The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 100, Elijah Taken To Heaven, Part Two

Elijah is about to be taken up to heaven without dying. His friend and successor, Elisha, has gone down to the Jordan River with him to witness this event. Fifty other prophets have also gone down to the river with them. As we discussed yesterday, it's important to us to accompany our loved ones as far as we can before they depart from the earth. We talked about how we want our loved ones to know we are with them until the very last moment. I think that's the main reason Elisha and the other prophets go with Elijah to the river. But I'm thankful they went to the river because all of them will be able to testify that they saw Elijah taken up from the earth by God. Unbelievers might scoff at the testimony of these men and claim that Elijah is just hiding out somewhere in fear of the religious persecution that's been going on since the reign of King Ahab. But the faith of the people of God will be strengthened by hearing of this awesome display of God's power and by hearing of this awesome display of God's love for the prophet who boldly spoke in His name so many times in spite of threats to his life. 

As we closed yesterday's study we found Elijah and Elisha walking toward the Jordan River. This is where we pick up today, with other prophets following along behind them. "Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground." (2 Kings 2:7-8) This magnificent miracle reminds us and the men who witnessed this event of the way the Red Sea parted for the Israelites to escape from the Egyptian army in Exodus 14. It reminds us of the way the Jordan River parted for the Israelites to cross over into the promised land in Joshua 3 and 4. It reminds us that the Lord is able to make a way when there appears to be no way. Here in 2 Kings 2 I am sure Elisha is wondering how he is going to go on without the man he looks upon as his father in the faith. I am sure the other prophets are wondering where they'll find encouragement and inspiration without the man they've looked up to for so long. But the God who is able to part the waters is able to strengthen all of these men to face the future without Elijah in their midst.

Before he is taken into the presence of the Lord, Elijah wants a final private moment in which to say goodbye to the man who will succeed him as the chief prophet of the nation. Some years earlier we found Elisha symbolically "taking up the mantle" of this famous and powerful prophet but the time has come for him to literally take up Elijah's mantle and take on Elijah's duties. He has some mighty big shoes to fill, to use a modern saying, and he is very apprehensive about this. When Elijah offers to perform a miracle especially for him, Elisha asks for something really big. Elisha doesn't think he can ever be the kind of man and the kind of prophet Elijah was; he doesn't even think he can do it if the Lord fills him with as much power as Elijah has. So he asks for a double anointing of the Spirit. "When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, 'Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?' 'Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,' Elisha replied. 'You have asked a difficult thing,' Elijah said, 'yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours---otherwise, it will not.'" (2 Kings 2:9-10)

I can't help thinking of something that James, the brother of Jesus, said: "You do not have because you do not ask God." (James 4:2b) Or, as the KJV phrases it: "You have not because you ask not." Elisha asks for a big thing---a difficult thing---but he would never have received this thing if he had not asked for it. He was bold enough (and desperate enough) to ask for a big thing and I wonder how many times in life we've missed out on big blessings because we were not bold enough to ask for them. We have a human tendency to think too small. The Lord may not always answer our prayers in the way we hoped but I believe He rewards the boldness of faith it took to ask for those big things. If we could see the Lord right now in all of His indescribable majesty and glory and power, I think there's nothing we would not dare to ask of Him. He may or may not answer our prayers in the way we pray them but I believe He honors our faith in believing He can. He may not change our circumstances in exactly the manner we want them changed but He will pour out the amount of power we need to endure circumstances that persist for a while or to accept circumstances that won't be changed (such as the death of a loved one, for example). 

Elisha continues to remain with Elijah until the Lord takes him to heaven. "As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, 'My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!' And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two." (2 Kings 2:11-12) It's possible to experience two deep emotions at once. It's possible to rejoice that our loved one is now in the presence of the Lord but also to mourn the fact that the person is no longer with us on earth. Elisha witnesses the wondrous sight of Elijah being escorted into the presence of God by celestial beings and I believe he is thrilled for the older prophet that he is now in the presence of the living God. But at the same time he's overwhelmed with grief that his father figure, friend, and mentor is no longer with him. So he tears his cloak in an age-old gesture of sorrow.

Elisha will soon be doing something else with a cloak, but not his own cloak. In tomorrow's text we'll see that the power he asked for has been granted to him. In the sight of fifty prophets he will perform his first miracle with the cloak of Elijah in his hands.