Elisha saw it, and he cried, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” He saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces.
Parallel Translations
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Elisha saw it, and he cried, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” He saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces.
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And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
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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; and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
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Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (22)
Passages linked to 2 Kings 2:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Kings 13:14 Now Elisha became sick with the illness of which he died; and Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over him, and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”
- Job 1:20-21 Then Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked will I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be Yahweh’s name.”
- Proverbs 30:4 Who has ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if you know?
- Isaiah 37:15 Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh, saying,
- Isaiah 37:21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Yahweh, the God of Israel says, ‘Because you have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria,
- Isaiah 57:1-2 The righteous perish, and no one lays it to heart. Merciful men are taken away, and no one considers that the righteous is taken away from the evil. He enters into peace. They rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness.
- Mark 16:19 So then the Lord, after he had spoken to them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
- Luke 2:15 When the angels went away from them into the sky, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
- Luke 24:51 While he blessed them, he withdrew from them, and was carried up into heaven.
- John 3:13 No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.
- Acts 1:9 When he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.
- Acts 8:2 Devout men buried Stephen and lamented greatly over him.
- 2 Corinthians 5:2 For most certainly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,
- 2 Corinthians 5:4 For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened, not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
- Ephesians 4:8 Therefore he says, “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to people.”
- Revelation 11:12 I heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” They went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies saw them.
- Job 22:30 He will even deliver him who is not innocent. Yes, he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”
- Proverbs 11:11 By the blessing of the upright, the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
- Ecclesiastes 7:19 Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
- Ecclesiastes 9:16-18 Then I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him who rules among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good.
- Isaiah 37:4 It may be Yahweh your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ”
- Acts 27:24 saying, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. Behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ki 2:12 And Elisha saw [it], and he cried,…
2Ki 2:12 And Elisha saw [it], and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
Ver. 12. And Elisha saw it.] See on 2Ki 2:10.
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The horsemen of Israel.] As thou hast been the Lord’s faithful warrior for the safety of his Church, so now thou art carried into his kingdom of glory, as it were upon a triumphal chariot and horses. {a}
{a} Diod.
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 My father, my father; so he calls him for…
My father, my father; so he calls him for his fatherly affection to him, and for his fatherly authority which by his office he had over him, in which respect the scholars of the prophets are called their sons, as 1Ki 20:35.
The chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof; who by thy example, and counsels, and prayers, and power with God, didst more for the defence and preservation of Israel, than all their chariots and horses, or other warlike provisions. The expression alludes to the form of chariots and horses which he had seen.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain He took up also the mantle of Elijah that…
He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him,.... Which he had now no further need of, and Elisha had, having rent his clothes in two; and this falling into his hands was a token of his succeeding him in his office, and that he should have the double portion of his spirit:
and he went back, and stood by the brook of Jordan; at the place where he and Elijah had passed over together.
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 My father - So he calls him for his…
My father - So he calls him for his fatherly affection to him, and for his fatherly authority which he had over him, in which respect the scholars of the prophets are called their sons. He saw his own condition like that of a fatherless child, and laments it accordingly. The chariot, &c. - Who by thy example, and counsels, and prayers, and power with God, didst more for the defense and preservation of Israel than all their chariots and horses. The expression alludes to the form of chariots and horses which he had seen.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. The chariot of Israel and the horsemen…
Verse 12. The chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.] The Chaldee translates these words thus: 'My master, my master! who, by thy intercession, wast of more use to Israel than horses and chariots." This is probably the sense.
In the Book of Ecclesiasticus 48:1, &c., the fiery horses and chariot are considered as an emblem of that burning zeal which Elijah manifested in the whole of his ministry: "Then stood up Elijah the prophet as fire, and his word burned as a lamp," &c.
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And rent them in two pieces.] As a sign of sorrow for having lost so good and glorious a master.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ki 2:12. Elisha saw it, and cried, My father,…
2Ki 2:12. Elisha saw it, and cried, My father, &c. — So he calls him for his fatherly affection to him, and for his fatherly authority which he had over him; in which respect the scholars of the prophets are called their sons. He saw his own condition like that of a fatherless child, and laments it accordingly. The chariot, &c. — Who, by thy example, and counsels, and prayers, and power with God, didst more for the defence and preservation of Israel than all their chariots and horses. The expression alludes to the form of chariots and horses which he had seen.
