When Yahweh was about to take Elijah up by a whirlwind into heaven, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Please wait here, for Yahweh has sent me as far as Bethel.” Elisha said, “As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
The sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from your head today?” He said, “Yes, I know it. Hold your peace.”
Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please wait here, for Yahweh has sent me to Jericho.” He said, “As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.
The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from your head today?” He answered, “Yes, I know it. Hold your peace.”
Elijah said to him, “Please wait here, for Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan.” He said, “As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” Then they both went on.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 5 Which was that place where the children of Israel…
Which was that place where the children of Israel were circumcised after they came over Jordan, and had been forty years in the wilderness, as Josh. 5:9.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–6 2Ki 2:1 And it came to pass, when the…
2Ki 2:1 And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
Ver. 1. When the Lord would raise up Elijah into heaven.] Into the third heaven, not into the sky only - as some have conceited - till our Saviour’s ascension.
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That Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.] Which is commonly held to have been a school or college of prophets - as was also Bethel - of whom be was the father or chief instructor. For a meet farewell to the earth, Elijah will go visit these places before his departure: these were in his way. Of any part of the earth, these were nearest unto heaven.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2–3 Elijah said unto Elisha: this he desires, either,
Elijah said unto Elisha: this he desires, either,
1. That he, being left alone, might better prepare himself for his great change. Or,
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2. Out of his humility and modesty; he desired no witnesses of his glorious removal, and no fame and glory from it. Or,
3. Out of indulgence to Elisha, that he might not be overwhelmed with grief at so sad a sight. Or,
4. That he might try his love, and whet his desire to accompany him; it being highly convenient for God’s honour, and the church’s good, (which Elijah sought above all things,) that there should be witnesses of so glorious a translation.
The Lord hath sent me to Beth-el; which was truth, but not the whole truth; for he was to go a far longer journey. But he was first to go to Beth-el, as also to Jericho, to the schools of the prophets there, that he might comfort and strengthen their hearts in God’s work, and give them his last and dying counsels.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 Elijah's times, and the events concerning him, are as…
Elijah's times, and the events concerning him, are as little dated as those of any great man in scripture; we are not told of his age, nor in what year of Ahab's reign he first appeared, nor in what year of Joram's he disappeared, and therefore cannot conjecture how long he flourished; it is supposed about twenty years in all. Here we are told,
I. That God had determined to take him up into heaven by a whirlwind, Kg2 2:1. He would do it, and it is probable let him know of his purpose some time before, that he would shortly take him from the world, not by death, but translate him body and soul to heaven, as Enoch was, only causing him to undergo such a change as would be necessary to the qualifying of him to be an inhabitant in that world of spirits, and such as those shall undergo who will be found alive at Christ's coming. It is not for us to say why God would put such a peculiar honour upon Elijah above any other of the prophets; he was a man subject to like passions as we are, knew sin, and yet never tasted death. Wherefore is he thus dignified, thus distinguished, as a man whom the Kings of kings did delight to honour? We may suppose that herein, 1. God looked back upon his past services, which were eminent and extraordinary, and intended a recompence for those and an encouragement to the sons of the prophets to tread in the steps of his zeal and faithfulness, and, whatever it cost them, to witness against the corruptions of the age they lived in. 2. He looked down upon the present dark and degenerate state of the church, and would thus give a very sensible proof of another life after this, and draw the hearts of the faithful few upward towards himself, and that other life. 3. He looked forward to the evangelical dispensation, and, in the translation of Elijah, gave a type and figure of the ascension of Christ and the opening of the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Elijah had, by faith and prayer, conversed much with heaven, and now he is taken thither, to assure us that if we have our conversation in heaven, while we are here on earth, we shall be there shortly, the soul shall (and that is the man) be happy there, there for ever.
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II. That Elisha had determined, as long as he continued on earth to cleave to him, and not to leave him. Elijah seemed desirous to shake him off, would have had him stay behind at Gilgal, at Bethel, at Jericho, Kg2 2:2, Kg2 2:4, Kg2 2:6. Some think out of humility; he knew what glory God designed for him, but would not seem to glory in it, nor desired it should be seen of men (God's favourites covet not to have it proclaimed before them that they are so, as the favourites of earthly princes do), or rather it was to try him, and make his constant adherence to him the more commendable, like Naomi's persuading Ruth to go back. In vain does Elijah entreat him to tarry here and tarry there; he resolves to tarry nowhere behind his master, till he goes to heaven, and leaves him behind on this earth. "Whatever comes of it, I will not leave thee;" and why so? Not only because he loved him, but, 1. Because he desired to be edified by his holy heavenly converse as long as he staid on earth; it had always been profitable, but, we may suppose, was now more so than ever. We should do all the spiritual good we can one to another, and get all we can one by another, while we are together, because we are to be together but a little while. 2. Because he desired to be satisfied concerning his departure, and to see him when he was taken up, that his faith might be confirmed and his acquaintance with the invisible world increased. He had long followed Elijah, and he would not leave him now when he hoped for the parting blessing. Let not those that follow Christ come short by tiring at last.
III. That Elijah, before his departure, visited the schools of the prophets and took leave of them. It seems that there were such schools in many of the cities of Israel, probably even in Samaria itself. Here we find sons of the prophets, and considerable numbers of them, even at Bethel, where one of the calves was set up, and at Jericho, which was lately built in defiance of a divine curse. At Jerusalem, and in the kingdom of Judah, they had priests and Levites, and the temple-service, the want of which, in the kingdom of Israel, God graciously made up by those colleges, where men were trained up and employed in the exercises of religion and devotion, and whither good people resorted to solemnize the appointed feasts with praying and hearing, when they had not conveniences for sacrifice or incense, and thus religion was kept up in a time of general apostasy. Much of God was among these prophets, and more were the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife. None of all the high priests were comparable to those two great men Elijah and Elisha, who, for aught we know, never attended in the temple at Jerusalem. These seminaries of religion and virtue, which Elijah, it is probable, had been instrumental to found, he now visits, before his departure, to instruct, encourage, and bless them. Note, Those that are going to heaven themselves ought to be concerned for those they leave behind them on earth, and to leave with them their experiences, testimonies, counsels, and prayers, Pe2 1:15. When Christ said, with triumph, Now I am no more in the world, he added, with tenderness, But these are. Father, keep them.
IV. That the sons of the prophets had intelligence (either from Elijah himself, or by the spirit of prophecy in some of their own society), or suspected by the solemnity of Elijah's farewell, that he was now shortly to be removed; and, 1. They told Elisha of it, both at Bethel (Kg2 2:3) and at Jericho (Kg2 2:5): Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? This they said, not as upbraiding him with his loss, or expecting that when his master was gone he would be upon the level with them, but to show how full they were of the thoughts of this matter and big with expectation of the event, and to admonish Elisha to prepare for the loss. Know we not that our nearest relations, and dearest friends, must shortly be taken from us? The Lord will take them; we lose them not till he calls for them whose they are, and who taketh away and none can hinder him. He takes away superiors from our head, inferiors from our feet, equals from our arms; let us therefore carefully do the duty of every relation, that we may reflect upon it with comfort when it comes to be dissolved. Elisha knew it too well, and sorrow had filled his heart upon this account (as the disciples in a like case, Joh 16:6), and therefore he did not need to be told of it, did not care for hearing of it, and would not be interrupted in his contemplations on this great concern, or in the least diverted from his attendance upon his master. I know it; hold you your peace. He speaks not this peevishly, or in contempt of the sons of the prophets, but as one that was himself and would have them composed and sedate, and with an awful silence expecting the event: I know it; be silent, Zac 2:13. 2. They went themselves to be witnesses of it at a distance, though they might not closely attend (Kg2 2:7): Fifty of them stood to view afar off, intending to satisfy their curiosity, but God so ordered it that they might be eye-witnesses of the honour heaven did to that prophet, who was despised and rejected of men. God's works are well worthy our notice; when a door is opened in heaven the call is, Come up hither, come and see.
V. That the miraculous dividing of the river Jordan was the preface to Elijah's translation into the heavenly Canaan, as it had been to the entrance of Israel into the earthly Canaan, Kg2 2:8. He must go on to the other side Jordan to be translated, because it was his native country, and that he might be near the place where Moses died, and that thus honour might be put on that part of the country which was most despised. he and Elisha might have gone over Jordan by a ferry, as other passengers did, but God would magnify Elijah in his exit, as he did Joshua in his entrance, by the dividing of this river, Jos 3:7. As Moses with his rod divided the sea, so Elijah with his mantle divided Jordan, both being the insignia - the badges of their office. These waters of old yielded to the ark, now to the prophet's mantle, which, to those that wanted the ark was an equivalent token of God's presence. When God will take up his faithful ones to heaven death is the Jordan which, immediately before their translation, they must pass through, and they find a way through it, as safe and comfortable way; the death of Christ has divided those waters, that the ransomed of the Lord may pass over. O death! where is thy sting, thy hurt, thy terror?
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–6 And it came to pass, when the Lord would…
And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind,.... Thereby lifting him up from the earth, and which, as it was the purpose and will of God, Elijah had notice of, as appears by his motions to different places, under a divine direction:
that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal, where it seems they met, a place where the Israelites first pitched when they came over Jordan, and where the tabernacle was for some time, and was famous for religious services, see Jos 4:19.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Elisha keeps close to Elijah, and walks with him…
Elisha keeps close to Elijah, and walks with him through Jordan, ver. 1-8. Elijah is taken up, and Elisha laments the loss of him, ver. 9-12. He divides Jordan, ver. 13, 14. Is acknowledged by the sons of the prophets, ver. 15. Who send to seek Elijah, ver. 16-18. Elisha heals the unwholesome waters, ver. 19-22. Destroys the mocking children, ver. 23-25
About to take, &c. - It is supposed, (tho' not expressly revealed) that Elijah flourished about twenty years, before he was translated, body and soul, to heaven, only undergoing such a change, as was necessary to qualify him for being an inhabitant in that world of Spirits. By translating him, God gave in that dark and degenerate age, a very sensible proof of another life, together with a type of the ascension of Christ, and the opening of the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Elijah, about to be taken up to heaven, goes…
CHAPTER II
Elijah, about to be taken up to heaven, goes in company with
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Elisha from Gilgal to Beth-el, 1, 2.
Thence to Jericho, 3-5.
And thence to Jordan, 6, 7.
Elijah smites the waters with his mantle; they divide, and he
and Elisha pass over on dry ground, 8.
Elijah desires Elisha to ask what he should do for him; who
requests a double portion of his spirit, which is promised on
a certain condition, 9, 10.
A chariot and horses of fire descend; and Elijah mounts, and
ascends by a whirlwind to heaven, 11.
Elisha gets his mantle, comes back to Jordan, smites the waters
with it, and they divide, and he goes over, 12-14.
The sons of the prophets see that the spirit of Elijah rests on
Elisha, 15.
They propose to send fifty men to seek Elijah, supposing the
Spirit of the Lord might have cast him on some mountain or
valley; after three days' search, they return not having found
him, 16-18.
The people of Jericho apply to Elisha to heal their unwholesome
water, 19.
He casts salt into the spring in the name of Jehovah, and the
water becomes wholesome, 20-22.
Forty-two young persons of Bethel, mocking him, are slain by
two she-bears, 23, 24.
He goes to Carmel, and returns to Samaria, 25.
NOTES ON CHAP. II
Verse 1. When the Lord would take up Elijah] It appears that God had revealed this intended translation, not only to Elijah himself, but also to Elisha, and to the schools of the prophets, both at Beth-el and Jericho, so that they were all expecting this solemn event.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1–5 2Ki 2:1. When the Lord would take up Elijah…
2Ki 2:1. When the Lord would take up Elijah — It is supposed, though not expressly revealed, that Elijah flourished about twenty years, before he was translated, body and soul, to heaven, only undergoing such a change as was necessary to qualify him for being an inhabitant in that world of spirits. By translating him, God gave, in that dark and degenerate age, as, in a similar age he had given by the translation of Enoch, a very sensible proof of another life, together with a type of the ascension of Christ, and the opening the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–3 The events of this chapter are related out of…
The events of this chapter are related out of their chronological order. Elijah’s translation did not take place until after the accession of Jehoram in Judah 2Ch 21:12, which was not until the fifth year of Jehoram of Israel 2Ki 8:16. The writer of Kings, having concluded his notices of the ministry of Elijah in chapter 1, and being about to pass in 2 Kings 3 to the ministry of Elisha, thought it best to insert at this point the final scene of Elijah’s life, though it did not occur until several years later.
Gilgal - The modern Jiljilieh, on the highland between Nablous and Beitin (Bethel), about eight and a half miles from the latter, is now commonly supposed to be the Gilgal here mentioned. Some regard it as the ordinary residence of Elisha 2Ki 4:38.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 5, 6 Heaven. By heaven here is meant, the air, the…
Heaven. By heaven here is meant, the air, the lowest of the heavenly regions, (Challoner) through which he was carried by the ministry of angels, who directed the storm, (Haydock ) to the place designed for him. --- It is generally supposed to be Paradise, (Calmet) whither Henoch had been translated. (Haydock) --- They are still living, (Calmet) and must come again, to invite all to repent. After which they will die martyrs, in the persecution of Antichrist. (Haydock) --- See St. Augustine, de Gen. ad lit. ix. 6., and Apocalypse xi. (Worthington) --- Ecclesiasticus xlviii. 10. (Menochius) --- They are a proof of a future resurrection. (Calmet) --- To decide where the paradise which they inhabit, (Haydock) is situated. would be rash. (St. Chrysostom, hom. 21. in Gen. &c.) Some suppose it is still in some unknown region of the earth: others place it above the sky, (Menochius) or in the bosom of Abraham. (Calmet) --- The Jews (following Munster) assert that Elias penetrated the sphere of fire, where his body was consumed. (Vatable) --- The earthly paradise is very probably no longer existing, in its ancient luxuriant state. (Haydock) --- It may now be covered with the waters of the Persian Gulf. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 B.—Elijah’s departure and Elisha’s first appearance as Prophet
B.—Elijah’s departure and Elisha’s first appearance as Prophet
2Ki_2:1-25
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1And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. 3And the sons [pupils] of the prophets that were at Beth-el 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. 4And 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. 5And 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. 6And 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. 7And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view [over against them] afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. 8And 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. 9And 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. 10And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing [to obtain, Bähr]: 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. 11And 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 [towards] heaven. And Elisha saw it, 12and he cried, My father, my father, the [thou, omit the] chariot of Israel, and the [omit the] horsemen thereof! And he saw him no more: and so he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
13[Then] He took up also [omit also] the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; 14And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah [even He]? And when he also [omit also] had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went o2 Kings 2Ki_2:15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view [omit to view] at Jericho saw him [from the opposite side],1 they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. 16And 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,2 or into some valley.2 And he said, Ye shall not send. 17And when they urged him till he was ashamed [to refuse them, Bähr], he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. 18And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?
19And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation [inhabiting]3 of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught 20[bad], and the ground barren [the locality causes barrenness].3 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. 21And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land [barrenness, omit land].4 22So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.
23And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children [young persons] out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. 25And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
2Ki_2:1. And it came to pass, when, &c. The following event certainly belongs to the time after the death of Ahaziah (2Ki_1:17), and probably to the beginning of the reign of Jehoram, for in the 19th verse the public activity of Elisha begins, i.e., that is the time when he stepped into the place of Elijah, and stood at the head of the prophets. The war with the Moabites, in which Elisha assumes so important a position (cf. chap. 3), must have begun soon after Jehoram’s succession to the throne (2Ki_1:1). The letter which came into the hands of Jehoram from Elijah, according to 2Ch_21:12, proves nothing to the contrary (see below, Historical, § 3, b).—On בְּהַעֲלוֹת see notes on 2Ki_2:11. The first half of the verse forms the title of the entire passage.—Gilgal cannot here be a place between Jericho and the Jordan (Jos_4:19; Jos_5:10), for Elijah and Elisha went down from there to Bethel (וַיֵּרְדוּ), and came from Bethel to Jericho. It is rather, as in Deu_11:30, the place known now as Jiljilia, which was on an elevated site, southwest of Seilun (Shiloh), near to the road leading from the latter place to Jericho (cf. Thenius and Keil on the passage; Raumer, Paläst. s. 155). This Gilgal, which lay in Ephraim, and not the one in Judah, is the one referred to also by the prophets Amos (2Ki_4:4) and Hosea (2Ki_4:15) who mention it, together with Bethel, as chief seat of the false worship of Jehovah. Probably it was precisely on this account that schools of the prophets were founded there, which should counteract the error.
2Ki_2:2. And Elijah said, &c. It was known not only to Elijah himself (2Ki_2:9), but also to Elisha (2Ki_2:3), and to the “sons of the prophets” at Bethel and Jericho (2Ki_2:3; 2Ki_2:5), that the time of his departure was come. Evidently the object of his visit to the three schools of the prophets, one after another, was to see them once more before his departure, and to warn and strengthen them. Keil, following the older expositors, says: “The Lord had revealed to both (Elijah and Elisha) that the seal of the divine ratification should be set to the work of Elijah by his miraculous translation to heaven,.… but to each of them separately, so that Elijah did not surmise that Elisha was aware that he was to be taken away. For this reason he wished to separate himself from his servant, not in order to test his love and attachment (Vatablus), but from humility (Corn. a Lapide, and others). He did not wish to have any witness of his glorification, without being fully satisfied that such was the divine will.… His ascension had been revealed to the disciples of the prophets also…. He took this road (to Bethel and Jericho) by the direction of the Divine Spirit,.… without supposing that they (the disciples of the prophets in those places) had been informed of his approaching departure from this life by the Spirit of God. God had revealed it to so many in order that they might be established in their calling by the miraculous glorification of their master, still more than by his words and teachings and warnings.” But the most important considerations are opposed to this very common conception of the passage. In the first place, the assertion that a divine revelation had given, not only to Elijah, but also to Elisha, and to the disciples of the prophets at Bethel and Jericho, information of the approaching ascension of the first, is a pure hypothesis: the text knows nothing of it, and even any remote hint of it is wanting. To pass over that, however, in the second place, no analogy can be found in the Scriptures for any such thing as that different persons, nay, even entire communities, in different places, at one and the same time, received the same divine revelation; and no one of these persons surmised that the same thing had happened to others. Thirdly, the disciples of the prophets at Jericho would never have urged so perseveringly upon Elisha, after his return, to allow fifty men to seek for the departed master on the mountains and in the valleys (2Ki_2:16-18), if they had been informed in regard to Elijah’s ascension into heaven by a divine revelation. We are therefore compelled to conceive of the event, we might almost say, more simply and naturally. As concerns Elijah himself, he knew, of course, that the time of his departure was come, and that the Lord was going to take him away; the manner in which he would be taken, however, he did not know, nor did he say a syllable about it; especially he did not know, as Krummacher affirms, that “the horses of fire and the chariot of flame were already standing behind the clouds ready to come for him,” and that he “should ride, in a few days, past Orion and the Pleiades, on a gleaming road, far above the sun and the moon, and away through the veil into the divine sanctuary.” Still less did Elisha and the disciples of the prophets know it. In the 3d and 5th verses the latter only say that “now” (הַיּוֹם does not mean here “to-day,” but as in 1Sa_12:17; 2Ki_4:8; Job_1:6, at this time) Elijah is going to be taken away from them and from Elisha; even this they could only know from Elijah himself. For Elijah had no reason for wishing to conceal his departure from Elisha; on the contrary, he must have felt himself driven to make it known to him, since Elisha was now to step into his place and be his successor. Neither did he conceal it from the disciples of the prophets; for his visit to them had for its chief object to take leave of them. He simply did not wish that his departure should be much spoken of, and still less would he permit that any one should be a witness of it; therefore he urged Elisha himself to remain behind. This he did, however, not “from humility,” in view of his approaching glorification, but “because he was uncertain whether it was agreeable to God that Elisha should go with him; cf. 2Ki_2:10” (Thenius). Only when Elisha would not allow himself to be held back, and had declared earnestly three times over (cf. the similar triple repetition, Joh_21:15 sq.) that he would not leave him until the final moment—only when he had thus stood the trial of his unchangeable fidelity and perseverance, and thus maintained himself as competent and fit to carry on the office of prophet, did Elijah yield his scruples, and allow Elisha to accompany him. (Cf. in general on the verse the apt remarks of Vilmar, Pastoraltheol. Blätter, 1862, s. 234.)
2Ki_2:3. And the sons of the Prophets…. came forth, &c. [The בְּנֵי־הַנְּבִיאִים are the pupils or disciples of the prophets; not necessarily their sons in a literal sense, though they probably were such in very many cases.—W. G. S.] This does not mean: “In Bethel, the disciples of the prophets came to meet Elisha, with the information, ‘Knowest thou?’ &c.” (Keil), but that after Elijah had come with Elisha to Bethel (2Ki_2:2), in order to take his leave there also, the disciples of the prophets came forth with them, that is, accompanied them, and said to Elisha: “Dost thou also ponder,” &c.? In like manner they were accompanied by those of Jericho (ver 7). [This explanation does violence to the meaning of the preposition אֶל, which never contains any idea of accompaniment, above all with a verb of motion; moreover, 2Ki_2:7 is not the parallel, but 2Ki_2:5. וַיֵּצאוּ אֶל can only mean “They came forth to” (cf. Gen_19:6), and it is stated that they came forth to “Elisha,” which certainly seems to imply that they already had heard of the expected event. זַיִּגְּשׁוּ אֶל, 2Ki_2:5. is less certain. It might mean that as they were all standing in a group, and after Elijah had declared that he had come to them for the last time, some of them approached Elisha. The objection taken to the theory of independent revelations is, however, a just one, and must be maintained, even if we cannot fix definitely the details of the occurrence which the words refer to. Many hypotheses suggest themselves, as, for instance, that Elijah went on to the schools of the prophets in the first place alone, and that they then “came forth to Elisha.”—W. G. S.] לָקַח מֵעַל רֹאשֶׁךָ, according to Keil, “expresses graphically the removal from his side by elevation into heaven.” Thenius also says, following Böttcher: “Nihil aliud nisi viam modumque tollendi pingit: away off above thine head.” [So also Bunsen.] It is very improbable, however, in the first place, that the disciples of the prophets, at Bethel as well as at Jericho, should have expressed themselves “graphically,” independently of one another, and just on this occasion. The words מֵעַל רֹאשֶׁךָ are equivalent to מֵעִמָּךְ and מֵאִתָּךְ, which are used by Elijah, in 2Ki_2:9-10, for the same idea, i.e., literally, “from with you,” the sense being “out of connection or companionship with you,” except that the first form hints at the nature of this connection more distinctly than the others. Luther, in a marginal gloss on the passage, says: “To be at the head is to be master and teacher; to be at the feet is to be pupil and subject. For when the teacher teaches he sits in a more elevated position than the pupils, so that he has them at his feet, and they have him at their head. Therefore St. Paul says (Act_22:3), that he had learned the law at the feet of Gamaliel.” (Cf. Schöttgen, Hor. Hebr. on this passage.) Elisha is the disciple of Elijah; the latter is his “master,” as he is called here. The words, “The Lord will take away thy master from thy head,” do not therefore mean, He will cause Elijah to arise away above thy head towards heaven, but, He will take him away from thy head, i.e., break up the relationship which has existed hitherto between you, as pupil and master, and as thy chief thou wilt lose him. (מֵעַל is used as in Gen_48:17; Amo_7:11.) When the words are thus taken, each gets its full force, and it is easy to see why both the disciples at Bethel and those at Jericho put the question to Elisha, “Knowest thou?” &c. The separation touched Elisha nearest of all, and was more important for him than for any of the rest. The question signifies: Knowest and considerest thou also, that thou wilt now lose the master whose servant and disciple thou art (1Ki_19:21)? What will become of us when thy guide and ours is gone? The answer of Elisha, which would otherwise be obscure and difficult, is then appropriate to this question: “Yea, I know it,” i.e., Alas! I know it and consider it well, even as ye do. When he then adds, “Hold ye your peace,” he does not mean to say: Tell no one that he is now going to ascend into heaven, in order that there may be no concourse of people (Clericus, J. Lange), nor: Speak no further of it, for Elijah, on account of his modesty and humility, does not wish that much should be said of his glorification (Seb. Smith, Keil), but: Compose yourselves, yield to the will of Jehovah; do not sadden my heart now that I am about to lose my beloved master and lord. [Bunsen.]
2Ki_2:7. And fifty men of the sons, &c. As Elijah and Elisha departed in the direction of the Jordan, a band of prophets followed them at a distance, and remained standing at a point (probably on an elevation) from which they could see “whether and in what way the departing ones would get over the Jordan at a place where there was no arrangement for crossing” (Hess, Thenius); that is to say, they followed, out of sympathy and anxiety, and not “that they might be eyewitnesses of the removal of their master” (Keil), for, according to 2Ki_2:10, it was not certain that even Elisha, who accompanied him, would see this. They were witnesses only of that which is narrated in 2Ki_2:8. The manner of crossing the Jordan must have reminded them involuntarily of Exo_14:16 (cf. Jos_4:23). As once Moses struck the water and divided it, in the presence of the whole people, with his staff, which was the insigne of his office as teacher, and is called the “rod of God” (Exo_17:9), whereby he was confirmed and accredited as chief, so Elijah, the second Moses, here strikes the water, and divides it in the presence of the band of the prophets, with his mantle, the sign of his prophetical calling (1Ki_19:19), an action which confirms him, before the disciples of the prophets, just as he is leaving them, in his position as chief of the prophets. He folds or rolls the mantle together, possibly in order to give it at the same time the appearance of a staff, for in other cases the water is always struck with a staff (Isa_11:4; Isa_10:24; Num_20:11). [The first two passages cited refer to a beating with a rod as punishment or correction, and the third to the smiting of the rock to make water come out. There is no ground for supposing that the words in the text have any further significance than such a folding as would make the mantle convenient to handle in smiting the water.—W. G. S.] However, the very fact that he makes use of the prophet’s mantle instead of making use of the staff, makes the action a distinctly prophetical, i.e., symbolical one. The miraculous power is no more attached, in any magical way, to the mantle than to the staff; but it is the prophetical calling which God has armed with such power for the attainment of His ends, as was shown immediately afterwards in the case of the successor and representative of Elijah (cf. 2Ki_2:14; 2Ki_2:19 sq.).
2Ki_2:9. And it came to pass when they were gone over, &c. The command of Elijah: “Ask,” &c., and the reply of Elisha, “Let a double portion,” &c., are to be explained by their relation to one another, which was not so much that of a master to his servant or of a teacher to his disciple, as rather that of a (spiritual) father to his son (2Ki_2:12). Elisha had maintained his attachment, love, and fidelity to the very end, in that he would not quit Elijah; and now the latter treats him as a dying father would (Gen_27:4), and says: “If thou hast yet any wish in thine heart, tell it to me;” he is ready to grant him the blessing of a father and of a prophet. Elisha answers as son to father: “I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me!” According to the law (Deu_21:17), the first-born son received, of what the father left behind, פִּי שְׁנַיִם, i.e. two parts, twice as much as the other sons received. According to this analogy, Elisha begs that Elijah will regard him as his first-born, and will give to him, as compared with the other sons of the prophets, a richer measure of his (prophetic) spirit, that is to say, of that רוּחַ, which is the condition of all prophetical activity, whether in word or deed, and which is not only a spirit of knowledge and wisdom, but also of strength and power (Isa_11:2). The translation of the words of Elisha, “That thy spirit may be doubled in me.” (Luther, following the Sept. and Vulg.), is unquestionably false. Still this interpretation is found again and again in modern expositions. Krummacher even asserts, as a result of this interpretation, that the spirit of Elisha, as an evangelical (?) spirit, was certainly twice as great as the spirit of Elijah, which was Mosaic and legal. If this had been the prayer of Elisha, however, it would have been, not only in the highest degree immodest, but also incomprehensible, since Elijah could not give more than he himself had. Elisha did not wish to be more or greater than his master and lord. He only desired so much as was necessary for him, in order that he might be that to which Elijah had destined him, namely, the one who should succeed to his place as leader of the prophets. Menken’s interpretation of the words of Elijah is also a mistake, i.e., that Elisha should give him a commission for the other world, and beg for himself some service there, where the Lord would not refuse Elijah any request he might make on behalf of his faithful servant. Not to notice other objections, Elijah says: “Ask what I can do for you before I be taken away,” and not when I am in heaven. Neither can this place, therefore, by any means be cited as a support of the Roman Catholic dogma of the effectual mediation of the saints in heaven, as is often done.—Elijah means to say, by the words in 2Ki_2:10 : Thou hast prayed for something which it is not in my power, nor in that of any man, to give, but only in the power of God; if it is granted to thee alone, of all the sons of the prophets, to remain with me until my removal, and to be a witness of it, then thou mayest know, by this fact, that thou art to continue the prophetical work, which I have begun, and which I must now abandon, and then shalt thou also receive that measure of the prophetical spirit of which thou hast need for this work.
