Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
2 Kings 1:5

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

1:1-8:15 MINISTRY OF ELISHA

Elijah succeeded by Elisha (1:1-2:25)

Ahab’s son Ahaziah had not reigned long when he was injured in a fall. When he sent messengers to ask foreign gods whether he would recover, Elijah met them along the way. He sent them back with a message that the king would die, because he had forsaken the true God for foreign gods (1:1-10). Ahaziah sent soldiers to arrest Elijah, apparently with the intention of killing him because of his bold words. The ungodly king lost a hundred soldiers before he realized that he could neither silence nor kill the man whom God had sent to rebuke him (11-18).

Assured of this divine protection, Elijah saw that the time had come to pass on his work to Elisha. Together they visited some of the major centres where young prophets and other faithful Israelites lived. (Schools for prophets had been established in these towns as early as the time of Samuel; see notes on 1 Samuel 3:19-21.) This was a test for Elisha, who could easily have been tempted to stay at one of the schools of the prophets instead of continuing on with Elijah (2:1-6).

Elisha stood the test. He knew that since he was Elijah’s spiritual heir, he had to remain with Elijah to the end, in order to receive the spiritual power to carry on his work. The mark of the heir was that he received a double portion of the father’s inheritance (7-10; cf. Deuteronomy 21:17).

When Elijah was suddenly and supernaturally taken away, Elisha knew that, in this one man, Israel had lost a defender equal to a whole army of horses and chariots. But he soon had clear proof that God’s special power had now passed from Elijah to him (11-14). Back in Jericho the young prophets did not believe the report of Elijah’s spectacular departure, till they had spent three fruitless days looking for him (15-18).
Elisha’s first two miracles symbolized blessing and cursing, the two characteristics of his future ministry. At Jericho, where people were distressed through an unhealthy water supply, he brought healing. At Bethel, where the chief shrine of Israel’s corrupt religion was situated, he brought God’s curse on those who rejected his message (19-25).

The increasing importance of prophets

Ever since the time of Samuel the schools of the prophets had served a useful purpose in Israel’s religious life. They were valuable training centres for young men who were enthusiastic about improving the quality of spiritual life in the nation. Although members of these schools had a reputation for unorthodox behaviour (1 Samuel 10:5,1 Samuel 10:9-12; 1 Samuel 19:20-24; 2 Kings 9:11; 2 Kings 9:11), many of them were genuine followers of God.

Elijah and Elisha did not belong to these schools, but members of the schools looked upon them as their spiritual leaders. Elisha seems to have moved from school to school, spending some time in each community (see 2:1-7,15; 4:38; 6:1). His aim was not to train the young men to be professional prophets, but to build up the godly among them and so help strengthen the faithful minority in an unfaithful nation.

The cases of Elijah and Elisha show that a person did not have to be a member of one of these schools to be a prophet. Of those prophets whose writings have been collected in the Bible, few appear to have been professional prophets. The emphasis of the true prophets was that they had been called by God, not that they had received specialist training (Jeremiah 1:5; Ezekiel 2:1-5; Amos 7:14-15).

Chief characteristic of the prophets was that they were God’s spokesmen in announcing his will (Judges 4:4; 1 Kings 18:18; 1 Kings 18:18; 1 Kings 22:8; Jeremiah 23:18; Ezekiel 2:7; Amos 2:6-16; Amos 3:7). They brought God’s message to the people of their time, and this message may have included instruction for the present and warnings or promises for the future (Isaiah 1:16-20; Jeremiah 18:7-10). The prophets were mainly preachers to the general public and in some cases advisers to the nation’s rulers (2 Samuel 7:1-3; 2 Kings 19:1-7; 2 Kings 19:1-7; Isaiah 7:3-4; Isaiah 37:5-6; Isaiah 39:5-7; Jeremiah 7:1-7; Jeremiah 38:14; Zephaniah 2:1-3).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

AHAZIAH LEARNED ELIJAH'S IDENTITY FROM THE MESSENGERS

"And the messengers returned unto him, and he said unto them, Why is it that ye are returned? And they said unto him, There came up a man to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again to the king that sent you, and say unto him, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And he said unto them, What manner of man was he that came up to meet you, and told you these words? And they answered him, He was a hairy man, and was girt with a girdle of leather around his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite."

There can be little doubt that Ahaziah's seeking Elijah's identity was for one purpose only - that of putting the prophet to death.

"He was a hairy man" The RSV is doubtless correct in its rendition of this clause as, He wore a garment of hair-cloth. This was the traditional clothing of God's prophets, for Zechariah wrote of false prophets, "Who put on a hairy mantle to deceive" (Zechariah 13:4). "Also John the Baptist's garb of camel's hair and a leather girdle (Matthew 3:4) in imitation of his forerunner is sufficient commentary on this phrase."International Critical Commentary, Kings, p. 350. It was not intended to be a comfortable garment, because, "It was one of professional austerity."Ibid.