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 The chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof -…
The chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof - These difficult words are probably said of Elijah, whom Elisha addresses as “the true defense of Israel, better than either the chariots or horsemen” which he saw. Hence, his rending his clothes in token of his grief.
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 Thereof. Thou alone wast equal to an army, in…
Thereof. Thou alone wast equal to an army, in our defence. Chariots were then very common. (Calmet) --- Chaldean and Vatable, "Thou wast, by thy prayer, better to Israel than chariots and horses." So we should call a person, a pillar of the state, &c. (Tirinus) --- In giving the character of Elias, the Holy Ghost dwells in a particular manner on his burning zeal. (Calmet) --- Elias stood up as a fire, and his word burnt like a torch...he brought down fire from heaven thrice, on the holocaust, and on the captains. (Haydock) --- Who can glory like to thee? Ecclesiasticus lxviii. 1, 4. See Sts. Ambrose and Chrysostom on Elias. His resemblance with Christ is very striking. His name puts us in mind of Christ’s divinity; who burnt with zeal for God’s house, (John ii. 17.) was persecuted, (Calmet) raised the dead to life, rose again and ascended triumphant into heaven, having imparted his blessing (Haydock) and his sacraments to his disciples. (Calmet) --- No more, as he was taken from the company of men. (Haydock) --- Pieces, to express his grief, at being deprived of so excellent a master. (Menochius)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father--that is,…
Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father--that is, spiritual father, as the pupils of the prophets are called their sons.
the chariot of Israel, and the horseman thereof--that is, that as earthly kingdoms are dependent for their defense and glory upon warlike preparations, there a single prophet had done more for the preservation and prosperity of Israel than all her chariots and horsemen.
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took hold of his own clothes and rent them--in token of his grief for his loss.
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 12. Elisha saw — Saw the whole scene; the…
12. Elisha saw — Saw the whole scene; the chariot, and horses, and the transfigured Elijah moving away from the earth. Elisha saw this, however, not with his natural eyes, for it was a scene belonging to the spiritual world, and to behold it he must, like the young man mentioned, 2Ki_6:17, have his inner senses unvailed. This sight was a special Divine favour, and was made by Elijah the conditional sign of Elisha’s obtaining a double portion of his spirit. 2Ki_2:10.
My father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof — These words should be understood as an exclamation of wonder and amazement. Elisha sees his spiritual father depart, and he sees the chariot and the celestial steeds, and he calls after them all. We can hardly suppose that by this exclamation he meant at that moment to express the thought which the Targum attaches to the words: “My master, my master, who wast better to Israel by thy prayers than horses and chariots.” Doubtless Elisha afterwards often related this marvellous scene, and uttered these words in the hearing of men; and as he was ever associated in the minds of the people with his ascended master, and they spoke of him as the one “who poured water on the hands of Elijah,” (2Ki_3:11,) so it was very natural for the king of Israel when he visited him in his last sickness to weep over his face and repeat these very words. See 2Ki_13:14.
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He saw him no more — His inner vision was closed again, and all that wondrous scene vanished from his view.
Rent them in two pieces — In token of sorrow and bereavement. He would fain have gone with Elijah into heaven. He had closely followed his master all that day, persistently refusing to leave him; and now, when the chariot and horses of fire separate them, and he suddenly finds himself alone, a bitter sense of loneliness comes over him, and he acts like a heartbroken mourner.
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 12. My father, my father] That this title of…
12. My father, my father] That this title of affection was given by the younger prophets to an elder seems clear from 1Sa_10:12, where the question ‘Who is their father?’ appears to refer to Samuel, and the whole passage to shew that men need not be surprised at Saul being among the prophets, if they only know that he is coming from close communication with Samuel. The use of the title ‘father’ suits perfectly with the request that has just been made for the share which falls to the firstborn.
the chariot [R.V. chariots] of Israel, and the horsemen thereof] These words are in apposition with the former clause, and mark the sense which Elisha had of the protection afforded to the land by the presence of Elijah. Horses and chariots might be prepared in abundance, but they who had God’s prophet as their guide, and his voice lifted to heaven for their help, were guarded by a might against which armies were powerless. Though the noun in the Hebrew is in the singular, it has a plural sense here, and signifies ‘the chariotry’, the mounted force of the nation, to which Elijah’s presence is here compared.