2Ki_2:11. And it came to pass, as they still went on, &c. The verse is generally translated as it is by Luther, “Behold! there came a chariot of fire and horses of fire,.… and so Elijah rode, in a whirlwind, towards heaven.” This is then understood to mean, that a fiery chariot with fiery horses attached to it came, and that it received Elijah and took him to heaven. According to that, Elijah really “rode” into heaven, as indeed we find it often represented, especially in pictures. This conception of the event has struck such deep root that people scarcely inquire whether the text really justifies it or not. It is especially welcome to those who explain the story of Elijah as myth and poetry, because, as they think, such an ascension would remove all doubt as to the mythical character of the narrative. Here it is necessary, before all else, to take the words of the text accurately, and not to add or fill out anything which is not absolutely demanded. In the first place, the text knows nothing whatever of a fiery chariot, with fiery horses attached, but only says: “Behold! chariot of fire and horses of fire!” Then it does not say that Elijah mounted into this literal chariot, as it is supposed to be, and rode in it towards heaven, but the עָלָה took place “in a whirlwind” (בַּסְעָרָה), and not in the chariot. Still further הַשָּׁמָיִם does not mean: up into heaven, but: towards or in the direction of heaven, heavenwards; especially when it is used with עָלָה (Jdg_20:40; Psa_107:26; Jer_51:53). Finally, עָלָה is not ride, but go up, in the sense of disappear [like the German aufgehen, it is used in the sense of come to an end, disappear, be consumed.—W. G. S.], see Jdg_20:40 : “The entire city [E. V. has, incorrectly, “the flame of the city”] עָלָה הַשָּׁמָיְמָה, arose towards heaven, i.e., disappeared, was consumed by the fire. Also, Eze_11:24 : “So the vision that I had seen (וַיַּעַל) went up from me,” i.e., it disappeared (Vulg.: et sublata est a me visio); it was taken away. In the hifil (2Ki_2:1) it means exactly tollere, auferre, take away, as, for instance, in Psa_102:25 : “Take me away in the midst of my days,” cf. Job_5:26; Job_36:20; Amo_3:5. Furthermore, the word עֹלָה is the name of the burnt offering, because it, in distinction from the other sacrifices, disappears entirely—is completely consumed by the fire. The clearest proof that the word here has the signification, take away, remove, is the fact that the disciples of the prophets, as well as Elisha himself, always make use of the word לָקַח, and not of עָלָה, when speaking of Elijah’s removal (2Ki_2:3; 2Ki_2:5; 2Ki_2:9-10), and say nothing of any taking up into heaven. It is not possible, therefore, that עָלָה should signify something altogether different from לָקַח here. Precisely this latter word is used, Gen_5:24, in reference to Enoch: “And he was not (וְאֵינֶנּוּ, i.e., he disappeared suddenly, and left no trace behind, Job_7:8; cf. Delitsch on Heb_11:5. Luther: ‘He was seen no more’); for God took him (לָקַח).” The removal is therefore the main point; and it is only stated here in addition—which is not done in the case of Enoch—in what way the removal took place, viz.: בַּסְעָרָה, in the whirlwind; and besides, הַשָּׁמָיִם, towards heaven. סְעָרָה signifies not only “the rapidity of the elevation” (Thenius), but also a storm, combined with thunder, dark clouds, wind, and fire (Isa_29:6; Eze_1:4; Eze_13:11; Eze_13:13; Psa_107:25). Through such a storm, then, Elijah was separated from Elisha, and removed heavenwards. Now when Elisha sees, in this fiery storm-cloud, “chariot and horses” of fire, that does not mean to say that he saw a literal chariot and literal horses. On the contrary, he recognized, in the fiery appearance, that which “chariot and horses” signify. According to the usage of the Old Testament language, these things, as the principal means of protection and defence of a people against foreign aggression, are the representation of its might and strength, of its glory and fearfulness (cf. Isa_31:1 sq.; Isa_36:9; Exo_14:9; Exo_14:17; Deu_20:1; 1Ki_10:29). They art also ascribed to Jehovah, and then they are an indication of His great might, majesty, and glory, with which He conquers and annihilates His opponents, but protects and saves His own. Thus Habakkuk: “Was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?” Also Isaiah (Isa_66:15): “For behold the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots, like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.” Cf. also Psa_104:3 : “Who maketh the clouds his chariots.” That we have here also to think of the chariot and horses of Jehovah, is shown by the אֵשׁ which occurs with both words, for fire is the well-known form of theophany in the Old Testament (Exo_24:17; Deu_9:3 sq.; Psa_1:3; Isa_29:6; Eze_1:4; Eze_1:27). Just in the same manner, the servant of Elisha, after his eyes have been opened, in accordance with the prayer of the prophet (2Ki_6:14-17), sees, opposed to the “horses and chariots” with which the Syrians had surrounded the city in which Elisha was, the whole mountain full of “horses and chariots of fire;” i.e., over-against the earthly power, he sees the infinitely greater protecting and saving might of Jehovah. The following verse (12), where Elisha calls Elijah “Chariot of Israel and Horsemen thereof,” especially supports the figurative interpretation. Recognizing the inadmissibility of the literal acceptation, which presupposes the existence of literal fiery chariots, with fiery horses attached to them, passing down from heaven and up again into heaven, in which one could ride without being burned, some expositors have understood by “chariot and horses,” as Grotius does, Angeli ea specie apparentes. “The vehicle,” says, among others, J. Lange, “or the outward sign with which Elijah rose towards heaven, was doubtless a cloud. Still, as Elijah was no doubt accompanied by an entire band of angels, as Christ was afterwards, these gave to the cloud the form of a fiery chariot and fiery horses, by virtue of the divine power and the divine will, so that the cloud took the form of a heavenly triumphant chariot.” Similarly Menken says that Elijah “was taken up by the service of angels; but that the appearance was that of a flaming chariot and flaming horses.” But the text, in this place, says not a word about angels, although, according to this view, they would be the chief agents; and although the history of Elijah makes mention of the service of angels, in other places (1Ki_19:5; 1Ki_19:7; 2Ki_1:3; 2Ki_1:15). Psa_68:17 cannot be cited to support this interpretation, for there also רֶכֶֹב is not equal to angel, but is a designation of the immeasurable and mighty war-power of Jehovah. The interpretation of Keil seems more probable: “The storm-gust is the earthly substratum of the theophany; the fiery chariot with the fiery horses is the symbolic form in which the translation of the master into heaven presents itself to Elisha, who remains behind.” The chariot and the horses would, however, in that case, hare been just as much definite and visible forms, even if symbolic ones, and we should have to suppose that Elisha saw Elijah actually in the chariot and riding in it towards heaven, of which the text knows nothing. It is not the form and outline which is symbolic, but the expression “chariot and horses of fire.” We have not to think of a “symbolic form” in 2Ki_2:11 any more than in 2Ki_2:12, when Elisha calls Elijah “Chariot of Israel and Horsemen thereof.” In this way, under a more accurate observation of the text, it is true that the supposition that Elijah rode away into heaven in a fiery chariot, drawn by fiery horses, which is still so generally adopted, is overthrown; by no means, however, is the miraculous removal or translation of Elijah overthrown: that is the main point of the narrative, with which we must satisfy ourselves, just as we must satisfy ourselves with what is said, Gen_5:24 (cf. Heb_11:5), in regard to the translation of Enoch. So Von Gerlach remarks on the passage in Genesis: “All the questions in regard to the departure of this patriarch and that of Elijah, whither they were removed? where they now are? what changes they underwent in the translation? are left unanswered by the Scriptures.” Keil also says: “All further questions, e.g., in regard to the nature of the chariot of fire and the place to which Elijah was translated,…. are to be set aside as useless subtleties concerning things which surpass the limits of our understanding.” We are only justified in thus setting them aside, however, if we have rejected the fiery horses and the fiery chariot and the ride up into heaven, which Keil does not do. It is well worth observing that the primitive church, little inclined as it was to shrink back from a miracle, still did not know anything of any heavenward ride of Elijah. The Sept. render הַשָּׁמָיִם, in 2Ki_2:1 and 2Ki_2:11, by ὡς εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, and thereby show clearly that they conceived of a raising up towards, but not into, heaven. Ephraim Syrus says, “Suddenly there came a fiery storm-gust from on high,…. and divided the two from one another; the one it left upon earth, the other, Elijah, it bore away on high: but whither the Ruach bore him, or in what place it let him down, the Scriptures do not tell us.” (Cf. Keil’s remarks on the passages.) Theodoret says: ‘Ο μέγας ’Ηλίας ἀνελήφθη μέν, ἀλλ̓ οὐκ εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, ἀλλ̓ ὡς εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν. In like manner Chrysostom, Theophylact, and Œcumenius (see the citations in Suicer, Thesaur, Ecclesiast. i. 1317). That the Jews also, before and at the time of Christ, knew nothing of an ascension of Elijah into heaven, is clear from the fact that in the great eulogy of Elijah (Sir_48:1-12), where this wonderful removal is mentioned, neither in 2Ki_2:9 nor in 2Ki_2:12 do we find εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν: Josephus, also, who narrates all the miracles in the history of Elijah, says, at length (Antiq. xi. 2, 2): ’Ηλίας ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἠφανίσφη.—καὶ οὐδεὶς ἔγνω μέχρι τῆς σήμερον αύτοῦ τὴν τελευτήν, and then he adds that the Scriptures declare of Enoch and Elijah: ὅτι γεγόνασιν ἀφανεῖς· θάνατον δὲ αὐτῶν οὐδεὶς οἶδεν. In the Scriptures themselves there is no mention whatever of the ascension of Elijah into heaven, not even in Hebrews 11. where we should most expect it. Now if this ascension was, as is asserted, “one of the most glorious, significant, and joyful events which the world, before the time of Christ, had seen” (Krummacher), how does it happen that, however often mention may be made of Elijah, just this event, which is asserted to be the most important in his career, remains utterly unmentioned? Kurtz (in Herzog’s Encyclop. iii. s. 758) asserts indeed that “as regards the ascension of Elijah, all those who are not ready to look upon the gospel history as a collection of myths will be compelled to adopt the opinion which regards this as an historical event, for the Transfiguration of Christ, Matthew 17, can only be maintained as a fact if 2 Kings 2 is also a fact; the one narrative stands of falls with the other.” This conclusion, however, is incorrect; for, if Elijah could only appear in and at the Transfiguration of Christ, because he had ascended into heaven, then Moses also, who appears with him, must have ascended into heaven, of which there is not the least mention, either in Deu_34:5 sq. or anywhere else. [A general protest should also be raised against the last clause of this opinion of Kurtz. The mode of defending a disputed point by connecting it with some other very important and generally accepted one, and then asserting that they stand or fall together, is very often adopted, but it is on every account to be condemned. It is not a sound method of procedure either according to logic or history, and it is fatal to all exegetical science.—W. G. S.]
2Ki_2:12. And Elisha saw it, &c, i.e., that Elijah “was miraculously carried away” (Keil). By the words: “My father, my father!” Elisha expresses what the departing one was for himself (see 2Ki_2:9), and by the words: “Thou chariot of Israel and horsemen thereof!” what he was for the whole nation. King Joash makes use of the same figurative expression in 2Ki_13:14, in regard to Elisha. It does not mean “that Elijah had been the protection and help of Israel even in war” (Calwer Bibel), but “Elijah is thereby designated as the one in whom consisted that true defence of Israel, which far surpassed its physical strength.” (Thenius.) See notes on 2Ki_2:11. Elijah was the might for war and the strength for defence of Israel, especially in so far as he defended it against its greatest and most dangerous enemy, who threatened it with ruin—against the intruding idolatry, with which he struggled victoriously. The exclamation stands, as was noted above, in unmistakable connection with the words “chariot of fire and horses of fire.” If this is a designation of the protecting, saving, and conquering might of Jehovah, then it was very natural to call the great prophet, who had maintained himself, in all his career, as an instrument of this power in its dealings with Israel, “the Chariot of Israel and the Horsemen thereof.” If, on the other hand, this fiery phenomenon which separated the two prophets from one another had had the form and figure of a chariot drawn by horses, which was intended to bring Elijah to heaven, it would be inexplicable how a mere equipage, even if it were ever so wonderful a one, could have led Elisha to call his departing master a “Chariot.” Elijah’s whole nature was fiery and energetic: “He burst forth like a fire, and his word burned like a torch,.… thrice brought he down fire” (Sir_48:1; Sir_48:3). To this the mode of his removal in the fiery whirlwind corresponded, and it was, as it were, the divine seal upon his entire career; so that he stands, for all coming time (εἰς καιρούς, Sir_48:10), as the man of the fiery jealousy of God.—And he saw him no more; that is, he did not see how Elijah rode into heaven in a fiery chariot, but from the moment when the fiery blast, the storm-cloud, separated them from one another, he saw him no more: ἐν λαίλαπι ἐσκεπάσθη (Sir_48:12), he disappeared suddenly from his eyes, became ἀφανής. Then Elisha rent his garments, and that too “in two pieces,” i.e., from top to bottom, as a sign of the greatest grief and the deepest sorrow. If he had been a witness of the “triumphal entry” of his master into heaven, as it has been often supposed that he was, he would have had more cause to rejoice than to rend his clothes for grief; his feelings were by no means joyous, they were rather in the highest degree sad.
2Ki_2:13. He took up also the mantle, &c. The mantle is here, as in 2Ki_2:8, the insigne of the office of the prophetical leader. When Elijah chose Elisha as his successor he threw this mantle upon him (1Ki_19:19). Now, however, he leaves it to him as a bequest and sign that his prayer in 2Ki_2:10 is fulfilled, and that he must now undertake the leadership of the prophets. He returns with this symbol in his possession, and, when he arrives at the Jordan, has to make the trial whether the power itself has been granted him together with the symbol. As Elijah had done in passing over the Jordan, he also strikes the water with the mantle, and says: Where is the Lord God of Elijah, even He? Jer_2:6; Jer_2:8, where the severest charge against the people, and especially against the priests and teachers, is, that they have not asked the question אַיֵּה יְהוָֹה, “Where is Jehovah?” but have turned away from Him, shows that this was not a question of doubt or imperfect faith. On the contrary, Elisha presents a prayer, full of faith and confidence, to Jehovah, in the more emphatic form of a question: “Thou God of Elijah, if Thou art also mine, and if I am Thy servant according to Thy will and command as he was, then let this become evident by granting that that may take place at my word which Thou grantedst should come to pass at his”(Menken). The massoretic punctuation separates the words אַף־הוּא from the question, and joins them with the following sentence. Accordingly De Wette translates: “Also he (as Elijah had done before) smote the water,” [and Bunsen: “Also when he smote the water;”] and Ewald: “Hardly had he smitten the water, when it divided again.” But the ו before יכה is a bar to this interpretation, and אַף nowhere has the meaning of “hardly.” [Apparently feeling the force of this latter objection, Ewald, ed. 7. s. 853, note, changes אַף to אַךְ. The reading of the E. V. agrees with that of De Wette and Bunsen.—W. G. S.] Böttcher and Thenius following Houbigant wish to read אֶפוֹא: “Where is now Jehovah, the God of Elijah?” This reading, however, is entirely without authority, and the position of the word at the end of the question is also against it. The Sept. render it meaninglessly by the same sounds in Greek letters: ἀφφώ. We take אַף here as in Pro_22:19, (where Gesenius translates: doceo te, te inquam,) that is to say, even He; He, I say. (So also Keil [and Scott].) The Vulg. has in 2Ki_2:14 : et percussit aquas, et non sunt divisœ. Et dixit: ubi est Deus Eliœ etiam nunc? percussitque aquas et divisœ sunt. The Complutensian edition of the Sept. has the addition: καὶ οὐ διηρήθη, following which Theodoret and, later, Dathe explain the verse thus: that Elisha considered the mantle of Elijah capable of working miracles, and, in the first place, struck the water with it, without saying anything; but that, as this was unsuccessful, he called upon the God of his master complainingly. It is evident, however, that the addition is only an explanatory gloss, occasioned by the repetition of וַיַּכֶּה, which does not, however, indicate any repetition of the act of striking.
2Ki_2:15. And when the sons of the Prophets, &c. They saw Elisha come back alone, and, since he had been able to do the same as Elijah, they concluded that the רוּחַ of Elijah rested upon him, that is, that the same extraordinary power and gifts had been given to him by Jehovah, as preparation for the same calling; therefore they went to meet him and showed their respect for him. From their words in 2Ki_2:16, however, it is clear that they were uncertain whether Elijah had been “taken up” forever, or only for a time, perhaps in the manner referred to by Obadiah, 1Ki_18:12. It would have been impossible for them to speak in this way if they had had especial information, by a divine revelation, of a formal ascension of Elijah into heaven, as has been deduced from 2Ki_2:3; 2Ki_2:5. It is a supposition which cannot be maintained, that, although Elisha had no doubt narrated to them what had occurred, they still believed that “the Lord had taken his (Elijah’s) soul up into heaven, but that his earthly body had fallen down somewhere upon the earth, and that they desired to find this in order that they might show it the last honors” (Keil), for, in this case, Elisha must have answered them: I saw Elijah ride on a fiery equipage in glory into heaven; he is therefore no longer upon earth, but in heaven, as was revealed to you beforehand:—or else, what reason did he have for not saying this? Moreover their words, 2Ki_2:16, do not indicate by any means that they simply desired to find his corpse, in order to bury it. It is evident that they expected to find the living and not the dead. The fact that they insisted upon their proposition in spite of Elisha’s attempts to dissuade them shows plainly that he had not communicated anything in regard to an ascension into heaven to them. He was certain that Elijah had departed or been taken away forever. Hence he said: “Ye shall not send.” When, at length, he permits them to send, on account of their ceaseless persistency, he does so in order that they may become satisfied, by their own investigation, that he has now succeeded to the position of Elijah, and that they have henceforward to attach themselves to him as their leader. עַד־בּשׁ (2Ki_2:17) does not mean: very long, justo diutius (De Wette and others), nor: more than was becoming, nor: in a shameless manner (Menken, Thenius), but: until he was himself disappointed in the hope (of dissuading them from their purpose). בּוֹשׁ often has this meaning (cf. Psa_22:5; Psa_25:2-3; Psa_25:20; Psa_69:6), and it is also a very appropriate signification for Jdg_3:25, and 2Ki_8:11. The sons of the prophets wished to have “strong men” sent out, because the search over mountains and in valleys was attended with difficulty and danger. It should also be observed that Elisha on the return of the fifty men, only reminds them of his advice which they had neglected, but does not say a word of the ascension of Elijah, much as we might expect that he would now do so.
2Ki_2:19. And the men of the city said, &c. Perhaps it was the authorities who, in the name of the city, addressed themselves to Elisha, who now stood at the head of the prophets, and whose affable disposition had inspired them with confidence. הָאָרֶץ cannot here mean “ground” (Keil), for it is not the ground, but, as 2Ki_2:21 says distinctly, “the water” which was drunk, which caused miscarriage, and “in fact the direct use or enjoyment of this or that water has either a beneficial or a prejudicial effect on the functions of conception and parturition” (Thenius). אֶרֶץ stands here, therefore, as it does Gen_9:19; Gen_11:1; Gen_19:31. It was “pleasant to dwell” in Jericho, for it lay in a magnificent situation, “rising like an oasis from a broad plain of sand” (Winer, R.-W.-B. i. s. 543). 2Ki_2:20. Elisha calls for a “new” vessel, i.e., one which had not yet been used for any purpose whatever, because it was intended for a religious act, for, in general, all that was employed in the service of Jehovah must be as yet unused, i.e., uncontaminated (cf. Num_19:2). Keil takes the “new cruse” “as a symbol of the renewing power of the Word of God,” but it was only the receptacle for the salt, by means of which the water was to be made good and healthful, and it had nothing to do with the “Word of God.” The prophet made use of salt because it is used as a means of preserving that into which it is placed, and keeping it from rottenness and decay (death), in that it draws out the impure particles. In so far, then, it has healing and vivifying power (cf. Symbol. des Mosa. Kultus, ii. s. 325 sq.); it is a symbol of the purifying, restoring power which proceeds from Jehovah, for it was He, and not the salt, as such, who purified the spring and made the waters uninjurious, as 2Ki_2:21 distinctly declares. [The “salt” was neither more nor less significant in this case than the “meal” in 2Ki_4:41.—W. G. S.] The act of casting the salt into the spring was a prophetical, symbolical action, in which (see 1 Kings 17. Hist. § 6) the prophet represents that which the Lord is about to do, by visible signs, and with the corresponding natural means. When P. Cassel (Der Prophet Elisa, s. 21) declares that there is a reference here to the salt of the covenant in the sacrifices (Lev_2:13; Num_18:19), and says: “The miracle of Elisha signified, for the inhabitants of Jericho and for Israel through all time, a covenant of salt with the word and promise of God,” it is an evident error, for Jehovah does not say: I make with you a covenant of salt! but: I make this water healthful, I heal it. It is true that salt serves as the symbol of a covenant, to indicate its durability and sanctity, but only on account of its power of preserving and protecting from corruption and decay, which is the only thing that here comes into consideration. In this connection there is no reference whatever to a “covenant of salt.”—The spring in question exists “unto this day,” 2Ki_2:22; and is “doubtless the spring now known as Ain es Sultan, the only spring in the neighborhood of Jericho. Its waters spread over the plain of Jericho.…. A large spring of water, which is indeed not cold, but at the same time not warm, and has a sweet and pleasant taste” (Keil.; cf. Robinson, Bibl. Res. in Palest. i. 554–5, or, ii. 283–4, ed. of 1841).
2Ki_2:23. And he went up from thence unto Bethel, &c. As the successor of Elijah in the office of leader of the prophets, Elisha wished to visit, for the first time, the school of the prophets at Bethel, the principal seat of the illegal worship (2Ki_2:3). The נְעָרִים קְטַנִּים can scarcely be “little boys” (Luther), i.e., irresponsible children, who do not know what they say. In the first place their mocking address is opposed to this view, and still more the judgment which fell upon them. Solomon was at least twenty years old when he commenced to reign, and yet he calls himself נַעַר קָטֹן (1Ki_3:7). Jeremiah also calls himself a נַעַר at the time of his calling to be a prophet, Jer_1:6-7, likewise Joseph was so called at a time when he was at least seventeen years old (Gen_37:2). It is also shown by 1Ki_12:8; 1Ki_12:10; 1Ki_12:14, where the young counsellors of Rehoboam are called יְלָדִים, that this word (2Ki_2:24) need not necessarily be understood of little boys. Therefore Krummacher and Cassel translate correctly by “young people.” [There is an element of modesty in the use of the word by Jeremiah and Solomon, at a comparatively advanced age. There were quite a number of these persons, more than forty-two, according to 2Ki_2:24. נְעָרִים is the word which would be used of them if they were of various ages, from children up to young men. It would not exclude the possibility that there were two or three older persons among them.—W. G. S.] Both the older and more recent expositors, Krummacher, J. Lange, and Kurtz, translate the mocking address by “Ascend, bald-head! (i.e., like Elijah).” so that there would be in it, at the same time, scorn for the ascension of Elijah [Patrick and Comp. Comm.], and the sense would be: “Let him also ascend and be off, that they might be rid of him,” or: “Elisha, fool that thou art, show thyself a prophet. If thou canst do anything, let us see it!” (Krummacher.) This is certainly incorrect, for עֲלֵה evidently refers to the preceding עֹלֶה, and it is impossible that it should mean something entirely different from this. Furthermore, עלה never means ascend (see notes on 2Ki_2:11); and how could these young people have heard and known already about the “ascension” of Elijah, which (2Ki_2:16) was not known even to the disciples of the prophets? Doubtless the young people had recognized him from a distance by his prophet’s mantle (perhaps the one left behind by Elijah, 2Ki_2:13), as a prophet, and therefore, as a zealous opponent of the calf and Baal worship, which had its principal seat in Bethel (1Ki_12:29); as they saw him now going up the hill to the city, they called to him in mockery: Go up into our city, thou bald-head, what dost thou want here among us? The expression “bald-head” is not to be understood as it generally is, of actual baldness, nor of “a smooth place on the back of the head” (Keil), for how were the young people to notice this in Elisha as he approached them from a distance? Moreover, Elisha was still in his best years, and he lived for at least fifty years after this time, so that he could not possibly have been bald-headed already on account of age. Still less can there be any reference to an artificial bareness of the head, for the Law forbade directly all persons who were consecrated to the service of Jehovah, as, for instance, the priests and nazarites, to shave the hair of the head (Lev_21:5; Num_6:5). In general, to make bald the head was a sign of dishonor and disgrace (Isa_3:17; Isa_15:2), and baldness was also a mark of leprosy (Lev_13:43). “Bald-head” is, therefore, a disgraceful epithet, which refers, not to a bodily imperfection, a “natural fault” (Keil), but to the calling of Elisha as man of God and prophet; he is thereby designated as one who is the opposite of that which he pretends to be and appears to be, as an impure and expelled person. Cassel remarks: “The expression of the Jews for Roman Catholic priests, during the Middle Ages, and until recent times, was ‘bald-heads:’ the tonsure passed among them as a mark of the very opposite of consecration and holiness.” [The epithet either had its origin in fact and Elisha was prematurely bald, or else it was a standing epithet of insult used for old or reverend people, independently of the fact whether the particular person addressed was bald or not.—W. G. S.] It is evident, then, from this epithet, that the young people had recognized, in Elisha, a prophet, and that they meant to scoff at him precisely as such. Therefore the prophet had to deal here with something very different from mere wantonness, such as little boys sometimes practise with a failing old man.
2Ki_2:24. And he turned back, &c. That which Moses and Aaron say to the people about their complaints: “Your murmurings are not against us but aganist the Lord” (Exo_16:8; cf. Act_5:4), is also applicable here. The scorn of the children attacked not so much the person of Elisha as the calling which had been bestowed upon him by Jehovah, and, in so far, it was a contemning of Jehovah himself, which the prophet, on his first appearance in that capacity, and here in Bethel, of all places, could not allow to pass in silence and unrebuked, without denying his holy calling. He cursed them in the name of the Lord, that is, he threatened them with a divine judgment, which in the sequel did not fail to befall them. There came forth two she-bears, whether at once, and in the presence of Elisha, or not, is uncertain (Köster: “How long afterwards, is not mentioned”). Bears, especially she-bears, are represented as very fierce and ravenous (Pro_17:12; Pro_28:15; Hos_13:8; Dan_7:5. Cf. Winer, R.-W.-B. i. s. 130). That they ate up forty-two of the children is not asserted in the text, for תְּבַקַּעְנָה only means: they split, opened, i.e., tore to pieces (Hos_13:8). Perhaps it only means to say in general that they perpetrated a great massacre among them; the word מֵהֶם shows that there were many more than forty-two of them in all, and this has led to the conjecture that their meeting, for the purpose of reviling the prophet, was planned and prepared. It is possible that they had heard of the coming of a new head of the prophets, and had gone out to meet him in a body, in order to revile him. Nevertheless, the number, forty-two, which cannot be a round or symbolic number, is a very large one to be destroyed by two bears. In general, such is the brevity and disconnectedness of the narrative, that all sorts of questions arise, which remain unanswered, although they do not justify us in declaring the story a simple legend, or indeed a mere fiction.
2Ki_2:25. And he went from thence to Mount Carmel, &c. It can hardly be that Elisha stayed for any length of time at Bethel. Whether, as Krummacher thinks, he hastened away because “the vision of the monstrous act which he had performed lay upon his heart with the weight of mountains,” and because the consciousness: such a deed have I done! drove him into retirement, in order that “he might take breath again and recover his composure in the arms of Jehovah,” is very doubtful. On the contrary he seems to have sought solitude after the manner of the prophets (see Exeg. on 1Ki_17:3), as soon as he had presented himself to the sons of the prophets as the successor of Elijah, in order to prepare himself for his further public life. He chose Carmel for this purpose, because this mountain, with its numerous grottos and caves, was especially fitted for a residence in concealment; perhaps, also, because Elijah had there first broken the power of idolatry (see notes on 1 Kings 18). After the return from Carmel he dwelt in Samaria (cf. 2Ki_6:32), from which fact we see that under Jehoram, although Jezebel still lived, the persecution of the prophets had diminished or indeed entirely ceased.
HISTORICAL AND ETHICAL
1. The removal of Elijah, with which the visible existence of this great prophet ends, is the main point of the narrative before us, and is, therefore, before all else, to be thoroughly comprehended. In the first place, the mode and form in which it took, place, come into consideration. It was not a mere disappearance, a becoming invisible, but it was brought about by a fiery stormblast. The peculiar mode of Elijah’s removal stands in an unmistakable relation to his vocation, which consisted in this, that he was to be, by word and deed, the herald and the instrument of the divine judgment against apostasy and idolatry, and was to renew the broken covenant (see 1 Kings 17 Hist. § 1). His entire public life and work had, therefore, the character of that of a judge—on the one side destroying and consuming, and on the other reforming and constructing. Just as everywhere in the Scriptures, and especially in the Old Testament, fire is the form in which all the action of God as judge presents itself (Deu_4:24; Deu_9:3; Deu_32:22; Num_11:1-2; Num_16:35; Isa_4:4; Isa_26:11; Isa_29:6; Psa_21:9; Psa_50:3; Zep_1:18; Heb_12:29; 2Pe_3:7; 2Pe_3:12, &c.), so the words of this instrument of the divine energy were words of fire, and his deeds were deeds of fire. Thus he appears, not only in the historical books, but also especially in the great panegyric of the holy fathers, in the book of Sirach, which begins its description, when it comes to this prophet, with the words: “And Elijah arose, a prophet like fire, and his words burned like a torch,” and closes with these: “And he was taken up in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot of fiery horses. And he is appointed for the discipline of future times, to soothe away anger before judgment, and to convert the heart of the father to the son, and to establish the tribes of Jacob” (Sir_48:1; Sir_48:9-10). When now this fire-prophet is removed and carried away by God in a fiery storm, it is clear that it is not a divine judgment which was executed upon him, but a divine confirmation of his work, in its predominant aspect, viz., the judicial; so that it is, as it were, the seal of God upon that which Elijah was for his own and for all future times, viz., the surety for and the herald of, every great judgment-day of God, i.e., of the fire, which acts as well to purify and build up as to destroy and devastate (Mal_3:2; Mal_4:1-6. Cf. Hengstenberg, Christologie des A. T. iii. s. 441 sq.). As such an actual witness of the all-conquering judicial might of God, he was not destined to come to his end in weakness and decay, to experience the usual death, the embodiment of all human powerlessness and transitoriness, but he was destined to be removed in divine power and might. His translation, far from being indifferent, accidental, and insignificant, bore the same stamp as his temporal and earthly appearance, and corresponded perfectly to his peculiar and unparalleled position in the divine economy of salvation. Only in this way can his removal and the mode of it be explained, whereas, according to that conception of the event, which lays all the stress upon a chariot, drawn by horses, instead of upon the fire, any connection between it and the life and peculiar work of the prophet is wanting, and we can at best only suppose that this was an extraordinary reward for his labors. The question, What became of the body of Elijah upon his translation? is exactly like the other one, Into what place did he come? and it must remain, to say the least, an open question, since the Scriptures are entirely silent in regard to it. Those expositors, both in earlier and later times, who maintain a formal ascension of Elijah, adopt either the idea of a transmutation of his body during the ascension (Krummacher: “While he is riding on, lo! his body, the dust, is gradually transmuted.” [“His body being transformed in his passage toward heaven, he was carried up to live among the angels.” Patrick]), or that of a sudden transformation, citing 1Co_15:51 sq.: “But we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.” (Keil: “Elijah did not die, but was taken up by a transformation into heaven,” and he remarks on Gen_5:24 : “Whoever is raised above death by the grace of God, cannot arise from the dead, but arrives at the ἀφθαρσία, or the purified state of perfection, by a transformation, or ‘being clothed upon,’ 2Co_5:4.”) But, not to speak of other objections, “transformation,” or new-clothing of the believers in Christ, presupposes the entire work of Christ, especially his elevation to the right hand of God and his second advent; it is conditioned upon that second coming, and it is something which is to take place but once, in an extraordinary manner (cf. 1Th_4:15-16). So St. Paul designates it as a “mystery,” which he could not have done if it had already taken place in like manner under the old covenant. To carry back, therefore, [this Christian conception of the resurrection of the dead, in a spiritual and incorruptible body,] and apply it to Enoch and Elijah, is an inadmissible mixing up of the economies of salvation of the Old and New Testaments.
2. The translation of Elijah has been compared in many ways with the ascension of Christ, and taken as a type of the same. So, for instance, Richter says: “By this means it was intended that the Ascension of Christ should be typified and made more credible,” and Keil: “Elijah … as forerunner of Christ (Mal_3:3; Mat_11:10 sq.) was received up into heaven without tasting death, in order to foretell the ascension of our Lord, and to typify it, after the manner of the Old Testament.” This opinion rests, however, directly upon the premise that Elijah ascended into heaven in the same manner as Christ. Yet the Scriptures speak with very different, and in fact very definite, expressions of the departure of Christ, not as a removal or translation, but as an ascent into heaven and a reception there, an entrance into the glory, which he had before the foundations of the earth were laid (Mar_16:19; Luk_24:51; Act_1:9-11; Act_2:33 sq.; Act_7:55; Joh_17:5; Joh_17:24). Christ actually tasted death, but he arose from the dead and was elevated, as victor over sin and death, to the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (Heb_8:1). He himself says: “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man, which is in heaven” (Joh_3:13); although these words may refer, in the first instance, to the insight into, and knowledge of, divine things, yet they also testify, nevertheless, to something which the Son of Man alone is capable of, as the Apostle also writes: “He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things” (Eph_4:10). In the case of Christ, the Ascension forms an integral and essential moment in His work of salvation. There begins His kingly function, and that redemptive work which lasts into eternity (Heb_4:14; Heb_5:9-10; Heb_9:12). In the case of Elijah, on the contrary, his entire work ceases upon his translation. It is not the entrance into a broader, higher activity in heaven, but the end, even though a glorious end, of his work, and on this account it cannot pass for a type of the Ascension of Christ. To compare it with this, therefore, or to put it on the same line with this, is to take from Christ what belongs to Him alone, and, according to the nature of the thing, can belong only to Him. If Elijah had ridden upon a fiery chariot, drawn by fiery steeds, up into heaven, his ascension would have been far more glorious and brilliant than that of the Lord of Glory, when He was raised to the right hand of the Majesty on high; how then can it be a type of this? If Keil, in spite of this, insists upon an “ascension” of Elijah, and observes: “He, to be sure, who does not know how to estimate the spirit and nature of the divine revelation of salvation, will also be unable to comprehend this miracle,” then we may assert, at least with just as much right: He who does not know how to estimate Christ and the significance of His Ascension into heaven, will indeed also talk about an ascension of Elijah into heaven. Even Theodoret, in his day, wrote on Psa_24:9 : Αἰωνίους δὲ πύλας ἀνοιγῆναι παρακελεύονται ὡς μηδέποτε τῇ φύσει τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑπανοιγείσας. Οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἐκείνας τῶν ἀνθρώπων διεπέρασε πώποτε, ἀλλ’ ὁ ἐνανθρωπήσας Θεὸς λόγος, τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀναλαβὼν ἀπαρχήν, ἀνήγαγέ τε εἰς οὐρανούς, καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν τοῖς ὑψηλοῖς, ἐπάνω πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας κ. τ. λ.. (Eph_1:21). ὁ δὲ μέγας ’Ηλίας ἀνελήφθη μέν, ἀλλ’ οὐκ εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, ἀλλ’ ὡς εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν.
