure upon both. The Word lies at the foundation of all, and the study of the Bible occupies a large place, with its precepts and principles prayerfully and daily studied by teachers and students so they may be prepared for the higher school in the heavenly courts, combining physical, mental, and spiritual powers instead of copying worldly customs and ideas. Students must not attempt to grasp the higher rounds first in seeking advanced education, but must humbly learn of Christ, placing feet on the lower rounds first and then making steady progress learning more and still more of the Great Teacher.
Establishing Schools for Service
The place too strait for those dwelling with Elisha is a commission to go forth and build up schools after the order of the schools of the prophets. Those schools are the model for establishing schools in different localities rather than concentrating educational facilities in one place, for smaller schools in more locations. The principle is schools in all churches and in different localities.
They are the pattern for intermediate schools to be established now. There youth are to be trained to be workers together with God and to care properly for the church in their homes, supplying training in obligations to God and duty to children when fathers and mothers remain childish, indifferent, and unmindful.
Such schools train young people for Christian service and prepare them for different kinds of missionary work. Workers are to be educated in Bible truth and prepared for spiritual responsibilities and service to others, and people are to be prepared for service to others in a school made as God would have it. They provide the model for schools educating children in the Scriptures. Youth are to be encouraged to attend such schools established by the Lord, and when conducted in harmony with His purpose those sent to them will quickly be prepared to engage in various lines, some as missionary nurses, some as canvassers, some as evangelists, some as teachers, and some as gospel ministers, in both mental and practical capacities.
They are to be conducted by God-fearing men and women serving as missionaries. Teachers are to be educated to do their part in educating the children of Sabbathkeepers not only in the sciences but in the Scriptures.
Publishing houses are to be the same kind of training schools as the schools of the prophets. Their work is to train men to be trustworthy, true to principle, and of quick understanding — skilful workmen who can teach others how to work. Youth in publishing houses should likewise be trained in schools of the prophets and prepared to carry the work into new places.
Means put into the treasury of the Lord are to create and increase such facilities rather than diminish them, because there are none too many. A great work must be done in a short time before the Lord comes, and doing this work of building up educational agencies is active labor with Jesus Christ, joining faith with works. Those found doing it when He comes will be approved as good and faithful servants. Schools now are to be conducted to resemble those in Elisha's day, established and supported with the means God has lent His stewards put into circulation so that many will have opportunity to learn what is truth.
The ancient schools where youth were educated with thorough knowledge of the Scriptures in the days of Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, and David give the pattern that families should not locate where believers are most numerous but where they can do missionary work. Schools should be located where youth can be educated in those same lines for missionary work. This requires ministers and church members to be diligent daily Bible students learning from the great Teacher in order to enter into the spirituality of the divine thought.
The Lord is leading men to fulfil this instruction, though workers of God hinder advancement in many places by forbidding others to listen to it, and these forbiddings are not to be heeded. God has given each a work to raise up the foundation of many generations. The work is to be done according to the Lord's instruction, letting the angels of God act a part in all labors, accepting means to help in various places to explain the Scriptures to men who do not understand the truth, and encouraging others to unite in the saving of souls and the fitting up of other believers to give themselves to the work of saving souls. Men in official positions must reveal that they are themselves under discipline to Jesus Christ and be led by the Holy Spirit in prayer before they attempt to guide other minds.
The school of the prophets is a model for a school with enough teachers but not an excessive number. An additional teacher may be more needed elsewhere, where his abilities can be used to advantage.
The sons of the prophets lived and learned together with Elisha in a shared dwelling that had become too narrow for them, and they asked leave to enlarge it by building for themselves. Their request shows the growth of the schools of the prophets from two in Samuel's day to more under Elijah and afterward, and stands as evidence of a school where youth seeking wisdom from God were trained to serve as teachers and leaders in Israel. Those ancient schools are the pattern that present schools and church schools must follow more closely, a spiritually guided education founded on the Word of God daily studied rather than training shaped by the world's requirements. The verse therefore gives commission to go forth and build up such schools in more places, with humble buildings, useful labor uniting teachers and students, and training for self-denying missionary service.
Words and Historical Setting
The sons of the prophets lived and learned together with Elisha in a shared dwelling, and that place had become too strait, too small, for them. Their growing company needed a larger place, so they asked to enlarge it by building for themselves. Elisha supported their building work by accompanying and instructing them. Their schools taught useful trades and industries, with many students supporting themselves through manual labor. Their dwelling together provides the model for church schools and for Christian worker-training schools that prepare young people for missionary service, including youth in publishing houses trained to carry the work into new places.
Their request reflects the growth of the schools of the prophets. They began with two in Samuel's day at Ramah and Kirjath-jearim, added two more in Elijah's time at Jericho and Bethel, and afterward added others at Samaria and Gilgal. The fuller account in 2 Kings 6:1-7 shows the students building a house for themselves. When they needed that larger dwelling, God worked a miracle to save one of them from distress over a borrowed ax. That episode shows that God honors practical work and the everyday labor of those who serve Him.
The verse is evidence that Israel had a school of the prophets, or college, where workers were trained. Those schools instructed young people seeking wisdom from God. They prepared them to serve as teachers and leaders in Israel. Their mention of a common dwelling place shows that these communities lived together in a shared school community.
Training and Daily Life
The schools taught useful trades and industries, and many of the students supported themselves by their own manual labor. Teachers and students united together in that useful labor, joining hands in practical work as part of school life. That union of physical work with mental instruction is the standing order, joining agricultural work and vigorous physical exercise in the open air with school teaching.
