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II Kings 2. II Kings 2. From Elijah to Elisha. From Elijah to Elisha. (2 Ki 2:1 NKJV) And it came to pass, when the LORD was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Down to Bethel.
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II Kings 2 From Elijah to Elisha
From Elijah to Elisha • (2 Ki 2:1 NKJV) And it came to pass, when the LORD was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
Down to Bethel • (2 Ki 2:2 NKJV) Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So they went down to Bethel.
Elijah will be gone today! • (2 Ki 2:3 NKJV) Now the 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?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent!"
Elijah to be removed from earth • Elijah wished to pay a farewell visit to these several institutions, which lay on his way to the place of ascension and, at the same time, from a feeling of humility and modesty, to be in solitude, where there would be no eye-witnesses of his glorification. All his efforts, however, to prevail on his attendant to remain behind, were fruitless. -- (cont.)
Elijah to be removed from earth • Elisha knew that the time was at hand, and at every place the sons of the prophets spoke to him of the approaching removal of his master. Their last stage was at the Jordan. They were followed at a distance by fifty scholars of the prophets, from Jericho, who were desirous, in honor of the great occasion, to witness the miraculous translation of the prophet. -- Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown
I’m Going with you! • (2 Ki 2:4 NKJV) Then Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So they came to Jericho.
Another Message about Elijah • (2 Ki 2:5 NKJV) Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?" So he answered, "Yes, I know; keep silent!"
Again, Elijah tells Elisha to stay • (2 Ki 2:6 NKJV) Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So the two of them went on.
There is an audience at the Jordan • (2 Ki 2:7 NKJV) And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.
They cross the Jordan • (2 Ki 2:8 NKJV) Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
Elisha asks Big! • (2 Ki 2:9 NKJV) And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?" Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."
You asked a lot • (2 Ki 2:10 NKJV) So he said, "You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so."
The Fiery Chariot • (2 Ki 2:11 NKJV) Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
Elisha saw it! • (2 Ki 2:12 NKJV) And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.
Elisha gets the mantle • (2 Ki 2:13 NKJV) He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
Elisha Divided the Jordan • (2 Ki 2:14 NKJV) Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, "Where is the LORD God of Elijah?" And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.
Elisha is recognized as Eliah’s successor • (2 Ki 2:15 NKJV) Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him.
Let’s find Elijah • (2 Ki 2:16 NKJV) Then they said to him, "Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send anyone."
They are insistent • (2 Ki 2:17 NKJV) But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send them!" Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him.
A bit of Chiding • (2 Ki 2:18 NKJV) And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, "Did I not say to you, 'Do not go'?"
Elisha’s first Challenge • (2 Ki 2:19 NKJV) Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren."
The Response • (2 Ki 2:20 NKJV) And he said, "Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him.
The water problem is solved • (2 Ki 2:21-22 NKJV) Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, "Thus says the LORD: 'I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.'“ {22} So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.
Elisha is mocked • (2 Ki 2:23 NKJV) Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!"
Elisha curses the young men • (2 Ki 2:24 NKJV) So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.
Back to Samaria • (2 Ki 2:25 NKJV) Then he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
The Letter from Elijah • (2 Chr 21:12-20 NKJV) And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus says the LORD God of your father David: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
The Letter from Elijah • (2 Chr 21:12-20 NKJV) {13} but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot like the harlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have killed your brothers, those of your father's household, who were better than yourself, {14} behold, the LORD will strike your people with a serious affliction; your children, your wives, and all your possessions;
The Letter from Elijah • (2 Chr 21:12-20 NKJV) {15} and you will become very sick with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day. {16} Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabians who were near the Ethiopians.
The Letter from Elijah • (2 Chr 21:12-20 NKJV {17} And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king's house, and also his sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. {18} After all this the LORD struck him in his intestines with an incurable disease.
The Letter from Elijah • (2 Chr 21:12-20 NKJV {19} Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning for his fathers.
The Letter from Elijah • (2 Chr 21:12-20 NKJV {20} He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one's sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
Much Mystery Surrounds the Letter • There came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet - From 2Ki_2:11, it is evident that Elijah had been translated in the reign of Jehoshaphat, the father of Jehoram. How then could he send a letter to the son? Some say he sent it from heaven by an angel; others, that by the spirit of prophecy he foresaw this defection of Jehoram, and left the letter with Elisha, to be sent to him when this defection should take place; - - -
Much Mystery Surrounds the Letter • others say that Elijah is put here for Elisha; and others, that this Elijah was not the same that was translated, but another prophet of the same name. There are others who think that, as Elijah was still in the body, for he did not die, but was translated, he sent this letter from that secret place in which he was hidden by the Almighty. - - -
Much Mystery Surrounds the Letter • All the versions have Elijah, and all the MSS. the same reading. Dr. Kennicott contends that Elisha was the writer; for Elijah had been taken up to heaven thirteen years before the time of this writing. -- Adam Clarke
What can we learn? • God gave various pictures of the “Whole” in the Old Testament, such as life beyond this one
What can we learn? • God gave various pictures of the “Whole” in the Old Testament, such as life beyond this one • God and His prophets are not to be mocked.
What can we learn? • God gave various pictures of the “Whole” in the Old Testament, such as life beyond this one • God and His prophets are not to be mocked. • God has a way of rewarding persistence such as the case of Elisha getting to see Elijah ascend.
What can we learn? • God gave various pictures of the “Whole” in the Old Testament, such as life beyond this one • God and His prophets are not to be mocked. • God has a way of rewarding persistence such as the case of Elisha getting to see Elijah ascend. • It can pay to ask big such as the case of Elisha.