Ch. 2Ki 2:1-18<\/span>. Elijah is carried up into heaven. The Spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. His first prophetic appearance (Not in Chronicles)<\/p>\n 1<\/strong>. when the Lord would take up Elijah<\/em> ] 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<\/span>, 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<\/span> 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.<\/p>\n into heaven by a whirlwind<\/em> ] 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.<\/p>\n Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal<\/em> ] 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<\/span> we read that Elisha ‘ministered unto’ Elijah, and in 2Ki 3:11<\/span> 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<\/span>; Jos 5:9-10<\/span>. That was situate in the Jordan valley and not very far from Jericho. But here the travellers are described (verse 2) as ‘going dawn<\/em> ’ 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<\/span> and is now known as Jiljilia<\/em>, 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<\/span> 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).<\/p>\n The events of this chapter are related out of their chronological order. Elijahs translation did not take place until after the accession of Jehoram in Judah 2Ch 21:12<\/span>, which was not until the fifth year of Jehoram of Israel 2Ki 8:16<\/span>. 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<\/span> to the ministry of Elisha, thought it best to insert at this point the final scene of Elijahs life, though it did not occur until several years later.<\/P> Gilgal – <\/B>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<\/span>.<\/P> <\/p>\n 2Ki 2:1-15<\/span><\/p>\n And it came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Elijah translated<\/strong><\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>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,<\/em> D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The translation of Elijah<\/strong><\/p>\n 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 <\/strong>and in our movements, By a <\/strong>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 <\/strong>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, <\/strong>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 <\/strong>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,<\/em> D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Elijah translated<\/strong><\/p>\n 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–<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>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<\/em> Club<\/em> Sermons.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The departure of good men<\/strong><\/p>\n Two subjects are here presented for notice–<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>A spirit of calm self-possession.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>A spirit of strong social interest.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>A spirit of far-reaching philanthropy.<\/p>\n Elijah goes to Bethel, but wherefore? Probably to deliver a valedictory address to the sons of the prophets. (Homilist.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Christian a native of heaven<\/strong><\/p>\n A Christian mans true affinities are <\/strong>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,<\/em> D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Lifes eventide<\/strong><\/p>\n 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 <\/strong>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<\/span>, 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 <\/strong>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. <\/strong>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,<\/em> M. A.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Evensong<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The ascension of Elijah<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n 4. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n 5. <\/strong>Then Elisha is ready with the petition, Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>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<\/span>, R.V.).<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>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<\/span>). (Canon<\/em> Hutchings,<\/em> M. A.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Elishas love for Elijah<\/strong><\/p>\n 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,<\/em> D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n CHAPTER II <\/P> Elijah, about to be taken up to heaven, goes in company with<\/I><\/P> Elisha from Gilgal to Beth-el<\/I>, 1, 2.<\/P> Thence to Jericho<\/I>, 3-5.<\/P> And thence to Jordan<\/I>, 6, 7.<\/P> Elijah smites the waters with his mantle; they divide, and he<\/I><\/P> and Elisha pass over on dry ground<\/I>, 8.<\/P> Elijah desires Elisha to ask what he should do for him; who<\/I><\/P> requests a double portion of his spirit, which is promised on<\/I><\/P> a certain condition<\/I>, 9, 10.<\/P> A chariot and horses of fire descend; and Elijah mounts, and<\/I><\/P> ascends by a whirlwind to heaven<\/I>, 11.<\/P> Elisha gets his mantle, comes back to Jordan, smites the waters<\/I><\/P> with it, and they divide, and he goes over<\/I>, 12-14.<\/P> The sons of the prophets see that the spirit of Elijah rests on<\/I><\/P> Elisha<\/I>, 15.<\/P> They propose to send fifty men to seek Elijah, supposing the<\/I><\/P> Spirit of the Lord might have cast him on some mountain or<\/I><\/P> valley; after three days’ search, they return not having found<\/I><\/P> him<\/I>, 16-18.<\/P> The people of Jericho apply to Elisha to heal their unwholesome<\/I><\/P> water<\/I>, 19.<\/P> He casts salt into the spring in the name of Jehovah, and the<\/I><\/P> water becomes wholesome<\/I>, 20-22.<\/P> Forty-two young persons of Bethel, mocking him, are slain by<\/I><\/P> two she-bears<\/I>, 23, 24.<\/P> He goes to Carmel, and returns to Samaria<\/I>, 25. <\/P> NOTES ON CHAP. II<\/P> <\/P> Verse 1<\/span>. When the Lord would take up Elijah<\/B><\/I>] 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.