The departure of Elijah points back to that of Enoch and Moses, rather than forward to that of Christ. It is not only said of Enoch, as it is of Elijah, “God took him away” (Gen_5:24); but also that he announced (προεφήι ευσε) to the rebellious and godless of his time the coming of the Lord “to execute judgment upon all, and to convince (ἐξελέγξαι, cf. Sir. 68:10; ἐν ἐλεγμοῖς) all that are ungodly among them of their ungodly deeds” (Judges 14 sq.). He, therefore, had a calling like to that of Elijah in its essential character; and, as “the seventh from Adam” (through Seth), he marks an epoch in the divine plan of redemption (see the Comment. on Gen_5:24, and Judges 14). Then, in regard to Moses, it is not indeed stated that God “took him away,” but, that he buried him, and that no one learned anything of his sepulchre, or, as some say, of his burial (Deu_34:6). The Jewish tradition goes still further. According to Origen (Περὶ ’Αρχῶν, iii. 2), Jude took what he states in 2Ki_2:9, about the struggle for the body of Moses, from a well-known Jewish document, which had for its title: ’Ανάβασις τοῦ Μωσέως; and, according to Josephus (Antiq. iv. 8, 48), after Moses had embraced Joshua and Eleazar for the last time, while he was still talking with them, he was suddenly carried away (ἀφανίζεται) by a cloud into a valley, and disappeared from their eyes. However it may be with regard to the authority of these traditions, so much remains certain, that the departure of Moses is “placed in the same category” with that of Enoch and that of the second Moses, Elijah (Kurtz, Gesch. des Alten Bundes, ii. s. 526). All these mark definite epochs in the development of the Old Testament plan of salvation—they are prophets in the highest sense of the word. Enoch walked “with God,” i.e., in the most intimate intercourse with him; Moses stood in such close relation to God that he talked with him face to face, as a man talks with his friend (Exo_33:11); Elijah’s entire life was consumed in fiery zeal for the cause of the Lord, so that Sirach closes his panegyric with the words: μακάριοι οἱ ἰδόντες σε. No one of the three witnesses and preachers of the divine judgments, for his own and for all future times, was destined to undergo the sentence of death and corruption. The world was not to “see them submit to death” (Schultz). God took them away: and although Moses died, on account of his transgression in the desert of Zin (Deu_32:51), nevertheless he died עַל־פִּי יְהוָֹה [“according to the word of the Lord” (Deu_34:5). The author does not translate these words, but seems to give them a peculiar signification. It is true that עַל־פִּי often means “according to the command of,” i.e., something was executed or performed, according as some one had commanded, but it never means that something took place at or upon some one’s command or fiat. The author seems to give it some such signification as this last, that is, that although Moses died—passed through the individual experience and the physical change which we know as death, yet he did so, not as a result of disease, or after decline and weakness and age, but “at the word of the Lord,” which omnipotently removed him, in a moment, from life to death. If such an interpretation were justified by the usage of the language, it would go far to establish the parallel between Enoch and Elijah on the one hand, and Moses on the other, and to put his end on the same line with theirs. As it is, the interpretation is rather born of the attempt to make out the parallel, than founded on the usage of the language. The end of Moses was mysterious, and its significance is most justly stated in the remark quoted above from Schultz. We are not justified in saying more about it; and the Hebrew words in the text mean simply that he died, as God had said that he would, without entering Canaan. It is right to deny the parallelism between the end of Elijah and the Ascension of Christ, and to bring the former into relation with the end of Enoch certainly, and, perhaps, with that of Moses also, to some extent; but the latter parallelism must not be urged too far.—W. G. S.] After he had ascended (עלה) Mount Nebo, and enjoyed a view of the Land of Promise, he was withdrawn forever from the sight of the world. This removal was the main point in the case of all three, however different the mode of it was in the separate instances. It has, however, as a “taking away,” only an essentially negative character (וְאֶינֶנּוּ Gen_5:24; cf. 2Ki_2:12; Deu_34:6), whereas the Ascension of Christ, as the elevation of the victor over sin and death, to be Lord over all which can be mentioned, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come (Eph_1:21), is of a purely positive nature, and in fact, as well as in significance, something totally different.
3. The different views of the end of Elijah may be divided into two classes.
(a) The old realistic view, which maintains an actual “ascent into heaven,” has been presented, in recent times, most definitely, and with the most earnest hostility to any other view, by Krummacher (Elias der Thisbiter, s. 414–425). By way of introduction he says: “We are on the side of biblical realism. Whosoever takes that from us, takes from our heart everything: for facts—facts are what it must have, this human heart; the more palpable and substantial they are the better.… My taste is for the massive in the Bible.” Having adopted this stand-point, he refuses to be satisfied with “fiery clouds, in the form of a chariot and horses” (Calwer and Hirschberger Bibel), or with a cloud of angels, by whose ministry Elijah was received up to heaven, as Grotius, Menken and others suppose, but he gives the following representation of the event: “The black clouds fringed with glowing fire, burst. A gigantic gate of fire opens,.… and out of this blazing portal there dashes forth into the air a flaming chariot and gleaming horses of fire, who spring with it to the earth as if harnessed to a pole of adamant,.… only a few steps from the man of God, an invisible charioteer draws up the reins, and the horses stop..… How wonderful, how unheard-of is the event! Here stands a chariot of fire! Here are real horses from on high! … Raised upon invisible hands, the prophet mounts, with joyful courage, into the blazing chariot.… The horses of fire raise themselves, and swiftly as an arrow from a bow, they spring away upon the road of air, heavenwards, toward the open flame-gate of the firmament. Ha! how it rolls away from cloud to cloud! When the gleaming wheels touch a cloud, the thunder rolls; where the supple steeds set down their feet, there the lightnings flash forth under their hoofs.… . The King of kings himself it is who guides the equi- page by invisible reins.…. They have soon flown through the atmosphere of the earth, and now the road loses itself in those regions where the mortal eye stands at the limit of its sight. Between the heavenly orbs they fly along, these flaming steeds, and the thundering wheels roll on, as it were through a fiery ocean, past thousands of suns and stars.…. The fire-steeds plunge forward, as with redoubled steps, toward the open portal, and now through it into paradise—into the ever-green meadows and the palm-groves of heaven. The chariot stops,” &c., &c. This entire representation, in which the fiery steed of the phantasy seems to have run away with his rider, only shows what we may come to, if we take the words of the text, “chariot of fire and horses of fire,” in a literal sense. The war against every figurative interpretation of these words as a “spiritual dish of froth, offered by an over-estimated wisdom,” appears all the more remarkable, as the words which immediately follow: “The chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof,” and which correspond to the previous words, cannot possibly be understood literally, but only figuratively, as they are understood also by Krummacher himself. Passing by all else, it only remains now to call attention to one point, viz., how mean, we might almost say, the Ascension of Him who was more than all prophets, and who was elevated to the right hand of the Majesty on high, appears in contrast with this supposed magnificent ascension. For the rest, Krummacher is good enough to declare, for the comfort of those whose taste is not for the “massive in the Bible,” that “in truth, it is not belief in these horses which brings us salvation, just as doubt of their existence would not damn anybody.”
(b) The rationalistic view will not hear anything of an ascension into heaven, nor of a miraculous removal of Elijah. On the authority of the passage, 2Ch_21:12, J. D. Michaelis asserts (Anmerkungen für Ungelehrte XII. on 2Ki_2:1) that Elijah was only carried away out of Palestine, and that he lived at least twelve years longer, for “no one receives letters from people in heaven.” For the same reason Winer (R.-W.-B. i. s. 318) also believes that he “only withdrew into solitude, leaving it to his pupil to carry on the prophetical ministry.” So also recent Jewish expositors, as, for instance, Philippson. But in 2 Chronicles 21. there is not a word about a letter (סֶפֶר), but only about writing (מִבְתָּב), which is said to have reached Jehoram from the prophet Elijah. Such a writing, however, Elijah might very well have written before his removal, and entrusted to Elisha, that he might send it, at the appropriate time, to the king (Keil); and it is not necessary to suppose, as some do, a mistake between the names Elijah and Elisha. Precisely this passage of the Chronicle can, least of all, be brought to bear against the story in 2 Kings 2. Bertheau says in regard to it: “It is not mentioned anywhere else that Elijah performed any prophetical action by means of writing. At the time when Jehoram ruled in the southern kingdom, Elijah might still have been alive, according to the chronological data of the Old Testament. It is probable, to begin with, that he did speak in regard to Jehoram’s sin, and that he threatened him with punishment; but the ‘letter’ is composed in general terms, and gives only a prophetic explanation of the misfortunes by which Jehoram was visited. From this we must conclude that it proceeds, in the form in which we have it, from a later historian, who, drawing from sources which we do not know, described the relation between Jehoram and Elijah with a few words, and according to its broad and general features.” Still less is it possible to uphold the different attempts which have been made to explain the miraculous event in some natural manner, as, for example, that Elijah was carried off by a water-spout, with accompaniment of thunder and lightning (Jahn, Einleit. in’s A. T. ii. 1, s. 261), or that he was hurled away by a storm-wind, or that he lost his way in a cloud, or that the king caused him to be seized and hurried off in a chariot, during a storm (Exeget. Handbuch des A. T., on the passage), or, finally, that a whirlwind drove dust and sand into the air, as often takes place when horses and chariots run over sandy ground, and that Elisha imagined, when he heard the thunder-like rolling of wheels, and saw the frequent lightnings, that his master had ridden away towards heaven in a fiery equipage (Hetzel, on the passage). Even Knobel (Der Prophet. der Hebr. ii. s. 85) declares that all these explanations are “very forced.” They are to be regarded as antiquated, and they do not deserve refutation. It is not much better, however, to put the removal of Elijah on the same line with the apotheosis of Ganymede (Hom. Iliad, xx. 233), or of Romulus (Liv. 2Ki_1:16), (Knobel, l. c.), for what does this genuine Old Testament narrative contain in the slightest degree similar to the genuine heathen and Roman legend of Romulus, who did not live till a hundred and fifty years after Elijah, or with the genuine heathen and Greek legend of Ganymede, who was thought worthy of the society of the immortal gods on account of his physical beauty? Such comparisons prove as great self-will as thoughtlessness.
(c) The purely idealistic view, which has been maintained, especially by Ewald (Gesch. Israels, iii. s. 543 [3d ed., 584]), followed by Eisenlohr and Bunsen, starts from the premise (see Prelim. Rem. after 1 Kings 17) that the history of Elijah, in the form in which it lies before us, was remoulded by an historian who lived two hundred years later than Elijah, and who was gifted with a genuine poetical soul, and that he presented the highest prophetical truth in historical form. “A life on earth, purer than that of any other man of that time, consecrated to the service of Jehovah, and yet spent in such all-controlling exertion for the advancement of the kingdom of God, could only have a corresponding termination: ceasing to be in the visible world, it will work all the more powerfully and undisturbedly in the spiritual realm, that is, will be received up into heaven. In that moment heaven bends itself down here to earth, to raise up from hence to itself that soul which already belongs to it. Therefore, a fiery chariot with fiery steeds moves down from heaven and takes up Elijah in a whirlwind to heaven. It is only eternal truth which seeks to explain itself in this bold expression.” Especially, however, it is said the remainder of the description represents, at the same time, more precisely “how an Elijah quits his friends on earth and they him,” and thus gives expression to the following truth: “When the moment approaches when a holy man like Elijah is to be taken away from the earth, then a discrimination takes place among those who have hitherto passed for his friends and followers. The great mass of these draw back in fear and unbelief—only a few remain faithful unto the end; but only upon these (as in this case upon Elisha) does the blessing and spirit of the saint who is to be removed from the earth directly fall.” According to this mode of acceptation, the entire narrative of the translation of Elijah would be an allegorical fiction. But, elevated as the delineation certainly is, it still bears by no means the features of poetical composition, in which “every limitation of the vulgar historical material has been disregarded.” On the contrary, as Menken has observed: “The tone of the narrative is the same which predominates in the preceding, and which we also find in the following, chapters. This incident is narrated just as simply, prosaically, and unpoetically as the entire history of both prophets, or anything else which is historical in both Books of the Kings.” (See also Prelim. Rem. after 1 Kings 17) Not to dwell upon that, however, where under the heavens would a poet of the Old Testament suppose the “purely spiritual realm” to be? and, bold as the figurative expressions of the Old Testament certainly are, where does anything occur which would be in any degree similar to this: that “a fiery chariot and fiery horses” should be the expression for the purely spiritual realm which receives up into itself the soul which already entirely belongs to it? There would be no need of such a detailed historical dress as we here find for the utterly simple and prosaic truth, that on the end of a great man a discrimination between his followers is wont to occur; and besides that, in the case before us, no such discrimination or distinction took place. There is no sign whatever of any “contrast between Elisha and the ordinary pupils of the prophets;” on the contrary, they are so warmly and faithfully attached to Elijah, that, in spite of the dissuasion of Elisha, they will not be prevented from sending out fifty men to seek for the translated master and lord. It is impossible, therefore, that they should be a figure for the “great mass,” which “draws back in fear and unbelief,” when the master is taken away from the earth. However fine and spiritual the idealistic acceptation may appear, it shows itself, on a more close investigation, to be utterly unmaintainable both as a whole and in the details.
[A peculiar interest has always attached to the prophet Elijah, differing in nature from that which is felt for the other prophets, just as he differed from them. The manner in which he appears in the narrative, suddenly, without preparation or introduction, and without reference to his antecedents; the way in which he traverses the history, from time to time, each appearance forming a crisis; the enigmatical character of his existence; the doubt as to where he had been in the meantime, how he went, how he returned, and how he had lived during his absence; finally, his mode of working, which was despotic, all-controlling, sure of itself, free from hesitation or doubt, and, as it seemed, from any deliberation; self-assuming to a degree which nothing could warrant but the inner conviction of the very highest prophetical calling, and which could only be maintained by the most direct and certain inspiration;—all these things conspired to make his name one of terror and wonder, and to leave a deep impression on the popular mind, so that we find that his name still lives in wild legends and fables among the Mohammedans and ignorant Christians of the East (see Mr. Grove’s article in Smith’s Dict. of the Bib. and authorities there referred to). The question is sometimes asked, Why have we no Elijahs any more? Why are there no men so penetrated and inspired by the Divine Spirit now-a-days? Why have we no men whom the world, with its temptations of all sorts, cannot touch, but itself lies open to their insight and judgment, with all its deceits and weaknesses, all its follies and vices, all its corruptions and falsehoods? Many men aspire to purity, communion with God, elevation above the world, and seek to obtain influence over it. that they may improve it and lead it up to God, but, although kings and rulers are depraved, and are often seduced into vice and injustice and corruption, although laws and institutions are unjust, and nations forget God and abandon Him for false worship of all sorts, yet no Elijah appears to destroy and dash in pieces what is base and wrong, and to consume it with a fire of divine vengeance, or to nourish and build up institutions which may regenerate the world. The first reason is that we do not believe that any such men will arise. We have made up our minds that they cannot be and so they never will be. Here again faith is the grand postulate. Who knows what measure of His Spirit God might give to-day to any one who held himself ready to receive it? Elijah, if he were here to-day, would hear and understand the Spirit of God as much as he did centuries ago. Few men, in the whole history of the world, are ready to accept the necessary preconditions of such a calling. The first of these is utter self-abnegation and self-surrender. He who thinks of himself at all, or carries with him one care for self and one consideration of his own pleasure, profit, or renown, is no prophet. A prophet must cast himself utterly into the plan and providence of God, and exist, thereafter, only for it. His calling is to be above the world and to oversee, weigh, condemn, and correct, from the elevated stand-point of God’s eternal providence, all which men do and plan and hope for, or despise and reject and battle against, on earth. He must see, to some extent, as God sees. He must judge, so far as a man can, as God judges; that is, according to His eternal providence and plan. He must be in and of his own time, but so elevated above it as to grasp its significance in the history of redemption, as a product of the past and a fountain of the future. From this standpoint he must judge all separate incidents, all individual characters, all proposals and plans, all new institutions, which it is proposed to found, all old ones which it is proposed to abolish. To such a calling no man is called for his worldly honor that he may be the adored of millions. The world has too strong a hold on all who are in it. They can never tear off its bands while they are touched by its attractions. No man can raise himself above his time while his interests are all in it. It is only in the severance of all these ties that he can gain freedom to mount up to God. If there were men, however, who were capable of this absolute denial of the world and absolute surrender to God, let no one dare to say what they could not receive from God. A false idea of Elijah and other Old Testament prophets, as if they had possessed powers of divination and magic, which, as we well know, no man now possesses, has led us to despair of such gifts as they had, and to regard them as belonging entirely to a past age. The “arm of the Lord is not shortened,” however, and He can fill His servants with as rich a measure of His Spirit for their work to-day as He did His prophets of old, if they will only expect it and wait for it. If such men as Elijah were needed to-day for carrying on the work of salvation, God could raise them up. This brings us to another reason why none such arise. Elijah was a phenomenon of a turbulent period, in a disorganized state. He was a hero, in a heroic age. For him it was possible to live in a desert, to appear only at intervals, and then to speak with majestic authority. The later prophets, especially those of Judah, lived among their countrymen and had homes and families. They could not lay aside the cares of life. They lived in an organized state and a well-ordered society, whose obligations they could not throw off. The heroic period had given way to that of law. Their work was, therefore, no longer the same in character as that of Elijah. They could not demolish opposition with such dictatorial absoluteness as he. They could not step forth so surely, nor speak in such a commanding tone, nor have recourse to such terrible instruments and means. They had to maintain the truth of God, proclaiming it at the right moment, and the right point, bearing witness against all falsehood and wrong, and then to wait for the truth to prevail. It was not given them to command, they had to teach. They could not presume to wield the instruments of punishment as Elijah did, they must warn, and admonish, and threaten. They therefore had recourse to writing. Their words were not commands which required instant obedience, but testimonies, whose truth time and experience must prove. Still more is all this true of our times. We live in a society with fixed institutions and traditions. Men move now not in a mass, controlled by a few individuals, but in an organized body, moved by its own intelligence and the general convictions. All which presents itself from outside the social order, and bases itself upon a violation of the same, is met with suspicion and ridicule, and moreover (for this would be a light thing in itself), must remain destitute of any deep influence. Society has come into absolute dependence upon, and faith in, law. No man and no doctrine can work efficiently in this society if it tries to work from without the social order. The efficient means of operation now-a-days are organized combinations of men of similar opinions and aspirations. Individuals cannot attain controlling positions. The power has been broken up and diffused. Individuals are assigned to positions in the organization which moves as a whole. The mass is stubborn, and can only be acted on from within. It will not submit to dictation. The only means of influence is, to form a smaller opinion, inside of the great one, and so leaven the whole lump. The calling of the prophets has been inherited by institutions, above all by the Church, and these are the influences to which we must look to regenerate modern society. The ministers of the Church are the bearers and perpetuators of this calling. Their duty it is to bear witness of God and of His judgment in the world. Their duty it is to advise, exhort, warn, and condemn, with the fearlessness of Elijah, even if not with his tone of authority and command.—W. G. S.]
4. The prophet-communities, or so-called schools of the prophets, which Elijah visited again before his departure, are a phenomenon which is in many respects important and deserving of attention (cf. in general, with regard to them, Knobel, Prophet. der Hebr. ii. s. 39–52; Winer, R.-W.- B. ii. s. 281; Keil, on 1Sa_19:24, s. 146–151; Kranichfeld, De iis quœ in V. T. commemorantur, prophetarum societatibus. Berol. 1861, where the older literature is also mentioned). They come into consideration here principally in their relation to Elijah. Such communities are mentioned as early as the time of Samuel (1Sa_10:5; 1Sa_10:10; 1Sa_19:20), but not sooner, so that he is commonly regarded as their founder, and indeed he is mentioned in the last place quoted as their נִצָּב, governor or overseer. They appear, from their names, חֶבֶל, i.e., band, company, or crowd, and לַהֲקָה (for קַהֲלָה), i.e., congregation, not to have been organized and exclusive unions or “orders,” but freely united companies. Under David we find no sign of their existence whatever. Not until the time of Elijah and Elisha do they appear again, and here they always bear the name בְּנֵי הַנְּבִיאִים, which refers to a more definite relation, to firmer and closer connection, similar to that between father and son, and especially to the relation between teacher and pupil, for the Hebrew always calls his teacher “father” (1Sa_10:12; 2Ki_2:12; Mat_23:9), and his pupil, “son” (Pro_1:8; Pro_1:10; Pro_1:15; Pro_2:1; Pro_4:1; Tit_1:4). We see, from the passage before us, and 2Ki_4:38; 2Ki_6:1, that they dwelt together in definite places, and lived in common; therefore, that they were not unregulated companies, but exclusive unions or communities. They stand in a subordinate relation to their teachers and masters (at first Elijah, and after him, Elisha, cf. 2Ki_2:15), and call them “master” (2Ki_2:3; 2Ki_6:5) and themselves “servants” (2Ki_2:16; 2Ki_4:1; 2Ki_6:3). According to all this, these schools of the prophets can hardly be identified with the free unions of the prophets under Samuel, or be considered as the immediate continuation of those. In the latter was concentrated the religious life, which at that time lacked a fixed arrangement. When this was established by David, they ceased to exist, although prophets continued to appear from time to time. The real schools of the prophets, however, came into existence for the first time, at the period of apostasy and idolatry under Ahab, and their founder was Elijah, who may, nevertheless, have had those combinations under Samuel in mind, though he gave them a different organization, and made of them institutions for planting and preserving the pure worship of Jehovah, in opposition to the intruding idolatry. Such certainly the combinations of the prophets under Samuel never were. Even if we were willing to allow Elijah to pass, not for the founder, but simply for the restorer of the schools of the prophets, yet these remain, nevertheless, an actual and important testimony that this prophet not only stepped forth publicly, in fiery zeal and heroic strength, to battle against idolatry, but also, at the same time, worked to build up and to lay foundations. Although this quieter part of his influence did not attract so much attention, yet it was not less successful. He must have understood well how to draw hearts to himself and enchain them, as is evident from the number of these pupils of the prophets (cf. 1Ki_18:4; 2Ki_2:16; 2Ki_4:43; 2Ki_6:1). The bloody persecution of them under Ahab and Jezebel did not avail to exterminate them, or even to diminish their numbers. In the evening of the prophet’s life we even find schools of the prophets in precisely those places where the worship of the Calf and of Baal had their principal seats, so that we see that they had to be endured at last publicly—a proof that the general strength of the apostasy had been broken by Elijah. How much the heart of the faithful servant of God was set upon these foundations, is evident from the fact that he visited the three schools at Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho before his departure, and spoke to them encouragement and consolation.
5. The prophet Elisha is the chief person after Elijah in the passage before us, from which the relation which we must think of as existing between the two prophets may be directly deduced. This relation is often conceived of as one of specific difference or even contrast. So Krummacher says (Elisa, 2d ed. Elberfeld, 1844, i. s. 7): “Elisha was appointed to appear as an evangelist in Israel, whereas Elijah, as the second Moses, was to enforce due respect for the Law, which had been forgotten and trodden under foot. Elisha’s duty was, as herald of the divine tenderness, to restore and lead back to the father’s arms, with tempting invitations, the hearts which his predecessor had broken with the hammer of the law,” and (Elias der Thisb. s. 409): “As an evangelist he needed, first of all, that his own heart should acquire a thoroughly evangelical disposition, and that he should, in his internal relation to the Lord, himself foretaste, so far as was possible, the tender nature of the New Testament” (see also 1 Kings 19. Hist. § 8). This opinion springs from the utterly false interpretation of the spirit of 2Ki_2:9, which makes it mean that Elisha prayed for a double measure of the spirit of Elijah. Under this interpretation Elisha’s manifold acts of healing and assistance, have then been brought into connection with this prayer. Accordingly, this view falls to the ground with the correct exposition of 2Ki_2:9. As for the acts referred to, they were not by any means like those of the Saviour, altogether in the nature of assistance, but many of them served as punishments (cf. 2Ki_2:24; 2Ki_5:27; 2Ki_7:19-20). On the other hand, the miracles. of Elijah were not entirely punishment-miracles (1Ki_17:6; 1Ki_17:14; 1Ki_17:23; 1Ki_18:45). Moreover, the time of Elisha was so far from being a time of “divine tenderness,” and “gentle murmuring after the storm,” that, on the contrary, it was exactly in this time that the most violent convulsion inside the kingdom (2 Kings 9, 10), and the most violent struggles abroad (2 Kings 6, 7), took place. Finally, according to the oracle, 1Ki_19:17, it was Elisha’s destiny to “slay” all who should escape from the sword of Jehu, which certainly was no New Testament calling. The spirit for which he prays (2Ki_2:9), and which then rests upon him (2Ki_2:15), is the “spirit of Elijah,” not a different one, much less a contrasted one. This spirit of Elijah is so far from being a New Testament spirit, that the Saviour rebukes His disciples who desire to act in accordance with it (Luk_9:55), and says: “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” [Bähr takes it as a question, and emphasizes the latter “ye.” So also many good authorities, whom Meyer is inclined to join. Lachmann and Tischendorf omit it from the text. There is a heavy weight of authority against it, and the only argument for retaining it is the one suggested by Meyer, that it is difficult to account for its interpolation; while, on the other hand, it might have been omitted out of a false consideration for the reputation of Elijah.—W. G. S.] It was one and the same spirit which inspired both prophets, and worked in and through them. Elisha was not indeed “a feeble copy” of Elijah; but neither was he, what, as an evangelist before the time of the evangelists, he would have been, viz., greater than Elijah. He only desired, as first-born son of the prophet, a richer measure of the spirit than the other sons of the prophets were to obtain, because he was to be their leader and master. His relation to Elijah was like that of Joshua to Moses. Elijah had broken the strength of the apostasy in Israel—fought with fiery zeal against idolatry, and laid anew the foundation of the law and the covenant. On this foundation Elisha was to continue to build. The same spirit which, in Elijah, had to work chiefly to destroy and condemn, was to work in Elisha chiefly to cultivate and preserve. “Elijah had done the work of laying the foundation. There had been introduced among the people, in the schools of the prophets, which had arisen again under the shield of Elijah’s mighty energy, a healing salt of life, which now only needed to be kept from losing its savor and to be preserved in its vigor, and blessing would proceed from it in silence and without display. To guard these germs of the newly-awakened life—to nourish them and bring them to vigorous development—was … the task of Elisha” (Sartorius, Vorträge über die Prophet. s. 38, 41). Like Elijah, Elisha was also the “chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof” (2Ki_2:12; 2Ki_13:14).
6. The three acts of Elisha after the translation of Elijah, of which we have an account, are not by any means arbitrarily placed in succession, as it were mere anecdotes of the prophet, but they belong together in time, as well as in significance, and form, to some extent, a whole, by means of which Elisha, on his first independent appearance as successor of Elijah, is represented as heir of his spirit and calling. The last act of the master before the eyes of the pupils of the prophets (2Ki_2:8) was also the first performed before them by the disciple, after he had succeeded to the position of Elijah, and he performed it with the significant mantle of his former master. This was a sign for him that his prayer for the רוּחַ of Elijah had been fulfilled, and for the sons of the prophets that the spirit of his master now rested upon him, and that they must henceforth recognize him as leader and guide (2Ki_2:15). In this capacity he returns with them to Jericho, their dwelling-place. Here, when the men of the city, full of confidence, complain to him of their misfortune, he maintains himself as the Man of God, who helps and protects, and brings safety and blessing. At Bethel, on the other hand, when they come to meet him with derision and contempt, it becomes evident what judgment falls upon those who impudently despise the servant and messenger of Jehovah. Thus Elisha, like Elijah, to whose place he had succeeded (see 1 Kings 17 Hist. § 1), in his first appearance, is seen to be a prophet of action—he inaugurates himself, not by a detailed speech to the sons of the prophets and the believing or unbelieving people, but by actions. These actions, however, are of a prophetical character, not insignificant workings of superhuman power, but rather “signs,” and therefore also testimonials (cf. Joh_10:25). The passage through the Jordan bears witness that the Lord opens paths for those whom He has chosen and called to be His messengers and servants. It is a surety for the words: “Fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name: thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee: and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee” (Isa_43:1-2; Psa_124:4). The act at Jericho proclaims aloud that it is the Lord who gives health. It is surety for the words: “I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exo_15:25; Exo_23:25-26), “who healeth all thy diseases [infirmities]” (Psa_103:3; Psa_147:3; cf. Jer_8:22). Finally, the event at Bethel is a sign for the rebellious and apostate that judgment waits for the scoffers—a testimony to the truth of the words: “The Lord revengeth and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries” (Nah_1:2); “who visits the sins of the fathers upon the (likeminded) children” (Exo_20:5).
7. Many have taken offence, in various ways, at the judgment which befell the derisive youths at Bethel. For instance, Köster (Die Prophet. s. 85) says: “The story sounds very unworthy of the great prophet: it appears as if he ought not to have noticed the derision of irresponsible children;” and Thenius remarks on the passage, that “the immorality of cursing (especially wanton children) has been lost sight of in the desire to bring into prominence the inviolability of the prophetical dignity, which stands under the protection of God.” The incident appears, however, in a very different light when the persons in question, as was shown above, are not wanton little children, but youths who knew what they were doing and saying. Neither must we overlook the fact that these youths belonged to the city which was the centre and principal seat of the apostasy, and which, on this account, is called by the prophets, “Beth-Aven,” i.e., House of the Idol, instead of Beth-El [House of God], (Hos_4:15; Hos_10:5; Amo_5:5). They were, therefore, literally the offspring of apostasy, and they represented in general the offspring of apostates which was growing up. The older expositors, e.g., Bochart, suppose, not improbably, that the older people had incited the younger ones, and that the object was to make the new head of the class of the prophets ridiculous and contemptible at the very commencement of his career. When, therefore, Elisha threatened with divine punishment the impudent youths who despised in the prophet the holy office to which Jehovah had called him, it was no immorality, nor was it unworthy of him; on the contrary, he therein did what belonged to his prophetical office. He did not, however, execute the punishment himself; he left that to Him who says: “To me belongeth vengeance and recompense” (Deu_32:35). It was no more Elisha who caused the bears to come (but Jehovah, 2Ki_2:21) than it was he who caused the waters at Jericho to become healthful. It was a judgment of God which befell those depraved youths and, indirectly, the whole city out of which they came, and it referred back to that threat of the law: “If ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me,.…. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children and destroy your cattle; and your highways shall be desolate” (Lev_26:21 sq.). Nevertheless, the narrative bears a strongly Old Testament character; it is no portion of the gospel; we cannot make out of Elisha an “Evangelist” and disciple of the Saviour; we must bear in mind that he was the successor of an Elijah, and that the God of Israel is a jealous God. Cassel’s application of the incident seems very far-fetched (Der Prophet Elisa, ss. 7 and 9): “The wrath and judgment upon the youths is an image of that wrath and judgment which falls upon all Israel.…. Who does not seek in it the faithful image of the fortunes of Israel itself!.…. Like bears from a wood Hazael and Jehu burst in upon the people and the royal race. Without pity and without mercy they strangled the youth of Israel. Even the number—forty-two—signifies such a judgment, for forty-two was the number of the sons of Ahaziah whom Jehu fell in with in his capacity of avenger.” That the author of these books did not think of that, is at all events certain.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
2Ki_2:1-12. Bender: Elijah’s Departure from the Earth. (a) The solomn journey on the eve of his departure, and (b) the glorious exit of the departing prophet.
2Ki_2:1-6. Krummacher: The Vigil. (a) How Elijah seeks retirement; (b) how he comes to the schools of the prophets; (c) what reception he meets with there.—Elijah on the Approach of his End. (a) He goes to meet it quietly and submissively, for he had fought a good fight and kept the faith (2Ti_4:7-8). (b) He takes leave of his friends and companions in faithful love; as he had “loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end” (Joh_13:1).
2Ki_2:1. Starke: God does not leave His faithful children and servants forever in unrest, but delivers them finally from all evil and helps them to come to his heavenly kingdom (Psa_55:23; 2Ti_4:18).
2Ki_2:2-4. Menken: That which Elijah had done and labored at throughout his life, that he also pushed forward and did in his last hours: he was still active for the advancement of the kingdom of God, still active in the labor of assisting and serving love, which does not seek its own. Even his last hours were consecrated to others. He was in a state of the soul, in which he was ready, at every step, in every occupation and in every conversation which might occur, to pass over into the invisible world, without need of any further preparation. Oh! let us employ all diligence, that we, too, may arrive at such a precious and blessed soul-state.… that we, too, in all our conversation and business, whether it is spiritual or worldly, whether it is grand or small, may not only think of eternity with pleasure, but also be ready at any moment, if our Lord should so please, to pass on into the invisible world.