Smith's Bible Commentary

By Chuck Smith

Now as we finish First Kings, we were dealing with basically the northern kingdom under Ahab with his wicked wife Jezebel who had brought the northern kingdom of Israel into its lowest state morally and spiritually, as they led the people into idolatry and more specifically, the worship of Baal, which was introduced by Jezebel who was from the area of Zidon, and that was one of the major gods of Zidon. And so, she introduced that to the children of Israel in their worship. And thus the... Israel was sinking into a state of great spiritual apostasy.

Now at the end of First Kings, we came to the death of Ahab, and his son Ahaziah ascending to the throne who reigned for over, for only two years over Israel. And during the time of Ahaziah, Moab, which of course is across the Jordan River, the present area known as Jordan, who were vassals and tributaries to the king of Israel, rebelled against Israel.

And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria ( 2 Kings 1:2 ),

So he had an accident and fell down through this latticework from the upper chamber and was injured. And he ordered his servants to go to Ekron to inquire of the god of Ekron, which was Baalzebub.

Now the word Baal is a word that means lord. And so the people were worshipping the lord, but the lord wasn't God. It was their lord, and Baalzebub is actually lord of the flies. So these people in Ekron were evidently worshipping flies.

Now, to me it is always strange how otherwise normally intelligent people who, when they reject the worship of God, will believe and do such stupid things. I'm always amazed at the almost lunacy of people in their ideas, in their concepts when they have forsaken the true and the living God. David said, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" ( Psalms 53:1 ). And certainly when a person tries to rule God out of their lives, they become guilty of extremely foolish things. Can you possibly imagine worshipping a fly? Calling it your lord? Now in Romans chapter one, Paul gives us a little insight into man "who when he knew God, failed to glorify Him as God, neither was he thankful; therefore his foolish heart was darkened." And Paul tells us how he "worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forevermore" ( Romans 1:21 , Romans 1:25 ).

Now, there are people today who look at a flower and say that is God. Or they'll look at a tree and say that is God. So it's not much different than looking at a fly and saying that is God, for they are worshipping sort of nature. And people say, "Well, I find God in nature," and they worship nature. As Paul said, "They worship and serve the creature more than the Creator." Now that is an irrational way to look at creation. You are looking at the creation of God and then you're worshipping the creation rather than the Creator. The true rational way to look at creation is to marvel at the genius of design, but then worship the Creator rather than the creation.

Now in reality, a fly is designed very ingeniously. They are a pest, but yet, they are remarkable little creatures. I'm amazed at their determination to get into the house and their ability to do so. Just sort of cruising around the door until you open the door and zoom, right past you. And I like to observe flies. I've studied many of them under the microscope. I'm intrigued at their vision, the ability to see almost in a 360-degree capacity. You try to sneak up behind them and they see you coming. They have great vision, and I really am intrigued with the many facets within a fly's eye that gives them the capacity of such tremendous peripheral vision. I'm fascinated with the little gyroscopes under the wings that help him in his equilibrium as he flies. And I've always been curious how they can land feet first on the ceiling. Now how close do they get to the ceiling before they flip over so they can land feet first? You ever thought about that? So they are a marvelous little creature. But surely they are not to be worshipped.

And yet man, poor man, so ignorant in his worship once he has ruled God out. Worships things that to look at them with just a rational mind is absolute idiocy. People have created their own concepts of God which they worship. Their own ideas.

And he sent these servants down to Ekron to inquire of the god of Ekron, Baalzebub, to find out if he was going to recover from the injuries he sustained in this accident.

And Elijah the prophet came out to meet the messengers and he said,

Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron [that the king is sending to Ekron to find out concerning his condition]? Now therefore thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. [You go back and tell him that the Lord says he is not going to recover from his illness, but he's going to die] ( 2 Kings 1:3-4 ).

This is only after two years of reigning. The message from the Lord.

And when the messengers [servants] turned back unto him, he [the king] said unto them, Why are ye now turned back? [How come you came back] ( 2 Kings 1:5 )?

I ordered you to go to Ekron.

And they said unto him, [Well,] there came a man up to meet us [on our way], and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him ( 2 Kings 1:6 ),

He told us to return to you with the message from Jehovah that you are going to die.

And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words? [What did the man look like?] And they answered him, He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite ( 2 Kings 1:7-8 ).

Now, John the Baptist was a rugged kind of character, and no doubt Elijah was a very rugged character, wearing just sort of a leather skirt around his waist and a very hairy guy. Showing up here and there, and yet, a man who was in touch with God in such a mighty way.

