Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
2 KINGS 2
Elijah Taken Up to Heaven
1 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”
“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”
4 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”
And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
5 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”
“Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”
And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.
7 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. 8 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.
9 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.
10 “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.”
11 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. 12 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.
13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
15 The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”
“No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”
17 But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
Healing of the Water
19 The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.”
20 “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
21 Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’ ” 22 And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.
Elisha Is Jeered
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.
Application Notes
2:3 The “company of the prophets at Bethel” was similar to a school for spiritual leaders. Groups like this were gatherings of disciples around a recognized prophet, such as Elijah or Elisha. These gatherings of prophets, located throughout the country, helped to stem the tide of spiritual and moral decline in the nation. The young prophets at Bethel were eyewitnesses to the succession of the prophetic ministry from Elijah to Elisha.
2:8 Elijah's cloak was a symbol of his authority as a prophet.
2:9-12 God granted Elisha's request because Elisha's motives were pure. His main goal was not to be better or more powerful than Elijah but to accomplish more for God. If our motives are pure, we don't have to be afraid to ask great things from God. When we ask God for great power or ability, we need to examine our desires and get rid of any selfishness we find. To have the Holy Spirit's help, we need only ask with the right motives.
2:9 When Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit, he was asking to be Elijah's successor in the prophetic ministry. Deuteronomy 21:17 helps explain Elisha's request. According to custom, a firstborn son would receive a double share of his father's inheritance (see the note on Genesis 25:31-34). Elisha was asking to be Elijah's successor, or heir—the one who would continue Elijah's work as leader of the prophets. But the decision to grant this request was up to God. Elijah only told Elisha how he would know if his request had been granted.
2:11 Elijah was taken to heaven without dying. He is the second person mentioned in Scripture to have this honor. Enoch was the first (Genesis 5:21-24). The other prophets may not have seen God take Elijah, or they may have had a difficult time believing what they had seen. In either case, they wanted to search for Elijah (2 Kings 2:16-18). Finding no physical trace of him would confirm what had happened and strengthen their faith. The only other person taken to heaven in bodily form was Jesus after his resurrection from the dead (Acts 1:9).
2:13-25 These three incidents were testimonies to Elisha's commission as a prophet of God. They are recorded to demonstrate Elisha's new power and authority as Israel's chief prophet under God's ultimate power and authority.
2:4-15 Elisha did not strike the water out of disrespect for God or El1Jah. He was pleading with God to confirm his appointment as Elijah's successor. This persuasive miracle probably reminded the group of prophets about Moses at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:15-22) and Joshua crossing the Jordan River (Joshua 3:7-17). Both of these miracles gave clear confirmation that God was doing mighty work through these men.
2:23-24 It is highly unlikely that this was a group of children; most likely it was a mob of young men. Because they were from Bethel, the religious center of idolatry in the northern kingdom, they probably were warning Elisha not to speak against their immoral pagan worship practices, as Elijah had done. They were not merely teasing Elisha about his baldness but showing severe disrespect for his message and God's power. They may also have jeered because of their disbelief in the chariot of fire that had taken Elijah. When Elisha cursed them, he did not call out the bears himself. God sent the bears as a judgment for the young men's callous unbelief.
2:23-24 These young men jeered at God's messenger and paid for it with their lives. Making fun of religious leaders has been a popular sport through the ages. To take a stand for God often contradicts the popular beliefs of unbelievers and leaves leaders vulnerable to verbal abuse. When we are cynical and sarcastic toward a religious leader, we are in danger of mocking not just the person but also the spiritual message. While we are not to condone any sin that leaders commit, we need to pray for them, not laugh at them. True leaders—those who follow God—need to be heard with respect and encouraged in their ministry.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)