<\/P> <\/p>\n 1-7. when the Lord would take upElijah<\/B>A revelation of this event had been made to the prophet;but, unknown to him, it had also been revealed to his disciples, andto Elisha in particular, who kept constantly beside him. <\/P> Gilgal<\/B>This Gilgal(Jiljil) was near Ebal and Gerizim; a school of the prophets wasestablished there. At Beth-el there was also a school of theprophets, which Elijah had founded, notwithstanding that place wasthe headquarters of the calf-worship; and at Jericho there wasanother [2Ki 2:4<\/span>]. In travellingto these places, which he had done through the impulse of the Spirit(2Ki 2:2<\/span>; 2Ki 2:4-6<\/span>),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, wherethere would be no eye-witnesses of his glorification. All hisefforts, however, to prevail on his attendant to remain behind, werefruitless. Elisha knew that the time was at hand, and at every placethe sons of the prophets spoke to him of the approaching removal ofhis master. Their last stage was at the Jordan. They were followed ata distance by fifty scholars of the prophets, from Jericho, who weredesirous, in honor of the great occasion, to witness the miraculoustranslation of the prophet. The revelation of this striking event toso many was a necessary part of the dispensation; for it was designedto be under the law, like that of Enoch in the patriarchal age, avisible proof of another state, and a type of the resurrection ofChrist.<\/P><\/p>\n And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind<\/strong>,…. 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:<\/p>\n that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal<\/strong>, 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<\/span>.<\/p>\n Elijah’s Ascension to Heaven. – 2Ki 2:1-10<\/span>. Journey from Gilgal to the other side of the Jordan<\/em>. – 2Ki 2:1<\/span>, 2Ki 2:2<\/span>. When the time arrived that Jehovah was about to take up His servant Elijah in a tempest to heaven, Elijah went with his attendant Elisha from Gilgal down to Bethel. , in the tempest or storm, i.e., in a tempestuous storm, which was frequently the herald of the divine self-revelations in the terrestrial world (vid., Job 38:1<\/span>; Job 40:6<\/span>; Eze 1:4<\/span>; Zec 9:14<\/span>). is the accusative of direction. Gilgal<\/em> and Bethel<\/em> ( Beitin<\/em>, see at 1Ki 12:29<\/span>) were seats of schools of the prophets, which Elijah had founded in the kingdom of the ten tribes. It is now generally admitted that Gilgal<\/em>, from which they went down<\/em> to Bethel, cannot be the place of that name which was situated in the Jordan valley to the east of Jericho, but must be the Gilgal upon the mountains, the elevated Jiljilia<\/em> to the south-west of Silo (Seilun, see at Jos 8:35<\/span>). On the way Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, I pray, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel;” but Elisha declared with a solemn oath that he would not leave him. The Lord had revealed to both that the seal of divine attestation was to be impressed upon the work of Elijah by his being miraculously taken up into heaven, to strengthen the faith not of Elisha only, but also of the disciples of the prophets and of all the godly in Israel; but the revelation had been made to them separately, so that Elijah had no suspicion that Elisha had also been informed as to his being taken away. He wanted, therefore, to get rid of his servant, not “to test his love and attachment” (Vatabl.), but from humility (C. a Lap. and others), because he did not wish to have any one present to witness his glorification without being well assured that it was in accordance with the will of God. <\/p>\n Elijah’s Translation.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 895.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 1 And it came to pass, when the LORD<\/B> 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<\/B> hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As<\/I> the LORD<\/B> liveth, and as<\/I> thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. 3 And the sons of the prophets that were<\/I> at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD<\/B> will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it;<\/I> hold ye your peace. 4 And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD<\/B> hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As<\/I> the LORD<\/B> liveth, and as<\/I> thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. 5 And the sons of the prophets that were<\/I> at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD<\/B> will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it;<\/I> hold ye your peace. 6 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD<\/B> hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As<\/I> the LORD<\/B> liveth, and as<\/I> 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<\/I> together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.<\/P> 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,<\/P> I. That God had determined to take him up into heaven by a whirlwind, v.<\/I><\/span> 1<\/span>. 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,<\/I> 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.<\/I> 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.<\/P> 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, 2Ki 2:2<\/span>; 2Ki 2:4<\/span>; 2Ki 2:6<\/span>. 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;<\/I>” 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.<\/I> 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.<\/P> 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,<\/I> 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<\/I> than the children of the married wife.<\/I> 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, 2 Pet. i. 15<\/span>. When Christ said, with triumph, Now I am no more in the world,<\/I> he added, with tenderness, But these are. Father, keep them.<\/I><\/P> 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 (v.<\/I><\/span> 3<\/span>) and at Jericho (v.<\/I><\/span> 5<\/span>): Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day?<\/I> 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<\/I> take them; we lose them not till he calls for them whose they are, and who taketh away and none can hinder him.<\/I> 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<\/I> upon this account (as the disciples in a like case, John xvi. 6<\/span>), 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.<\/I> 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,<\/I> Zech. ii. 13<\/I><\/span>. 2. They went themselves to be witnesses of it at a distance, though they might not closely attend (v.<\/I><\/span> 7<\/span>): Fifty of them stood to view afar off,<\/I> 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.<\/I> God’s works are well worthy our notice; when a door is opened in heaven<\/I> the call is, Come up hither, come and see.