Then the king sent unto him [ordered] a captain of fifty [men to go] with his fifty [men down and take Elijah and bring him back to the king]. And he went up to him [so the captain with his fifty men regiment came to Elijah]: and, behold, he sat on the top of a hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down [the king sent me to take you to him]. And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty [men]. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him [the captain] and his fifty. Again also he [the king] sent unto him another [a second] captain of fifty with his fifty [down to take Elijah and to bring him back] ( 2 Kings 1:9-11 ).

And Elijah still sitting there on the hill, the second captain said, O man of God, the king has sent for you to come to him.

And Elijah answered and said, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty [men]. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up [out with fifty men], and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, [have mercy on me] let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in they sight ( 2 Kings 1:12-13 ).

I'm only doing my duty. I'm a family man and all of my men here are family men. But the king has requested that you would come down to him, if you don't mind. We sure wish you'd go.

And the LORD spoke unto Elijah and said, Go with him unto the king. So Elijah came unto this king [who was the son of Ahab]. And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as you have sent messengers to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but you're surely going to die. And so he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah; because he had no son. Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of chronicles of the kings of Israel ( 2 Kings 1:15-18 )?

Now watch it here. You've got a Jehoram ruling in the north, and a Jehoram ruling in the south. So things are going to get confusing here for a little bit. Ahaziah was young when he started to reign. He did not have any sons. He reigned only for two years and he died. And so his brother Jehoram began to reign over Israel. Because there was no eldest son to pass it on to, then the next oldest son of Ahab took over the throne in Israel. Now he took it over. His name was the same as the name of the king of Judah. So for a little bit here, it's going to be a little difficult to follow the kingdom of the north in contrast with the kingdom of the south because they are both ruled over at this point by men whose name is Jehoram.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. Ahaziah’s evil reign in Israel 1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:18 (continued)

Second Kings begins with Ahaziah’s reign that fell during the 33-year period of Israel and Judah’s alliance (874-841 B.C.; 1 Kings 16:29 -2 Kings 9:29). This period in turn fits within the larger context of the divided kingdom (931-722 B.C.; 1 Kings 12 -2 Kings 17). [Note: See the diagram of the period of alliance near my notes on 1 Kings 16:29.]

"The typical Syrian upper balcony was enclosed with a jointed wood lattice-work that, while suitable for privacy, could easily be broken." [Note: R. D. Patterson and Hermann J. Austel, "1, 2 Kings," in 1 Kings-Job, vol. 4 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, p. 172.]

One of the results of Ahaziah’s decision to follow his father Ahab’s idolatrous example (1 Kings 22:52-53) was that during his reign Israel lost some of its control of Moab (2 Kings 22:1; 2 Kings 3:5). It had held this since Omri’s reign at least. [Note: Gary Rendsburg, "A Reconstruction of Moabite-Israelite History," Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society of Columbia University 13 (1981):67.] King Mesha of Moab’s rebellion was not completely effective at first, but later it proved successful.

We can detect Ahaziah’s failure to acknowledge his position under Yahweh, Israel’s true King, in his seeking advice from a false god (2 Kings 22:2; cf. 1 Kings 22:8). Ekron was on the Philistine border southwest of Samaria. Why would Ahaziah send to Philistia to inquire of Baal since Baalism was rampant in Israel? He may have done so to keep his illness a secret from his political enemies. Furthermore, the Baal religious center at Ekron had a reputation for divination and soothsaying (cf. 1 Samuel 6:2, Isaiah 2:6). In addition, Ekron was not far from Samaria.

The angel of the Lord here (2 Kings 22:3) was perhaps the preincarnate Christ (Genesis 16:9; 1 Kings 19:7; 2 Kings 19:35; et al.). Premature death was God’s punishment for the king’s insubordination (2 Kings 22:4; cf. Saul). The people in the courts of Samaria knew Elijah well, of course (2 Kings 22:8).

Ahaziah showed complete contempt for God’s prophet and Yahweh, whom he represented, by sending soldiers to arrest Elijah. He apparently wanted to get a reversal of the prophecy against him and resorted to massive force to secure it. [Note: D. J. Wiseman, 1 & 2 Kings: An Introduction and Commentary, p. 193.] "Man of God" means prophet (2 Kings 22:9; et al.). Elijah replied that he was indeed a servant of God. For this reason the king should have submitted to him. Elijah’s position on the top of the hill suggests his superiority over the king and his messengers. [Note: The NET Bible note on 1:9.] The issue in this thrice-repeated confrontation was, who is in charge and has more power, Yahweh or Ahaziah (cf. 1 Kings 18)? Fire from heaven settled the controversy (2 Kings 22:10; et al.; cf. 1 Kings 18:38; Luke 9:54-56). The third captain took the proper humble approach to God’s prophet (2 Kings 22:13-14).