2Ki_2:2-6. The faithful Love of Elisha to his Master and Lord. (a) The ground and source of it. (It does not rest upon a natural, human basis, but upon a divine and holy one. The band which bound him to Elijah was living faith in the living God, and life and labor in and with him. He honored and loved his father after the flesh [1Ki_19:20], but he left him; with his spiritual father he wished to remain unto the end [2Ki_2:12]. Cf. Mat_10:37) (b) Its test and successful endurance. (Thrice did Elijah beg him to remain behind, but he would not be persuaded. Whithersoever the path may lead, and whatsoever may come to pass, I will not leave thee until God shall take thee from me. His love was not a mere passing, bubbling enthusiasm, but it was strong as death and firm as hell. That love alone is true which endures trial and will not be turned aside by any prayers, for which no hindrance is too great, no journey too long and too hard. Cf. Joh_21:17) (c) Its victory and reward. (Elijah opens for him the path through the Jordan, after his fidelity has stood the test. He is allowed to see what no human being besides him might see. He attains to that which he has prayed for; with Elijah’s mantle he inherits also Elijah’s spirit; he is a witness of his master’s glory. Cf. Rev_2:10 : “Be thou faithful,” &c. That fidelity conquers and is crowned, which holds fast to God and Jesus Christ.)—The words of Elisha: As the Lord liveth, &c., as marriage-vow. The right foundation, the trial, and the duration, of conjugal love (until God shall separate).—Elijah and the Sons of the Prophets, (a) Elijah had not only one disciple and pupil, but a great company of them, which he collected from among those who had not bowed the knee to Baal, and to whom he stood in the relation of a father to his children, whom he led and taught, protected and nourished. This was the other side of the activity of the great Man of God.—Menken: In his public life he was, according to the needs of his time, a fire to consume rather than to warm; in his more retired life he was an enlightening and warming light.—Labor in the kingdom of God consists not only in tearing down and removing superstition and unbelief, but at the same time in building up faith, in planting and nourishing a divine and holy life. Compare the great reformers. (b) The children of the prophets were not children, but sons, young men, bound to a life in common, in the fear of God. Reading and hearing the Word of God, prayer and praise of the Lord, practice in obedience, mutual encouragement and strengthening, these were the aim and end of their union. They were, therefore, in a time of apostasy, communities for the cultivation of the knowledge of God and of the life which proceeds from God. They were for Israel the salt which gave savor, and the light which gave light, to all in the house (Mat_5:13-15), schools of true wisdom, whose beginning is the fear of God, through which alone, until this day, all knowledge and learning receive their true value.—Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace! We should not make the heart of a departing friend heavy in the moment of separation, but with him, yield quietly and peacefully to the holy will of God, who is calling him away.—Neither Elijah nor Elisha wished to have that which was about to befall the former according to the decision of God, made a subject of conversation.—Vilmar: No over-hasty gossip or sensation ought to be made about acts of God, especially about those which are still future; they may not be treated as objects of curious or worldly questionings. The acts of God are meant to be awaited in respectful silence..… Those who are capable of seeing the majesty of the living God keep silent of themselves, upon others they have to enjoin silence.
2Ki_2:7-10. The two Prophets before their Separation, (a) Elijah’s last act; (b) Elisha’s last request.
2Ki_2:7-8. Krummacher: The Passage through the Jordan. (a) The escort of the sons of the prophets; (b) the position of the two men of God at the Jordan; (c) the marvellous passage through it.—Menken: Elijah was to finish his course by an act of faith, he was to build for himself, in a certain sense, the path to his glorious end, by an act of faith, and so impress indelibly upon the hearts of his friends and followers, who saw him, even in the hour of separation, the grand truth that Jehovah is the sole living and all-controlling God, and that faith pleases Him above all else, and that.… no other way than faith in God’s promises leads to the higher and better inheritance in light.—Wirth: On the other side of the Jordan is the place of the glorification of the prophet. Between him and this spot there flows yet a broad and deep stream. Through this he must go,.… there is no bridge, no ferryman; but he does not despair. He knows: He who has called me to the other side will help me to the other side.…. Such incidents occur to many on the pilgrimage of life.… No stream is so deep, and no flood of calamity so dangerous, that God could not lead through it unharmed..… The prophet-mantle, which to-day as ever, when it falls upon any Jordan, divides its waves, is faith, strong, glad, living, rock-firm faith.… “Faith leads through fire and flood.”
2Ki_2:9-10. The parting Conversation of the two Prophets, (a) Elijah calls upon Elisha to make a request; (b) the request of Elisha; (c) the answer of Elijah.
2Ki_2:9. Elijah speaks in the name of God: Ask what I shall do, &c. The Lord will not only listen to our prayers, but He even demands of us that we shall pray to Him, and pour out our hearts with all our wishes before him (Psa_62:8). Not only are we allowed to pray to Him, but it also is our duty to do so (Mat_7:7 sq.).—Würtemb. Summ.: If the saints in heaven could hear our prayers and could aid us, there would have been no necessity that Elisha should beg anything of Elijah before he went thither. The invocation of deceased saints is therefore to be regarded as erroneous and false.—Menken: If we were called upon to make a request, as Elisha was, what would we choose? Would we pray for things of this world, which might delight us for the few days of this life here below; or would we pray as he did, and choose spiritual and heavenly things, in the possession and enjoyment of which we should have rich and pure sources of joy in the other world throughout eternity? The sincere and conscientious response to this question can give us an instructive indication of the nature and worth of our sentiments and of our spiritual value.—Starke: The highest good on earth is not gold nor money, but the Holy Spirit.—Würtb. Summ.: We see and learn from Elijah that we ought only to pray for necessary and useful things, even where we have the choice.
2Ki_2:10. Calwer Bibel: The request was great, but even great prayers are permitted when they serve the ends of the kingdom of God.—Kyburz: Pray, dear soul, pray freely for something great; it is equally hard for God to give thee something great or something small. He does not charge it upon thee as ambition if thou prayest so soon for a large faith, or a great measure of the spirit, or a high grade of holiness. Thou must only possess all in humility and use it for the honor of the giver.—Osiander: We may indeed pray for glorious gifts of the Spirit from God, yet we must not make a display of them, but only serve the Church usefully.
2Ki_2:11-12. Elijah’s Departure from this World. (a) The mode in which he was taken away by God; (b) cause and aim of this removal (see the Exeget. and Histor. sections).
2Ki_2:11. They still went on and talked, certainly not about a temporal inheritance nor about anything temporal at all, or any worldly affairs, but about God and eternity, life and death, rest after labor, the eternal Sabbath. How consoling it is, in the last days and hours, to have a friend with whom one can hold such a conversation, and how elevating for him who must still remain in the world, to hear words from the mouth of the departing one, which sound already as if from the other world.—Starke: “Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when He cometh, shall find so doing” (i.e., watching. Mat_24:46).—The same: Pious Christians ought to remain faithful to one another in life and in death, and not to separate until God separates them by earthly death.…. At our death we ought to be glad to have faithful Christians about us, and be glad to converse with them and to entrust our souls with our Heavenly Father in the midst of their song and prayer.—We shall not, indeed, pass out of this world as Elijah did, without tasting the death of the body, but we shall be received into heaven, for we trust in Him who said: “I go to prepare a place for you;” and: “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (Joh_14:2; Joh_12:21).—In storm and whirlwind Elijah was taken away, just as his life, outwardly, had been a storm-tossed one. This last storm, however, brought him to eternal rest and eternal peace. So still, in our day, human life is often stormy, but when it is led in and with God and directed by Him, eternal sunshine follows the storm of time, there, where there is no suffering or crying any more, and where God will wipe away all tears from our eyes. There is rest prepared there for all who have fought the good fight of faith.—Menken: He who could not here gain any taste for heavenly things, who his whole life long only grubbed in the earth like an earthworm, can he hope to pass away toward heaven with joy? Our life and death lie in the hands of the Almighty, who takes one away in storm and whirlwind and another in the enjoyment of happiness and pleasure. Thou knowest not when and where and how thou shalt die, therefore pray: let me set my house in order in time, that I may be ready at all times, and say continually in all circumstances: O Lord! dispose of me as Thou wilt.
2Ki_2:12. Elisha’s Exclamation. (a) My father, my father! (An exclamation which does no less honor to Elisha than to Elijah. If such an exclamation from an equally full heart might only follow every teacher from every one of his pupils, and every shepherd of souls from every one of the souls entrusted to him!) (b) The chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. (Elisha does not forget what the entire people has lost in Elijah, in the thought of what his master has been to himself. One such man as Elijah is more than equivalent to an entire army. Such was Luther for the German people. Lord, send us one such man in this time of apostasy and unbelief.)—Starke: If God takes away faithful teachers out of the world, it ought justly to touch our hearts and to fill us with pain, but we ought also to hope that He will not leave us desolate (Joh_14:18), and to pray diligently Lord, send faithful laborers into Thy vineyard.
2Ki_2:13-25. The three significant Signs which confirm Elisha as Prophet and Successor of Elijah. The sign (a) of his path-making, (b) of his preserving and conserving, and (c) of his avenging work (see Historical, § 6).
2Ki_2:13-15. Krummacher: The Bequest. (a) Elisha with Elijah’s mantle, (b) with Elijah’s God, (c) with Elijah’s spirit, (d) with Elijah’s office.
2Ki_2:13-18. Elisha’s Return to the Sons of the Prophets. (a) What he brings with him (the mantle of Elijah as a precious souvenir and significant sign—with the sign, however, the thing itself. The spirit of Elijah rests upon him, and by virtue of this spirit he makes a path for himself through the stream of the Jordan. How many a one is in possession of a prophet’s mantle, but lacks the prophetical spirit! He who has not this spirit is not fit and capable for the prophetical office; it is given, however, to him who earnestly prays for it. Luk_11:13). (b) The manner in which they receive him. (They go to meet him and evince their respect for him, because he had shown by his first act, which was also the last one of Elijah, and which they themselves had seen, that he is appointed by God to be Elijah’s successor. At the same time, however, they did not forget their former father and master, and would not let themselves be dissuaded from seeking for him. These sons of the prophets are, therefore, a type of true and noble fidelity, and they teach us by their deed that to which Heb_13:7 exhorts us.
2Ki_2:16-18. How many, especially young and inexperienced persons, will not be dissuaded from their opinions, views, and doubts, and will not heed the words of their teachers and parents, who have the best intentions toward them, and far more experience; they must become wise by bitter experience, and then hear to their shame: Did I not say unto you?—Hall: Nothing makes a man wise better than to tire himself out in prosecuting his own courses and yet to fail of his object.
2Ki_2:13-15. It was not the mantle but the spirit of Elijah, by virtue of which Elisha divided the water and went through the Jordan. So also now, the coat of Christ does not help us to go through life unharmed and holy, but only His spirit, which He has promised to those who believe on Him from the heart. He who has not the spirit of Christ is not His (Rom_8:9).—Starke: We may well preserve relics of holy people, but we must not worship them.
2Ki_2:19-25. Elisha’s Reception at Jericho and Bethel. In the former place they come to meet him with confidence and respect, in the latter with derision and contempt. Thus he has to experience, at the very commencement of his course as a prophet, what is the inevitable fate of all true prophets and servants of God; they are sought and honored and loved by some, rejected, despised, and hated by others. So it was with the Lord himself—His whole life long, until His end upon the cross (Luk_23:39 sq.); so also with His apostles, as He foretold to them (Luk_10:5-12). He who enters upon an ecclesiastical office may indeed hope for respect and love, but he must also make up his mind to disrespect and hate.
2Ki_2:19-22. Elisha’s Assistance at Jericho. (a) The need, out of which he helps; (b) the manner in which he helps.
2Ki_2:19. God is wont, in most cases, to put some internal or external need by the side of prosperity and good fortune, in order that men may bear in mind their weakness and need of help, and in order that they may not be too well off upon earth. Where nothing is wanting that the place may be pleasant to dwell in, there that comes to pass which is written, Hos_13:6. In the districts and countries where there is no want of anything, and nothing to complain of, there is, as a general rule, the least religious life and the least morality.—When the men of Jericho perceived that a man of God, upon whom the spirit of Elijah rested, was within their walls, they sought him and presented their concern to him. How many trouble themselves about everything that takes place in their city, or about everything which is to be seen or heard, but not about a faithful servant of God, who proclaims the way of salvation.—Starke: It is not enough to have teachers and preachers; it is necessary also to make use of their counsel, at the right time (Act_16:30).
2Ki_2:20-21. Kyburz: Would that all rulers, preachers, and others, to whom souls are entrusted, would exert themselves to fill up every spring of evil in the country, or, like Elijah, to heal and improve it and make it healthful.…. For this, however, salt is necessary, the salt of heavenly wisdom. This does not come in an old vessel, but is stored in a new heart.—Krummacher: In a place where the spiritual fountains are poisoned, and the people receive to drink, from all the pulpits and school-teachers’ desks, not the water which streams forth unto eternal life, but the death-draught of that modern babble of deceit and falsehood,.… there there is a more deadly curse upon the land than that which once lay upon the district of Jericho.…. May the Lord of Elisha raise up those who shall carry the healing salt also into these fountains.—It was not the natural salt which Elisha cast into the fountain which purified it, but that of which the salt was a figure and sign, viz.: the Word of the Lord, by means of which He created heaven and earth and continually carries and preserves all things (Psa_33:6; Psa_33:9; Heb_1:3), which also creates anew the hearts of men, and brings them out of death unto life, preserves them from internal decay, and purifies them from all uncleanness. Therefore the Lord says: “Have salt in yourselves” (Mar_9:50; cf. Psa_19:8 sq.).
2Ki_2:21. I have healed these waters. The Lord is the right Physician for both Soul and Body (Exo_15:26). (a) He makes healthful those who are diseased in body and saves them from death; the human physician is only an instrument in His hand, as Elisha was here, for without Him, His strength, His blessing, no physician can accomplish anything (Sir_38:1-2). Therefore when thou hast regained thy health, give to Him before all others the honor, and say: “Praise the Lord,” &c. (Psa_103:1-5). How many sick persons travel about to every physician of whose skill they have heard, without turning, with all their hearts, to Him who says: “I give health” and “Call upon me,” &c. (Psa_50:15). (b) He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds (Psa_147:3). We are all sick and in need of the physician who came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost. God directs us all to this physician, and He alone can help us, of whom it is said: “Neither is there salvation in any other” (Act_4:12). He gives life and true health, and that man remains diseased in time and eternity whom He, the Saviour, does not heal and sanctify. Therefore, listen to His voice when He calls: “Come unto me,” &c. (Mat_11:28).
2Ki_2:22. Faithful and genuine servants of God, who cast the salt of the divine, healing, purifying, and sanctifying Word into the springs of life, are a blessing for every village and every city, unto children and children’s children, for whom God can never be thanked enough.
2Ki_2:23-25. Krummacher: The Judgment at Bethel. (a) The cause of the insult; (b) the insult itself; (c) the results of the same.—Elisha on the Road to Bethel. (a) The derision of the youths. (Bethel had been for many years the seat and home of apostasy. “The fathers have eaten sour grapes,” &c., Eze_18:2. As the old ones sing so the young ones twitter. Brought up without discipline and exhortation to follow the Lord, having grown up in rudeness, unbelief, and superstition, these youths had lost all reverence for what is holy, so that they not only held the men of God in light esteem, but even practised their wit upon them. Are there in our time no longer such youth?) (b) The curse of the prophet (was no vulgar, rude cursing from ill-temper and anger, no misuse of the holy name of God, but the correct use of this name, threatening with divine punishment those who, in the prophet, treated with contumely Him who had sent him. The punishment itself he left to Him who ever judges rightly, and whom no one may ask: Lord, what doest thou? As Elisha was not silent, so also now a faithful servant of the Lord may not keep silent if young people are brought up badly and godlessly; he ought not to let pass unnoticed their wickedness and impudence, and their contempt for that which is holy. It is his duty to warn them and their parents of the divine punishment. Woe to the watchmen who are dumb watch-dogs, who cannot punish, who are lazy, and who are glad to lie and sleep!) (c) The avenging judgment of God. (It is certain, and will not fail to come, for: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked,” &c., Gal_6:7. The judgment at Bethel is recorded as a warning to us, 1Co_10:11. If God punished the mocking children so severely, what will He do to the older mockers, who seduce youth and incite it to mocking? Though He may send no bears from the wood, yet He has countless other means in time and in eternity, whether earlier or later, for executing his just judgments. Those who mocked the Lord upon the cross had afterwards to call “to the mountains: Fall on us; and to the hills,” &c., Luk_23:30; Rev_6:16. Nor will those be better off who, now-a-days, exercise their wit upon the story of the cross, however learned and enlightened, spirituel and witty, they may be. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,” Psa_1:1). [“In vain do we look for good from those children whose education we have neglected; and in vain do we grieve for those miscarriages which our care might have prevented.” Bp. Hall, quoted in the Comp. Comm.]—Krummacher: A man in whom Christ has found a dwelling, cannot go unattacked through Dan or Bethel.—Calwer Bibel: The prophets, even, in their day, were despised on account of righteousness, and the name of God. Be not astonished at the contemptuous epithets of to-day for pious people.—Cassel: Young people are always ready to make wanton sport of any peculiar appearance which they do not understand. The unripe behavior of the young generation which is growing up, always forms a shadowy reflection of the shallow opposition in moral and religious ideas which exists in public opinion. The separate bearers and supporters of the truth, which is deep, and hence misunderstood by the masses, are, for the most part, objects of blind scorn to wild youth. That which found expression against Elijah has also fallen upon many in later times. He who, in the exercise of his calling, goes up to perverted Bethel, must expect it. [The Residence at Carmel. “He can never be a profitable seer who is either always or never alone.” Bp. Hall, quoted in the Comp. Comm.]
Footnotes:
[1]2Ki_2:15.—[מִנֶּגֶד from over against. Sept. ὲξεναντίας: Vulg. e contra: Bunsen: “on the other side.”
[2]2Ki_2:16.—[The Sept. add ἐν τῷ ’Iορδάνῃ. The chetib גֵּיאָוֹת would be the regular form for the plur. of גַּיְא. The form found, however (in Ezekiel), is גֵאָיוֹת, which the keri proposes to insert here.
[3]2Ki_2:19.—[מוֹשַׁב וגו, literally, inhabiting the city good; i.e., the city is a good one to inhabit, מְשַׁבָּלֶת, causing barrenness. The district, or locality, probably on account of its bad water, produces barrenness and miscarriage in all animals.
[4]2Ki_2:21.—[מְשַׁבָּלֶת, a participial noun, describing the action, miscarrying; “there shall be no more death or miscarrying from it” (as a cause). Cf. on 2Ki_2:19.—W. G. S.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v3 take away thy master from they head--an allusion to…
take away thy master from they head--an allusion to the custom of scholars sitting at the feet of their master, the latter being over their heads (Act 22:3).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1–4 ELIJAH’S ASCENSION, 2Ki_2:1-18.
ELIJAH’S ASCENSION, 2Ki_2:1-18.
We have in this chapter the record of one of the most impressive narratives of the Old Testament history. As in patriarchal times Enoch walked with God, and was translated to heaven without tasting death, (Gen_5:24; Heb_11:5,) so under the Mosaic dispensation we have this record of Elijah, whose whole life was a monumental wonder of divine intercourse and power, and whose removal from the world without tasting death surpassed in sublimity and grandeur the translation of the patriarchal saint. To study and appreciate the closing scenes in the history of this great man is to tread on holy ground. The ascension of Elijah has ever been regarded as typical of the ascension of our Lord; and there are points of resemblance, as well as noticeable contrasts. Elijah, says Keil, ascended in the fiery tempest, the symbol of the judicial righteousness of God. And appropriately; because as servant of the Lord, as minister of the law, he preached with fiery zeal to his apostate generation the fire of the anger of Divine righteousness. Christ ascended calmly and silently before the eyes of all his disciples, and a cloud received him out of their sight. He ascended as the Son, to whom all power in heaven and earth was given. He was transfigured by his resurrection and ascension into the imperishable Divine nature, and returned, by virtue of his eternal Godhead, to the Father.
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Since Elijah’s ascension took place near where Moses died and was buried, (Deu_34:5,) and since both these holy prophets met with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, it is natural for us to compare them in the manner of their leaving the world. Moses died on account of his sin at Kadesh, (Deu_32:50-51,) and, though he was lawgiver, he passed from his earthly life by the way of the law, which worketh death as the wages of sin. But Elijah, as typical forerunner of Christ, and who, appearing again in spirit and power in the person of John the Baptist, prepares his way by turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, (Mal_4:5-6; Mat_11:14,) ascends to heaven without tasting death, and thus further points to Him who, by his resurrection and ascension, destroys the power of sin and of death, and abolishes the curse of the law from every one that believeth.
1. When the Lord would take up Elijah — There was a set time in Jehovah’s purpose when this great miracle should be wrought. It was an event of importance to all ages, inasmuch as it would teach lessons of incalculable worth.
Into heaven — Literally, the heavens. Into what heaven? Does it merely mean the sky, where the birds fly and the clouds float? That would be a supposition unworthy of the sublime transaction. The only rational interpretation of the words involves the doctrine that Elijah ascended to the heavenly abode of the saints of God. See on 2Ki_2:11.
By a whirlwind — סערה, a storm, a tempest. This was the immediate instrumentality or agent by which he was taken up.
From Gilgal — They went from Gilgal down to Beth-el. 2Ki_2:2. Hence this Gilgal could not have been identical with the place of the same name on the east of Jericho, where Joshua first encamped after passing the Jordan, (Jos_4:19;) but the modern Jiljilia, on a lofty eminence about half way between Jerusalem and Shechem. Here, in Elijah’s time, there seems to have been a school of the prophets.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6 Ch. 2Ki_2:1-18. Elijah is carried up into heaven. The…
Ch. 2Ki_2:1-18. Elijah is carried up into heaven. The Spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. His first prophetic appearance (Not in Chronicles)
1. when the Lord would take up Elijah] The whole of the following narrative about Elijah’s assumption must be drawn from what was communicated by Elisha. It was probably collected by some among the sons of the prophets, and added to the previous record of Elijah’s life. The insertion of the history here would appear, from 2Ch_21:12-15, to be a departure from the strict order of events. Jehoshaphat king of Judah is still alive, and in the next chapter we shall find an account of his expedition, in conjunction with Jehoram of Israel against the Moabites. In the passage just cited, however, the Chronicler tells of a letter which Elijah sent to Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, at a time, as it appears, after his father’s death. Jehoram had risen up to the kingdom of his father and had slain all his brethren with the sword, and was walking in the ways of the northern kings of the house of Ahab. The letter was to warn him of the punishment which awaited his evil deeds. We can hardly place such acts as are there described during the period in which Jehoram was as it seems associated with Jehoshaphat in the kingdom. The father must have been dead ere one brother could slay all the rest of the family. The margin of the A.V. in 2Ch_21:12 describes Elijah’s letter as ‘writ before his death’, apparently with the meaning that it was prepared by prophetic foreknowledge and sent by some one else when the time came that its warning was needed. It seems much more likely that the compiler of Kings decided to make his history of Elijah complete before he went on to other matters, and has by so doing put the final scene of the prophet’s earthly life a little earlier than its proper place in the history.
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into heaven by a whirlwind] The R.V., to preserve the same order of words as the original, has ‘by a whirlwind into heaven’. The writer uses the figure which most nearly describes such a manifestation as that by which Elijah was translated. Human speech must of course fail to convey a true picture of so sublime a scene.
Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal] No mention of Elisha as Elijah’s companion is given in the history between the day of Elisha’s call and the time of the events in this chapter. But in 1Ki_19:21 we read that Elisha ‘ministered unto’ Elijah, and in 2Ki_3:11 he is called ‘Elisha the son of Shaphat which poured water on the hands of Elijah’: i.e. who performed for the aged prophet such services as a young attendant could yield to his master. We may therefore conclude that Elisha’s time had been mainly spent in Elijah’s company. The ‘Gilgal’ spoken of here must be a different place from that so named in Jos_4:19; Jos_5:9-10. That was situate in the Jordan valley and not very far from Jericho. But here the travellers are described (verse 2) as ‘going dawn’ from Gilgal to Bethel. There is however another place of the same name in the hill country of Ephraim, which is also the place alluded to in Deu_11:30 and is now known as Jiljilia, and by making this the starting-point of Elijah’s last journey, the description in the text becomes quite accurate, for that place stands considerably higher than Bethel. It is known from 2Ki_4:38 that at Gilgal there was a colony of the prophets. At the time when he was to be translated Elijah was probably dwelling among the prophetic body, and passed to the other two centres, Bethel and Jericho, that to them he might leave the precious memory of a visit on the last day when he was seen on earth. ‘For a meet farewell to the earth, Elijah will go visit the schools of the prophets, before his departure. These were in his way: of any part of earth, they were nearest unto heaven’ (Bp Hall).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–6 (1) And it came to pass . . .…
(1) And it came to pass . . . whirlwind.—The compiler has prefixed this heading to the following narrative by way of connection with the general thread of the history. It seems to be indicated that the event happened in the beginning of the reign of Jehoram; but see Note on 2Ch_21:12.
When the Lord would take up.—When Jehovah caused Elijah to go up, or ascend. This anticipates the conclusion of the story.
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Into heaven.—Heb., accusative of direction, as in 2Ki_2:11. The LXX. renders, ὡς εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν “as into heaven,” perhaps to suggest that not the visible heavens, but God, was the real goal of the prophet’s ascension.
By a whirlwind.—In the storm.
Gilgal.—Heb., the Gilgal, i.e., the Ring (comp. Isa_28:28, “wheel”), a descriptive name of more than one place. Here, Gilgal in Ephraim, the present Jiljîlia, which stands on a hill south-west of Seilûn (Shiloh), near the road leading thence to Jericho. (See Deu_11:30; Hos_4:15; Amo_4:4.) Hosea and Amos connect Gilgal with Bethel, as a sanctuary. It was probably marked by a ring of stones like those at Stonehenge and Avebury. From this spot the mountain land of Gilead, the Great Sea, and the snowy heights of Hermon, were all visible; so that the prophet could take from thence a last look at the whole country which had been the scene of his earthly activity.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–6 Vers. 1-25. THE REMOVAL OF ELIJAH FROM EARTH, AND…
Vers. 1-25. THE REMOVAL OF ELIJAH FROM EARTH, AND SOME EARLY MIRACLES OF ELISHA. The great prophet of Israel was to have a departure from earth as marvelous as his life had been. Ewald"s words, though not intended in a historical, but only in a literary sense, embody very forcibly what the humble believer may accept as the actual rationale of the occurrence related in ver. 1-12: "An earthly career which had no equal in the purity of its devotion to the service of Jehovah, and was at the same time consummated by such powerful efforts to promote the kingdom of God, could only have a corresponding close. It ceases before the very eyes of men, only to he taken up into the realm of pure spirit, that is, to heaven, there to carry on its work with less disturbance, and with greater power; and at that moment heaven itself descends to earth, to take to itself that spirit which is already entirely its own. And so a fiery chariot with fiery horses comes down from heaven and bears Elijah in the tempest up to heaven" ("History of Israel," vol. 4. pp. 109, 110, Eng. trans.). In Ewald"s view, the narrative is pure imagination, the beautiful conception of one who greatly admired the Tishbite, and invented for him an end in ideal harmony with his life. But may not Omnipotence sometimes work out ideal harmonies in the actual matter-of-fact universe? And is it "advanced criticism," or sound criticism at all, to take a professed history, and pick and cull from it certain portions as absolute facts, quite indubitable (see p. 107, note 2, ad fin.), while rejecting other portions, which have exactly the same external testimony, as pure fictions absolutely devoid of the slightest historical foundation?
The record of Elisha"s early miracles (vers. 13-24) prepares the way for the position which Elisha is to occupy in the next section of the history, under the Israelite monarchs, Jehoram, Jehu, Jeheahaz, and Jehoash. On Elisha falls the mantle of Elijah (ver. 13), and with it a portion of his spirit, sufficient to enable him to carry on the prophetic office with vigor and steadfastness.
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And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven. The subject is introduced as one of general notoriety, the writer professing rather to give the exact details of a well-known fact, than to relate a new fact unknown to his readers. "When the time came," he means to say, "for Elijah"s translation, of which you, my readers, all know, the following were the circumstances under which it took place." The fact itself was deeply impressed on the Jewish consciousness. "Elias," says the Sou of Sirach, "was taken up in a whirlwind of fire, and in a chariot of fiery homes" (Ecc 48:9). He was ranked with Enoch, as not having seen death (Josephus, "Ant. Jud:," 9:2. and was viewed as "continuing in heaven a mysterious life, which no death had ever interrupted, whence he was ready at any time to return to earth" (Ewald, "History of Israel," vol. 4. p. 113). The scribes thought that he was beyond all doubt to make hisappearance upon the earth in person, before the coming of the Messiah. (Mat_16:10) By a whirlwind. Sa"arach is not so much an actual "whirlwind" as a storm or atmospheric disturbance (susseismov, LXX). It is a word which only occurs here in the historical Scriptures. That Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Elisha had become to Elijah what Joshua was to Moses (Exo_24:13) his "minister," or regular attendant, from the time of his call at Abel-meholah. (1Ki_19:21) Elijah had no fixed residence, but moved from place to place as the Spirit of God suggested. His wanderings had now brought him to Gilgal (probably Jiljilieh, near Nablous), one of the most ancient sanctuaries of the land, (1Sa_10:8 1Sa_11:15, etc.) celebrated in the history of Saul and Samuel.
Vers. 1-10.
Preparation for our departure from earth.
Abnormal as was the mode of Elijah"s departure from the earth, his conduct in prospect of departure may be to some extent a lesson to Christians. Note
I HIS RESIGNATION. No murmur escapes him; he shows no unwillingness to depart, no clinging to earth, no fear of removal, no shrinking from entrance on the unseen world. When God determines that the objects with which he has been placed upon the earth are accomplished, and that the Divine purposes will now be best carried out by other agents, he is quite ready to go, satisfied to depart, content that God should do with him as seemeth him good. Occupied with listening intently to the Divine voice which speaks within him, and executing its mandates, he moves from place to place, as ordered, indifferent where he is or what toils he undergoes, so that to the last he may faithfully perform the Divine will.
II HIS ABSORPTION IN DIVINE CONTEMPLATION AND MEDITATION. The things of earth concern him no more. He moves on in a holy calm, wrapt in pious thought, not even speaking, except in rare snatches, to his attached follower. The unseen world, the coming change, the things of heaven, occupy him. He does not address, perhaps he scarcely sees, the sons of the prophets," who come forth to take their last look on the great teacher of the day. The time is too solemn a one for greetings, or conversations, or even exhortations. He does not seek to "improve the occasion," as shallower spirits might have done. In silence he goes his way, his mind fixed on God and the things of God things ineffable, inexpressible which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man" to conceive, but which are revealed in flashes to the soul about to depart, and give it a foretaste of the final joy of the Lord.
III HIS CONSIDERATION, DESPITE HIS ABSORPTION, FOR HIS ATTACHED FOLLOWER. Nothing is more common than for persons, in the near prospect of death, to be wholly occupied with themselves, and to have no consideration at all for others to lose them out of sight, to forget them. Elijah, though wrapt in holy contemplation, is constantly mindful of his follower. Three times he suggests that his attendance is not necessary, and that he should spare himself the toil and trouble of tedious journeys (vers. 2, 4, 6). Finally, he invites him to ask whatever boon he pleases, with a replied pledge that, if it be within his power, he will grant it. The boon asked is one not directly in his power to grant; but he does not refuse it on that account. He consults God secretly as to the Divine will with respect to it, and obtains an answer which sustains the spirit of his follower, and makes the moment of his bereavement one also of comfort and triumph to him.
HOMILIES BY C.H. IRWIN.
Vers. 1-8.
Parting visits.
Here, through the telescope of Scripture story, we are permitted to witness the closing scene of a great life. Let us draw near and look carefully at what happens there, for the like of it only happened once before and of that we have little record and it has never happened since. Only two men, Enoch and Elijah, went straight from earth to heaven without passing through the valley of death. It was true of Elijah as well as of Enoch, that he walked with God." It is a solemn time, surely, in a man"s life when he knows that his earthly journey is drawing to a close, that the shadows of death are closing in upon him, and that eternity is opening up before him. It is well for those who, like Elijah, are ready to depart. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." It is a solemn time, too, for those who are left behind. What anxious questioning! What possible doubts about the future! What eagerness to look behind the veil and penetrate the darkness which hides the loved one from our view! How happy those who by the eye of faith can see their departed ones entering through the gates into the city, to be forever with the Lord! It is quite evident that God had conveyed to Elijah some intimation of the fact that he was so soon to be taken away from earth. The sons of the prophets were aware of it, and Elisha knew it also. But Elijah seems to have felt no personal anxiety at the thought. Many hundred years after this, when John Knox the Elijah of Scotland was on his death-bed, he said to those who stood around him, "Oh, serve the Lord in fear, and death shall not be terrible unto you!" Something like this was Elijah"s experience. He had been faithful to God"s cause and commands during his life, and now he was not afraid that God would forsake him at its close. How, then, did Elijah spend the few hours that remained to him before he entered into the presence of his Maker? Some there are who would like to spend those hours in peaceful contemplation alone with God. Elijah was himself a man of contemplative disposition. He loved to he alone with God. His "soul was like a star, and dwelt apart." And yet, with all this, the active was stronger in him than the contemplative; or rather, the two were so well balanced that the one was a help to the other. From his hours of solitude and communion with God he drew inspiration and strength for his stern conflicts with men and sin. If he was a man of contemplation, he was also a man of action. And so we find him spending the greater part of his closing hours in busy activity and usefulness visiting the schools of the prophets. Is there not a lesson here? Ought we not to imitate Elijah in redeeming the time, in working while it is day? Do you want to spend your last hours well! If so, you should spend everyday, as you would like to spend your last. One day a lady asked John Wesley how he would spend that day if he knew it was to be his last. She doubtless expected some rules for pious meditation and seclusion. His answer was, "Just, madam, as I intend to spend it;" and then he proceeded to tell her what his busy program of work was for the day. Oh, that we could all say that every day, that if it was to be our last we would spend it just as we intend to spend it! We ought to be able to say it, for any day may be our last. No doubt there are many whom God lays aside by age, or infirmity, or suffering for weeks, or months, or years before he calls them home. They cannot spend their closing hours in what is usually called work for Christ, though they may be really working for him by their patience in suffering, by their faith and hope, by their words of counsel to others. But so long as God gives us health and strength to work for him, then it is best to do as Elijah did to live in harness to the last. Notice the scene of Elijahs dosing labor s. He visited the schools of the prophets, the colleges or institutions where young men were trained for their future work of teaching others the truths of religion. It was amongst the young his last hours were spent. Elijah felt the importance of these colleges, he realized that the young were the hope of the Church. Hence he would devote to them his last, and probably his best, hours. He would give them words of counsel and exhortation words that, under such circumstances, few of them would ever forget. There is a lesson here for us all. Parents need to realize more the importance of personally instructing their children. They need to take more interest in the kind of education they receive. They need to be more careful about the companions with whom they permit their children to associate. Not merely parents, but all members of the Christian Church, should take a deeper interest in the education of the young. How little our people know, as a rule, about our theological colleges! and how little encouragement do those laboring in them receive from the Church as a whole! Elijah"s closing hours were spent in active work, and that active work consisted in visiting among the young. Such were his parting visits. C.H.I
HOMILIES BY D. THOMAS Vers. 1-14.
