The
Book of Second kings
Chapter 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.
[2] And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath
sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy
soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.
[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 to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
[4] And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD
hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul
liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
[5] And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said
unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to
day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
[6] And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent
me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will
not leave thee. And they two went on.
[7] And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off:
and they two stood by Jordan.
[8] And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it
together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so
that they two went over on dry ground.
1) Waiting on the Miracle
Elijah, by the power of God had been blessed to witness
and perform many miracles
Remember he was fed
by the ravens, saw a meal barrel that didn’t run out, a boy resuscitated,
victory Mt Carmel
A.
Watching (1-7)
1. Elijah
Presumably there was a word from God that
Elijah would be taken into heaven w/o death
Reminds me of Enoch (Gen 5:21-24 Heb 11:5)& The Promise to the church (1Thes
4:13-18)
Mt 24:36,44 “be ye also ready for in such an hour as ye think not the
Son of man cometh”
2. Sons of the prophets
According to vs 3,5 & 7 the sons of the
prophets knew Elijah would depart and were watching
3. Elisha
Evidently, Elisha who traveled w/ Elijah knew
and watched as well Vs 3,5
B.
Walking (1-7)
Elijah anticipated his departure, yet continued to
live in humility and obedience. He kept walking!
“The
Lord hath sent me........” (2,4,6) Enoch walked w/ God &
Elijah did too!
1. Gilgal
The place where Israel first
camped after crossing Jordan & entering the Promised Land
It
is said to be the place of new beginning (Jn
3:7 ye must be born again)
Here (Josh 5:10,11) renewed their
covenant w/ the Lord & dwelt in communion
Here they were preparing for the impending battle, in safety though
they were not yet fighting
At Gilgal, the people became
strong in the Lord (Elijah
remembered how ministry began)
2. Bethel
The place where Jacob met the
Lord Gen 28:11-22
The House of God, the altar, our
dependence upon the Lord (Elijah
could reflect on altars)
3. Jericho
The place of Israel’s first
conquest after entering the Promised Land
Josh 6. Jericho represented the
power of God to give the victory
Elijah could recollect all the
victories God had given (raven,
meal barrel, boy, MtCarmel)
4. Jordan
Marked the place where Israel
ended their wilderness wanderings
The Jordan is a picture of death.
(It was a place to recall all the times Elijah’s will died )
Barrier of self-life and Spirit
life
C.
Working (8)
Elijah was continuing to walk w/ God and walk
w/ Elisha
1. Trusting
Elijah came to the Jordan and he smote the water w/ the mantle, waters
parted & he crossed
Moses & Joshua had parted the
water and now Elijah does as well
2. Training
Elijah was teaching him about
obedience, faithfulness and devotion
3. Traveling
Elijah crossed over and Elisha
went with Elijah
[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. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be
upon me.
[10] And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me
when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not
be so.
[11] 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.
[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.
[13] He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back,
and stood by the bank of Jordan;
[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? and when he also had smitten the
waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
[15] And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him,
they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him,
and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
[16] And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty
strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure
the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or
into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
[17] And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent
therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
[18] And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto
them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?
2)
Waiting on the Mantle (Mantle means more)
A.
Request (9,10) Right
of the first born
Elisha requested a double portion of the
spirit to be upon him (Double anointing double price)
He does not ask in pride for worldly power or
position but for the Spirit of God
Elijah says thou hast asked a hard thing. It
was not his to give, but God can bless faithfulness
I do not see where Elijah prayed for Elisha
about this request but Issued a promise
B. Resolve
1. Opposition
At every turn the sons of the prophets had
said that his master would be taken away
Why follow him? The Lord is thru w/ him,
stay w/ us OR strike out on your own
People will try to talk you out of whole
hearted devotion to the Lord
2. Opportunity
Every time they passed thru a city Elijah
tried to get Elisha to stay
Each place was special, but Elisha was
committed.
Neither did Elijah pray for Elisha about this
request
3. Obstacles
The Jordan must be crossed, how to get over?
God made a way
(11) they still went on
(11) Chariot of fire parted them (12) he saw
him no more (Separation yet he
continued on) *
When I made an appointment to drive 60 miles and meet with the Lord at Spring
Creek
D.
Response (12-18)
1. Mourning
Elisha rent his own clothes
2. Mantle
No longer placed upon his back but lying on
the ground
Elisha “took it up”
3. Ministry
Elisha smote the waters of Jordan and called
unto the Lord and the waters parted & Elisha went
The sons of the prophets knew Elisha was
filled w/ the power of God
But they wanted to search for Elijah,
thinking he may only have moved to another location
Finally Elisha sends them to search and they
do but return 3 days later
[19] And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the
situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught,
and the ground barren.
[20] And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought
it to him.
[21] And 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.
[22] So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha
which he spake.
3)
Waiting on the Master (19-22)
Jericho, the city is a pleasant place but what little
water they had was bitter and the ground was barren
Elisha, asked for a new cruse of water w/ salt added and
he went to the spring and cast in the salt
Thus he pronounced “thus saith the Lord, I have healed
these waters”
Miraculously the Lord healed the waters and the land
[23] And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way,
there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto
him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
[24] 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.
[25] And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to
Samaria.
4)
Waiting on the Manifestation (23-25)
Elisha begins to leave and travel to Bethel. As he does
certain youths approach and mock him
They shout “go up thou bald head; go up thou bald head”
Mocking his baldness, but also his connection with Elijah
and the Lord
They insult him personally and spiritually. They think
his ministry is not real but that he’s lying
They also want rid of the man of God so they he could not
trouble Israel as Elijah did
Elisha turned and pronounced a curse on them in the name
of the Lord
2 She bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of these
youths
These
youths were the equivalent of a modern day street gang and very dangerous
Elisha then went to Mt Carmel and on into Samaria