There is wordplay in the Hebrew text that is helpful in appreciating the dialog between Elijah and the first two captains. The first two captains commanded the "man of God" to "come down" (2 Kings 22:9; 2 Kings 22:11). Elijah replied, "If I am a man [Heb. ’ish] of God, let fire [Heb. ’sh] come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty" (2 Kings 22:10; 2 Kings 22:12). Sure enough, fire came down on them proving that Elijah was indeed a man of God.

It is probable that Baal-zebub (2 Kings 22:6) means "lord of the flies," bringing pestilence to mind. [Note: James R. Battenfield, "YHWH’s Refutation of the Baal Myth through the Actions of Elijah and Elisha," in Israel’s Apostasy and Restoration: Essays in Honor of Roland K. Harrison, p. 26.] "Baal Zebub" may be a deliberate scribal corruption of the name "Baal Zebul" meaning "Baal, the Prince," a title of the idol known from Ugaritic texts. [Note: See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings, p. 25.] However, it may mean "exalted lord" [Note: Eugene H. Merrill, "2 Kings," in The Old Testament Explorer, p. 271.] or "lord of the flame." [Note: F. Charles Fensham, "A Possible Explanation of the Name Baal-Zebub of Ekron," Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 79 (1967):363.] If it means the latter, God may have been demonstrating His superiority to Baal as He had done previously on Mt. Carmel by sending fire from heaven. This time He did so to consume the soldiers (1 Kings 18:38).

"The issue is still the same as at Carmel." [Note: Wiseman, p. 192.]

Ahaziah died, as Elijah had announced, as punishment for his failure to submit to Yahweh’s authority over His people (2 Kings 22:17). Since he had no son to succeed him-note the fertility motif-his brother Jehoram became Israel’s next king (2 Kings 22:18). There was also a contemporary king of Judah named Jehoram. The NIV translators have kept these two men distinct by spelling the Israelite king’s name "Joram," a variant spelling, and the Judahite king’s name "Jehoram."

God judged Ahaziah for his idolatry economically (1 Kings 22:47-48; cf. 2 Chronicles 20:36-37), politically (2 Kings 22:1), and personally (2 Kings 22:2).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And when the messengers turned back unto him,.... To Ahaziah king of Israel, as they did as soon as Elijah was gone from them; concluding from his habit, his gravity, and the authority with which he spoke, that he was a prophet of the Lord, and especially from his knowledge of them, and of what they were sent about:

he said unto them, why are ye now turned back? for, by the time they had been gone, he knew they could never have been at Ekron and returned.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.   2 And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.   3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron?   4 Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.   5 And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back?   6 And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.   7 And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?   8 And they answered him, He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

      We have here Ahaziah, the wicked king of Israel, under God's rebukes both by his providence and by his prophet, by his rod and by his word.

      I. He is crossed in his affairs. How can those expect to prosper that do evil in the sight of the Lord, and provoke him to anger? When he rebelled against God, and revolted from his allegiance to him, Moab rebelled against Israel, and revolted from the subjection that had long paid to the kings of Israel, 2 Kings 1:1; 2 Kings 1:1. The Edomites that bordered on Judah, and were tributaries to the kings of Judah, still continued so, as we find in the chapter before (1 Kings 22:47; 1 Kings 22:47), till, in the wicked reign of Joram, they broke that yoke (2 Kings 8:22; 2 Kings 8:22) as the Moabites did now. If men break their covenants with us, and neglect their duty, we must reflect upon our breach of covenant with God, and the neglect of our duty to him. Sin weakens and impoverishes us. We shall hear of the Moabites, 2 Kings 3:5; 2 Kings 3:5.

      II. He is seized with sickness in body, not from any inward cause, but by a severe accident. He fell down through a lattice, and was much bruised with the fall; perhaps it threw him into a fever, 2 Kings 1:2; 2 Kings 1:2. Whatever we go, there is but a step between us and death. A man's house is his castle, but not to secure him against the judgments of God. The cracked lattice is a fatal to the son, when God pleases to make it so, as the bow drawn at a venture was to the father. Ahaziah would not attempt to reduce the Moabites, lest he should perish in the field of battle: but he is not safe, though he tarry at home. Royal palaces do not always yield firm footing. The snare is laid for the sinner in the ground where he thinks least of it, Job 18:9; Job 18:10. The whole creation, which groans under the man's sin, will at length sink and break under the weight, like this lattice. He is never safe that has God for his enemy.