The departure of good men.
it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven." Two subjects are here presented for notice
I THE DEPARTURE OF A GOOD MAN FROM THE EARTH. Death is a departure from the world; it is not an extinction of being, but a mere change in its mode. There are two facts concerning Elijah"s departure which mark the departure of all men.
1. The time is of God. "It came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah." There is an appointed time for man on the earth; when the hour is up, he must go: not before or after. Elijah"s time had come. There are no accidental deaths, no premature graves. "Thou turnest man to destruction;" "Thou takest away his breath.
2. The manner is of God. Elijah was to be taken away by a "whirlwind." That was the method God appointed for him. He takes men away by various methods, sometimes by devastating winds, sometimes by scathing lightnings, sometimes by boisterous billows, sometimes by accident or starvation, sometimes by prolonged disease, etc. All that is with him. We are not the creatures of chance. He "careth for us;" for each, for all.
II THE POWER OF GOODNESS IN A GOOD MAN"S DEPARTURE. See what a grand spirit Elijah displays in the immediate prospect of his exit.
1. A spirit of calm self-possession. When Elijah knew of the solemn event awaiting him, how calmly he talked to Elisha, and wended his way to Bethel, according to the Divine commandment! There was no excitement or perturbation. He moves and talks with a majestic calmness. Religion alone can give this peace. "He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on him.
2. A spirit of strong social interest. See how it affected Elisha. Bow tenderly and strongly he felt bound to him! Elisha says, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy son liveth, I will not leave thee." He repeated this thrice., And when the sons of the prophets spoke to him about it he said, "Hold ye your peace." As if he had said, "I cannot bear to hear it." No doubt these sons of the prophets and all who came under the godly influence of Elijah felt thus bound to him. There is no power by which one man can link another so closely and mightily to him as the power of goodness. Goodness is a mighty magnet.
3. A spirit of far-reaching philanthropy. Elijah goes to Bethel, but wherefore? Probably to deliver a valedictory address to the "sons of the prophets." They were in college there, in the college, perhaps, which Elijah himself had founded. Would that his address had been reported! His great solicitude was that these young men should hand down the religion of God to the men of coming times. The spirit of genuine religion is not a narrow spirit, a spirit confined to a Church, a country; or a period, but a spirit that embraces in its loving sympathies the spiritual interests of the race. D.T.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR Vers. 1-6.
Preparative to translation.
The time had come when the Lord would take Elijah up in a whirlwind into heaven. It was a singular honor to be put upon a singularly great and good man. No case had happened like it since the days of Enoch that other great prophet, who maintained a witness for God amidst the all but universal wickedness of antediluvian times. (Jud_1:14) No other would happen till the ascension of Christ. We observe
I THE PROPHET"S MOVEMENTS. It is to be remarked concerning these that they were:
1. Directed by the Spirit of the Lord. "The Lord hath sent me to Bethel;" "The Lord hath sent me to Jericho;" "The Lord hath sent me to Jordan." But this was true of Elijah"s life throughout. "He was as if constantly in the hand of God. "As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand," was his habitual expression a slave constantly waiting to do his master"s bidding (Stanley). He had grown so entirely into the habit of taking his direction from God, that his life was already half unearthly. The invisible world was more real to him than the visible. Thus he was inwardly prepared for translation. To merge one"s will in God"s is already to be living a heavenly life on earth. Elijah was in this a forerunner of Christ. (Joh_5:19)
2. Directed to the schools of the prophets. From Gilgal Elijah was sent first to Bethel, then to Jericho, then to Jordan, at two of which places were seminaries or communities of "the sons of the prophets." His last movements thus took the form of a farewell visit to these seats of prophetic instruction. It was these schools of the prophets, with Elisha at the head of them, that were to retain and perpetuate his influence after he was gone. He had doubtless had much to do with the organization and fostering of them, and he appears amongst his disciples once more, in their various centers, ere he departs. If he did no more, he would leave with each, at least, a parting blessing. The blessing of a dying believer is ever to be valued. (Ge 48 Ge 49 De 33) It was in the act of blessing his disciples that Jesus "was parted from them, and carried up to heaven". (Luk_24:51)
3. A sign of approaching removal. The prophetic atmosphere is electric. Elijah knows that he is to be removed; Elisha knows it (vers. 3, 5); the sons of the prophets have some intimations of it. These rapid, yet purposeful, movements from place to place portend the coming change. Like the restlessness of birds on the eve of migration, they tell that Elijah is not long to be on earth.
II ELIJAH AND ELISHA. Elisha stands nearer to Elijah than any other. (2Ki_3:11) He is found here in his company at Gilgal. A study of the relations between the prophet and his destined successor, in view of the approaching departure of the former, is full of interest.
1. Elijahs desire for solitude. Once, twice, and a third time Elijah requested Elisha to tarry behind, and leave him to go whither he was sent alone.
(1) In the expression of this desire we can trace a very natural craving of a man in his position. The sense of awe in connection with what was about to rake place, which made Elisha himself desire not to talk of it (vers. 3, 5), would, in a far intenser measure, indispose Elijah to have his private thoughts disturbed.
(2) But the request was of the nature of a test to Elisha. It gave him the opportunity of saying whether he would go or stay. It drew out the qualities of his nature, which showed that he was fit for such a privilege as that of seeing Elijah taken up. It is not every one who has the spiritual meekness for being a witness of sacred scenes. Jesus took only Peter, James, and John with him to the Mount of Transfiguration, into the house of Jairus, and into the recesses of Gethsemane.
2. Elishas determination to follow Elijah. Elisha was not to be baulked of his determination to see the last of what should befall his beloved master. "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth," was his reply on each occasion, "I will not leave thee." In this speaks:
(1) Affection for Elijah. The nearer came the hour for parting with him, the more precious was his society. He could not bear the thought of losing one moment of the time that yet remained for converse. It is only when dear friends are either actually taken away or on the point of being taken from us, that we realize how invaluable is the boon of their presence.
(2) A desire to see the wonders of God"s working. It was no vain curiosity which prompted Elisha to go with Elijah, but a rational wish to see the crown of glory put on a career that had already received so much honor. He wished to see the completion of one of God"s great works. He felt that it could not but teach him more of God, thrill and inspire him with more zeal for service, fix past impressions of Elijah on his soul, and altogether leave lasting results in his nature, to witness this "great sight." Therefore he would not miss it.
(3) A hope of blessing. Could he but see Elijah as he was taken from him, something whispered that he could not fail to bring away a blessing from the sight. And so it happened (vers. 10, 15).
3. Perseverance rewarded. Elisha"s importunity prevailed. He and Elijah went on together. Mostly perhaps in silence, but latterly, at least, in converse (ver. 11). There is a holy boldness in seeking a blessing the spirit of Jacob, "I will not let thee go except thou bless me", (Gen_32:26) which never fails of its reward.
III ELISHA AND THE SONS OF THE PROPHETS. At each new center, as the travelers went on, bands of "the sons of the prophets" came forth to Elisha, and said, "Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today?" His answer, as befitted one who felt the unspeakable sacredness of the event in prospect, was, "Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace" There is a time to speak, and a time to be silent, (Ecc_3:7) and this was the hour for silence. Speech would jar on the solemnity of the occasion. The deeper experiences of life are to be meditated upon, rather than much spoken about. The tongue has great power over the heart. The effects of many a solemn hour have been dissipated by unseasonable talk about them. J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1–2 And it came to pass when the Lord would…
2Ki_2:1-15
And it came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah.
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Elijah translated
I. In the glorious end of Elijahs earthly life we see not simply the reward of one faithful man, but the Divine grace manifested to every believer at the end of his earthly career. One of the purposes, doubtless, of this translation of Elijah was to make plainer to our dull understandings the upward heavenly going of every saint when his Work on earth is over. We are so apt to follow the body with our thoughts, and to imagine our departed friends in the grave, that here God made the body go upward that we may be weaned of this wrong and heathenish notion. To the spiritual mind the whole Old Testament is full o| views of the future state; and this ascent of Elijah is one of the many instances in which we behold the immediate contiguity of heaven to earth in the experience of Gods holy ones. When, therefore, we are called upon to bend over the mortal form of a departing saint, it is for us to feel how close at hand is the transfer to heaven. The spiritual heaven is neither up nor down, and this narrative of Elijahs disappearance from Elisha must not be pressed. In reply to this we say that we can press it. We assert that up is always used in accordance with the need or weakness (if you please) of our nature to designate the heaven of the departed soul where it abides with God. This is but in conformity with the uni-verbal instinct of man. Why it should be so we cannot tell, nor are we called on to explain. The prophet Elijah ascending through the air teaches us of a present heaven to which his life was transferred. We cannot otherwise regard the incident. The mind refuses to see in it that he went into unconsciousness or annihilation or to purgatory or to hell. The heaven is not simply the outward heaven of sense, but the heaven of bliss and of God, just as in the case of our Lord Jesus who led His disciples out as far as to Bethany; and it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them and carded up into heaven.
2. Elijah went up into heaven. It was Elijah that went up, not Ahab. It was a man of God, one who had been faithful to the Divine will and commands, one who had been jealous for Gods name and worship. It is well for us to note this. Only Gods saints go up to heaven. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Those who think God will or can take an unholy heart to heaven know nothing of God. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart. While no man can derive these requisites from his nature, depraved as it is, he can receive the blessing of the clean hands and pure heart from the Lord, even righteousness from the God of his salvation. (H. Crosby, D. D.)
The translation of Elijah
When the Lord would take up Elijah,--when. There is a great doctrine of Providence there. The life of man is absolutely at the disposal of the Lord--that is the doctrine. One might suppose that man would have some choice as to when he would go. Not the least in the world. We might think that man would be permitted to stay a year or two longer--he might be engaged in finishing a work which would require that time to complete it. No. Well, says one, I have built the column, and the capital is nearly ready to put on: I shall have it done the day after to-morrow--cannot I stay until then? No. When the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven; not when Elijah would go, but when the Lord would take him. Is there not an appointed time unto man upon the earth? God knows when our work is done; sometimes we think it is done when it is not; we wonder what more there is to do to it, it seems so trifling, as if it were not worth while doing, reminding us of what the great sculptor said to some one who wondered that he was so long over his marble: I know I am doing but a few things that look like trifles, but trifles make perfection and perfection is no trifle. So with us: many a poor life we have seen seems to be doing nothing, and we wonder why it does not go forward into the eternal state. When the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven.--What is heaven? Critics cannot tell us: they have met in council and can make nothing of it. We must die to know, It hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive Gods house. And so Elijah goes to Gilgal: it is set down here as if it meant nothing--on to Bethel and to Jericho, as if he were a restless kind of spirit, here and there, going on like some fussy old man who does not know where to rest. But there is plan here, purpose, scheme, Providence; and so there is in our travel and in our movements, By a whirlwind.--There is a lesson here for us: and it is this. That the way of our going, as well as the time, is of the Lords determination, and not of ours. He appoints the time, He makes the way, and thou hast nothing to do with it, poor dying man. One says, I want to die on my birthday; and God says, No, perhaps the day after. Another says I want to die suddenly; and God replies, No, that is not the way: it is in the book, it is all written down in the book: you are to have a lingering death. I should like to die lingeringly, but quietly, says another man; and God says, That is not the way in the book: suddenly a bolt shall strike thee: thou shalt go to bed well, and in the morning be in heaven, without pang or spasm or notice given to any one: they shall find thee sleeping on the pillow like a child at rest. Another man says, I should like to die like a shock of corn fully ripe; and God says, No, thou shalt be cut down in the greenness of thy youth, in the immaturity of thy powers. There are others who would like to die in childhood--pass away before five, when the eyes are round wonders, and they know nowise of anything--when everything round about is mystery and puzzle and enchantment; and God says, No, you shall die at ninety: it is all focussed, all settled. What have we to do, therefore? God allows us to express our own wishes and wills, He allows us to say what we would like to have done, and trains us to say, Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine, be done. He sends for some in a beautiful chariot made of violets and snowdrops and crocuses, and these are the young folks that go up to heaven in the spring chariot: the vernal coach is sent for them and they go away--so young! They have just left school, just finished the last lesson, and shut it up, and said Good-bye to master and governess, and are supposed now to be ready for life; and God says, Now, come up; and they go up amid all the sweet modest spring flowers. And others go up in old age, feeling as if they had been forgotten on the earth, allowed to linger and loiter too long, as if God had forgotten them--some by long affliction, some by sudden call. Elijah did not say to Elisha, I am going to die, Or I am going to heaven, but, I am going to Bethel--stand there. You know what we say to one another in view of the great event: we say, If anything should happen to me--a form of words we understand. We do not scene to be able to say plainly and with frankness, Now, if I should die next week No, but we say, We do not know what may happen, and in the event of anything happening to me. We do not like to mention the monster, and to point a long plain finger into the pit, so we say, If anything should happen to me--in the event of anything happening to me--going to Gilgal, and to Bethel, and to Jericho, and to Jordan, and The rest is silence. That is the way in the chamber of affliction. We say, If the wind would only get round out of the east and into the south.west, perhaps we should get you up a little. Never--and we know it. And our friend, unwilling to break our heart, says, I have been thinking that if the weather were milder, I might perhaps be able to get out a little. Thus touch is not made to the quick; this man says he is going to Gilgal, and he knows he is going to heaven; he says he is going to Bethel, as if it were nothing--only going to pray with the young ones there, lie says he is going to Jericho, as if he is going to stop there--he knows perfectly well he win only be there one night; he is a pilgrim with a staff in his hand and cannot linger. He says he is going to Jordan, and he knows perfectly well that he will never come back over Jordan, but all the time he never says anything about it. So we let our friends down easily, and prepare them for great events by doing certain intermediate things. Elijah says, Ask what I shall do for thee. Heaven is so near, yet he is still thinking about the earth: he is going to join the angels, and yet wanting to do something for the poor creatures yet to linger upon the earth for ten or twenty years. Oh, bold man, bold, bold Elijah! Ask what I shall do for thee. Leave me a blessing, leave me one of your old letters, let me have your old Bible: utter one more prayer for me, mention me in the last prayer, let the last sigh mean poor me--me--me. Ay, we can help one another in that way. Ask what I shall do for thee. Now, what is your supreme prayer? What do you want your father, mother, friend, to leave you? Let them leave you a good example, let them leave you a noble testimony on behalf of the truth, let them leave you an unsullied character, and then they will leave you an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. If thou see me. And Elisha said, I will see thee, if it be possible; I will keep my eye upon thee. And did God ever disappoint the eyes that were turned upwards? Did lie ever say, The morning shall not shine upon those who look towards the east? Never. And so if you look into the perfect law of liberty--look into the Bible, you will find it always new, always a revelation, always something fresh--May bringing its own flowers, June her own coronal ever, August its own largess of vine and wheat. If thou see me. Is there any counterpart to that in the New Testament? There is: O wonderful counterpart,--If thou see Me, thou shalt have it, if not, it shall not be so. And He led them--that greater He--led them out as far as to Bethany. And He ascended, and they watched Him and saw Him, and a cloud received Him up out of their sight. They watched, they saw, they returned to Jerusalem, and were endued with power from on high. That is Gods law, that the watching man gets everything, the man who is nearest and looks keenest gets all and sees all--and it is right. The mountain gets the first gleam of the sun, and then the light gets down into the valleys by and by. And so--and so--these great rocks of God are watching men: Elisha was a watching spirit: those who see Christ taken up are endued with power from on high. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; look, and ye shall see; knock, and it shall be opened. Sir Isaac Newton was once asked why he was so much greater than other workers in his particular science. He said, I do not know, except that I, perhaps, pay more attention than they do! Just consider. What is attention? We think anybody can attend. Hardly a man in a hundred can attend to anything. The sluggard gets nothing, the shut eyes see not the morning when it cometh, the slumberers closed vision cannot see the first sparklings and scintillations of the coming day. Lord, open our eyes, that we may see! (J. Parker, D. D.)
Elijah translated
The translation of Elijah means more than an historic statement. The theme is concerned with the great scriptural doctrine of immortality, in whose light we consider it. Observe--
I. The dual nature of man. This truth is directly implied in the account of the Creation. The bodily form was made of the dust of the ground; but when the Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, man became a living soul. It is of this dual nature Paul speaks, there is a natural body and there is a spiritual body; howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural. A denial of this fact asserts that man is on a level with the brutes. The more common belief, however, asserts the existence of the two natures, yet clings to the idea that, somehow, the two are interdependent. This idea is unscriptural, since, in such a case, death could not be a gain. The spiritual body controls the material and earthly, but is not controlled by it.
II. Flesh and blood are not immortal. The apostle calls this the corruptible body, and then declares that corruption cannot inherit incorruption; that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. What is perishable cannot enter heaven.
III. The nature and ministry of death. By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned; this is the sad history. The sting of death is sin; this is the law. In the translation of Elijah we behold what would, perhaps, be the type of death but for sin; but, aside from such a consideration, we turn to a few important lessons in the scene.
1. The power of the human purpose to perpetuate itself. It is in this manner we see the power of Elijah in his care for the schools of the prophets. These organisations were to continue, after his departure, what his unwearied efforts had begun. I am left alone, was his early cry; yet when upon the cloud of flame he ascended, Bethel, Gilgal, and Jericho, with their throngs of prophets, were left. The theocracy which, in spite of Ahab and Jezebel, he had founded was perpetuated in these schools. There is a future for all men on the earth if they will only plan wisely. As Elijah had been the founder and defender of the faith, so did he become, by these centres, the conserver of that same faith.
2. The unwearied activity of the good man. The true life has no spare hours apart from its purpose. It was as they still went on and talked that the chariot came. The last hours were as full of service as if no change were coming. The invisible world needed no further special thought.
3. The immortal life. The history of Carmels prophet seems hardly complete without the scene on Hermon. A thousand years had passed since the chariot of fire swept the sky. The three favoured disciples had fallen asleep even in their Masters prayer. Nought but that wondrous voice broke in upon the stillness of night. By some revelation the disciples caught the accents of the heavenly visitors. The one, fifteen hundred years before, had trodden the crest of Sinai and spoken face to face with God. It was he who had surrendered his claim to Egypts crown for the reproach of Christ. It was he whose face had shone with a borrowed glory he wist not of. (Monday Club Sermons.)
The departure of good men
Two subjects are here presented for notice--
I. The departure of a good man from the earth. Death is a departure from the world, it is not an extinction, it is a mere change of place.
II. The power of goodness in a good mans departure. See what a grand spirit Elijah displays in the immediate prospect of his exit.
1. A spirit of calm self-possession.
2. A spirit of strong social interest.
3. A spirit of far-reaching philanthropy.
Elijah goes to Bethel, but wherefore? Probably to deliver a valedictory address to the sons of the prophets. (Homilist.)
The Christian a native of heaven
A Christian mans true affinities are with the things not seen, and with the persons there, however the surface relationships knit him to the earth. In the degree in which he is a Christian, he is a stranger here and a native of the heavens. That great city is, like some of the capitals of Europe, built on a broad river, with the mass of the metropolis on the one bank, but a wide-spreading suburb on the other. As the Trastevere is to Rome, as Southwark to London, so is earth to heaven, the bit of the city on the other side the bridge. (Alex. Maclaren, D. D.)
Lifes eventide
Here is a man on the borders of heaven. He is living in intimate fellowship with God. Of each step in that last journey he can say: The Lord hath sent me. Enoch, the first to be translated, walked with God. Elijah most clearly did the same. So St. Paul says: If we live in the Spirit let us also walk in the Spirit; or, literally, let us also step in the Spirit. Not merely the walk as a whole, but each successive step should be in fellowship with God. Nothing short of this can be adequate preparation for such a change. Surely if we knew the Lord was coming for us in a few days, those days would be days of infinite and unbroken fellowship; there would be no hours out of touch with the Master. We ought when thus in perfect fellowship to be able to say of each step, The Lord hath sent me. But this man on the borders of heaven, is found in a retired spot and seeks to be alone. We find him with Elisha at Gilgal, probably the Gilgal beside the oaks of Moreh, mentioned in Deu_11:30, R.V. There he proposes to leave Elisha whilst he journeys alone to Bethel. We can understand his desire for solitude. And he has no wish to parade his approaching honour. He will not talk about it to Elisha; and Elisha refuses to discuss it with the sons of the prophets. This man on the borders of heaven, is full of a genuine humility. No traces of self are seen in him during this last journey. There was a sweet attractiveness, however, about this grand old warrior. Elisha felt it, and refused to leave him. Who shall say how far Elishas brightness and buoyancy were the reflection of the glorious sunset, without clouds, which closed the earthly course of this truehearted veteran. But, again, this man on the borders of heaven takes an interest in his stewardship. There were schools for the sons of the prophets at both Bethel and Jericho. Elijahs Steps were no doubt guided to these places that he might leave at each a parting message of counsel and direction. He who said, Occupy till I come, is not pleased if His servants neglect the work entrusted to them. Nor, however, should we be so engrossed in our work as to forget His promised return. Once more this man on the borders of heaven has no thought of his own needs, but is only anxious to leave a blessing behind. Ask what I shall do for thee, before--mark the limitation: Elijah knew his power of helping those on earth would cease when his life in the body was ended--before I be taken away from thee. And this desire of Elijahs was fulfilled. He was staggered first of all at the boldness of Elishas request. Most truly, Elijah left a blessing behind him. The sons of the prophets were forced to acknowledge, The spirit of Eli]ah doth rest on Elisha. And nine hundred years afterwards the angel Gabriel could say no greater word concerning the promised forerunner than that be should go before in the spirit and power of Elijah to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And the very blessing which Elijah left behind him we may have. The Lord God of Eli]ah has not changed. Surely, as the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, and the promise, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, receives its fulfilment, we may look for an increase of the spirit and power of Elijah in our midst. Men say, The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones. But this is the cynical pessimism of an unbelieving age. Really good men never die. Their influence lives; they reproduce themselves in those around them. Judged by earthly standards, Elijahs career might seem almost a failure, for his chief public triumph was so soon discounted by unbelieving flight. But the man is more than his ministry. Character is more than success. (F. S. Webster, M. A.)
Evensong
There is always something beautiful in the declining years of one who in earlier life has dared nobly and wrought successfully. Younger men gather round the veteran to whom they owe the inspiration and model of their lives; and call him father, enwreathing his grey locks with crowns in which love is entwined with reverence. Seeds sown years before and almost forgotten, or reckoned lost, yield their golden returns. Memory rescues from the oblivion of the past many priceless records; whilst hope, standing before the thinning veil, tells of things not perfectly seen as yet, but growing on the gaze of the ripened spirit. The old force still gleams in the eye; but its rays are tempered by that tenderness for human frailty, and that deep self-knowledge, which years alone can yield.
I. The work of the closing years of Elijahs life. The Christian traveller among the Western Isles of Scotland will hardly fail to visit one small, bare, lone spot out amid the roll of the Atlantic waves. It is thy shore, Ions, of which I write! No natural beauties arrest the eye or enchain the interest. There is but one poor village, with its two boats, and a squalid population. Yet who can visit that low shore, and stand amid those crumbling ruins, without intense emotion?--since it was there that Columba built the first Christian church, to shed its gentle rays over those benighted regions; and to shelter the young apostles who carried the Gospel throughout the pagan kingdoms of Northern Britain. With similar emotions should we stand amid the ruins of Bethel, Gilgal, and Jericho; where, in his declining years, Elijah gathered around him the flower of the seven thousand, and educated them to receive and transmit something of his own Spiritual force and fire.
II. The attitude of his spirit in anticipating his translation. The old man clung to those young hearts, and felt that his last days could not be better spent than in seeing them once more; though he resolved to say nothing of his approaching departure, or of the conspicuous honour that was shortly to be conferred on him. Here is the humility of true greatness! Alas! what a rebuke is here for ourselves! The prophets trident desire to die alone shames us, when we remember how eager we are to tell men, by every available medium, of what we are doing for the Lord. There is not a talent with which He entrusts us, which we do not parade as a matter of self-laudation. There is not a breath of success that does not mightily puff us up. What wonder that our Father dare not give us much marked success, or many conspicuous spiritual endowments--lest we be tempted further to our ruin!
III. The affectionate love with which Elijah was regarded. It strongly showed itself in Elisha. The younger man stood with his revered leader, as for the last time he surveyed from the heights of Western Gilgal the scene of his former ministry. And, in spite of many persuasives to the contrary, he went with him down the steep descent to Bethel and Jericho. What is the Lord to thee? Is He a dear and familiar friend, of whom thou canst speak with unwavering confidence? Then thou needest not fear to tread the verge of Jordan. Otherwise, it becomes thee to get to His precious blood, and to wash thy garments white; that thou mayest have right to the tree of life, and mayest enter in through the gates into the city. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
The ascension of Elijah
I. The type.
1. The last intercourse between Elijah and Elisha is hardly what we should have expected. Elijah knew that he was about to leave Elisha, but almost seems to act with coldness towards him, and to want to throw him off. Elisha had left all to follow Elijah, to be his disciple and attendant.
2. It was a-mark of lowliness in the prophet. He was to be honoured by God in a most marvellous manner, and he shrank even from Elishas witness of the great event. The law of the spiritual life, He that humbleth himself shall be exalted, even then held good.
3. Further, it might have been to test Elisha, his affection, and his detachment. It would seem that there was something which governed Elijahs request, though he does not reveal the motive of it. The strong asseveration, too, of Elijah, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee, repeated thrice, shows how Elijahs proposal had stirred the depths of Elishas soul.
4. The repeated suggestion that he should depart reveals the perseverance of Elisha. It gave to his will the opportunity of exercising steadfastness and constancy. In this mysterious intercourse we see how graces were set in motion and developed. The crossing of Jordan seems to have been the acme of Elishas probation; for now Elijah turns to him, and makes a proposal of a very different kind, Ask what I shall do for thee, etc.
5. Then Elisha is ready with the petition, Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
II. The antitype.
1. There are two ways of approaching the mysteries of Christ--one direct, the other indirect. One through the Gospels, thee other through the types and prophecies of the Old Testament. Besides these, there is the road of experience in the Epistles.
2. We take now the indirect route. We find in this narrative, first, a type of Christs ascension into heaven. Of the points of resemblance between the two events, no unbiased mind could doubt. Even Scott says it was a prefiguration of the Redeemers ascension. An both cases mere was the miraculous elevation of a human body from earth to heaven. Both had to be seen, to secure a gift.
3. But it is a law of the antitype to outstrip the type. Christ was self-raised. He who by His Divine power could walk on the water, could mount up into the air.
III. LESSONS.
1. Exception proves the rule. Let the exemption of Elijah from the law of death remind us that we have to pass through the dark valley, and must prepare for the journey; for what man is he that shall live, and shall not see death, that shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? (Psa_89:48, R.V.).
2. Dispositions are necessary for receiving spiritual gifts--the lowliness, detachment, steadfastness to be traced in the last intercourse between Elijah and Elisha, bear witness to this.
3. To approach the mysteries of Christ through the types of the Old Testament, seeing in them how all leads up to Him, and that therefore the disparagement of the Old Testament cannot but end in an under-valuation of the New (Luk_24:44). (Canon Hutchings, M. A.)
Elishas love for Elijah
The length of our lives in this world is in the hand of God. We have no independent lease of life, so that we may decide of our own accord that we will remain for a year, or ten, or twenty years on earth. We have only a lease at the will of God. All the physicians in the world could not insure our fives for a single year-nay, not for a single month, or even a single day. Elijah went when God called him. The record does not say that when Elijah saw that his work was done he decided that it was time for him to go home to heaven; there is nothing of that kind. It is, When the Lord would take up Elijah to heaven. God decided the matter. This thought ought to give us pause. He ought not to leave undone from one day to another what we would wish to do if we knew this day was the last, for we do not know that God intends to give us another day. Each day ought to see all our affairs in such a condition that we are all right with God and man if this day is the last, for our lives are just as certainly at the disposal of God as was Elijahs, and we have no power that Elijah did not have to stay the hand of God when He would call us away. There is another thought which stands in the introduction to our theme which is very comforting and very precious, and that is the plain statement that God took Elijah direct to heaven. All the good are there, gathered from all ages and from all lands. It is a land of innocence and beauty, of love and worship; a land of music and of light, where the weary find rest, where heroic souls like Elijahs sun themselves in the presence of God. It was Elijahs last day on the earth. Elijah knew it, and said nothing to Elisha. The old mans heart was tender towards the young man, and he was willing to spare himself the sorrow of parting as well as to spare Elisha if he could. But Elisha, too, had in some way been made aware that this was the day when Elijah would be taken from him. What thoughts must have filled the minds of the two men as they walked along the way on that momentous day. Perhaps they were very silent. Elijahs mind must have been full of the past. And Elisha--what is he thinking of? How keenly he remembers that morning on his fathers farm, when Elijah came to him with the call of God; how well he remembers the farewell feast, and the tender parting with his parents, and his going forth with Elijah, who during all the years since that time has been to him not only teacher and leader, but father, and mother, friend, and in some sense in the place of God. Elijah has stood to him as the very incarnation of goodness, a goodness that is sustained by unwavering faith in God; and Elisha loves this man with a love in which admiration and reverence and devotion are mingled. His whole heart has gone out to him. His worship of God has seemed akin to his love for Elijah. As he has lived with Elijah he has daily come to know more of God, and the more he has loved Elijah the deeper has been his devotion to God, and he can hardly think what life will mean without Elijah present with him--to sustain him and inspire him. All must have been in his heart as he answered Elijah, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. There may well have been more than a present application to these words of Elisha. Elisha remained true to them after the death of Elijah; in heart and spirit he was never separated from his great friend and leader; throughout his life he remained true to Elijah, to his goodness, to his faith in God, to his heroic purpose, and to his lofty ideals. Now what message may we draw from the loyalty and love of this young man towards the older man? Should it not suggest to us that supreme love and devotion which we should show towards Jesus Christ our Saviour? True it is only a faint illustration, for Jesus has done infinitely more for us than Elijah did for Elisha. Elijah did not die for Elisha, but because he had by his goodness, by his obedience to God, and by his faithful affection, called Elisha to be Gods servant and son, Elijah loved him thus devotedly and was determined to cling to him for ever. What, then, shall we say of the proper devotion which we should feel and show towards Jesus Christ? Elisha not only remained with Elijah because of the tenderest considerations of love and fidelity, but because he felt that every moment he had with Elijah was precious, and only by imitating Elijah would he be able to do the great work awaiting him. A still nobler Elijah stands as our example. And both these considerations appeal to us, for surely every moment we spend with Jesus is precious. Every hour which you will spend reading about Jesus, talking about Him, meditating upon Him, or praying to Him will Be an hour of infinite value to you. Not only so, but as Elisha got his strength largely from his fellowship with Elijah in their common faith in God, so we are strong as we keep close to Jesus Christ. I would like to emphasise this message to all who have recently given themselves to the service of Christ. The secret of a growing Christian character, the secret of strength and steadiness in the Christian life, is to persistently keep close to Jesus Christ. Elijah could not remain with Elisha, but Jesus comes to us in the presence of the Holy Spirit to comfort our hearts. (L. A. Banks, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 THE date of the assumption of Elijah is wholly…
THE ASCENSION OF ELIJAH
2Ki_2:1-18
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THE date of the assumption of Elijah is wholly uncertain, and it becomes still more so because of the confusion of chronological order which results from the composite character of the records here collected. It appears from various scattered notices that Elijah lived on till the reign of Jehoram of Judah, whereas the narrative in this chapter is placed before the death of Jehoshaphat.