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and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them] Grief prevailing over every other feeling, and the Oriental demonstrativeness being uncontrollable even in the lonely gorges of Gilead.
We may compare this ‘taking away’ with the translation of Enoch, and the Ascension of Christ, as marking the three periods of the world’s history, giving witness to each of man’s immortality, but in very different degrees.
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 (12) And Elisha . . . cried.—Literally, And Elisha…
(12) And Elisha . . . cried.—Literally, And Elisha was seeing, and he (emphatic) was shouting. (Comp. 2Ki_2:10, “If thou see me taken away.”)
My father, my father.—Expresses what Elijah was to Elisha. (See Note on 2Ki_2:9.)
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The chariot (chariots—rèkeb) of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.—Expressing what Elijah was to the nation. The Targum paraphrases, “My master, my master, who was better to Israel than chariots and horsemen by his prayers.” The personal work and influence of a prophet like Elijah was the truest safeguard of Israel. The force of the expression will be seen, if it is remembered that chariots and horsemen constituted, in that age, the chief military arm, and were indispensable for the struggle against the Aramean states. (Comp. 2Ki_7:6; 2Ki_10:2; 2Ki_13:14; 1Ki_20:1; Psa_20:7.)
He saw him no more.—After his outcry. He had seen him taken up.
Rent them in two pieces.—From top to bottom, in token of extreme sorrow. (For the phrase, comp. 1Ki_11:30.)
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 And Elisha saw it (comp. ver. 10). The condition…
And Elisha saw it (comp. ver. 10). The condition was fulfilled which Elijah had laid down, and Elisha knew that his request for a "double portion" of his master"s spirit was granted. And he cried, My father! my father! It was usual for servants thus to address their masters, (2Ki_5:13) and younger men would, out of respect, almost always thus address an aged prophet. (2Ki_6:21 2Ki_13:14, etc.) But Elisha probably meant something more than to show respect. He regarded himself as Elijah"s specially adopted son, and hence had claimed the "double portion" of the firstborn. That his request was granted showed that the relationship was acknowledged. The chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof; i.e. the best earthly defense of Israel. "In losing thee," he means, "we lose our great protector him that is more to us than chariots and horsemen the strength of Israel, against both domestic and foreign foes." The sight of the fiery chariot and horses may have determined the imagery, but they are not spoken of. Note the substitution of "horsemen" for "horses," and 2Ki_13:10, where the same expression is used in reference to Elisha. And he saw him no more. Elijah passed beyond Elisha"s ken. So far as we can gather from the expressions employed, no cloud received him, (Act_1:9) but he gradually vanished from sight. And he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces; an action marking extreme horror or extreme grief here the latter. (comp. Gen_37:29; 2Sa_13:19; Job_1:20 Job_2:12, etc.)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain 2 Kings
2 Kings
ELIJAH’S TRANSLATION AND ELISHA’S DEATHBED
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2Ki 2:12. - 2Ki 13:14.
The scenes and the speakers are strangely different in these two incidents. The one scene is that mysterious translation on the further bank of the Jordan, when a mortal was swept up to heaven in a fiery whirlwind, and the other is an ordinary sick chamber, where an old man was lying, with the life slowly ebbing out of him. The one speaker is the successor of the great prophet, on whom his spirit in a large measure fell; the other, an idolatrous king, young, headstrong, who had despised the latter prophet’s teaching while he lived, but was now for the moment awed into something like seriousness and reverence by his death.
Now the remarkable thing is that this unworthy monarch should have come to the dying prophet, and should have strengthened and cheered him by the quotation of his own words, spoken so long ago, as if he would say to him, ‘All that thou didst mean when thou didst stand there in rapturous adoration, watching the ascending Elijah, is as true about thee, lying dying here, of a common and lingering sickness. My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.’ Seen or unseen, these were present. The reality was the same, though the appearances were so different.