      III. In his distress he sends messengers to enquire of the god Ekron whether he should recover or no, 2 Kings 1:2; 2 Kings 1:2. And here, 1. His enquiry was very foolish: Shall I recover? Even nature itself would rather have asked, "What means may I use that I may recover?" But as one solicitous only to know his fortune, not to know his duty, his question is only this, Shall I recover? to which a little time would give an answer. We should be more thoughtful what will become of us after death than how, or when, or where, we shall die, and more desirous to be told how we may conduct ourselves well in our sickness, and get good to our souls by it, than whether we shall recover from it. 2. His sending to Baal-zebub was very wicked; to make a dead and dumb idol, perhaps newly erected (for idolaters were fond of new gods), his oracle, was not less a reproach to his reason than to his religion. Baal-zebub, which signifies the lord of a fly, was one of their Baals that perhaps gave his answers either by the power of the demons or the craft of the priests, with a humming noise, like that of a great fly, or that had (as they fancied) rid their country of the swarms of flies wherewith it was infested, or of some pestilential disease brought among them by flies. Perhaps this dunghill-deity was as famous then as the oracle of Delphos was, long afterwards, in Greece. In the New Testament the prince of the devils is called Beel-zebub (Matthew 12:24), for the gods of the Gentiles were devils, and this perhaps grew to be one of the most famous.

      IV. Elijah, by direction from God, meets the messengers, and turns them back with an answer that shall save them the labour of going to Ekron. Had Ahaziah sent for Elijah, humbled himself, and begged his prayers, he might have had an answer of peace; but if he send to the god of Ekron, instead of the God of Israel, this, like Saul's consulting the witch, shall fill the measure of his iniquity, and bring upon him a sentence of death. Those that will not enquire of the word of God for their comfort shall be made to hear it, whether they will or not, to their amazement.

      1. He faithfully reproves his sin (2 Kings 1:3; 2 Kings 1:3): Is it not because there is not (that is, because you think there is not) a God in Israel (because there is no God, none in Israel, so it may be read), that you go to enquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, a despicable town of the Philistines (Zechariah 9:7), long since vanquished by Israel? Here, (1.) The sin was bad enough, giving that honour to the devil which is due to God alone, which was done as much by their enquiries as by their sacrifices. Note, It is a very wicked thing, upon any occasion or pretence whatsoever, to consult with the devil. This wickedness reigned in the heathen world (Isaiah 47:12; Isaiah 47:13) and remains too much even in the Christian world, and the devil's kingdom is supported by it. (2.) The construction which Elijah, in God's name, puts upon it, makes it much worse: "It is because you think not only that the God of Israel is not able to tell you, but that there is no God at all in Israel, else you would not send so far for a divine answer." Note, A practical and constructive atheism is the cause and malignity of our departures from God. Surely we think there is no God in Israel when we live at large, make flesh our arm, and seek a portion in the things of this world.

      2. He plainly reads his doom: Go, tell him he shall surely die,2 Kings 1:4; 2 Kings 1:4. "Since he is so anxious to know his fate, this is it; let him make the best of it." The certain fearful looking for of judgment and indignation which this message must needs cause cannot but cut him to the heart.

      V. The message being delivered to him by his servants, he enquires of them by whom it was sent to him, and concludes, by their description of him, that it must be Elijah, 2 Kings 1:7; 2 Kings 1:8. For, 1. His dress was the same that he had seen him in, in his father's court. He was clad in a hairy garment, and had a leathern girdle about him, was plain and homely in his garb. John Baptist, the Elias of the New Testament, herein resembled him, for his clothes were made of hair cloth, and he was girt with a leathern girdle, Matthew 3:4. He that was clothed with the Spirit despised all rich and gay clothing. 2. His message was such as he used to deliver to his father, to whom he never prophesied good, but evil. Elijah is one of those witnesses that still torment the inhabitants of the earth, Revelation 11:10. He that was a thorn in Ahab's eyes will be so in the eyes of his son while he treads in the steps of his father's wickedness; and he is ready to cry out, as his father did, Hast thou found me, O my enemy? Let sinners consider that the word which took hold of their fathers is still as quick and powerful as ever. See Zechariah 1:6; Hebrews 4:12.