When the time came that "Jehovah would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven," the prophet had a prevision of his approaching end, and determined for the last time to visit the hills of his native Gilead. The story of his end, though not written in rhythm, is told in a style of the loftiest poetry, resembling other ancient poems in its simple and solemn repetitions. On his way to Gilead, Elijah desires to visit ancient sanctuaries where schools of the prophets were now established, and accompanied by Elisha, whose faithful ministrations he had enjoyed for ten almost silent years, he went to Gilgal. This was not the Gilgal in the Jordan valley so famous in the days of Joshua, {Jos_4:19; Jos_5:9; Jos_5:10} but in the hills of Ephraim, where many young prophets were in course of training. {2Ki_4:38}
Knowing that he was on his way to death, Elijah felt the imperious instinct which leads the soul to seek solitude at the supreme crises of life. He would have preferred that even Elisha should leave him, and he bade him stop at Gilgal, because the Lord had sent him as far as Bethel. But Elisha was determined to see the end, and exclaimed with strong asseveration, "As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee."
So they went on to Bethel, where there was another school of prophets, under the immediate shadow of Jeroboams golden calf, though we are not told whether they continued the protest of the old nameless seer from Judah, or not. {1 Kings 13} Here the youths of the college came respectfully to Elisha-for they were prevented by a sense of awe from addressing Elijah-and asked him "whether he knew that that day God would take away his master." "Yes, I know it," he answers; but-for this is no subject for idle talk-"hold ye your peace."
Once more Elijah tries to shake off the attendance of his friend and disciple. He bids him stay at Bethel, since Jehovah has sent him on to Jericho. Once more Elisha repeats his oath that he will not leave him, and once more the sons of the prophets at Jericho, who warn him of what is coming, are told to say no more.
But little of the journey now remains. In vain Elijah urges Elisha to stay at Jericho; they proceed to Jordan. Conscious that some great event is impending, and that Elijah is leaving these scenes forever, fifty of the sons of the prophets watch the two as they descend the valley to the river. Here they saw Elijah take off his mantle of hair, roll it up, and smite the waters with it. The waters part asunder, and the prophets pass over dry-shod. As they cross over Elijah asks Elisha what he should do for him, and Elisha entreats that a double portion of Elijahs spirit may rest upon him. By this he does not mean to ask for twice Elijahs power and inspiration, but only for an elder sons portion, which was twice what was inherited by the younger sons. "Thou hast asked a hard thing," said Elijah; "but if thou seest me when I am taken hence, it shall be so."
The sequel can be only told in the words of the text: "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 chariots of Israel, and the horsemen thereof! And he saw him no more."
Respecting the manner in which Elijah ended his earthly career, we know nothing beyond what is conveyed by this splendid narrative. His death, like that of Moses, was surrounded by mystery and miracles, and we can say nothing further about it. The question must still remain unanswered for many minds whether it was intended by the prophetic annalists for literal history, for spiritual allegory, or for actual events bathed in the colorings of an imagination to which the providential assumed the aspect of the supernatural. We are twice told that "Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven," and in that storm-which would have seemed a fit scene for the close of a career of storm-God, in the high poetry of the Psalmist, may have made the winds His angels, and the flames of fire His ministers. For us it must suffice to say of Elijah, as the Book of Genesis says of Enoch, that "he was not, for God took him."
Elisha signalized the removal of his master by a burst of natural grief. He seized his garments and rent them in twain. Elijah had dropped his mantle of skin, and his grieving disciple took it with him as a priceless relic. The legendary St. Antony bequeathed to St. Athanasius the only thing which he had, his sheepskin mantle; and in the mantle of Elijah his successor inherited his most characteristic and almost his sole possession. He returned to Jordan, and with this mantle he smote the waters as Elijah had done. At first they did not divide; but when he exclaimed, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah, even He?" they parted hither and thither. Seeing the portent, the sons of the prophets came with humble prostrations, and acknowledged him as their new leader.
They were not, however, satisfied with what they had seen, or had heard from Elisha, of the departure of the great prophet, and begged leave to send fifty strong men to search whether the wind of the Lord had not swept him away to some mountain or valley. Elisha at first refused, but afterwards yielded to their persistent importunity. They searched for three days among the hills of Gilead, but found him not, either living or dead, as Elisha had warned them would be the case.
From that time forward Elijah has taken his place in all Jewish and Mohammedan legends as the mysterious and deathless wanderer. Malachi spoke of him as destined to appear again to herald the coming of the Messiah, {Mal_4:4-6} and Christ taught His disciples that John the Baptist had come in the spirit and power of Elijah. In Jewish legend he often appears and disappears. A chair is set for him at the circumcision of every Jewish child. At the Paschal feast the door is set open for him to enter. All doubtful questions are left for decision until he comes again. To the Mohammedans he is known as the wonder-working and awful El Khudr.
Elisha is mentioned but once in all the later books of Scripture; but Elijah is mentioned many times, and the son of Sirac sums up his greatness when he says: "Then stood up Elias as fire, and his word burned like a torch. O Elias, how wast thou honored in thy wondrous deeds! and who may glory like unto thee-who anointed kings to take revenge, and prophets to succeed after him-who wast ordained for reproof in their times, to pacify the wrath of the Lords judgment before it broke forth into fury, and to turn the heart of the father unto the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob! Blessed are they that saw thee and slept in love; for we shall surely live!"
ELISHA
2Ki_2:1-25
"He did wonders in his life, and at death even his works were marvelous. For all this the people repented not."
-Ecclus. 48:14-15
AT this point we enter into the cycle of supernatural stories, which gathered round the name of Elisha in the prophetic communities. Some of them are full of charm and tenderness; but in some cases it is difficult to point out their intrinsic superiority over the ecclesiastical miracles with which monkish historians have embellished the lives of the saints. We can but narrate them as they stand, for we possess none of the means for critical or historical analysis which might enable us to discriminate between essential facts and accidental elements.
We see at once that the figure of Elisha is far less impressive than that of Elijah. He inspires less of awe and terror. He lives far more in cities and amid the ordinary surroundings of civilized life. The honor with which he was treated was the honor of respect and admiration for his kindliness. He plays his part in no stupendous scenes like those at Carmel and at Horeb, and nearly all his miracles were miracles of mercy. Other remarkable differences are observable in the records of Elijah and Elisha. In the case of the former his main work was the opposition to Baal-worship; but although Baal-worship still prevailed {2Ki_10:18-27} we read of no protests raised by Elisha against it. "With him"-perhaps it should be more accurately said, in the narrative which tells us of him-"the miracles are everything, the prophetic work nothing." The conception of a prophets mission in these stories of him differs widely from that which dominates the splendid midrash of Elijah.
His separate career began with an act of beneficence. He had stopped for a time at Jericho. The curse of the rebuilding of the town upon a site which Joshua had devoted to the ban had expended itself on Hiel, its builder. It was now a flourishing city, and the home of a large school of prophets. But though the situation was pleasant as "a garden of the Lord," the water was bad, and the land "miscarried." In other words, the deleterious springs caused diseases among the inhabitants, and caused the trees to cast their fruit. So the men of the city came to Elisha, and humbly addressing him as "my lord," implored his help. He told them to bring him a new cruse full of salt, and going with it to the fountain cast it into the springs, proclaiming in Jehovahs name that they were healed, and that there should be no more death or miscarrying land. The gushing waters of the Ain-es-Sultan, fed by the spring of Quarantania, are to this day pointed out as the Fountains of Elisha, as they have been since the days of Josephus.
The anecdote of this beautiful interposition to help a troubled city is followed by one of the stories which naturally repel us more than any other in the Old Testament. Elisha, on leaving Jericho, returned to Bethel, and as he climbed through the forest up the ascent leading to the town through what is now called the Wady Suweinit, a number of young lads-with the rudeness which in boys is often a venial characteristic of their gay spirits or want of proper training, and which to this day is common among boys in the East-laughed at him, and mocked him with the cry "Go up, roundhead! go up, roundhead!" What struck these ill-bred and irreverent youngsters was the contrast between the rough hair-skin garb and unkempt shaggy locks of Elijah, "the lord of hair," and the smooth civilized aspect and shorter hair of his disciple. If the word quereach means "bald," we see an additional reason for their ill-mannered jeers, since baldness was a cause of reproach and suspicion in the East, where it is comparatively rare. No doubt, too, the conduct of these young scoffers was the more offensive, and even the more wicked, because of the deeper reverence for age which prevails in Eastern countries, and above all because Elisha was known as a prophet. Perhaps, too, if some other reading lies behind the reading of one MS. of the Septuagint, they pelted him with stones. That Elisha should have rebuked them, and that seriously-that he should even have inflicted some punishment upon them to reform their manners-would have been natural; but we cannot repress the shudder with which we read the verse, "And he turned back and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty-and-two children of them." Surely the punishment was disproportionate to the offence! Who could doom so much as a single rude boy, not to speak of forty-two, to a horrible arid agonizing death for shouting after any one? It is the chief exception to the general course of Elishas compassionate interpositions. Here, too, we must leave the narrative where it is; but we hold it quite admissible to conjecture that the incident, in some form or other, really occurred-that the boys were insolent, and that some of them may have been killed by the wild beasts which at that time abounded in Palestine-and yet that the nuances of the story which cause deepest offence to us may have suffered from some corruption of the tradition in the original records, and may admit of being represented in a slightly different form.
After this Elisha went for a time to the ancient haunts of his master on Mount Carmel, and thence returned to Samaria, the capital of his country, which he seems to have chosen for his most permanent dwelling-place.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 2Ki_2:1. Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal—Not the Gilgal…
THE TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH TO HEAVEN
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
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2Ki_2:1. Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal—Not the Gilgal in Judah, but the Gilgal (now Jilgil) in Ephraim, near Ebal and Gerizim (Deu_11:30). Both Amos (2Ki_4:4) and Hosea (2Ki_4:15) mention it as, together with Bethel, being the chief seat of the calf-worship. Here was one of the schools of the prophets, and from these young men Elisha followed Elijah, as being divinely impelled to become the great prophet’s successor.
2Ki_2:2. Tarry here, I pray thee—Elijah thought none beside himself knew of his near translation; but Elisha knew it (2Ki_2:3)—“Yea, I know it;” lit., I also know; and “the sons of the prophets,” both at Bethel (2Ki_2:3) and Jericho (2Ki_2:5) knew it. The Lord hath sent me to Bethel—Obeying the Spirit’s impulse, Elijah paid a farewell visit to each of these schools.
2Ki_2:3. Sons of the prophets—The בְּנֵי־הַנְבִיאים were the scholars, and not necessarily natural sons, of the prophets. Take thy master from thy head—Scholars sat at their master’s feet (Act_22:3); but the expression here has a more specific meaning than that custom suffices to explain, the phrase literally rendered being “from over thy head;” and Keil, Bunsen, Thenius, and Böttcher accept it as intimating his removal by ascension, as βναλαμβάνειν in Act_1:10. Hold ye your peace—This is not a surly retort, nor merely an appeal that they would not spread the tidings, which might arouse public excitement and gather a concourse; but a request that they would preserve their minds calm, and neither afflict themselves nor him by sad thoughts of Elijah’s near departure.
2Ki_2:7. Stood to view afar off—Watching in wonderment and anxiety their arrival at the river Jordan, over which there was no arrangement for these two to cross, and possibly anticipating for them some supernatural accommodation or sign. What occurred would necessarily remind them of Moses act (Exo_14:16). The “rod” of Moses by which he smote the waters was the symbol of his commission as leader of the pilgrim hosts; the “mantle” of Elijah was the symbol of his prophetic office. And the parting of the waters was in each instance a Divine authentication of his office.
2Ki_2:9. A double portion of thy spirit—The “two parts”—פִּי שְׁנַיִם—was the legal share in his father’s possessions appointed to the firstborn (Deu_21:17). Elisha requests—פִּי שְׁנַיִם בְּרוּחֲךָ—“a double portion in thy spirit.” Some expositors have sought to show that Elisha asked and received larger prophetic endowments than Elijah possessed; but this is a false interpretation of the words. Keil wisely says:—“He that is departing cannot bequeath to his heir more than he himself has.” Elisha only asks that he may inherit Elijah’s office, not merely as one of the prophets, but as a worthy successor to Elijah in foremost and powerful service for Jehovah.
2Ki_2:10. Asked a hard thing—An extraordinary blessing and honour which is not mine to give, but God’s (comp. Christ’s answer to the sons of Zebedee, Mat_20:23); yet if Elisha was divinely allowed to see Elijah’s departure—a favour denied to all other “sons of the prophets”—it would doubtless indicate his election to succeed his master to eminent prophetic dignity.
2Ki_2:11. Chariots of fire and horses of fire—Oriental imagery (comp. Psa_68:17; Isa_66:15; Hab_3:8) suggestive of an angelic train: “His ministers a flame of fire” (Psa_104:4); comp. also 2Ki_6:14-17. Observe that the words “there appeared” are not in the text. Possibly a supernatural storm-cloud, illumined with lightning, rushed between them. Elijah went up by a whirlwind—Not in literal “chariots,” &c., at all, but simply in a whirlwind, בְּסַעָרָה, which confirms the idea of a storm-cloud.
2Ki_2:12. My father, my father—Thus doubly asserting his sonship, and claiming his double portion. Own clothes and rent them—Expressive of extre me grief over his loss; perhaps, also, a sign of abandoning his own past humble lot, and taking up the mantle of a new and higher career.
2Ki_2:14. Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when, &c.—In the Hebrew text, following the word Elijah, come the words אף הוא which have been by some expositors changed into various forms, but unsatisfactorily; their natural meaning is, “even he,” and should be added to the question, Where is Jehovah, God of Elijah, even He?—
HOMILETICS OF 2Ki_2:1-15
THE three great dispensations of religion has each its illustration of a glorious ascension into heaven. The translation of Enoch occurred in the patriarchal age. The scene on Olivet represents the ascension or translation of the Christian era. And the remarkable translation of Elijah recorded in this paragraph very appropriately belongs to the prophetic age. Regarding this event we remark—
I. It was at a time that harmonized with the Divine purpose. “And it came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah” (2Ki_2:1). The work of the great prophet was done—a work never agreeable to ordinary men—a work of stern reproof, of faithful warning, of fiery vengeance. The time of his departure was also revealed to Elijah. But mark the modesty of true greatness. He does not assemble Israel; he does not summon Jehoram and his court, nor his great opponent Jezebel, before whom he had once fled, to witness his triumphant ascent to glory. He would fain be alone; his love of solitude remains to the last, and he would like to leave the world as suddenly and unobtrusively as it had been originally entered. But he could not shake off the devotion of Elisha; nor could he hide his approaching departure from the sons of the prophets whom he had been for years preparing for their work. God chose the time; and it was not until due arrangements had been made to carry on and perfect the work which Elijah had for a time carried on almost alone. God knows the best time to send and take away His instruments. Men depart; but the work of God proceeds.
II. It was in a manner that harmonized with the spirit and character of his great life-work (2Ki_2:11). The prophet whose life has been like a flame, bursting out now and then into an irresistible conflagration, very appropriately terminates his career in a blaze of heavenly light. “Suddenly over the valley, as in Ezekiel’s vision, there breaks an unwonted sight. There seems a burning equipage, speeding down from heaven, swift as the lightning, and more vivid than any flash. There seems a chariot of fire, with wheels of flame, and horses of fire snorting flame from mouth and nostril. There seem reins of fire and riders of fire, and wings of fire from fiery hosts on every hand. The aged prophet bows his head, conscious that his hour has come; and there, as the tempest weaves itself around him, we see him placed in the centre of the car of flame, and in the sight of the astounded Elisha and the fifty students on the heights of Jericho, Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” If our life has been in harmony with the will of God, we may safely leave the character of its close to Him.
III. It was a type of the triumph of the good over the power of death. Death is robbed of its sting and shorn of its terror to the lovers of Elijah’s God; it is but a change from a good to a better state of existence; it is not to be feared, but to be welcomed; it is the gateway into a more glorious life. The change which must have taken place in the body of Elijah was only more rapid and less evident than what must take place in ours. Death is the hour not of defeat, but of triumph.
Death is the crown of life’
Death wounds to cure; we fall, we rise, we reign;
Spring from our fetters; fasten in the skies,
Where blooming Eden withers in our sight.
Death gives us more than was in Eden lost.
Young.
IV. It intensified the power of the prophet’s influence. A man like Elijah could never be forgotten; but the miraculous and mysterious character of his exit tends to keep alive more vividly his reputation and memory. He was grievously missed, and his absence sincerely mourned (2Ki_2:12); but he lived on in the spirit and power of Elisha; and he lives to-day in the spirit of every bold and faithful champion of the truth. “Where is the court of Samaria now? Passed away and perished like the smoke of its own idolatry. It is Elijah alone who lives in deathless and fadeless renown. We pass by Herod, and remember John the Baptist. We pass by Felix, and remember the apostle Paul. We pass by Charles V., and remember Martin Luther. We pass by Ahab and Jezebel, and remember only ELIJAH.”
LESSONS:—
1. Extraordinary times call forth extraordinary men.
2. The greatest men are made so by special Divine endowments.
3. The good influence of a great spirit is immortal.
THE PARTING OF ELIJAH AND ELISHA
ALL partings bring with them a measure of sadness. Life is short, and so the same parting can, at most, be only repeated a certain number of times; life is uncertain, and so each parting carries with it the possibility that it may be the last one. And if this is so with regard to the everyday partings of life—to the good-bye said to the child as he leaves the hall for school, or the cottage for service, to the farewell kiss to a daughter on her wedding morning, or to a dear son about to go abroad for some indefinite period, how is it with us when the parting is known on both sides to be (for this world) a final one? How is it with us when a father about to commend his spirit to the hands that gave it, calls his children about him to receive his latest blessing? When some loving and beloved wife commits the little dear ones that she is forced to leave behind her to the care of her agonized husband? When some bishop like Ambrose, some pastor like Bede, is solemnly resigning to the Great Shepherd the flock over which he has long and faithfully watched? Let those answer who have passed through one such scene. These are the partings which none can witness and remain unmoved; which no man can partake in, and continue altogether the same man that he was before.
I. Now it is such a parting that this chapter sets before us. The elder of those two men who are going down together to Jordan has been all in all to the younger for many years. From the time when Elijah silently cast his mantle on Elisha, from the day when Elisha “kissed his father and his mother,” and left his home to follow the stern prophet of the deserts—he has watched, he has listened, he has reverenced, and now he is watching, he is listening to him for the last time. And not on Elisha only, though on him most heavily, falls the awe of the coming parting. There are many young men, sons of the prophets, in training for the ministry of the Word, to whom it has been revealed that Elijah has now paid them his latest visit—has taught, warned, and advised them for the last time. Knowest thou not that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day? were words addressed to Elisha at each school of the prophets—whether that of Gilgal, of Bethel, or of Jericho, to which he had accompanied Elijah on this his last visitation. And, from the last-named and nearest of these three places, fifty young men had followed the prophet and his friend, till, left behind at their miraculous passage of the Jordan, they stood on its farther bank only able to send wistful glances after them, in spite of their earnest longing to catch at least a glimpse of the glory of Elijah’s departure. These, in their measure, doubtless felt the pain of parting, and kept treasuring in their hearts the words addressed to them by their great teacher. But, if such the sorrow, such the love of Elijah’s scholars, what must have been the love, and what the sorrow, of his chosen companion and most intimate friend? We see something of them in Elisha’s firm resolve to stay with his master till all was over. We hear something of them in his reply, which he cannot vary, let it sound, if it will, like a refusal of his loved teacher’s last request. Thrice Elijah says to him, “Tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me unto Bethel, or to Jericho, or to Jordan;” thrice Elisha answers, with a firmness that admits of no rejoinder, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” The apparent disobedience is forgiven, nay, approved of; for it springs from the fountain of deep, long-tried holy affection. It turns Elijah’s mind from the thought of the glorious future, from the backward glance on the eventful past, to think how it is to fare with his dear Elisha in this wicked world in which he must leave him for awhile.
II. We can picture the prophet to ourselves walking on absorbed in solemn memories and in joyful expectation. Fearful dangers, wonderful deliverances, fight after fight with crowned and sceptred wickedness. Ahab rebuked, Jezebel denounced, Kishon reddened with the blood of Baal’s prophets, perils in the city, hidings in the wilderness—all these things lie behind him now. He is going to meet that God that sent the ravens to feed him by the lonely brook, and His angel to refresh him under the juniper tree of the desert; the God who granted his fervent prayer on Carmel, whose still small voice spoke to him at the entrance of the cave Horeb. And yet neither crowding recollections, nor eager thoughts of the coming glory and gladness, make him unmindful of his friend at his side. He turns to him with the words, “Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee,” and receives in answer the wise petition for a first-born’s portion of his spirit. The prophet’s last occupation on earth is to prefer this request, and to obtain an answer to it favourable—yet suspended on a condition which he thus reports to Elisha: “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.” Now to see this great sight must, in any case, have been the young man’s strongest wish. With so much depending upon it, how earnestly must he have prayed for strength to behold it! His prayer was granted; when the chariot of fire and horses of fire came down, and the angels of God carried Elijah with a whirlwind’s speed up towards heaven, Elisha was enabled to gaze steadfastly at the awful light that wrapped his master’s form: hidden in which it retreated from his view. Then, like a last message, Elijah’s mantle comes floating down to his feet. Elisha lifts it up, and knows by this token that he has been appointed the successor to the great prophet. He has just rent his own clothes with the plaintive cry of a bereaved heart, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof;” but now something tells him that the God who commissioned and upheld Elijah is giving a like charge to him, and will assuredly, therefore, not fail to give him a like support. He hushes the voice of lamentation, and with the mantle in his hand he goes back to Jordan. An hour before, Elijah had with that same mantle smitten the waters of the river, and they had parted, “so that they two went over on dry ground.” Now it is Elisha who stands alone by the river’s brink, crying, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” as he smites the waters as his master has done. And he finds Him close at hand. The waters part for Elisha, as they parted for Elijah. The young prophets, owning that the spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha, hasten to do him homage. And from that day begins Elisha’s long and noble career of wise and loving teaching, confirmed by sign and by wonder.
III. How often, since then, have two gone down to Jordan, and one returned alone, but filled with the spirit and power of the other! An Augustine receives a Monica’s last words, and the holy mother seems to live on in her holy son. A Timothy stands by a St. Paul in his condemned cell at Rome, and returns to Ephesus to earn from his Lord the praise—“For my name’s sake thou hast laboured, and hast not fainted!” A Polycarp listens to the aged St. John’s short sermon on love, and goes forth to “be faithful unto death.” How often to a mind overwhelmed—not more by a sense of personal bereavement than by that of an irreparable loss to the Church at large—has come the intimation: “You are to fill this vacant place: it may be with weaker powers, yet to the best of your ability you are to stand where that standard-bearer stood before!” And with the call there comes the strength to obey it. Elijah’s mantle, though grasped by a feeble hand, can smite the waters asunder still, if its holder only call faithfully on his master’s God.
IV. But no Christian can stop short at this reflection, without going on to another: can look at one of the plainest foreshadowings of Christ in the Old Testament, and not have the apostles’ feelings, as they witnessed their Lord’s ascension, vividly brought before him. For, as it was with Elisha beside the Jordan, so (only in more abundant measure) must it have been with them on Olivet. Each of them had been called to follow Him, as Elisha had been by Elijah: one of them, as Elisha did, had shown his joy at the summons by a feast. To each of them, doubtless, it would have been a grief of griefs not to have been allowed to follow Christ in His last walk on earth, past the Gethsemane of His agony to the mount of His ascension. But we do not find that their great Master tried their affections, as Elisha’s did his, by a request to remain behind. On His way to resume that glory which was His from eternity, our Lord’s mind could not be filled with the awe caused by the comin new and strange thing, which made even the undaunted Elijah shrink from all human observation. Nor could the Son of God doubt, as Elijah did, His own power to bestow the firstborn’s portion—the fulness of His Holy Spirit—on each of His beloved apostles. His word to them was not “Ye have asked a hard thing,” but “Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you.” So when, not by “chariots of fire and horses of fire,” but by the might of His own Divine nature, Christ, with His hands yet raised to bless, goes up, and is lost to the apostles’ sight amid the clouds of heaven, there is no rending of their garments; no crying, as with an exceeding bitter cry, for a vanished defence, for a suddenly-withdrawn support: they have heard and believed these great words, “I will not leave you comfortless; lo! I am with you always, even unto the end of the world!” And so they worship their ascended Lord, and return with great joy to obey His commands at Jerusalem.
V. And surely this grand story supplies an antidote to the bitterness of every parting. The man who loves Christ, his friend in Christ, his enemy for Christ’s sake, is alone safe and happy. For he alone loses not one dear to him, to whom all are dear in Him, who cannot be lost. And who is this, but Thou, O our God! Thee none loses, but he who leaves Thee. Whoever, then, may be taken from our sight, Christ still remains with us. Only let us keep close to His foot-steps, cling to His Cross; see Him strike the waves with His sacred body, as He, by dying, overcomes death; behold those dark waters parted by His resurrection; see, by faith, His ascended glory, and daily seek and obtain by prayer our own double portion of His Spirit. So, grasping our Master’s mantle, His word and His sacraments, shall we find the waters of sin and sorrow divide before them, or rather before His might who will come with them; till at the last we stand beside the black river of death, yet fear no evil, for Christ is with us still: and that torrent, too, parts asunder, and lets us safe through to the other side.—Day of Rest for 1879.
THE NOBLEST LEGACY OF THE DEPARTED GOOD (2Ki_2:9)
THE time had come for Elijah to leave the world in which he had been God’s faithful witness. The prophet’s stormy life is to receive appropriate termination in the whirlwind, whose close shall be in the calm of heaven. He is to be distinguished by such honour as have no others of God’s saints. When human greatness sinks and ceases, his shall be most manifest. And while Ahab, at the end of his days, falls from his chariot into the dust, and dies in dishonour, Elijah is caught up behind the flaming coursers, and in more than royal grandeur passes up to heaven. His own personal work upon the earth is over. All that God gave him to do, when he came to the prophet in his despair, and spake to him in the still, small voice, has been accomplished. There is no regret at departure, no desire to remain, no task undone that yet claims his presence. But in the absence of any personal need, he turns to his companion, the successor to his prophetic office. And ere yet the sound of the whirlwind is heard, or the sky is lit by the chariot of fire, he kindly requires of Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee.”
The inquiry suggest to us what we are often slow to recognise: The greatest need, the most solemn position, is not with those who are leaving the world, but with those who remain. Not Elijah, but Elisha, requires strength and help. It was a perception of Elisha’s greater need that prompted the invitation. For himself rest is at hand; the perils of his life are past; his enemies can no longer harm him. But the younger man, who is about to take the prophet’s place in Israel, with all its responsibilities and trials—his was the need. And this is often true where no chariot of fire waits to convey the departing, but where they die as other men. It is hard to die, say some. It may be; but it is a great deal harder to live. And when in peace and hope the good man is sinking down into rest, while our sympathy and affection go out to him, yet our most serious and solemn thought should be for ourselves; for those into whose lives, because of his departure, desolation and sorrow must come, and who have still to face the responsibilities, and duties, and temptations of life. Not the Elijah, for whom heaven’s chariot is waiting, but the Elisha, who has still to walk the world, and before whom lie years of toil and trial, must be chiefly considered. It suggests also that—Our power to bless others is limited by our lives. “Before I be taken away from thee.” Elijah cannot pledge himself to anything after his departure. While he yet lingers upon the earth he may help and bless his successor. We can only bless the world while we are present in it. It is true that many have conferred good and blessing upon others long after themselves had passed from the sight of men. But it is equally true that the good has come out of what they were, and what they did, while yet present with men. We have entered into a rich heritage of blessing from the departed good; we receive manifold benefits from them to-day; but it is not, so far as we know, from any direct relation in which they stand to us now—not from any unseen yet mighty influence they consciously and directly exert over us now—not from any efforts on our behalf made by them now, but simply from their characters and lives, their thoughts and words, before they were taken away from us. Looking mainly at the younger prophet’s request, it seems to present to us—The noblest legacy of the departed good; and, the measure in which we should seek to possess it. “Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” This was the wisest request Elisha could have presented. There were other things which he might have desired, and which it would seem natural in him to have requested. He might, for instance, have entreated Elijah to delay his departure, and to remain a little longer on the earth as his leader and friend. Or, failing this, he might have supplicated in passionate devotion that he, too, should accompany his father prophet through the skies. Or, dazzled by the glory of his master’s departure, he might have asked that for himself also a chariot of fire might be dispatched when his work on earth was done. But, passing by all the common instincts and feelings of men, he earnestly beseeches: “Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.”
What are we to understand by “thy spirit?” Did Elisha refer to any supernatural endowment by which the prophet was of old distinguished, and by which he was fitted for the duties of the prophetic office? He surely could not refer to the Holy Spirit in the sense in which we understand the blessing. We think he must mean that which was the dominating principle of Elijah’s character—the master passion of his soul—his fidelity to God, and zeal for his Name.
I. This spirit of the great and good is their noble legacy—our richest inheritance.
1. The spirit of Elijah was the secret of Elisha’s power. It was this which had made him so mighty in Israel, which had enabled him to achieve the transformation on Carmel, and rendered him stronger in his single self than the hundreds of Baal’s priests and prophets. There was much that was strange and marvellous about him; much in his garb and mien and speech that impressed and overawed men. But his real grandeur was internal, not external; and his power lay not in natural gifts or even supernatural endowment, but in his sublime faithfulness to God—his burning jealousy for God’s honour and name. So has it been with the great and good of past ages, and with those who have been near and next to ourselves. We are prone to place a man’s power in natural gifts and external advantages. But all experience proves that, in the work of the Lord, a simple, earnest, soul-possessing faithfulness is superior to all beside. He who has it, whatever else he may have or have not, is a true Elijah, who shall bring down the sacred fire, not upon a slaughtered bullock, but upon the souls of men.
2. The spirit of the great and good alone can compensate for their departure and loss. Elisha felt that Elijah must go. But as he looked upon the faithful prophet of God, he says, in effect, “If I cannot have thy presence, let me have thy spirit. I can bear the loss of the one, if I gain the other.” So it is with the Church to-day. God is constantly removing his servants, lifting them from our sight into that sphere whither Elijah was taken in his chariot of fire. What is to compensate us for their departure? Not their generous gifts, but their earnest spirit. We can do without them, and still carry on successfully the work of the Lord, only as we catch and manifest their spirit. Their loss to the Church is only made up as their spirit is transmitted, received, and manifested in those who remain.
3. The spirit of the great and good is alone unchanging in its character, and meets the requirements of every age. Elisha’s work in Israel was very different to Elijah’s. A new generation was springing up, and many changes had taken place. The prophet’s person and office were very differently regarded. The method and form of Elijah’s ministry would have been out of place, and a slavish adherence to it would have been hurtful. But the same spirit was as needful as ever, and was still adapted to the altered conditions. This is true of all the ages of the world and of all the ages of Christianity. Vast and sweeping changes transpire: the face of society, the attitude and disposition of the world to the Church, are greatly altered in the course of years. We do not stand where our fathers stood. We are not required to think, to speak, to act, in all matters as they thought, and spake, and acted. But their spirit, their stern uncompromising hatred to evil, their unflinching fidelity to God, is required by us, and alone can fit us to serve our generation as they served theirs.
4. To catch and inherit the spirit of the good and great it to attain the deepest and truest resemblance to them. There were many respects in which the younger prophet could never be like his predecessor. They were two different men, presenting in many points a bold, clear contrast in each other. Some might have said to Elisha: “Go forth among the people in the rough garment they know so well, imitate Elijah’s gestures and movements, speak in his tone and manner, pursue his mode of life and labour, and men will say: ‘Lo, a second Elijah has appeared amongst us.’ ” But Elisha judged more wisely. He sought no outward resemblance such as would make him a feeble counterpart of the other—such as would do violence to his own nature, weaken his own powers, and lessen his usefulness. His cry was: “Let me have Elijah’s spirit, to work through my own powers and according to the modes God shall appoint and teach.” We do not honour, nor do we really resemble, the great and good by any servile imitation of them. We must study their lives, and characters, and works, not that we may conform ourselves in all things to them, but that their spirit may animate us, and work with equal, or even greater power, through our varied gifts. If this be not our object, we shall utterly fail. The man who studies the works of the great painters simply that he may reproduce their style, imitate their lines and colouring, will never attain a high position in the world of art. He only will succeed who studies those works in order to catch therefrom the inspiration, the enthusiasm, that glowed in the breasts of those who transferred to the canvas the visions of beauty that were given to them.
