Elijah Goes Home (2 Kings 2)

This sermon was preached on 2/5/2013

It is tempting to imagine that every event in Elijah’s career was earthshaking. We can think in this way because most of the incidents from his life that are recorded fall into that category. Yet those incidents were only occasional events in a long life of service. The reality was that, for Elijah, most of the days of his service were marked by routine activities, probably closely connected to the various schools of the prophets.

It looks as if the schools of the prophets had commenced through the influence of Samuel several centuries before (in 1 Samuel 19:18-24, there is the account of an incident in Ramah when the messengers of King Saul joined in their prophesying). While there is not a recorded divine mandate for the commencement of those schools, their presence indicates that there was a need for a means of instructing future preachers (a prophet’s role normally was to teach the people about God’s law). It is not known when other locations were identified as suitable for schools.

One matter that we can deduce from the presence of those schools is how wrong Elijah had been to imagine earlier that he was the only true servant of the Lord when he claimed that he was the only true prophet left in the country. He had made that utterance during a difficult time in his life and it is wonderful to realize that the Lord did not let his servant remain in such a state of heart. Instead he graciously arranged for Elijah to have a marked influence in the lives of the many who attended those schools. The moaner became a mentor, we might say.

It looks as if Elijah was engaged in a farewell tour of the schools of the prophets located at Gilgal, Bethel and Jericho. These locations are interesting and raise the question as to why these schools were there. A simple reason could be that after the division of the kingdom new locations in the northern kingdom were identified. It is the case that each location had known remarkable blessings from God, whether to individual believers or to the nation as a whole. Yet it is also the case that they were now locations of great wickedness, with false worship taking place at Gilgal and Bethel and with Jericho rebuilt in defiance of the Lord’s revealed will. So were the schools set up to celebrate tradition or to confront the evil changes? If we had to choose, then we would have to opt for the confrontational reason, which would fit in with Elijah’s character. Of course, it was no doubt helpful for the prophets to recall God’s great activities in the past. But there would be no value in building a retreat which was out of touch with the way things were at that time.

For reasons we are not told, both Elisha and the prophets in the schools at Bethel and Jericho were aware that Elijah was going to be taken away that day.  It is interesting that they did not describe his departure as a death. Perhaps Elijah had told them that before he would leave this world he would make a farewell journey round the schools.

Yet Elisha had no desire to stop and speak to the prophets about this imminent departure. If he had, he would have not kept up with Elijah and so would have lost out on the blessing of seeing him leave this world.  This is an intriguing situation because it suggests that sometimes the biggest hindrance to a spiritual blessing can be devout believers. The price of a precious discussion would have been very high because the event of Elijah’s departure would only happen once and it would have been easy for Elisha to miss its occurrence.

The significance of the manner of his leaving

The way by which Elijah left the world is very unusual. He is one of only two individuals who did not die, the other being Enoch in the period between Adam and the Flood. While the basic reason for the manner of his exit is God’s sovereign will, there are some other possible aspects that can be considered and I will mention three.

First, there is the challenge of his departure to those who did not accept his message. We may find it surprising that the powerful ministry of Elijah had its determined opponents who resisted him throughout his work. Of course, such prolonged and hostile opposition is normal for a servant of God. Sometimes his servants can become victims of the opposition and it can imagine that it has won. At other times, the servant of God can have such a triumphant departure that even his opponents are silenced. But what would they say about a man who had such a unique removal as Elijah? It would have to be considered by them once they heard about it. Which of the false gods could provide such an exit pathway as this as was given to the servant of the Lord? They could not even get rid of Elijah after he was gone!

Second, there is the commendation from God that this manner of leaving indicates. While it can never be said that Elijah merited his ascent to heaven without dying, yet it can be said that sometimes the Lord shows his approval of the witness of one of his servants and does something unusual for him. One thinks, for example, of the death of Stephen – Luke tells us that when Stephen was dying Jesus was standing in heaven and visible to his servant’s eyes (Acts 7:56). Surely it can be said about Elijah here that his departure was a wonderful commendation from heaven, a very dramatic statement of divine approval of a faithful life.

Third, there is the comfort of his departure for those that knew Elijah and loved him. Elijah was a man with weaknesses, as James tells us, but he was also a man whom the Lord used. Sometimes, the servants of God make mistakes and Elijah made one when he fled many years previously from Jezebel. On that occasion the prophet had made things worse by asking God for death (1 Kings 19:4). Instead of listening to such a request, the Lord graciously did the opposite and arranged that his servant would not even have a comfortable deathbed – his grace overflowed and he did not even die. It is comforting to know that the Lord does not remember the mistakes of those we loved in the Lord.