Kelly Commentary on Books of the Bible

It has been already remarked that the mission, or, at any rate, the proper ministry of Elijah closed with his own complaint against the children of Israel. God took him at his word. He pleaded against, instead of for, Israel. Now he was called to a ministry of a judicial character, but it ought to have been in communion with all that were of God and for His name, and there was, so far, a want of entrance into the mind of God. There was the full, complete remnant of the people according to the election of grace. They were as nothing to Elijah, but they were very much to God. It is evident, therefore, that God and His servant were totally at issue, and, therefore, if such was the condition of the servant, he was virtually resigning his office. So God, from that very moment, taking him at his own word, appoints Elisha to succeed him. Yet, nevertheless, God did not take him away in anger. Far from it. On the contrary, though it was the lack of grace on behalf of the people of God which was surely offensive to the Lord in His servant the prophet, there was no lack of grace on God's part. Elijah therefore remains, though by no means as before. There was a certain transition of position, before the Lord took him. But when he did take him it was with the highest honour that could be put upon man here upon earth he was caught up to heaven without even passing through death.

The opening chapter then of this Second Book of Kings presents in a very striking manner the acting, if not the ministry, of the prophet the proof that the power of God was still with him. For when the wicked king, now himself sick, sent to the power of evil to learn about himself, God answers him not the enemy God gives him a more speedy answer than he had looked for. To Elijah God communicates the fact, orders him to stop the messengers and to give that most solemn intelligence to the king that he was then lying on his death-bed, and should therefore by no means recover. It was not that the king was ignorant of Elijah, but he followed in the evil of his father, and, as his father was the open enemy of Elijah, he therefore counted him as his enemy. So the son in the very same footsteps walks after his father. Nevertheless, for this very reason, just as it was when God employed the daring of Pharaoh to manifest His glory, so it was now in Israel where it was come to this, that a large part the greater part indeed of the people of God was a sphere for the display of Jehovah's glory just because of their total departure from, and opposition to, His will. Consequently it bears this judicial character, for God was still dealing with His servant Elijah.

The messengers, then, arrested by the prophet, bring back the word of his coming death to the king, who soon finds out that it is none other than Elijah the Tishbite. He thereupon sends an officer with his company to take him. This was more easily said than done, and, in fact, brought an immediate judgment upon the heads of those that obeyed the king. We can understand that there are some who wonder at this. But it must never be forgotten that not even in Judah was it a mere monarchy, still less in Israel, now that they were divided. The government of the kingdom of Israel was a theocracy. No doubt the king was the representative of God's power, but still it was a throne of Jehovah. When, therefore, a king set himself in defiance of Jehovah he must take the consequences. No person, for instance, bearing the Queen's commission, is entitled to order his men against the Queen, and the Queen is perfectly entitled to punish them. Their pleading the order of the officer has nothing to do with the matter. The officer has no commission against the Queen. If the men choose to follow their officer's command against the Queen's authority they need not be surprised at what must be the issue.

And so in fact the king of Israel was in direct rebellion against God. I make this remark of a general kind, because it is the key to what otherwise must seem a little surprising, and of which infidelity constantly makes a difficulty, that is, the summary judgment executed every now and then in Israel. The constitution in Israel was strictly the law, and the law knows nothing but death for rebellion against the authority of God. This necessarily belongs to the law, and it is simply man who denies the title of God to put man under law. Such a thought is worthy of an atheist, for grant the Being of God, the reality of God, and God's authority is clearly entitled to act thus, if He think fit for His own glory. But then when once this is allowed, it is seen that the kingdom of Israel differs from all other kingdoms, inasmuch as if these kingdoms pretend to be theocratic it is merely a delusion and a falsehood, whereas in Israel it is the fact. And all the effort of Satan was to make the Israelites and their king forget that it was a theocracy forget the peculiarity of their place and of their calling. In all other cases the pretension was a mere spurious thing, the cover of downright hypocrisy and tyranny; in Israel it was the simple truth. Now this clears away heaps of difficulty in Scripture, because then God's dealing, even in a manner so terrible as the prompting His servant to ask for fire from heaven to consume a captain and his men, because of the daring defiance against God, the God of Israel, is simply a necessary consequence of the position of Israel. Instead of being a difficulty, it is what must be, what ought to be. God would be giving up His own authority otherwise.

Just as no parent ought to allow his children to deny his authority in his own house, and no master ought to allow it in his servants, so it would be the greatest absurdity if God were to permit defiance of His own authority in those that took the place of being His people. The king, therefore, sending out word was nothing to the purpose, because the king of Israel was the servant of Jehovah. He was merely the highest servant then. No doubt he was the expression of the visible authority, but then that authority could not be used against God. There is a limit necessary to all authority, "until he come whose right it is" to reign. And there indeed is what gives the true meaning of the place of the king of Israel, and it just ends when one comes who is not only man but God, and who will reign not only as man but as God. There will be one Jehovah, and His name one, and He will reign over all the earth.