II. The measure in which we should seek to possess it. “Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” The request may, in this aspect of it, appear somewhat strange. It would seem as though Elisha coveted something higher and better than was to be found in Elijah himself. Yet it may have been the utterance of a genuine humility. It may mean: “My nature is so weak and poor compared with my master’s, that I need a larger measure of his spirit, in order to overcome my weakness and deficiency.” But, in any sense, the form of the petition is justifiable, and should serve as an example to us.
1. Each succeeding age brings with it largely increased responsibilities. We have greater means of knowledge, larger opportunities of usefulness, than men had before us. Our temptations, if not so gross and palpable, are yet more refined, and subtle, and ensnaring. The difficulties in the way of leading a thoroughly earnest Christian life, and of fulfilling its duties, are greater now than they ever were. The tremendous responsibilities of the age in which we live should prompt a prayer of this kind.
2. Christian character and usefulness should partake of the great law of progress everywhere observable. There is not a department of human thought and human life but is affected by it. And we should seek that our piety should be of a higher type, more complete, and free from the defects that have been manifested in others. It is in harmony with all that we see elsewhere that we should present for ourselves this prayer.
3. Such a petition in relation to the great and good is the echo of their own thoughts and wishes concerning us. The greater and better men have been, the more conscious have they been of their own infirmities and imperfections, and the more anxious that others should be free from them. It has been their earnest and continued prayer that those who should come after them should be greater and more useful than themselves.
4. This petition is based upon the great principle that absolute perfection is not to be found in any simply human example. We are not to set up human standards for ourselves, or limit ourselves by the attainments of others. We must learn to rise above the highest, to look through and beyond the noblest, of God’s servants. Our limit is not fixed for us in any like ourselves. We are called “to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”—W. Perkins.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2Ki_2:1-15. Heavenward. It is clear that a great day is come. The young men in the schools of the prophets at Gilgal, at Bethel, and at Jericho, are in unusual agitation. Elijah visits them all in succession. His manner is that day even more than commonly solemn, and his countenance and converse more heavenward; and all his demeanour seems to say, “Ye shall see my face no more.” They fear to question their great master; but they venture to whisper to Elisha the inquiry, if he knows that his master and theirs was that day to be taken away? They seemed to want his confirmation of a fact of which they had received a Divine intimation, but feared to misapprehend. His answer was—“Yea, I know it. Hold ye your peace.” Being aware of this, Elisha resolves not to quit his master that day, notwithstanding Elijah plainly declares a wish to proceed alone. They came to the Jordan, for even an Elijah must cross the Jordan before he passes from the world, though it be not by the gates of death. But, lo, a wonder!—the prophet takes his mantle, and smites therewith the stream, which then divides to let the friends pass. Here, again, was faith; but Elijah knew that seas, rivers, and mountains are no obstruction to him who, with steadfast feet, walks in the path of duty. It was because he was in that path, and because he knew that what he asked was in accordance with God’s will, that his faith was met by miracles, which, apart from these conditions, it had been presumption in him to demand. Faith must have the word or promise of God on which to rest. It is in this we discern the difference between the sublime and effectual faith of the devout Elijah, and the insane pretensions of such men as William Hackett (afterwards hanged), who, in the reign of Elizabeth, had the hardihood to declare, that if all England prayed for rain, and he himself prayed against, there would be dry weather. “Thou, Lord,” he said, “hast the power, and I have the faith—therefore it shall be done!”
It was when they had passed the Jordan that the departing prophet asked his faithful disciple what last favour he desired of him. This was a trying question, which few would be able promptly to answer with entire satisfaction to their after-thoughts. But Elisha knew that of spiritual blessings too much could not be asked. He therefore said, “Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” His master confessed that this was a hard thing; but that it would be granted if he took care to be present at the moment of separation. But what was that double portion of Elijah’s spirit which his disciple desired? One would think that it expressed the possession of such qualities as should make him twice as great a prophet as his master. But it was not so; for although Elisha became a great prophet, and wrought miracles as great as those of Elijah, and in greater number, no one feels that he was greater as a prophet or as a man than his master, or so great. His meaning is explained by the fact that the heir was entitled to a double portion of his father’s goods; hence, in asking for the double portion of his master’s spirit, Elisha meant to claim the heirship or succession to Elijah in his place as prophet in Israel. He had reason to suppose that it was meant for him; but he wished to be assured of this by some token which should be satisfactory to himself and others. As they went on, conversing of high things, suddenly a whirlwind reft Elijah from his companion, and he was borne aloft like an exhalation, in a chariot with horses of fire, or glowing like fire, to heaven, followed by the cry of the forsaken disciple, as he rent his clothes—“My father, my father! the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof!” Meaning, as is generally understood, that he regarded Israel as bereft of its strength, its chariot, and its horsemen, by the departure of this great prophet. He failed not, however, to take up the precious mantle which fell from Elijah as he rose; and he felt, in the beating of his own heart, the assurance that his prayer had been granted. And he knew it still more when he reached and smote the waters with the mantle. At first, it seems, there was no response; but when he repeated the stroke with the words—“Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” the waters separated, and he passed over. The sons of the prophets noted this on their distant watch, and recognized by this sign their new master, on whom rested the spirit of Elijah. This is a strange transaction, and we cannot hope as yet to understand it fully. It seems to us, however, that it is but an isolated anticipation of that which shall happen collectively to the righteous that are alive on the earth at our Lord’s second coming. (1Th_4:16-17). And, “in that sudden strange transition,” the body will undergo a change, divesting it of its earthly essence, and bringing it into conformity with the glorified bodies of the saints raised from the dead.
Then what hinders that this rapture of the living, and change in the art of rapture—change, because the flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, which is to take place on so large a scale on that great day—should be exemplified in one or two instances before—in this instance of Elijah, and in the earlier instance of Enoch?
Under this view, there is no more any objection to the departed Elijah having his place in heaven, seeing that his body must have undergone all that change which was needful to fit it for abiding in that place where nothing corruptible can exist. Not discerning this, the old schoolmen were of opinion that Elijah was taken to some place—doubtless a pleasant place—prepared of old, as they supposed, for those pious spirits which awaited the coming of the Messiah who should open paradise for them. Others have staggered at the text (Joh_3:16), understanding it to allege that none ascended to heaven before Christ. Hence they imagine that Elijah was taken to “Abraham’s bosom,” which they conceive to be an intermediate state in the air, granting, however, that his garments were burned in the fire, and his body changed and made immortal. But is that really a staggering text? We think not. It is not usually supposed to refer to the Ascension at all; but allowing it to have that reference, it could only mean that none of the dead should ascend to heaven before Christ, seeing that He was the first-fruits of them that slept—that is, that died. But Elijah did not die.
Elijah is supposed by the Jews to be frequently employed in missions to mankind, and as in some sense ubiquitous, being present in many places at one time. He is visible only to those deeply versed in the Cabbala, and is described as a venerable old man with a long beard. He is supposed to be alway present at circumcisions, and there is a chair kept vacant for him. Those who are the special objects of his notice are highly favoured.—Kitto.
2Ki_2:1-15. As in patriarchal times Enoch walked with God, and was translated to heaven without tasting death (Gen_5:24; Heb_11:5), so under the Mosaic dispensation we have this record of Elijah, whose whole life was a monumental wonder of Divine intercourse and power, and whose removal from the world without tasting death surpassed in sublimity and grandeur the translation of the patriarchal saint. To study and appreciate the closing scenes in the history of this great man is to tread on holy ground. The ascension of Elijah has ever been regarded as typical of the ascension of our Lord; and there are points of resemblance, as well as noticeable contrasts. Elijah, says Kiel, ascended in the fiery tempest, the symbol of the judicial righteousness of God. And appropriately; because, as a servant of the Lord, as minister of the law, he preached with fiery zeal to his apostate generation the fire of the anger of Divine righteousness. Christ ascended calmly and silently before the eyes of all His disciples, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. He ascended as the Son, to whom all power in heaven and earth was given. He was transfigured by His resurrection and ascension into the imperishable Divine nature, and returned, by virtue of His Eternal Godhead, to the Father. Since Elijah’s ascension took place near where Moses died and was buried (Deu_34:5), and since both these holy prophets met with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, it is natural for us to compare them in the manner of their leaving the world. Moses died on account of his sin at Kadesh (Deu_32:50-51), and, though he was lawgiver, he passed from his earthly life by the way of the law, which worketh death as the wages of sin. But Elijah, as typical forerunner of Christ, and who, appearing again in spirit and power in the person of John the Baptist, prepares His way by turning the hearts of the fathers to the children (Mal_4:5-6; Mat_11:14), ascends to heaven without tasting death, and thus further points to Him who, by His resurrection and ascension, destroys the power of sin and of death, and abolishes the curse of the law from every one that believeth.—Whedon.
2Ki_2:1-10. The approaching dissolution of the good. I. While viewed with solemnity, creates no alarm. II. Does not interfere with the active duties of the hour. III. Gives a special significance to everything done for the Church of God. IV. Makes one anxious to catch and retain for the world’s good the ennobling influence of their divinely-endowed lives.
2Ki_2:1-6. True friendship. I. Often exists between persons of opposite characteristics. The rough, intrepid, fierce Elijah stood in marked contrast with the calm, gentle, persuasive Elisha. II. Is founded on mutual admiration and affection. Contrasts of character react on loving friends. Elijah’s ruggedness would be somewhat smoothed by the tranquillising spirit of Elisha; and the timid Elisha would feel more courageous under the influence of the fearless Elijah. III. Is the more tenacious in the near prospect of separation. “I will not leave thee” (2Ki_2:2; 2Ki_2:4; 2Ki_2:6). It was known to Elisha and to the sons of the prophets that Elijah would be speedily taken from their midst (2Ki_2:3; 2Ki_2:5). Notwithstanding Elijah’s craving to be alone—a craving that may often be noticed in the dying as the final hour draws near—Elisha persisted in his attendance, eager to prolong to the latest hour the hallowing fellowship, and perhaps expecting further revelations as to his own future conduct.
2Ki_2:2-6. The faithful love of Elisha to his master and lord.
1. The ground and source of it. It does not rest upon a natural, human basis, but upon a divine and holy one. The bond which bound him to Elijah was living faith in the living God, and life and labour in and with Him. He honoured and loved his father after the flesh (1Ki_20:20), but he left him; with his spiritual father he wished to remain unto the end.
2. Its test and successful endurance. Thrice did Elijah beg him to remain behind, but he would not be persuaded. Whithersoever the path may lead, and whatsoever may come to pass, I will not leave thee until God shall take thee from me. His love was not a mere passing, bubbling enthusiasm, but it was strong as death. That love alone is true which endures trial, and will not be turned aside by any prayers, for which no hindrance is too great, no journey too long and too hard.
3. Its victory and reward. Elijah opens for him the path through the Jordan after his fidelity has stood the test. He is allowed to see what no human being besides him might see. He attains to that which he has prayed for; with Elijah’s mantle he inherits also Elijah’s spirit; he is a witness of his master’s glory. That fidelity conquers and is crowned which holds fast to God and Jesus Christ.—Lange.
2Ki_2:3. No over-hasty gossip or sensation ought to be made about acts of God, especially about those which are still future; they may not be treated as objects of curious or worldly questionings. The acts of God are meant to be awaited in respectful silence. Those who are capable of seeing the majesty of the living God kept silent of themselves; upon others they have to enjoin silence.—Vilmar.
2Ki_2:6-8. They descended the long, weary slopes that led from Jericho to the Jordan. On the upper terraces, or on the mountain heights behind the city, stood afar off, in awe, fifty of the young disciples; and they two stood by Jordan. They stood by its rushing stream; but they are not to be detained even by this barrier. “The aged Gileadite cannot rest till he again sets foot on his own side of the river.” He ungirds the rough mantle from around his shaggy frame; he rolled it together as if into a wonder-working staff; he smote the turbid river as if it were a living enemy, and the waters divided hither and thither, and they two went over on dry ground. And now they were on that farther shore, under the shade of those hills of Pisgah and of Gilead, where, in former times, a prophet greater even than Elijah had been withdrawn from the eyes of his people, whence, in his early youth, Elijah had himself descended on his august career. He knew that his hour was come, he knew that he had at last returned home, and that he had to go whither Moses had gone before him.—Stanley.
2Ki_2:7. Miracles are not purposed to silence and obscurity. God will not work wonders without witnesses, since He doth them on purpose to win glory to His name. His end were frustrate without their notice. Even so, O Saviour! when thou hadst raised thyself from the dead, thou wouldst be seen of more than five hundred brethren at once; and when thou wouldst raise up thy glorified body from earth into heaven, thou didst not ascend from some close valley, but from the Mount of Olives; not in the night, not alone, but in the clear day, in the view of many eyes, which were so fixed upon that point of thine heaven that they could scarce be removed by the check of angels!—Bp. Hall.
2Ki_2:8. On the other side of Jordan is the place of the glorification of the prophet. Between him and this spot there flows yet a broad and deep stream. Through this he must go. There is no bridge, no ferryman; but he does not despair. He knows, He who has called me to the other side will help me to the other side. Such incidents occur to many on the pilgrimage of life. No stream is so deep, and no flood of calamity so dangerous, that God could not lead through it unharmed. The prophet-mantle, which to-day, as ever, when it falls upon any Jordan, divide, its waves, is faith—strong, glad, living, rock-firm faith.—Wirth.
—Jordan must be crossed by Elijah on his way to heaven. There must be a meet parallel betwixt the two great prophets that shall meet Christ upon Tabor—Moses and Elias. Both received visions on Horeb; to both God appeared there in fire and other forms of terror; both were sent to kings one to Pharaoh, the other to Ahab; both prepared miraculous tables—the one of quails and manna in the desert, the other of meal and oil in Sarepta; both opened heaven—the one for that nourishing dew, the other for those refreshing showers; both revenged idolatries with the sword—the one upon the worshippers of the golden calf, the other upon the four hundred Baalites; both quenched the drought of Israel—the one out of the rock, the other out of the cloud; both divided the waters—the one of the Red Sea, the other of Jordan; both of them are forewarned of their departure; both must be fetched away beyond Jordan; the body of Elijah is translated, the body of Moses is hid; what Moses doth by his rod, Elijah doth by his mantle; with that he smites the waters, and they, as fearing the Divine power which wrought with the prophet, run away from him and stand on heaps, leaving their dry channel for the passage of those awful feet.—Bp. Hall.
2Ki_2:9. The reply of Elisha has been much misunderstood. As early as the days of Theodoret, these words were interpreted: “Let a gift of the spirit of prophecy twice as large as thine own rest upon me.” Luther renders them: “Let thy spirit be double in me;” and Krummacher, adopting the same view, justifies it by saying, “The spirit of Elisha as an evangelical spirit was twice as great as the spirit of Elijah as a legal spirit.” In all humility, we venture to differ from this interpretation, considering it entirely opposed to Elisha’s humility, entirely out of the power of Elijah to grant, and contradicted by the history of Elisha himself, in whom we have no proof of such superlative endowment. Literally translated the language of Elisha would run, “Let there be a mouthful or ration of two with thy spirit to me”—the reference being to the inheritance of the first-born son among the Jews, who, by reason of his primogeniture, was to have a double portion, or the ration of two, among his brethren, which peculiar phraseology was only a Hebrew synonym or figurative expression for being served heir and successor to the father of the dwelling. The request of Elisha, then, was simply this, that Elijah, the great father or head of the prophetic school, would in leaving the world complete the symbolic act begun in the field of Abel-meholah, by constituting him the inheritor of his position in the land of Israel, with authority to continue the work which he had begun.—Howat.
2Ki_2:11-12. The Divine estimate of Elijah and his work. Seen—I. In the glorious method of his translation to heaven—a unique close to a unique career. II. In the testimony Elisha was enabled to bear to an idolatrous nation as to Elijah’s miraculous exit—the man whose messages had been despised was honoured by a removal unlike that of ordinary men. III. In the provisior made for carrying on Elijah’s work by a competent successor.
2Ki_2:11. “And it came to pass as they still went on and talked.” A memorable conversation.
1. If we consider the characters of the talkers.
2. The probable themes discussed.
3. The abrupt and extraordinary manner of its termination.
—This translation of Elijah to heaven, and the appearance of the chariot and horses of fire, like other similar events of Old Testament Scripture, teach the existence of another world beyond us, unseen by the natural eye; a realm whose inhabitants and hierarchies and orders of ministries are numerous beyond all computation. But Elijah entered this heaven without tasting death, or at least by a marvellous transformation. The human body, with its earthly modes of life, must be unsuited to the heavenly state, and hence we suppose, in harmony with the Scripture, that at the moment of his separation from Elisha, Elijah was changed, as in the twinkling of an eye, and ascended with a renewed spiritualized body, made compatible with the nature of heavenly existence. Thus has he become a representative of those saints who shall not die, but be changed at the coming of the Lord (1Co_15:51-52; 1Th_4:17). It is contrary to the evident import of this account of Elijah’s departure, and contrary to the teachings of other Scriptures, to assume that his body must have become suddenly decomposed and dissolved into dust, or that it was thrown down again, as some of the sons of the prophets thought, on some mountain, or in some valley, a lifeless corpse (2Ki_2:16). Elijah truly ascended bodily to heaven, but his body underwent such a spiritualizing change as fitted it for the heavenly life; hence our doctrine that man is all immortal, body as well as spirit.—Whedon.
2Ki_2:12. In this inextricable interweaving of fact and figure, it is enough to mark how fitly such an act closes such a life. “My father, my father,” Elisha cried, “the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.” So Elijah has stood a sure defence to his country against all the chariots and horsemen that were ever pouring in upon them from the surrounding nations. So he now seemed, when he passed away, lost in the flames of the steeds and the car that swept him from the earth, as in the fire of his own unquenchable spirit—in the fire that had thrice blazed around him in his passage through his troubled earthly career. According to the Jewish legends, he was at his birth wrapped in swaddling bands of fire, and fed with flames. During the whole of his course “he rose up as a fire, and his word blazed as a torch.” And as in its fiery force and energy, so in its mystery, the end corresponded to the beginning. He had appeared in the history, we know not whence, and now he is gone in like manner. The ascension or assumption of Elijah stands out, alone in the Jewish history, as the highest representation of the end of a great and good career; of death as seen under its noblest aspect; as the completion and crown of the life which had preceded it; as the mysterious shrouding of the departed within the invisible world. By a sudden stroke of storm and whirlwind—or, as we may almost literally say of the martyrs of old, by chariots and horses of fire—the servants of God pass away. We know not where they rest; we may search high and low, in the height of the highest peak of our speculations, or in the depth of the darkest shadow of the valley of death. Legend upon legend may gather round them, as upon Elijah; but the Sacred Record itself is silent. One only mode or place there is where we may think of them, as of Elijah—in those who come afterwards in their power and spirit, or in that One Presence which still brings us near to them, in the Mount of Transfiguration, in communion with the beloved of God.—Stanley.
2Ki_2:13-15. The conscious endowment of Divine power. l. Tested and verified (2Ki_2:13-14).
2. Publicly recognised. “And when the sons of the prophets saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.”
3. Commands the reverence of the good. “And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.”
2Ki_2:14. The Lord God of Elijah. “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?”
1. This inquiry is suggested amid scenes of temporal embarrassment. Next in importance to the consecration of our life, and the cultivation of our intellect, is the honourable conflict in which we are engaged for the needed finance, the current sustenance. Its importance secured for it a distinct and prominent place in the model prayer. He on whose shoulders the responsibility of a home rests has the highest sanction for praying, as the morning dawns, “Father God, feed me and mine; give us this day our daily bread; continue to us our nightly shelter; keep the fire aglow on our hearth, and the bread sufficient, if not abundant, in our cupboard. And when Satan has suggested that the monetary obligation, when due, would not be met, and the bread, when needed, would not be found in the store, then the cruise of oil and the barrel of meal have yielded the required impetus. The mist has cleared away, the gathering clouds have dispersed, as the question has ascended, ‘Where is the Lord God of Elijah?’ ”
2. This inquiry has been suggested when, disconcerted by current guiles, the corruptions of society, you shrank from a task which seemed to have the absorbed attention and consecrated energy of but a few. You were lavish of health and life, in almost laborious loneliness. And so circumstanced, you were tempted to suspend further efforts; and, in comparative solitude, bewail the apathy of the Church, and the lapsed state of the world. But you thought of the cave near Horeb, which rung with the recalling cry of Jehovah, “What doest thou here, Elijah?” And from that date you have never indulged in any ideas about leaving your official duties, and passing to comfortable quietude. Hiding in the caves has been out of the question. You mean now to toil on, until at the close of a laborious life you may gratefully exclaim, “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”
3. The inquiry is suggested by the controversies upon which we are cast, the disputes with the settlement of which we may have something to do. The nineteenth century has certainly its Mount Carmel. Upon truths which we hold as sacred there is poured such apparent and, in some instances, rather acute contempt. Little is spared. Venerable names are traduced. Hoary facts are changed into airy fictions. A volume the most real is now regarded as the most mythical. Under these circumstances what is our main, our supreme want? Our secondary one is a body of Christian scholars and scientists who shall be quite equal to current discussions. Is the development theory obtruded? Then we want our Hugh Miller, who shall show us that different links in the development chain are wanting, and that, therefore, the very rocks thwart the whole theory. To meet the sophistries of Hume we need the logical acumen and elaborate learning of Campbell, Chalmers, and Ward-law. To meet the detractors, coarse and scholarly, of our adorable Redeemer, we need our Pye-Smith, with his “Testimony,” and our Hengstenberg, with his “Christology.” But while this is our subordinate want, we have a paramount, a supreme one, which no logic, however conclusive, and no scholarship, however extensive, can supply. We want the influence of the Holy Spirit—the power from on high—the baptism of fire. The fire on Mount Carmel settled the controversy, and nothing else would have done it. We may have everything else, but without this we may inevitably fail. Elijah reared the altar, he put the wood in order, he adjusted the sacrifice; but it was the descending fire which indicated the Divine honour, which clothed and crowned the whole. So we may build beautiful places of worship; we may have an erudite ministry, and most ornate and enamouring music; but that which is essential to the success of the whole is the cloud of the Divine glory over the mercy-seat.
4. This inquiry is suggested when, having done with life’s responsibilities and controversies, we arrive at the mystic river—the Jordan of death. Elisha, having wrapped his mantle around him, recalled those miraculous interpositions which were associated with the life of his prophetical predecessor; then the waters, having been smitten, “they parted hither and thither, and Elisha went over.” And are we to ford the river unescorted? Are we to die alone? Alone! “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” About the last hour, however, be not over anxious. Its security is guaranteed. Be most anxious about the current one. As they speed on, gather up the moments, as if they were grains of gold. Be loyal to the last. Evade no foe. Shrink from no encounter. You are in the militant Church; let the standard, therefore, be planted; let the banner wave. The clash of arms and the din of war will soon be hushed—hushed for ever. You will be more than a conqueror through the blood of the Lamb. Soon you will have arrived at the gates of pearl. Soon there will be thrown over your whole life the accurate interpretations of eternity. At eventide there shall be light. May you have, during the vicissitudes of your pilgrimage, guidance which is unerring; and in death, underneath you, may there be the everlasting arms—the everlasting arms of “the Lord God of Elijah.”—Homiletic Quarterly.
2Ki_2:15. It was not the outside of Elijah they were wont to stoop unto with so much veneration; it was his spirit, which, since they now find in another subject, they entertain with equal reverence; no envy, no emulation, raiseth up their stomach against Elijah’s servant; but, where they see eminent graces, they are willingly prostrate. Those that are truly gracious do no less rejoice in the riches of others’ gifts, than humbly undervalue their own. These men were trained up in the schools of the prophets—Elisha at the plough and cart; yet now they stand not upon terms of their worth, and his meanness, but meekly fall down before him whom God had honoured. It is not to be regarded who the man is, but whom God would make him. The more unlikely the means are, the more is the glory of the workman. It is the praise of a holy ingenuity to magnify the graces of God wherever it finds them.—Bp. Hall.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 2Ki 2:1
2Ki 2:1
Of the two great figures which the wild highland race of Gilead contributed to the history of Israel—Jephthah and Elijah—Elijah is incomparably the more commanding. Great in himself, he was made greater by the circumstances with which he was in almost perpetual conflict. Elijah was emphatically a prophet of judgment. His life was by turns that of a statesman, whose strong will swayed the fall and rise of kingdoms, and that of a hermit, whose long visions and prayers were unwitnessed by any human eye.
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In the narrative before us we notice:
I. The strong, over-mastering affection which bound Elisha to Elijah. It was a relationship on the one side of fatherly affection, on the other of devoted, reverent service. Out of affection for Elisha, no less than for personal feelings of reverence, Elijah said, "Tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel." But affection like Elisha’s does not always enter into the motives which rule Elijah. It takes, indeed, no thought of self. If it is true affection, it would rather suffer from being close to its object than escape suffering by distance from its object. Hence the exclamation of Elisha, "As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." To be tended by the love of an Elisha is a great blessing; to be an Elisha to some solitary soul is perhaps a greater.
II. The vexations and annoyances to which Elisha’s devotion to his master exposed him during the last hours of Elijah’s life. The schools of the prophets at Bethel and Jericho do not seem to have looked upon Elisha with very favourable eyes. Their jealousy of him was too keen to allow them to understand what was due to the last hours of the great prophet who was so soon to leave them. The answer of every reverent and healthy soul to such a question as theirs is that of Elisha: "Yea, I do know it; hold ye your peace."
III. Notice the solemn interchange of confidence between the departing prophet and his successor. The meaning of Elisha’s request was not for a prophetical gift twice as great as Elijah’s. It meant, as the Hebrew term implies, the double portion of an elder son. He asked it, not for himself, but that he might be able to do something for others. But the value to Elisha of that parting scene was independent of, and higher than, the great gift which it won for him. Faith does not now see the chariots and horses of fire, but she listens for words which, since the consecration they received on Calvary, mean infinitely more: "Into Thy hands I commend my spirit, for Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, Thou God of truth."
H. P. Liddon, Contemporary Pulpit, vol. ii., p. 330 (see also Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvi., p. 145).
2Ki 2:1-6
(1) The Christian’s work is finished before his removal, just as Elijah’s was. The Elijahs are removed that the Elishas may take their place. (2) The Christian at death, like Elijah in his translation, is removed from the scene of labour to the scene of recompense.
I. Notice the wonderful composure of the prophet in the immediate prospect of such a momentous and glorious change.
II. Another noticeable thing about Elijah is his desire to pass away without the presence of others.
III. A third noticeable thing in the prophet is his visit to the scene of his works.
Application: How important that our work should be such as will bear inspection on the eve of death and when the light of eternity is falling upon it.
W. Landels, Contemporary Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 108 (see also Christian World Pulpit, vol. i., p. 129).
References: 2Ki 2:1-7.—J. R. Macduff, The Prophet of Fire, p. 283. 2Ki 2:1-8.—A. Edersheim, Elisha the Prophet, p. 12. 2Ki 2:1-10.—Parker, Fountain, Sept. 9th, 1880. 2Ki 2:1-11.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 176; Parker, vol. viii., p. 80.
2Ki 2:1-19
The account of Elijah’s translation suggests:—
I. That the life of man is absolutely at the disposal of the Lord. (1) God knows when our work is done. (2) We are taken from a lower to a higher service. (3) We are not absorbed; we are elevated, dignified, and ennobled. (4) We do not sleep in an intermediate state; we go into another world.
II. That the way of man’s going from the world is determined by a higher wisdom than his own. The Lord takes life up into heaven: (1) by the chariot of youth; (2) by old age; (3) by long affliction; (4) by sudden calls.
III. That the close of a man’s work is often known to himself and to others apart from a distinct expression of the fact in words. Elijah and Elisha did not mention the subject. They both knew what was going to happen.
IV. That the cessation of our individual work should not put an end to our interest in those we leave behind.
V. That though the prophet has gone, the Lord remains.
Parker, Fountain, March 1st, 1877.
Reference: 2Ki 2:3.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xviii., p. 129.
2Ki 2:6
Elisha’s resolution to face the worst, to meet the severest trial, to hear the parting words, comes straight from a soul’s secret, the secret of a prophet’s power.
I. One prominent feature in the character of the younger prophet was faithfulness, minute and accurate, to an unmistakable vocation.
II. Again, there is evidenced in Elisha’s words a spirit of deep personal loyalty—loyalty, in the first instance, to his teacher and friend. The love of the younger for the older was certainly no mere act of hero-worship. There is present an unwavering sternness in every Hebrew prophet. In such men there is no dilettantism of hero-worship; if there, it must spring from deep and noble principle. In Elisha it did. His love for Elijah represented at its inner core a strong belief in goodness—goodness as a practical possibility, because a realised fact. That belief lived in him, through the example of Elijah, in an evil time.
III. Elisha had a keen sense of the claims and the nearness of God. Nothing is more needed in the daily life of religion than this, nothing so abundantly productive of strength, so potent in unfolding power, and maintaining in vigour the sense of responsibility, and keeping aglow the fire of purpose, in a prophet’s soul. Hence in such there is one all-absorbing fear, the fear of losing Him; one governing desire, the desire to please Him—a mighty secret in a prophet’s power. By such nothing can be forsaken which teaches of His presence and His will. "As the Lord thy God liveth, I will not leave thee."
W. J. Knox-Little, Manchester Sermons, p. 243.
References: 2Ki 2:7.—Bishop Thorold, Good Words, 1878, p. 821. 2Ki 2:8.—J. M. Neale, Sermons in Sackville College, vol. iii., p. 55. 2Ki 2:8-15.—E. de Pressensé, The Mystery of Suffering, p. 233. 2Ki 2:8-18.—J. R. Macduff, The Prophet of Fire, p. 297.
2Ki 2:9
As Elijah represents the Baptist, Christ’s forerunner, so Elisha prefigures Christ’s successors, His servants who come after Him and inherit His gifts. Let us go through some points of the resemblance.
I. Though Elijah was so great a prophet, yet Elisha had a double portion of his spirit. This has its parallel in Christian history. Even the extraordinary gift of John the Baptist was as nothing compared with that presence of the Spirit which Christ’s followers received, and by which they were regenerated.
II. Notice the special communion and citizenship which Elisha enjoyed with the unseen world. He had the privilege of knowing that he was one of a great host who were fighting the Lord’s battles, though he might be solitary on earth. We have privileges surely far greater than Elisha’s, but of the same kind.
III. Another gift bestowed on Elisha and on the Christian Church which he prefigured is the gift of discernment. He detected the sin of Gehazi; he saw in the face of Hazael his future fortunes.
IV. A further power vouchsafed to Elisha was the power of inflicting spiritual censures and judgments. In like manner, to all the ministers of Christ is committed the awful power of retaining or remitting sin (Joh 20:23).
V. Elisha’s person seems to have been gifted with an extraordinary sanctity and virtue. Even the touch of his relics after his death raised a dead man. Our Saviour had this power in its fulness, and His Apostles inherited it in their measure.
VI. There is much in Elisha’s miracles typical of the Christian Sacraments. Naaman’s cleansing in Jordan is a figure of Holy Baptism; the multiplying of the oil is a type of Holy Communion.
VII. In Elisha’s close connection and intercourse with matters of this world he resembled Christ and His Church.
VIII. Lastly, it is well to notice the dignity and state which he assumed in his dealings with men, high and low, in which he was a fit type of that holy Church catholic to whom it is promised, "The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted."
J. H. Newman, Sermons on Subjects of the Day, p. 164.
References: 2Ki 2:9.—J. M. Neale, Sermons in Sackville College, vol. iii., pp. 1, 63; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. ix., p. 82; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. no; J. J. S. Perowne, Sermons, p. 313; H. P. Liddon, Penny Pulpit, No. 752, and Old Testament Outlines, p. 73. 2Ki 2:9, 2Ki 2:10.—J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes, 3rd series, p. 98; I. Williams, Characters of the Old Testament, p. 224. 2Ki 2:9-14.—A. Edersheim, Elisha the Prophet, p. 22.
2Ki 2:11
(with Luk 24:51)
The translation of Elijah and the ascension of Christ.
I. The first point which may be mentioned is the contrast between the manner of Elijah’s translation and that of our Lord’s ascension. (1) The place of the one event was on the uplands or in some of the rocky gorges beyond Jordan, and that of the other, the slope of Olivet, above Bethany. Elijah’s career ended amidst the stern silence where he had so often sought asylum and inspiration; Christ ascended close by, and yet out of sight of, the great city, neither shunning nor courting spectators. (2) The prophet’s end was like the man. It was fitting that he should be swept up to the skies in tempest and fire. Our Lord’s ascension was full of the spirit of His whole life. A silent gentleness marked Him even in that hour of lofty and transcendent triumph. (3) Elijah was carried up; his earthly frame and human nature had no power to rise. Christ ascended by His own inherent power. He was not taken; he went.