This combination gives the animal passions a healthy outlet and keeps them in proper bounds, while it strengthens the muscles and encourages proper circulation of the blood. It helps preserve the body from disease and is a great help to spirituality. The schools did not copy worldly customs and ideas but combined physical, mental, and spiritual powers in one balanced training.
The dwelling together of the sons of the prophets with their teacher is the order present schools are to follow more fully. Old methods in education are to be left behind in order to train the very best class of workers as teachers and ministers of the gospel who will be able to educate others. The schools give the model for young and old to learn from God's Word every day, and for carrying on the education of youth through the Word in a way that guards against self-indulgent living.
Pattern for Present Education
The schools where learners lived and learned together with their teacher in a dwelling grown too small are the pattern that present schools must follow more closely and become more and more like. That includes church schools and schools that train Christian workers, preparing youth for missionary service and different lines of missionary work, as a distinct spiritually guided education rather than training shaped by the world's requirements. It is also the model for establishing schools in different localities instead of concentrating in one place. Following that order means conducting the school on a high spiritual plane under competent managers and teachers of ability. It means unselfish, devoted men acting as educators, with young men and young women brought in to learn how to teach others to understand the Word, with ministerial laborers in every school to educate children and youth in Bible lines, and with the pastor working for teachers as well as students. It means self-sacrificing effort by teachers and all connected with the school, sisters working intelligently, devotedly and interestedly to make the school a success, and churches helping, with blessing resting on all who cooperate.
They were residential schools where the learners dwelt together under management, so a school community needs its own adequate tract of land. Provision is to be made first for the teachers and workers who carry the work, with room for students to live apart from parents under qualified teachers of ability. Only a few wise and loyal families proved as supporters of the educational work belong nearby or on the school farm, while a general settling of families close about the school harms both students and managers. Youth living away from parents receive clearer presentation in spiritual lines and far more encouraging development of character.
Schools formed on that pattern are established in a simple style with humble buildings rather than in an elaborate way. Their teachers not only know the truth but do the Word and voice It is written, and missionary work is always connected with the school to help those who are fallen, degraded, wounded, bruised, and ready to perish. They educate and train youth to be self-denying, consecrated missionaries, carried on by consecrated effort in which teachers and students fix attention upon Jesus Christ and let unseen eternal things absorb the mind instead of allowing visible things to absorb the mind and palsy effort, with the Spirit resting in large measure upon both. The Word lies at the foundation of all, and the study of the Bible occupies a large place, with its precepts and principles prayerfully and daily studied by teachers and students so they may be prepared for the higher school in the heavenly courts, combining physical, mental, and spiritual powers instead of copying worldly customs and ideas. Students must not attempt to grasp the higher rounds first in seeking advanced education, but must humbly learn of Christ, placing feet on the lower rounds first and then making steady progress learning more and still more of the Great Teacher.
Establishing Schools for Service
The place too strait for those dwelling with Elisha is a commission to go forth and build up schools after the order of the schools of the prophets. Those schools are the model for establishing schools in different localities rather than concentrating educational facilities in one place, for smaller schools in more locations. The principle is schools in all churches and in different localities.
They are the pattern for intermediate schools to be established now. There youth are to be trained to be workers together with God and to care properly for the church in their homes, supplying training in obligations to God and duty to children when fathers and mothers remain childish, indifferent, and unmindful.
Such schools train young people for Christian service and prepare them for different kinds of missionary work. Workers are to be educated in Bible truth and prepared for spiritual responsibilities and service to others, and people are to be prepared for service to others in a school made as God would have it. They provide the model for schools educating children in the Scriptures. Youth are to be encouraged to attend such schools established by the Lord, and when conducted in harmony with His purpose those sent to them will quickly be prepared to engage in various lines, some as missionary nurses, some as canvassers, some as evangelists, some as teachers, and some as gospel ministers, in both mental and practical capacities.
They are to be conducted by God-fearing men and women serving as missionaries. Teachers are to be educated to do their part in educating the children of Sabbathkeepers not only in the sciences but in the Scriptures.
Publishing houses are to be the same kind of training schools as the schools of the prophets. Their work is to train men to be trustworthy, true to principle, and of quick understanding — skilful workmen who can teach others how to work. Youth in publishing houses should likewise be trained in schools of the prophets and prepared to carry the work into new places.
Means put into the treasury of the Lord are to create and increase such facilities rather than diminish them, because there are none too many. A great work must be done in a short time before the Lord comes, and doing this work of building up educational agencies is active labor with Jesus Christ, joining faith with works. Those found doing it when He comes will be approved as good and faithful servants. Schools now are to be conducted to resemble those in Elisha's day, established and supported with the means God has lent His stewards put into circulation so that many will have opportunity to learn what is truth.
The ancient schools where youth were educated with thorough knowledge of the Scriptures in the days of Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, and David give the pattern that families should not locate where believers are most numerous but where they can do missionary work. Schools should be located where youth can be educated in those same lines for missionary work. This requires ministers and church members to be diligent daily Bible students learning from the great Teacher in order to enter into the spirituality of the divine thought.
The Lord is leading men to fulfil this instruction, though workers of God hinder advancement in many places by forbidding others to listen to it, and these forbiddings are not to be heeded. God has given each a work to raise up the foundation of many generations. The work is to be done according to the Lord's instruction, letting the angels of God act a part in all labors, accepting means to help in various places to explain the Scriptures to men who do not understand the truth, and encouraging others to unite in the saving of souls and the fitting up of other believers to give themselves to the work of saving souls. Men in official positions must reveal that they are themselves under discipline to Jesus Christ and be led by the Holy Spirit in prayer before they attempt to guide other minds.
The school of the prophets is a model for a school with enough teachers but not an excessive number. An additional teacher may be more needed elsewhere, where his abilities can be used to advantage.