This then clears away, I trust, any difficulty to a believer, that can be found in the scene before us. And indeed I have made the remarks more general in order to take in many other difficulties, for after all we must remember, even if we come to the general principle of it, that God is acting not in a close rigid way, but He is acting on the broad thought of His own plan with every man, woman, and child in the whole world. Because what is death if it be not an act of God's judging sin? And those who quarrel therefore with God's dealing with fifty men at a time forget that He is dealing with every person, and themselves among the rest, as objectors. I merely make this remark because people overlook the plainest facts before their eyes.

Another thing to which I would call your attention is this. Had there been compunction of heart and activity of conscience in the captains of these fifties, not one of them would have perished. We see that most clearly from the last captain and his company. He humbles himself, and the mercy of God flows out at once. We may be perfectly certain therefore that in the case of the others there was hardness of conscience and indifference. For there was not one of the captains and I doubt not, not one of the fifties that did not know the prophet Elijah, that had not the fullest testimony to his heart and conscience that that man was the most faithful representative of God's will and glory and power. If therefore men chose to bear the risk (and the object was great, the design was the injury, if not the death, of that very servant of God, and this, too, when God was acting on the grounds of righteousness and of law), they must take the consequences. It is plain that government by theocracy would be impossible if God did not reserve to Himself the right to punish, to impress upon others the necessity of obedience. In this scene, therefore, we have clearly that God still puts honour upon His servant. His proper ministry was closed, but in this there is no sign of one disgraced or one upon whom God is heaping dishonour not the slightest. And there cannot be a greater proof than this very fact in these closing scenes of Elijah, that when the leader of the last troop humbles himself before the prophet, the prophet goes down by the word of the Lord, for he at least, a servant, abides in obedience to God. He goes before the king and gives, to the king's face, what he little desired to hear "On that bed thou must die!" "So he died, according to the word of Jehovah which Elijah had spoken."

But the next chapter (1 Kings 2:1-46) shows us the closing and final scene of Elijah. "And it came to pass when Jehovah would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah bath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha and said unto him, Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thy master from thy head today? And he said, Yea, I know it, hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As Jehovah liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha and said unto him, Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, Yea, I know it, hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on."

Elijah then tests the faith of Elisha. We find this constantly in Scripture. An easier path is presented. You may spare yourself the trouble. But where there is faith to see that it is but a test, the soul is prepared to go forward understands the mind of God about it. It is impossible for any person to lay down rules as to such a matter. It was not by a rule that the cleansed Samaritan knew the mind of the Lord. Outwardly, the nine were following more literally what the Saviour said, but the cleansed Samaritan knew better. The letter, even of Scripture, is insufficient to guide the child of God. We need the Holy Ghost to give the word of God power "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." I grant you that the natural mind of man, taking up such a principle, would make terrible havoc of the word of God, but there is just the difference. The Spirit of God wielding the word makes it to be the sword of God; the mind of man dabbling with the word of God only reflects itself. Now in the present case it was clearly the test of Elisha's faith. If he was not prepared to go on with the prophet, he need not take so much trouble. His heart was thoroughly willing; he was about to gain a good degree, as it is said, in the faith in a little, for he that is faithful in little is faithful in much, and he that not merely was called and knew that the prophet's mantle was cast around him, and understood by that significant token that he was to succeed Elijah here below that same prophet looks for more and he receives more.

"According to thy faith be it done unto thee." He waits. He well understood that the time was not come to fulfil his office. He looks for more. The sons of the prophets gave no intelligence; they were indeed but intruders. They would have liked him to occupy his mind with their information. Elisha told them to hold their peace. His heart was elsewhere it was with Elijah, and these great things that were in store for him that day. Nothing would suffer from the prophet. So Elijah said to him, "Tarry I pray thee here." He bade him remain in Bethel, and Bethel was a place of great note in Israel. And Jericho was a place, I will not say of note, but marked with a curse, and God would not allow His curse to slumber any more than His blessing. But Elisha would go on with Elijah.

Now they come to Jordan. "As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men, the sons of the prophets, went and stood afar off." They did not go on; they were arrested by the difficulties; but "they two," the two that were as one, so to speak, stood by Jordan. "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. 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." They had gone down through the great and well-known sign of death not now passing through death to enter into the land, but passing through death for one of them at least. And this becomes an epoch that gives its proper character to the prophet. He was right. Not merely his own mind, but a spiritual instinct of the Holy Ghost gave him to look for a higher degree still. He goes on, and now he is on the very eve of it. Elijah puts the question, "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." Not a double portion as compared with Elijah's, but a double portion as compared with any other as a successor of Elijah. A double portion was the firstborn's portion. He asked for this, for the firstborn's portion. "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."