<\/I><\/P> 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, v.<\/I><\/span> 8<\/span>. 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, Josh. iii. 7<\/span>. As Moses with his rod divided the sea, so Elijah with his mantle divided Jordan, both being the insignia–the badges<\/I> 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,<\/I> thy hurt, thy terror?<\/P> <\/p>\n Second Kings – Chapter 2<\/strong><\/p>\n Translation o1 Elijah Verses 1-11<\/p>\n There is no indication in the Scriptures how much time elapsed between the call of Elisha (1Ki 19:19-21<\/span>) and the translation of Elijah. Whatever time there was must have included the constant companionship of the older prophet and the younger, so that each had endeared himself to the other. Now it was time for old Elijah to be removed from the walks of men, and it was common knowledge to the prophets, teachers and students. Elijah seems even to have known the manner of his departure, and Elisha may also have known from obvious statements he made. How the Lord revealed this event to His servants is unknown. It seems the young prophets from the schools thought that Elisha may perhaps not have known.<\/p>\n As he left for his meeting with the Lord Elijah was accompanied by his understudy, Elisha. They came to Gilgal, where Elijah requested Elisha to remain while he proceeded to Bethel. But Elisha swore by the living Lord and by the life of Elijah he would not leave him. So they came to Bethel, where was one of the schools of the prophets. It was here that the student prophets first inquired of Elisha of his knowledge of what was about to occur relative to his master. Elisha did not wish to speak of it, informing them that he was aware of it, and they should be quiet concerning it. Again Elijah urged Elisha to remain behind while he proceeded as ordered by the Lord to Jericho, and Elisha repeated his oath that he would, by no means be shaken from his resolution to accompany Elijah to the end.<\/p>\n At Jericho the routine that was experienced at Bethel was repeated. The young prophets in the school at Jericho came out to inform Elisha of the impending loss of his master, and he again admonished them to hold their peace concerning it. And again the older prophet urged Elisha to remain behind at Jericho, as the Lord had commanded him to move on to Jordan Still Elisha persisted in his refusal to leave Elijah, and the two pressed on. Their road had led from central Israel (Probably the Samaria area) southward, passing through Gilgal in the tribe of Ephraim near Shiloh, to Bethel at the border of Benjamin, on to Jericho in the plain of Jordan And now it proceeds to the crossing of the Jordan<\/p>\n Fifty of the young prophets came and stood on a hill to see what was about to happen in the plain of Jordan The two prophets came to the river, and Elijah removed his mantle, rolled it up, and smote the waters with it. They immediately parted, and the two proceeded to cross on dry ground. As they walked on, Elijah asked Elisha what he should do for him before he was taken away. Elisha asked for a double portion of the spirit of Elijah, and Elijah replied that he had asked for a hard thing. However, if he saw when Elijah was taken he would receive it, otherwise he would not.<\/p>\n Of what did the double portion of the spirit consist? No one seems to be certain. Some have said it was manifested in the fact twice as many miracles of Elisha are recorded as of Elijah. The Scriptures say that God does not give the Spirit by measure (Joh 3:34<\/span>), and the desirable spirit of Elijah must have been that of the Lord in him. In fact, the request of Elisha for a double portion seems to imply his humility in feeling his incapability and lack of boldness when compared with Elijah. He wanted to have command of the power of God as Elijah had had. He had demonstrated the kind of persistence and desire to know God’s will in continuing with Elijah that would be rewarded by such blessing as he requested. For a present day application of this desire see 1Pe 2:2<\/span> and Mr 9:23.<\/p>\n As the two prophets continued on their way conversing there suddenly appeared a chariot and horses of fire, which passed between them and separated them. Elijah was borne up into heaven by a whirlwind (see also verse 1). Was Elijah actually conveyed by a fiery chariot and horses as is commonly thought? and as the popular spiritual implies? The Scriptures do not specifically say so. It was the whirlwind which bore him aloft, though the chariot and horses may have been in the whirlwind. It is merely an interesting question and certainly not vital to the lesson and teaching.<\/p>\n THE TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH TO HEAVEN<\/p>\n CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES<\/strong>.<\/p>\n 2Ki. 2:1<\/span>. Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal<\/strong>Not the Gilgal in Judah, but the Gilgal (now Jilgil) in Ephraim, near Ebal and Gerizim (Deu. 11:30<\/span>). Both Amos (2Ki. 4:4<\/span>) and Hosea (2Ki. 4:15<\/span>) 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 prophets successor. <\/p>\n 2Ki. 2:2<\/span>. Tarry here, I pray thee<\/strong>Elijah thought none beside himself knew of his near translation; but Elisha<\/em> knew it (2Ki. 2:3<\/span>)Yea, I know it;<\/em> lit., I also know; and the sons of the prophets<\/em>, both at Bethel (2Ki. 2:3<\/span>) and Jericho (2Ki. 2:5<\/span>) knew it. The Lord hath sent me to Bethel<\/strong>Obeying the Spirits impulse, Elijah paid a farewell visit to each of these schools. <\/p>\n 2Ki. 2:3<\/span>. Sons of the prophets<\/strong>The were the scholars, and not necessarily natural sons<\/em>, of the prophets. Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
I. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>The power of goodness in a good mans departure. See what a grand spirit Elijah displays in the immediate prospect of his exit.<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>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 <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>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!<\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>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,<\/em> B. A.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I. <\/strong>The type.<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>The antitype.<\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>LESSONS.<\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n