Life and Times of Elijah #11

Life and Times of Elijah #11

“Elijah Lives On”

2 Kings 2:1-18

“The end of an era.”
Such words are often spoken when a notable person dies. This past week was yet another anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In the aftermath of that tragedy, one mourner remarked, “We will never laugh again.”

“Oh, no,” another countered, “but we will never be young again.”

Death carries a finality that is sometimes more psychological than it is physical. An entire country, company, or even church often shut down when the leader is taken away—sometimes never to recover.

This should never be the case with regard to a Christian, though. As Walter Kaiser points out,

When a man or woman of God dies, nothing of God dies. We tend to forget this. We get so caught up in the lives of certain individuals that we begin to think we cannot do without them. What limited thinking! When even a mighty servant is gone, God has seven thousand who have never bowed the knee to Baal. He has them ready, waiting in the wings. Classic case in point: Elisha. God always has a back-up plan.

Think about it. Down through the ages He has had His men and women in every era to carry on His work. Never once has God been frustrated, wondering, “What will My people do now that he’s gone? Now that she’s no longer with them?” Our Creator-God is omnipotent. He is never caught shorthanded.[1]

Nowhere is this more evident than in 2 Kings 2, as we wrap up our series on the life and times of Elijah.

The Culmination of Elijah’s Labors

The chapter begins,

And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, “Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel.” And Elisha said unto him, “As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.” And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, “Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day?” And he said, “Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.”

And Elijah said unto him, “Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho.” And he said, “As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, “Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day?” And he answered, “Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.”

The time for Elijah’s departure from this world had come. Elijah knew it and, as we read in the text, so did Elisha and the “sons of the prophets.” We should not think of these men as biological children of Elijah and Elisha—neither one of them were known to be married—but rather a designation for apprentices who were studying to become prophets. Chuck Swindoll comments,

Historians tell us that the schools of the prophets were located at Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho. These were the early “seminaries,” if you will, most likely founded by Samuel—schools where young men were trained to undertake the sacred calling and the disciplined lifestyle of a prophet. I believe that one reason for Elijah’s unusual journey to the Jordan was his desire to meet one last time with the young prophets-in-training, “the sons of the prophets,” and offer final words of encouragement to those who would carry the torch of truth after his departure.[2]

When the days begins, Elijah and Elisha find themselves in Gilgal, one of the sites of these schools. From Gilgal the two men of God proceeded to Bethel, what one author calls “the religious capital of the northern kingdom.”[3] Not only was a prophetic school set up at Bethel, but it was also the place where Baal worship first began in the northern kingdom of Israel. From Bethel the pair journeyed on to Jericho, where the third school of the prophets was located.

At every stop Elijah tries to get Elisha to leave him alone. The Scriptures do not say why he wanted Elisha to stay. Some commentaries surmise that he was testing his protégé, while others site Elijah’s humility, not wanting anyone to see his glorious departure. I disagree with both conclusions, neither of which have any biblical background in the life of Elijah. Rather, I believe he was wanting to send Elisha away just as he sent away his attendant when he ran away from Jezebel. Elijah knew his earthly end was near; perhaps he was feeling nostalgic and even a bit melancholy about it all. He was given to spiritual depression in the past; maybe this was a reoccurance. Fortunately for him, Elisha could not be so easily shaken off.

Verses six through eight pick up the narrative,

And Elijah said unto him, “Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan.” And he said, “As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.

This miracle is reminiscent of both Moses (at the Red Sea) and Joshua (here at the Jordan River). In this case, though, Elijah uses his mantle to part the waters, something Keil and Delitzsch call “very peculiar”: “Moses, the leader of the people, performed his miracles with his shepherd’s crook, Elijah the prophet divided the river with his prophet’s mantle.”[4] The use of that mantle plays a significant role later in this story.

And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee.” And Elisha said, “I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” And he said, “Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.”

Elijah was ready to make his last will and testament to Elisha: “Ask what you wish,” he said, “before I am taken.” Elisha’s request was for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. What Elisha desired more than anything else was not riches, greatness, fame, power, or to be remembered. He did not mean to imply by this request for a double portion that he wanted to do twice the miracles of Elijah, nor that he would have twice the amount of the Holy Spirit’s help that Elijah had had. Neither did he wish to have an evangelical, gracious spirit as opposed to Elijah’s more so-called legal spirit. Elisha’s request was based on Deuteronomy 21:17, where the “double portion” represented the first-born’s share of the inheritance.[5] In saying this, Elisha was accepting the prophetic ministry that Elijah had begun and declaring that he would carry it on to completion, with God’s help.[6]

