2 Kgs 2:1-14 · Read 10 min · think and write 15 min
In the last lesson, Elijah put his mantle on Elisha, and Elisha “arose, and went after Elijah, and served him” (1 Kgs 19:21).
This lesson is Elijah’s last stretch of road on earth. The very first verse tells the reader how it ends: “When the LORD was about to take Elijah up by a whirlwind into heaven” (v. 1). The reader knows, and the people on the road know too. This lesson watches how they walk that last stretch.
1When the LORD was about to take Elijah up by a whirlwind into heaven, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2Elijah said to Elisha, “Please wait here, for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
3The sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?” He said, “Yes, I know it. Hold your peace.”
4Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please wait here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” He said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.
5The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?” He answered, “Yes, I know it. Hold your peace.”
6Elijah said to him, “Please wait here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” He said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” Then they both went on.
7Fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance; and they both stood by the Jordan.
8Elijah took his mantle, and rolled it up, and struck the waters; and they were divided here and there, so that they both went over on dry ground.
9When they had gone over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be on me.”
10He said, “You have asked a hard thing. If you see me when I am taken from you, it will be so for you; but if not, it will not be so.”
11As they continued on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12Elisha 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.
13He also took up Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
14He took Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and struck the waters, and said, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” When he also had struck the waters, they were divided apart, and Elisha went over.
The ending told first. The first verse is: “When the LORD was about to take Elijah up by a whirlwind into heaven” (v. 1). The sons of the prophets at Bethel and at Jericho know it too: “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?” (vv. 3, 5). Twice Elisha answers, “Yes, I know it. Hold your peace” (vv. 3, 5). Everyone knows what this day holds, yet the road is still walked one step at a time.
I will not leave you. Three times Elijah says to Elisha, ‘Please wait here’ (vv. 2, 4, 6). Three times Elisha answers, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you” (vv. 2, 4, 6). The passage does not say why Elijah wanted him to stay; it only records that all three times Elisha did not stay. From Gilgal to Bethel, to Jericho, and then to the Jordan — “Then they both went on” (v. 6).
The mantle, the first time. At the Jordan, “Elijah took his mantle, and rolled it up, and struck the waters; and they were divided here and there, so that they both went over on dry ground” (v. 8). The mantle that was put on Elisha in the last lesson appears here again.
A double portion. Across the river, Elijah says, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you” (v. 9). Elisha says, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be on me” (v. 9). Elijah says, “You have asked a hard thing”, and that if Elisha sees him taken, “it will be so for you” (v. 10). The passage does not explain what the ‘double portion’ means, and this lesson does not explain it either.
Taken up by a whirlwind. “As they continued on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (v. 11). That is all the passage says. It does not say where he went or how. Elisha saw it and cried, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” (v. 12). The passage goes on: “He saw him no more” (v. 12). Elisha tore his own clothes in two (v. 12).
The mantle, the second time. Elisha “took up Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan” (v. 13). He struck the water with it and asked, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” (v. 14). “When he also had struck the waters, they were divided apart, and Elisha went over” (v. 14). Elijah is gone; the God of Elijah is still there.
Seven lessons done. Elijah’s story began by the brook Cherith: the brook dried up, and God sent him to Zarephath. On Mount Carmel, the LORD sent fire. Under the juniper tree, he asked to die, and God sent an angel with food and water. On Horeb he said, “I, even I only, am left” (1 Kgs 19:10); “After the fire, there was a still small voice” (1 Kgs 19:12); and God sent him back and gave him someone to take his place. At the last, he left his mantle to Elisha. His story ends with a question by the Jordan: “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” (v. 14).
After Elisha crossed the Jordan, “When the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho facing him saw him, they said, ‘The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha’” (2 Kgs 2:15).
Elijah was taken up, but Israel was not left with only one man. The sons of the prophets who had stood at a distance (v. 7) saw the same God go on working through Elisha.
Seven lessons: By the Brook Cherith · Zarephath · On Mount Carmel · Under the Juniper Tree · A Still Small Voice · The Mantle · Taken Up by a Whirlwind.
Elijah had a day when fire came down from heaven, and a day when he asked to die. He once said, “I, even I only, am left” (1 Kgs 19:10); in the end there was someone who said to him three times, “I will not leave you” (v. 2). Perhaps you, too, are saying goodbye to someone, or are holding a ‘mantle’ someone left you, standing at your own Jordan. You can ask Elisha’s question too: “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” (v. 14).
This week: Write down the name of someone who led you and walked with you in faith, and one thing they left you — a saying, a habit, a book. If they are still living, tell them this week; if they are gone, say a word of thanks to God for them.
The Gospel records that Jesus took three disciples up a high mountain and was transfigured before them. Then: “Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him” (Matt 17:3).
Moses is also in this series of Bible figures. Readers can set this verse beside the stories of Elijah and of Moses, and see for themselves.
Scripture: World English Bible.