II. Another striking point of contrast embraces the relation which these two events respectively bear to the life-work which preceded them. The mantle that passed from Elijah to Elisha was the symbol of office and authority transferred; the functions were the same, whilst the holders had changed. The sons of the prophets bow before the new master; "the spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha." We turn to Christ’s ascension, and there we meet with nothing analogous to the transference of office. No mantle falling from His shoulders lights on any in that group; none are hailed as His successors. His link is one; "the help that is done on earth, He doeth it all Himself."
III. Whilst our Lord’s ascension is thus marked as the seal of a link in which He has no successor, it is also emphatically set forth, by contrast with Elijah’s translation, as the transition to a continuous energy for and in the world. Elijah’s work is done, and nothing more is to be hoped for from him. Christ’s work for the world is in one sense completed on the Cross, but in another it will never be completed until all the blessings which that Cross has lodged in the midst of humanity have reached their widest possible diffusion and their highest development.
IV. The ascension of Christ is set forth, by contrast with Elijah’s translation, as bearing on the hopes of humanity for the future. That parting on Olivet cannot be the end; we look for His coming again.
A. Maclaren, The Secret of Power, p. 174.
The ascension of the Lord was prefigured, foreshown, and, we may say, anticipated in part by the translation of Elijah.
I. Elijah’s work was done; his long controversy with Israel, with an apostate king and a rebellious people, was drawing to a close. He was to be withdrawn in a wonderful way from the earth. Our thoughts carry us on to One who, like the prophet of the elder dispensation, had finished the work which His Father had given Him to do, and who now, about to leave the earth, announced to His faithful disciples that legacy of love, that double portion of the Spirit, which He would bequeath to them.
II. Compare the actual translation of Elijah with the ascension of our Lord. Elijah is translated; a chariot of fire and horses of fire are commissioned to snatch him away from the earth and carry him to heaven; but our Lord is borne upward by His innate power. He is not translated; He ascends. He came from heaven, and He returns to heaven, as to His natural home.
III. In. what follows after Elijah has been taken up, we have a dim foreshadowing of the history of the Church, above all the Apostolic Church, after the ascension of its Lord. (1) Elisha wrought a miracle with the mantle of Elijah; the mantle of our ascending Lord has fallen upon the Church. (2) Elisha wasted not his time in idle lamentations; he girt himself to his own work. The Apostles returned to Jerusalem; and when they received the promise of the Father, they became witnesses to Christ "in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth."
IV. Notice: (1) Christ’s ascension is the complement of His resurrection. (2) We have not now a King only sitting on the throne of power, but a High-priest as well, who has passed within the veil, there to appear in the presence of God for us. (3) We should find in the contemplation of our ascended Lord a motive to heavenly-mindedness, for where our treasure is, there our heart should be also.
R. C. Trench, Sermons Preached in Westminster Abbey, p. 202 (see also Sermons New and Old, p. 1).
Reference: 2Ki 2:11.—G. Huntington, Sermons for the Christian Seasons: Advent to Trinity, p. 215.
2Ki 2:12
I. Bodily partings. Such partings are matters of everyday experience. They are part of our lot. They remind us of the great dispersion; they should make us long for the great reunion. The word of God is so tender to us, so full of sympathy, that it paints this kind of parting in all its bitterness. In reference to these partings we must remember: (1) that they must be borne. They are part of life’s discipline. (2) Remember in reference to bodily separations that coexistence is not union. To be present in the body is often to be furthest away in spirit.
II. There are partings between souls. I speak still of this life. (1) There are those who once knew each other intimately, called each other friends, who now scarcely know whether the once-beloved be dead or living. Ghosts of old, obsolete, worn-out friendships haunt the chambers of this being, to remind us of the hollowness of human possessions and the utter transitoriness of all affections save one. (2) Still more painfully is this seen in cases where early friends have become, not forgetful, but hostile, by reason of conflicting opinions and antagonistic creeds. The most dreadful parting is that which consists in living for opposite objects—the one for some device of man, the other for God’s truth and God’s salvation.
III. Go on from the partings of time to the death-parting which must come. It is through the death-parting that the everlasting meeting begins. Never till we die shall we have quite discarded those infirmities and those meannesses which cling to the friendships and loves of the fallen. Let us learn not to dread, but rather to desire and be enamoured of, that mysterious close, which, in our blindness and darkness, we so often shrink from. The death-parting is but that brief laying to rest from which we shall awake refreshed and invigorated for a glorious eternity.
C. J. Vaughan, Last Words at Doncaster, p. 276.
Reference: 2Ki 2:12-25.—Parker, Fountain, March 8th, 1877, and vol. viii., p. 91.
2Ki 2:13
(with 2Ti 2:2)
How can we carry on to the future the electric spark of moral, intellectual, and spiritual life which is the essence of true religion? How shall Elisha catch the mantle of Elijah? What shall be the succession by which the torch of truth and power of goodness shall be handed on from generation to generation? This is a question which may receive many answers. It is a question which concerns us all.
I. There is, first, a succession less important, yet not to be despised, what may be called the outward or mechanical succession, at which, in default of anything higher, men have often grasped. There has been a succession of the relics or remains of those who have gone before us. The bones of Elisha still seem instinct with the immortality of the prophet. These are symbols; they are witnesses; they represent to us in outward form the continuity of the Church, but they are not the very grace itself. Christ is risen, and His presence must be continued in nobler, more enduring channels.
II. There is the succession of office. It is no slight assistance towards continuing the moral strength of former times to find one’s self seated in the very place, surrounded by the very circumstances, filled by the very associations, encompassed by the very beauties, which inspired our forerunner in earlier days. There is a genius loci, the spirit of the race and place, which hangs about us and transforms us we know not how.
III. What is it of which the outward shapes or the high offices of Church and State are the living framework? It is the communication of the same ideas, of the same qualities, of the same graces. It is that the wise, and great, and good of former times may be remembered, imitated, and followed. The perpetuation of these graces is the true Apostolical succession, is the true identity of spiritual life, is the true continuity of the Christian Church, the true communion of the saints.
A. P. Stanley, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xi., p. 200 (see also Sermons and Addresses at St. Andrews, p. 105).
2Ki 2:14
Elisha was anxious to make his work in his day and generation to be one of service, and this anxiety showed itself in the petition he presented. The answer which was given by Elijah was that he could have that spirit of fitness if he had another spirit, viz., that of insight. He proved that he had that power of insight, and now the time was come when he must put into effect the powers he desired. The river Jordan rolled between him and his work. Could he break down that obstacle and enter in and take possession of the sphere of duty where his heart desired to dwell? It was a moment of crisis, but he remembered the strength which had made his master strong, and the difficulties disappeared, and the obstacles were vanquished.
I. The effort put forth by Elisha was the assertion of his own personality, and this every man is bound to make some time or other in the face of the world. It was in the realisation of his own personality that he found power and gained the submission of the sons of the prophets.
II. It is only in a crisis of life that we are encouraged, almost coerced, to assert this responsibility. When some change comes over our life, and we stand for the first time consciously alone, then we discover how very weak have been the resources at our command. We have been living as Elisha lived, dependent largely on the intellectual superiority and moral fervour of some great religious teacher. We have been like men trading on borrowed capital. Such a time of crisis brings its snares, and there are two temptations peculiar to it. There is (1) the suppression of personality due to vanity, and (2), the suppression of personality due to mistrust and, it may be, to imitativeness. There is danger from both these tendencies. To ignore the past is impossible, and to reach forward to grasp the heritage of the future depends on our taking our stand on the highest point to which past generations have brought us. Elisha grasped the mantle of Elijah, the legacy of the past, but he also made it his own. So it became to him a power.
III. The principle of personality is the vital principle of Christianity. Because beneath the Christian creed an ever-living personality exists, so till He die it must live.
Bishop Boyd-Carpenter, Oxford and Cambridge Journal, Feb. 7th, 1884.
References: 2Ki 2:14.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. xiii., p. 202; E. Monro, Practical Sermons on the Old Testament, vol. ii., p. 391; Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes, p. 87. 2Ki 2:14-18.—A. Edersheim, Elisha the Prophet, p. 31; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 113.
2Ki 2:15
The lessons which may be derived from the story of the departure of Elijah and the succession of Elisha are twofold, and quite distinct from each other.
I. Elijah’s translation is intended to be a representation of a good man’s death in its noblest aspect. In all the various forms in which the inevitable day of death may come upon us what we should most wish for would be that our death, like Elijah’s, should seem to those we leave behind but as the completion of that which they have already known. Elijah had seemed in life a firmer defence and guard to his country than all the chariots and horsemen that were ever pouring in upon them from the surrounding tribes, and so he seemed when he passed away lost in the flames of a fiery chariot and the fiery horsemen.
II. Notice the succession of gifts by which in different ages of the world the purposes of Providence are carried on. The lesson is forced upon us by the problem of the extreme diversity of the forms and genius of philanthropy which exist in each succeeding generation. The mantle of Elijah descended on Elisha, who was himself altogether different in aspect, in character, in life, from his mighty predecessor. His life was not spent in unavailing struggles, but in wide successes. He was sought out, not as the enemy, but as the friend, of kings. His works of mercy were known far and wide, and after his death his sepulchre was well known, and wonders were wrought at it, continuing the beneficence of his long and gentle life. From his history we see the variety and, at the same time, the continuous succession of the Divine gifts to the world.
A. P. Stanley, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvi., p. 177.
References: 2Ki 2:15.—D. J. Vaughan, The Days of the Son of Man, p. 270; A. Scott, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvi., p. 156. ii. 18.—I. Williams, Characters of the Old Testament, p. 234. 2Ki 2:18-22.—A. Edersheim, Elisha the Prophet, p. 41; T. T. Carter, Sermons, p. 343. 2Ki 2:19-21.—J. M. Neale, Sermons for the Church Year, vol. i., p. 233.
2Ki 2:21
"The spirit of Elijah," they said, "doth rest on Elisha." It was true, yet who is not struck with the difference, with the contrariety, between them? At first sight the succession is a deterioration. The glow, the rush, the genius, the inspiration, the awe, the prowess, seem to have died with the master. Viewed in one aspect, no position was ever more level, no work more human, no office less heroic, than that of Elisha. Yet it is upon this life that "a double portion" of Elijah’s spirit rested. If the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elias, it was "Eliseus the prophet" who dimly prefigured Christ.
There is one point peculiar to this parable, and that is the stress laid upon "the spring of the waters." "The water is nought, and the ground barren." God’s prophet goes to the spring of the waters, and casts the healing "salt" in there.
I. Man might have been satisfied to deal with the symptoms: with the water and with the ground. When the miracle is interpreted into parable, we see how infinite may be its applications. It is the parable of thoroughness. It bids us go to the spring of our disease and never rest till the antidote is at work there.
II. There are two aspects of our earthly being, each impressive, each admonitory. The one is that which represents it as a multitude, the other that which represents it as a unit. Our life is a unit life, and this is what gives significance and solemnity to its starting. We are here at the spring of the waters, and here therefore must a more than prophet’s hand cast in the salt. The Gospel of a free forgiveness for the sake of a dying, living Lord, the Gospel of a Divine strength given in the person of an indwelling Spirit—this is the healing "salt," this is the life-giving life, for the sake of which Christ came and suffered, and died, and rose. "He went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there.... And the Lord said, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land."
C. J. Vaughan, Words of Hope, p. 189.
References: 2Ki 2:23, 2Ki 2:24.—Bishop Ryle, Boys and Girls Playing, p. 65; G. Phillips, Sunday Magazine, 1875, p. 193; S. Cox, Expositor, 1st series, vol. iii., pp. 414, 452. 2Ki 2:23-25.—A. Edersheim, Elisha the Prophet, p. 50.
2Ki 2:24
I. This story teaches that the faults of our youth, and those which are most natural to us at that age, are not considered by God as trifling, but are punished by Him after the same measure as the sins of men. Men measure faults by the harm which they do in this world, and not by the harm which they do in unfitting us for the kingdom of God, by making us unlike God and Christ.
II. What is it that Jesus Christ means when He tells us that "he who is unjust in the least is unjust also in much," and that "if we have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to our trust the true riches"? He means that when we talk of the consequences of our actions, we forget that as in one point of view the consequences of the greatest crimes that the most powerful tyrant ever committed are as the least thing in the sight of God, so in another the consequences of the common school faults of the youngest boy are infinitely great. That is important to God, and that He wills His creatures to regard as important, which is an offence against His laws, a departure from His likeness. And of this, even of sin, He has willed the consequences to be infinite, not confined to the happiness and misery of a few years, but of all eternity. Here is the reason why the faults of boyhood are so serious: because they show a temper that does not love God and a heart unrenewed by His Holy Spirit.
T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. ii., p. 42.
References: 2Ki 2—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxi., No. 1826. 2Ki 2—W. M. Taylor, Elijah the Prophet, p. 203. 2Ki 3:1-12 and 2Ki 3:13-27.—A. Edersheim, Elisha the Prophet, pp. 60, 71.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v1 2 Kings
2 Kings
THE CHARIOT OF FIRE
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2Ki 2:1 - 2Ki 2:11.
Elijah’s end is in keeping with his career. From his first abrupt appearance it had been fitly symbolised by the stormy wind and flaming fire which he heard and saw at Horeb, and now these were to be the vehicles which should sweep him into the heavens. He came like a whirlwind, he burned like a fire, and in fire and whirlwind he disappeared. The story is wonderful in pathos and simplicity. Surely never was such a miracle told so quietly. The actual ascension is narrated in a sentence. Its preliminaries take up the rest of this narrative.
I. This journey from Gilgal to the eastern side of Jordan is minutely described in its stages. Apparently this Gilgal is not the well-known place so called, which was down in the Jordan valley close to Jericho, else the road from it to Bethel could not have been called a going down {2Ki 2:2}. It probably lay to the north of Bethel, which would then be between it and Jericho, where the Jordan was to be passed. Elijah was not sent on an aimless round of farewell visits, but by the direct road to his destination. Note that he and Elisha and the ‘sons of the prophets’ all know that he is near his end. How this came about we are not told, and need not speculate; but though all knew, none seems to have known that the others knew. Elijah does not explain to Elisha why he wished him to stay behind, nor Elisha to Elijah why he was so resolved to keep by him. The knowledge and the silence would give peculiar solemnity and sweet bitterness to these last hours. How often a similar combination weighs on the hearts of a household, who all know that a dear one is soon to be taken away, and yet can only be silent about what is uppermost in their thoughts!
Why did Elijah wish Elisha to stay behind? Apparently to spare him the pain of seeing his master depart. With loving concealment, he tried to make Elisha suppose that his errand to Bethel and then to Jericho was but a common one, to be soon despatched. It was a little touch of tenderness in the strong, rough man. Note, too, the gradual disclosure to Elijah of the places to which he was to go. He is only bid to go to Bethel, and not till he gets there is he further sent on to Jericho, and, presumably, only when there is directed to cross Jordan. God does not show all the road at once, even if it lead to glory, but step by step, and a second stage only when we have obediently traversed the first. We get light as we go. Elisha’s clinging to his master till the very last is but too intelligible to many of us who have gone through the same sorrow, and counted each moment of companionship with some dear one about to leave earth as priceless gain, to be treasured in the sacredest recesses of memory for evermore.
It has been thought that the object of the visits to Bethel and Jericho was to give parting directions to the schools of the prophets at each place; but that is read into the narrative, which gives no hint that Elijah had any communication with these. Rather the contrary is implied, both in the fact that the ‘sons of the prophets’ came to the travellers, not the travellers to them, and in their addressing Elisha, as if some awe of the master kept them from speaking to him. An Elijah marching to his chariot of fire was not a man for raw youths to approach lightly. Their question is met by Elisha with curtness and scant courtesy, which indicates that it was asked in no sympathetic spirit, but from mere love of telling bad news, and of vulgar excitement. Even the gentle Elisha is stirred to rebuke the gossiping chatterers, who intrude their curiosity into that sacred hour. There are abundance of such busy-bodies always ready to buzz about any bleeding heart, and sorrow has often to be stern in order to be unmolested.
II. The second stage is the passage of Jordan. The verbal repetition of the same dialogue at Jericho as at Bethel increases the impression of prolonged loving struggle between the two prophets. At last, they stand on the western bank of Jordan, at their feet the spot where the hurrying river had been stayed by the ark till the tribes had passed over, before them the mountains bordering Elijah’s homeland of Gilead on the left, and away on the right the lone peak where Moses had died ‘by the mouth of the Lord.’ The soil was redolent of the miracles of the Mosaic age, and the dividing of the waters by Elijah is meant to bring the present into vital connection with that past, and to designate him as parallel with the former leader. Note the vigour with which he twists his characteristic mantle into a kind of rod, and strikes the waters strongly. The repetition of the former miracle is a sign that the unexhausted Power which wrought it is with Elijah. The God of yesterday is the God of to-day, and nothing that was done in the past but will be repeated in essence, though not in form, in the present. ‘As we have heard so have we seen.’ The former miracle had been done for a nation; this is performed for two men. It teaches the preciousness of His individual servants in God’s eyes. The former had been done through the ark; this, by the prophet’s mantle. Power is lodged in the faithful messenger. God’s strength dwells in those who love Him. The former miracle had been the close of the desert wanderings and the gateway to Canaan. Though Elijah’s face is turned in the opposite direction, does not its repetition suggest that for him, too, the impending translation was to be the end of wilderness weariness and toil, and the entrance on rest?
III. Elisha’s request is the next stage in the story. How far they two ‘went on’ is not told. The Bible does not foster the craving to know the exact situation where sacred things happened, the gratification of which might feed superstition, but could not increase reverence. Possibly they had drawn near the eastern hills, and were out of sight of the fifty curious gazers on the other hank. Elijah at last spoke the truth which both knew. How true to nature is that reticence kept up till the last moment, and then broken so tenderly!-’Ask what I shall do for thee, before.’ Probably he did not mean any supernatural gift, but simply some parting token of love; for he is startled at the response of Elisha. A true disciple can desire nothing more than a portion of his master’s spirit. ‘It is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master.’ They covet wisely and with a noble covetousness who most desire spiritual gifts to fit them for their vocation. It was an unworldly soul which asked but for such a legacy.
The ‘double portion’ does not mean twice as much as Elijah’s portion had been, but twice as much as other ‘sons of the prophets’ would receive. Elisha reckoned himself Elijah’s first-born spiritual son, and asked for the elder brother’s share, because he had been designated as successor, and would require more than others for his work. The new sense of responsibility is coming on him, and teaching him his need. Well for us if higher positions make us lowlier, in the consciousness of our own unfitness without divine help! Elijah knows that his spirit was not his to give, and can only refer his successor to the Fountain from which he had drawn; for the sign which he gives is obviously not within his power to determine. If the Lord shows the ascending master to him who is left, He will give the servant his desire.
A portion of their ‘spirit’ is the very thing which teachers and prophets cannot give. They may give their systems or their methods, their favourite ideas or cut-and-dry maxims and principles, and so leave a race of pygmies who give themselves airs as being their disciples, but their spirit they cannot impart. Contrast with this limitation of power confessed by Elijah, His consciousness who breathed on eleven poor men, and said, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost.’ No man could say that without absurdity or blasphemy. The gift impossible to man is the very characteristic gift of Jesus, who ‘has power over the Spirit of holiness.’ Must He not thereby be ‘declared to be the Son of God’?
IV. The climax of this lesson is that stupendous scene of the translation. Note how the ‘Behold’ suggests the suddenness of the appearance of the fiery chariot, which came flaming between the two men eagerly talking, and drove them apart. The description of the departure, in its brevity and incompleteness, sounds like the report of the only eye-witness, who had the fiery chariot between him and Elijah, and was too bewildered to see precisely what happened. All he knew was the sudden appearance of the fiery equipage, and then that, suddenly, and apparently swiftly, a rushing mighty wind swept away chariot and prophet into the heavens. He saw it, as the next verse after this passage tells us, only long enough to break into one rapturous and yet lamenting cry, and then all vanished, and he stood alone with an apparently empty heaven above him, the whirlwind sunk to calm, and Elijah’s mantle at his feet.
The teaching of the event is plain. As for the pre-Mosaic ages the translation of Enoch, and for the earlier Mosaic epoch the mysterious death of Moses, so for the prophetic period the carrying to heaven of Elijah, witnessed of a life beyond death, and of death as the wages of sin, which God could remit, if He willed, in the case of faithful service. Enoch and Elijah were led round the head of the valley on the heights, and reached the other side without having to go down into the cold waters flowing in the bottom; and though we cannot tread their path, the joy of their experience has not ceased to be a joy to us, if we walk with God. Death is still the coming of the chariot and horses of fire to bear the believer home. The same exclamation which fell from Elisha’s lips, as he saw the chariot sweep up the sky, was spoken over him as he lay sick ‘of the sickness whereof he should die.’
But the most instructive view of Elijah’s translation is its parallel and contrast with Christ’s Ascension. The one was by outward means; the other by inward energy. Storm and fire bore Elijah up into a region strange to him. Christ ‘ascended up where He was before,’ returning by the propriety of His nature to His eternal dwelling-place. The one is accomplished with significant disturbance, of whirlwind and flame; the other is gentle, like the life which it closed, and the last sight of Him was with extended hands of blessing. Each life closed in a manner corresponding to its character. The one was swift and sudden. The other was a slow, solemn motion, vividly described as being ‘borne upwards’ and as ‘going into heaven.’ The one bore a mortal into ‘heaven.’ In the other, the Son of God, our great High Priest, ‘hath passed through the heavens,’ and now, far above them all, He is ‘Head over all things.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 Elijah's Translation to Heaven
Elijah's Translation to Heaven
The great service rendered to Israel by the prophet whose life is here closed was the stand which he made for the religion of Jehovah when its supremacy was threatened by the worship of the Zidonian Baal introduced by Jezebel. In view of such a crisis, the degradation of Jehovah's worship by the association with it of the golden calves set up by Jeroboam could for a while be ignored, a superstitious form of the true faith being preferable to total apostasy; though later, when the religion of Baal had been abolished by Jehu, the time came for a protest against the calf-worship, such as that which was made by Hosea (Hos_10:5) and Amos (Amo_8:14). The preeminence which Elijah, by his zeal and devotion in this struggle against Baal worship, won for himself among the prophets of the Old Testament is evidenced by the expectation subsequently entertained that he would come again: see Mal_4:5-6, and cp. Mat_11:14; Mat_17:11; Luk_1:17; Joh_1:21. It is said that a chair is still placed for him by the Jews at the circumcision of every child, and that at the Paschal feast the door is set open for him to enter. At our Lord's Transfiguration he is recorded to have been present, together with Moses, and to have talked with Him (Mat_17:3; Mar_9:4).
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1. When the Lord.. Elijah] The only parallel to this narrative in the OT. is the account of the translation of Enoch in Gen_5:24. The mention (in 2Ch_21:12) of a letter from Elijah in the reign of Jehoram has led some to think that the event related in this chapter is placed out of its proper order. Gilgal] probably identical with the modern Jiljilia, a place between Bethel and Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim.
2. Tarry here] Elijah may have wished to spare Elisha the awe-inspiring vision of his departure. The sons of the prophets] see on 1Ki_20:35.
3. Knowest thou, etc.] Knowledge of Elijah's impending departure seems to have prevailed both at Bethel and Jericho.
9. A double portion] i.e. the share of the firstborn son (Deu_21:17), twice as much as that of any of the other 'sons' of the prophet. Elisha wished to be, in spiritual power, the chief among Elijah's disciples and successors.
11. A chariot of fire] cp. 2Ki_6:17.
12. The chariot of Israel] The words are probably a figure to describe the prophet, who in virtue of the supernatural powers that were at his service had been to Israel a greater protection than its military forces: cp. the similar expression used of Elisha in 2Ki_13:14. Rent them] a usual token of grief: cp. 2Ki_5:7; 2Ki_6:3; Gen_37:29; 2Sa_13:19; Ezr_9:3.
13. The mantle] The symbol of prophetic authority: see 2Ki_1:8, and cp. 1Ki_19:19.
16. The Spirit of the Lord] some strong impulse of divine origin: cp. 1Ki_18:12.
17. Till he was ashamed] i.e. to persist in further refusal.
19. This city] Jericho (2Ki_2:18). The water] not of the Jordan but of an affluent of it, the modern Ain es Sultan.
20. Salt] a preservative and a symbol of wholesomeness and purity: cp. Mat_5:13.
22. Unto this day] see on 1Ki_8:8.
23. Little children] RM 'young lads' Bethel, one of the seats of the calf-worship, was at a later date a royal chapel (Amo_7:13), and perhaps enjoyed the same distinction in Elijah's day; and the prophet, by his zeal for the Lord, may have there incurred popular resentment, of which the mockery here described was a symptom. Thou bald head] a bald forehead might give rise to the suspicion and reproach of leprosy (Lev_13:42-44).
24. Cursed them] see on 1Ki_16:34; Elisha seems to have shared the fiery disposition of his master Elijah (2Ki_1:10), and the spirit he manifested on this occasion stands in impressive contrast with that enjoined and exemplified by our Lord (Mat_5:44; Luk_23:34). She bears] for the presence of bears in Palestine cp. 1Sa_17:34-36.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 2. Elijah’s Translation
2. Elijah’s Translation
CHAPTER 2:1-11
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1. From Gilgal to Jordan (2Ki 2:1-6)
2. The divided Jordan (2Ki 2:7-8)
3. Elisha’s request (2Ki 2:9-10)
4. Elijah goes up to heaven in a whirlwind (2Ki 2:11)
The time for Elijah’s departure had now come, and the LORD, whom he had served so faithfully, “would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind.” As Lord He graciously orders the time and the manner of the departure of His servants (Joh 21:18-22). His coming translation was known to him, to Elisha and to the sons of the prophets. The latter belonged to the schools of the prophets.
The “schools of the prophets,” which were placed under the direction of experienced and approved prophets, afforded to younger men an opportunity of becoming qualified to perform the duties of the prophetic calling. The selection and the admission of individuals who were suited for the prophetic office by their personal character, and who had a divine call, undoubtedly depended on the prophetic judgment of those who presided over these institutions. As prophecy was a gift and not an art, the instructions which were imparted, probably referred merely to the study of the law, and were intended to awaken and cultivate theocratical sentiments, as well as promote a growth in spiritual life, for herein a suitable preparation for the prophetic office necessarily consisted. There are also indications found which authorize us to conclude that the revival of sacred poetry, as an art, and that theocratic-historical composition also, are to be ascribed to these religious communities as their source. Such schools existed in Ramah, Jericho, Beth-el, and Gilgal (1Sa 19:18; 2Ki 2:3; 2Ki 2:5; 2Ki 4:38). Those who frequented them, had, usually, reached the age of manhood already, and in some cases, were married men. They lived together in a society or community, which often embraced a large number of members, and were occasionally employed as prophetic messengers by their teachers (2Ki 9:1). However, the prophets were not invariably trained in these schools; several are named who were taken at once from civil life and invested with the prophetic office (Sacred History).
The goodness and power of God was now to be manifested in taking him into heaven without passing through death. The Jewish synagogue and the church have always believed the record of his departure, but it has been reserved to the destructive criticism to deny the translation of Elijah. The following statements are taken from Canon F.W. Farrar’s exposition of the second book of Kings. “Knowing that he was on his way to death, Elijah felt the imperious instinct which leads the soul to seek solitude at the supreme crisis of life.” “His death, like that of Moses, was surrounded by mystery and miracles, and we can say nothing further about it.” How strange that a scholar and expositor can speak twice of the death of Elijah, when the record so dearly establishes the fact that he was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind and that he did not die at all!
He appeared with Moses when our Lord was transfigured. According to Peter’s inspired comment the transfiguration scene foreshadows the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (2Pe 1:16-21). As He stood in glorious majesty upon that mountain so will He come to this earth once more and bring His saints with Him. Moses is the representative of those saints, who died and are raised from the dead; Elijah represents that company, who will be caught in clouds to meet the Lord in the air, departing from the earth without dying (1Co 15:51-53; 1Th 4:13-18).
Elisha clings close to Elijah. He had previously cast his mantle (the symbol of the prophetic office) upon Elisha, and he was then not quite ready to follow him fully. (See 1Ki 19:19-20. Compare with Luk 9:62.) But now we see Elisha following Elijah from Gilgal to Bethel, from Bethel to Jericho, and from Jericho to Jordan. He proves himself worthy of the mantle, to exercise the holy office as the prophet of the LORD. He covets in answer to Elijah’s request a double portion of the spirit which was upon Elijah to rest upon him. (According to the marginal reading, “the portion of the first born son,” which was twice as much as that of the other sons. See Deu 21:17.) Elijah’s answer is conditional. If Elisha saw Elijah taken up into heaven, it should be so, and if not, then his request was not to be granted. And while they yet talked the chariot of fire, and horses of fire appeared and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. The chariot of fire with its horses of fire were the symbol of the presence of the LORD of Hosts (Psa 104:3-4; Isa 66:15; Hab 3:8), but Elijah went up by the whirlwind. We know he was translated; he passed on without dying, but the details of it are not made known.
Elisha following Elijah, his request and the vision of glory, are suggestive about true service for God. Only as we follow the Lord wholly, as Elisha followed Elijah, and look to the coming glory, are we fit and fitted for service.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 Elijah Taken up to Heaven
Elijah Taken up to Heaven
v. 1. And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, at the time which the Lord had fixed for this important event, of which He had informed His faithful servant, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal, a town near Shiloh, on the road leading into the Jordan Valley.
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v. 2. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. His humility prompted him to make this request, for he did not know whether his translation to heaven was to be attended by any witness. And Elisha said unto him, with a solemn oath, As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. He was bound to his teacher, to his spiritual father, with the bonds of the most faithful affection. So they went down to Bethel, the well-known city nearer to Jerusalem, where there was also a school of prophets.
v. 3. 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 today? They also had received the information that the Lord would take their beloved teacher from them. And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. So all the persons concerned, yielding to the will of God, were ready for the sacrifice, but because they loved one another, they did not discuss the departure, the subject being too painful for them to think about.
v. 4. And Elijah said unto him, as before, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho, near the Jordan, where there was another school of prophet disciples. And he said, as before, As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
v. 5. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho, the disciples or students of the prophets’ school located there, came to Elisha and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, as in Bethel, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. Thus Elijah had now visited the chief prophets’ schools.
v. 6. And Elijah said unto him, his humility once more prompting him to make the suggestion, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan, near this river his departure was to take place. And he said, still determined to stay with his master to the end, As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. It was probably the Spirit of God Himself who urged him to accompany his aged teacher. And they two went on.
v. 7. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood to view afar off, they stood at an elevated point, following the two prophets with their eyes as long as possible; and they two stood by Jordan.
v. 8. And Elijah took his mantle, one of the signs of his prophetical office, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters; and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground, as the children of Israel had done at the time of their entrance into Canaan, Jos 3:16.
v. 9. 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, some last favor. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me, the reference being to the right of the firstborn, who received twice as much of his father’s goods as the rest of the children, Deu 21:17. Elisha’s request, as the spiritual son of Elijah, was that he might get a greater share of his spirit than any other prophet of his time.
v. 10. And he, Elijah, said, Thou hast asked a hard thing, one which was, in fact, not in Elijah’s hands to bestow, but could be granted by God alone; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, if Elisha would be an eye-witness of his wonderful departure, It shall be so unto thee, that would be a token to him that the Lord had granted his request; but if not, it shall not be so.
v. 11. And it came to pass, as they still went on and talked, while they were engaged in earnest conversation, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder, in a manner hidden from mere human understanding; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind Into heaven. While the storm was playing about the two men, while Elisha plainly saw the chariot and the horses of fire, Elijah was taken from his side and miraculously carried upward, to be translated to the realms of bliss above.
v. 12. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, for Elijah had been his spiritual father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof! For the presence of Elijah in Israel had proved a powerful protection against the enemies. And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces, as an expression of his great grief and pain at the loss of his fatherly teacher and friend.
v. 13. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, purposely dropped at the moment of his departure, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan.
v. 14. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? This was not a question of doubt, but meant to say: "Thou, God of Elijah, if Thou art also mine, and if I am Thy servant according to Thy will and command as he was, then let this become evident by granting that that may take place at my word which Thou grantedst should come to pass at his. " (Menken. ) And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither; and Elisha went over. Thus Elisha received his credentials as the successor of Elijah and could go forth to carry on his prophetic work.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 5 So it came about
So it came about
"So it happened." This phrase is used to introduce the next event in the story line. (See: Introduction of a New Event)
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a whirlwind
a strong wind that spins around and around
As Yahweh lives, and as you live
"As surely as Yahweh lives and as you live." Here Elisha compares the certainty that Yahweh and Elijah are alive to the certainty of what he is saying. This is a way of making a solemn promise. AT: "I solemnly promise you that" (See: Simile)
translationWords
Yahweh
Elijah
heaven
Elisha
Gilgal
send
Bethel
life
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1–2 2:1-18 Elijah’s translation into heaven transferred the prophetic mantle…
2:1-18 Elijah’s translation into heaven transferred the prophetic mantle to Elisha.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.