Before we move on in the text, an important point should be made. The remarkable part of Elijah’s story is that he knew he was going to be taken up to heaven without dying.[7] Because of this,

Elijah is a good model for believers to imitate when it comes to the inevitability of one day leaving this earth, either through death or the rapture of the church. He didn’t sit around and do nothing, but instead visited three of the prophetic schools and no doubt ministered to the students. He didn’t say to his successor “I’m going to leave you” and thus dwell on the negative, but said “I’m going to Bethel—to Jericho—to the Jordan” and kept busy until the very moment the Lord called him. Even more, he didn’t ask his successor to give him anything, because we can’t take anything in our hands from earth to heaven (1 Tim. 6:7), but instead he offered to give Elisha a gift before the end came. One of the best gifts we can leave is a prepared servant of God to take our place![8]

Elijah did not wait idly for the end to come; he remained active, as should we.

And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

When the moment came, it came in a hurry. Suddenly Elijah and Elisha were separated by a horse-drawn chariot of fire. Elijah was taken—the same word used of Enoch in Genesis 5:24—and Elisha was left alone. John MacArthur explains the significance of the chariot:

The horse-drawn chariot was the fastest means of transport and the mightiest means of warfare in that day. Thus, the chariot and horses symbolized God’s powerful protection, which was the true safety of Israel.[9]

And so we come to the culmination of Elijah’s labors. His earthly work is done and he is taken up to Heaven without experiencing physical death.

The Confirmation of Elijah’s Legacy

But the story doesn’t end here. Verses 13-18 record,

He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; and he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, “Where is the LORD God of Elijah”? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

And they said unto him, “Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley.” And he said, “Ye shall not send.” And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, “Did I not say unto you, ‘Go not?’”

The end of the account underscores the fact that Elijah did not experience physical death. Despite the three-day search of fifty men, his body could not be found. Elisha knew that already, and tried to dissuade them from looking, but he finally gave in, perhaps figuring that the futile search would engrain in their minds what happened.

What transpired before that, though, is significant. Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah—the same mantle which Elijah had thrown across Elisha’s shoulders back in 1 Kings 19:19—and returned to the river. Warren Wiersbe writes,

In taking up Elijah’s mantle, Elisha was making it clear that he accepted the responsibilities involved as he succeeded the great prophet and continued his work. By using the mantle to open the waters of the Jordan, he was declaring that his faith was not in the departed prophet but in the ever-present living God. Certainly we ought to honor the memories and accomplishments of departed leaders. “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith” (Heb. 13:7, nasb). But too many dead founders and leaders still control their former ministries from their graves, and their successors find it difficult to make the changes needed for survival. Elisha didn’t make that mistake, for he called on the God of Elijah to assist him, and the Lord honored his faith. Elisha wasn’t a clone of Elijah, but the two men had this in common: they both had faith in the true and living God. That’s why Hebrews 13:7 commands us to remember past spiritual leaders and “imitate their faith.”[10]

This repeated miracle served as the confirmation of Elijah’s legacy, both to Elisha and to the sons of the prophets who witnessed it. Elisha had requested a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, and even the onlookers had to admit that the spirit of Elijah was now on Elisha.

The Continuation of Elijah’s Life

The natural observation to all of this is to close the book and say, “The life and ministry of Elijah has now ended.” But this would be a mistake. Rather than recording the conclusion of Elijah’s life and ministry, Scripture depicts the continuation of Elijah’s life and ministry.

Elisha determined to go on from this occasion, continuing in the footsteps of his mentor. Many in that same situation might sit down and cry out, “ I can’t go on without Elijah. ” God says you must.[11] And Elisha did.

What Elisha did is another lesson we can learn. As Wiersbe notes,

Elisha did not build a monument to Elijah. Instead, he trusted Elijah’s God and did miracles. We cannot live in the past, on the past, or for the past. We must accept the heritage of the past and trust the living God for power today. There were problems to solve and needs to meet, and Elisha trusted God to help him. God’s servants may leave us, but God’s Spirit goes on working.[12]

Our nation’s capitol, Washington, D.C., has a number of monuments to famous Americans. In a short span one can walk from the Washington Monument to the Jefferson Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial. I have heard that a new monument for Martin Luther King, Jr., is being built there, as well.

When I lived near there, I heard about the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial and wanted to visit it. The address I obtained took me away from the center of the city and into a section of Georgetown. There, among similar looking brick structures, I found a simple building with a small plaque bearing the name of the Memorial. When I entered, I discovered not a museum but rather a organization of people busily working on issues that mattered to the late Senator. A brochure I read explained that this was to be a “living memorial” to continue on Robert Kennedy’s legacy.