I We have in the first case the chariot and horsemen seen.
To feel the force of the exclamation on the lips of Joash, we must try to make clear to ourselves what its original meaning was. What did Elisha intend when he stood beyond Jordan, and in wonder and awe exclaimed, ‘The chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof’?
It does not seem to me that the interpretation of the words now in favour is at all satisfactory. It tells us that the expression is to he taken as in apposition with the exclamation ‘My father, my father’; and that both the one phrase and the other mean-Elijah! Yet what a preposterous and strange metaphor it would be to call a man a chariot and pair, or a chariot and cavalry! It seems to me that the very statement of this explanation, in plain English, condemns it as untenable. It is surely less probable that Elisha in that exclamation was describing Elijah than that he was speaking of that wondrous chariot of fire and horses of fire that had come between him and his master, and that his exclamation was one of surprised adoration as he gazed with wide-opened eyes on the burning angel-hosts, and saw his master mysteriously able to bear that fire, ringed round by these flaming squadrons, possibly standing unscathed on the floor of the chariot, and swept with it and all the celestial pomp, by the whirlwind, into heaven.
But why should he say ‘the chariot of Israel’? I think we take for granted too readily that ‘Israel’ here means the nation. You will remember that that name was not originally that of the nation, but of its progenitor and founder, given to Jacob as the consequence and record of that mysterious wrestling by the brook. And I think we get a nobler signification for the words before us if, instead of applying the name to the nation, we apply it here to the individual. When Elijah and Elisha crossed Jordan they were not far from the spot where that name was given to Jacob, ‘the supplanter,’ whom discipline and communion with God had elevated into Israel. And they were near another of the sites consecrated by his history, the place where, just before the change of his name, the angels of God met him and ‘he called the name of the place Mahanaim.’ That means ‘the two camps,’ the one, Jacob’s defenceless company of women and children, the other, their celestial guards.
It seems reasonable to suppose that, in all probability, a reminiscence of that old story of the manifestation of the armed angels of God as the defenders and servants of His children broke from Elisha’s lips. As he looks upon that strange appearance of the chariot and horses of fire that parted him and his friend, he sees once more ‘the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof,’ the reappearance of the shining armies whose presence had of old declared that ‘the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.’ And now the same hosts in their immortal youth, unweakened by the ages which have brought earthly warriors to dust and their swords to rust, are flaming and flashing there in the midday sun. What was their errand, and why did they appear? They came, as God’s messengers, to bear His servant to His presence. They attested the commission and devotion of the prophet. Their agency was needful to lift a mortal to skies not native to him. Strange that a body of flesh should he able to endure that fiery splendour! Somewhere in the course of that upward movement must this man, who was caught up to meet the Lord in the air, have been ‘changed.’ His guards of honour were not only for tokens of his prophetic work, but for witnesses of the unseen world and in some sort pledges, suited to that stage of revelation, of life and immortality.
How striking is the contrast between the translation of Elijah and the Ascension of Christ! He who ascended up where He was before needed no whirlwind, nor chariot of fire, nor extraneous power to elevate Him to His home. Calmly, slowly, as borne upwards by indwelling affinity with heaven, He floated thither with outstretched hands of blessing. The servant angels did not need to surround Him, but, clad no longer in fiery armour, but ‘in white apparel,’ the emblem of purity and peace, they stood by the disciples and comforted them with hope. Elijah was carried to heaven. Christ went. The angels disappeared with the prophet and left Elisha to grieve alone. They lingered here after Christ had gone, and turned tears into rainbows flashing with the hues of hope.
II. We have in our second text the chariot and horsemen present though unseen.
We are now in a position to appreciate the meaning of Joash’s repetition to Elisha of his own words, spoken under such different circumstances.