Of course, his friends also had the comfort of knowing that Elijah was now in the presence of God. They had to live in a very earthbound culture, an outlook that was strengthened by the pagan religions and their fertility cults. It was good for Elisha and the prophets to be given such a dramatic proof of the existence of a higher world. We also need that reminder because we live in an earthbound culture that has no time for God. Heaven is more important than earth.

Another detail that would have been strengthened by the manner of Elijah’s departure was the fact that humans can live in the presence of God without dying. Of course, they would have known about Enoch and his unusual disappearance. But that was centuries ago and here they were given an increased comfort to their faith. We are liable to despise the physical and somehow imagine that a bodiless state is better. Of course, as Paul says in Philippians 1, it is better to be bodiless in heaven with Jesus than to be here on earth absent from him. Yet good as that is, it is far better to be physically with Jesus and Elijah’s entry physically into the presence of God reminds us that we will be able to live there as well. No doubt, Elijah was transformed and glorified (as we can see from what he looked like on the Mount of Transfiguration) as he entered. I suppose, along with Enoch and Moses, he became an example there in heaven to the other residents of what they would yet become at the future resurrection when Jesus returns for his people.

Elijah ascended to heaven like a conqueror riding in a chariot. His chariot was a heavenly carriage not merely suitable for taking him out of this world but also for taking him into the next. What was the chariot or perhaps who was the chariot is the question we should ask? The chariot and horsemen are descriptions of an angelic host and no doubt we can deduce from this passage that angels gather God’s people to heaven. But here is a question I cannot answer? Was there someone in the chariot when it left heaven to collect Elijah? Because it looks to me as if this fiery chariot and horses could be a theophany, an appearance of God, and not merely an angelic retinue. After all, does God not promise to be with us when we leave this world?

Elijah and Elisha

The moment had come for which they had both been preparing for many years. Elijah had anointed Elisha as his successor in response to the command of God given at Horeb during that few weeks when Elijah’s faith was weak. We are not told much about what happened between the two of them as they worked together.

I suppose one area in which Elisha was tested was in his patience. He had no idea how long he would have to wait before he became the leader of the prophets – all he knew was that he would succeed Elijah at some stage. The years passed and still Elisha waited. Patience and perseverance go together and they are a set of twins that should belong to every Christian leader. Eventually the Lord will bring about the time for transition.

A second area of testing was his willingness to serve even until the last moment. He was called to be Elijah’s successor, but he had to obey Elijah right until he was no longer here. Elisha knew that Elijah would leave that day, yet he continued to serve him wholeheartedly until his leader was gone. His determination to serve was even tested by Elijah when he asked his successor not to follow him (v. 6). Contentment in wholeheartedly fulfilling a role will result in no regrets in that area of life.

It is possible to misread Elisha’s request for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit as if he was asking to be twice as effective as his mentor. We have to remember that there was almost a father/son relationship between Elijah and Elisha and we can see this bond in Elisha’s cry, ‘My father! My father!,’ as Elijah left him for the skies. The way to read Elisha’s request is to recall that the firstborn son always received a double portion from his father’s inheritance. Elisha is asking that he would be equipped with grace in order to lead the prophets at the same level as Elijah did.

Two important lessons

No doubt, there are many lessons from this incident. Yet two seem to stand out. The first concerns how we should respond to the end of our life on earth. Elijah did not die, so his end is different from what each of ours will be. Nevertheless the way he spent his last day has lessons for us. I would summarise it with three words beginning with C.

First, there was his confident calmness. He was aware that he was about to experience something unknown, but he was confident that his God would be there. Second, there was his concern, which was the ongoing demands of God’s kingdom. Clearly, Elijah had his own role, but when it comes our time it will be good if we are praying for God’s kingdom. Third, there was his range of contacts. While this cannot be true for every believer, Elijah went from meeting with believers below to meeting with believers above.

The other lesson is that no servant is indispensible in the work of God’s kingdom. It could make progress without Elijah, and it can always make progress when a notable servant is removed. Nor should we imagine that the successor would not be as good as the predecessor. Elisha was equipped by God to be a worthy for Elijah.