Elisha was by no means so great a prophet as Elijah. His work had not been so conspicuous, his character was not so strong, though perhaps more gentle. No such lofty and large influence had been granted to him as had been given to the fiery Tishbite to wield, nor did he leave his mark so deep upon the history of the times or upon the memory of succeeding generations. But such as it had been given him to be he had been. He was a continuer, not an originator. There had been a long period during which he appears to have lived in absolute retirement, exercising no prophetic functions. We never hear of him during the interval between the anointing of Jehu to the Israelitish monarchy and the time of his own death, and that period must have extended over nearly fifty years. After all these years of eclipse and seclusion he was lying dying somewhere in a corner, and the king, young but impressible, although, on the whole, not reliable nor good, came down to the prophet’s home, and there, standing by the pallet of the dying man, repeated the words, so strangely reminiscent of a very different event-’ My father, my father! the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof!’
And what does that exclamation mean? Two things. One is this, that the angels of the Divine Presence are with us as truly, in life, when unseen as if seen. So far as we know, it was only to Elisha that the vision had been granted of that chariot of fire and horses of fire. We read that at Elijah’s translation on the other side of Jordan, and consequently at no great distance off, there stood a company of the sons of the prophets from Jericho to see what would happen, but we do not read that they did see. On the contrary, they were inclined to believe that Elijah had been caught up and flung away somewhere on the mountains, and that it was worth while to organise search-parties to go after him. It was only Elisha that saw, and Elijah did not know whether he would see or not, for he said to him, ‘If thou shalt see me when I am taken from thee, then’ thy desire shall be granted.
The angels of God are visible to the eyes that are fit to see them; and those eyes can always see them. It does not matter whether in a miracle or in a common event-it does not matter whether on the stones by the banks of Jordan or in a close sick chamber, they are visible for those who, by pure hearts and holy desires, have had their vision purged from the intrusive vulgarities and dazzling brightnesses of this poor, petty present, and can therefore see beneath all the apparent the real that blazes behind it.
The scenes at Jordan and in the death-chamber are not the only times in Elisha’s life when we read of these chariots and horses of fire. There was another incident in his career in which the same phrase occurs. Once his servant was terrified at the sight of a host compassing the little city where Elisha and he were, with horses and chariots, and came to his master with alarm and despair, crying, ‘Alas! my master, how shall we do?’ The prophet answered with superb calmness, ‘Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them . . .. Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.’ They had always been there, though no one saw them. They were there when no one but Elisha saw them. They were no more there when the young man saw them than they had been before. They did not cease to be there when the film came over his eyes again, and the common round took him back to the trivialities of daily life.
And so from the mouth of this not very devout king the prophet was reminded of his own ancient experiences, and invited to feel that, unseen or seen, the solemn forms stood ‘bright-harnessed,’ and strong, ‘in order serviceable,’ ranged about him for his defence and blessing.
And are they not round about us? If a man can but look into the realities of things, will he see only the work of men and of the forces of nature? Will there not be-far more visible as they are far more real than any of these-the forces of the Eternal Presence and ever operative Will of our Father in Heaven? We need not discuss the personality of angels. An angel is the embodiment of the will and energy of God, and we have that will and energy working for us, whether there are any angel persons about us or not. Scripture declares that there are, and that they serve us. We may be sure that if only we will honestly try to purge our eyes from the illusions and temptations of ‘things seen and temporal,’ the mountain or the sick chamber will be to us equally full of the angel forms of our defenders and companions.
Do we see them for ourselves; and, not less important, do we, like Elisha, lying there on his deathbed, help else blind men to see them, and make every one that comes beside us, even if he be as little impressible and as little devout as this king Joash was, recognise that in our chambers there sit, and round our lives there flutter and sing, sweet and strong angel wings and voices? Will anybody, looking at you, be constrained to feel that with and around you are the angels of God?
Still further, another cognate application of these great words is that one which is more directly suggested by their quotation by Joash. It does not matter in what way the end of life comes. The reality is the same to all devout men; though one be swept to heaven in a whirlwind, and another lady slowly away in old age, or ‘fall sick of the sickness wherewith he should die.’ Each is taken to God in a chariot of fire. The means are of little moment, the fact remains the same, however diverse may he the methods of its accomplishment. The road is the same, the companions the same, the impelling-I was going to say the locomotive-power, is the same, and the goal is the same.
Of Enoch we read, ‘He was not, for God took him.’ Of Elijah we read, ‘He went up in a whirlwind to heaven.’ Of Elisha we read, ‘He died and they buried him.’ And of all three-the two who were translated that they should not see death, and the one who died like the rest of us-it is equally true that ‘God took’ them, and that they were taken to Him. So for ourselves and for our dear ones we may look forward or backward, to deathbeds of weariness, of lingering sickness, of long pain and suffering, or of swift dissolution, and piercing beneath the surface may see the blessed central reality and thankfully feel that Death, too, is God’s angel, who’ does His commandments, hearkening to the voice of God’s word’ when in his dark hearse he carries us hence.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain 1. The Beginning of His Ministry
II. THE PROPHET ELISHA
1. The Beginning of His Ministry
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CHAPTER 2:12-25
1. The mantle used (2Ki 2:12-14)
2. The sons of the prophets (2Ki 2:15-18)
3. The healing of Jericho’s waters (2Ki 2:19-22)
4. Judgment upon the scoffers (2Ki 2:23-25)
Both Elijah and Elisha are types of our Lord Jesus Christ. Their names indicate this. Elijah means “my God is Jehovah,” and Elisha, “my God is salvation.” Suffering, affliction and rejection are prominent in the life of Elijah, but it ended for him by being taken into heaven. It foreshadows the path of Him who was rejected by His own, cast out by the world and who has gone to heaven. In Elisha and his ministry, sovereign grace towards Israel in apostasy and ripening for judgment, is the predominant feature, foreshadowing Him who appeared in the midst of His people, ministering grace and truth (Joh 1:14; Joh 1:18). (Another typical application is to look upon Elisha’s ministry as typifying what will be bestowed upon Israel and upon the Gentiles with the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.)
Elisha had seen Elijah’s departure into heaven, and when he saw him no more “he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.” He thus expressed his grief, but at the same time he took Elijah’s mantle (symbolical of the prophetic ministry, which had fallen upon him) and used it at once. He smites with it the waters of Jordan and the Lord God of Elijah answers faith by parting the river. It was the first miracle of his administration. “So shall the waters of difficulty, nay, the cold flood of death itself, part, if we smite in faith with the heaven given garment; so shall the promise of God ever stand sure, and God be true to His Word; and so may we go forward undauntedly, though humbly and prayerfully, to whatever work He gives us to do” (A. Edersheim).
The sons of the prophets then acknowledged Elisha. They are seen ever after in close fellowship with the prophet; they belonged to the faithful remnant in Israel. However, not having witnessed Elijah’s translation they were unbelieving and thought that the Spirit might have transported the prophet (1Ki 18:12; Eze 3:14; Eze 8:3). They were not obedient to Elisha’s command and urged him to send, till he was ashamed and yielded to their request. After a three days’ unsuccessful search they returned and now they had to be ashamed, when their master told them, “Did I not say unto you, Go not?” They were like the disciples of our Lord “slow to believe.”
The second miracle is one of mercy, followed by a miracle of judgment. The healing of Jericho’s waters is a miracle of much significance. Jericho is a type of the world under the curse (Joshua 6). The water was naught and the ground barren. A new cruse with salt is brought. The salt is put into the waters and the prophet said: “Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.” When He, who is greater than Elisha, comes back to this earth again, now under the curse and death reigning upon it, the curse will be removed; there will be healing as it was for Jericho. The other miracles of grace and mercy teach the same lesson.
The third miracle is one of judgment. Judgment well deserved fell upon those who despised the chosen messenger of God. The mockers were not “little children,” but young men. They were of Bethel, and no doubt associated with the wicked worship established there (1Ki 7:25-33). They were infidels and scoffers. They mocked the translation of Elijah and taunted Elisha. The curse of the Lord fell upon them. Forty-two of their number were torn by she-bears. The punishment has been declared by critics “disproportionate to the offence.” It certainly is not when the offence is considered as an insult to the man of God, who had gone to heaven and to the prophet who had taken his place; besides, these young men had scoffed at the power of God. And we must not overlook the fact that present day mockers and rejecters of the ministry of the gospel and grace of God will also receive their punishment in due time (2Pe 3:3-7).
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:12 Elijah was Elisha’s spiritual father and personal mentor.…
2:12 Elijah was Elisha’s spiritual father and personal mentor. Cp. the tribute given him at his death, 13:14.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.