Now came the moment to decide whether faith in this case was to have her commensurate blessing. "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." Elijah was in fact a man with a heart and tongue of fire, if I may say so, and all his ministry was of this character consuming and judicial, of all men most unsparing. But if Elisha was given to see him caught up in a chariot of fire, with horses of fire, and with a whirlwind mounting up to heaven, this new starting-point of Elisha's becomes of importance. For heaven is not the place of fire. There may be exceptionally the bursting out of consuming judgments of God, but heaven, I repeat, normally is not the place of fire, but rather of love, of peace, of divine glory, of rest and peace, unbroken by sin. And Elisha accordingly was to have his ministry characterized by these very qualities.

We shall find him, therefore, instead of being a mere repetition of his fiery predecessor, a most suited successor, and one, in divine wisdom, given to meet the exigencies of God's glory in Israel. But Elisha has another character, for although righteousness be of God, righteousness is not all that is in God. And indeed if we look at God's attributes, righteousness is not the highest, although it is that which God can never sacrifice. But, nevertheless, if we are to speak of attributes, grace is surely of a higher character, and as the heavens are higher than the earth, so surely is the earth the place where righteousness must govern, and heaven is the place where grace must govern. And Elisha therefore becomes not merely what he began, but he became also the witness of grace; and it is not therefore merely as Elijah, for he starts just like the apostles themselves, who received once their commission in the land of Israel, and then went forth bearing the solemn message and wiping the dust from off their feet against those who rejected them as witnesses. But those apostles received another appointment of a higher ministry which that same Lord Jesus that sent them through the earth sent them from the heavens Himself ascending up there.

So it was with this beautiful witness to the truth of God, and almost, I must add, to the grace of God. "Elijah saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof." The double portion would be most surely his. "And he saw him no more; and he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces." But it is added, and most strikingly, "He took up also the mantle of Elijah" not merely flung it across his shoulders. Now it was his own, now it was perfectly his own, now there was the fullest confirmation of his place; and I repeat again, not merely as of a judging prophet on earth, but of a raptured prophet that had gone up to heaven. "He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and went back and stood by the bank of Jordan." and now came the test, whether in truth the double portion did rest upon Elisha. "And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters and said, Where is Jehovah God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters they parted hither and thither; and Elisha went over."

Elisha was the true and God-given successor of Elijah, but not after the same sort; for God does not repeat Himself. The God with whom we have to do is a living God, and the God that sent Elijah was now sending Elisha for another work and of a different character, and this it will be my object to open a little tonight to show how the Spirit of God brings out this new ministry. For now Elisha has been waiting, just as Elijah himself had waited. There was this pause, and we can see the great purpose. For undoubtedly had Elisha gone forward before, we have no reason to believe that there would have been any such character to his ministry. He waited, and he waited to prove that it is not always those that are the quickest to go forward in a work of the Lord that have, and bear, and produce, the best fruits. By no means. But those who know what it is to wait a little while that the Lord may deal with them before they are competent to deal with others, and also at the particular season.

And here we find how truly his waiting upon the Lord had this result. "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. 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." Were these the men that could give information to Elisha? These same men now propose, and this proves how poor even the son of a prophet may be when he no longer speaks the word of the Lord, that they should seek Elijah, "Lest peradventure the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send." That is, he first deals with them according to wisdom. In the next place, if they will be foolish, let them prove their folly. "They sent, therefore, fifty men, and they sought three days but found him not. And when they came again to him (for he tarried at Jericho), he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not."

But now we begin to see in the next instance recorded the peculiar action of the prophet Elisha. "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 is barren. And he said, Bring me a new cruise and put salt therein." When God brought out the place of our Lord above, He brought out further all that was suitable to a new creation. When souls know that which is the truth of God and our Lord Jesus, and consciously look up to Him, we know that they belong to Him. When God was dealing by the law it was always the old creation. When the Lord Jesus took His place on high after the accomplishment of redemption, the new creation surely came in. And this we see most completely in the doctrine of the apostle Paul. Here we have as far as a sign or a token can be, the new cruise, as just the sign of this new creation in the mind of God. And the application of this is the place of a curse. Now if there was a spot in the Holy Land that was under a curse, it was Jericho. Every one knows that who reads his Bible. Jericho accordingly is the spot to which the prophet directs this new cruise with salt put in to be brought.

"And he went forth unto the spring of the waters" and so was dealing with the fountainhead "and cast the salt in there and said, Thus saith Jehovah, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more dearth or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.'' "Can anything more distinctly show that here we have to do with a new character of action. There is no longer the death-bed judgment of Jehovah, administered according to the word of the prophet. Here we have the power of sin and the power of evil, and according to the purpose of God, the new creation, for undoubtedly this new cruise with the salt therein is the type of it. Jericho is a sample of that which will be done universally by the Lord Jesus Christ in the day of His appearing. He means to reconcile all things unto Himself. It might be but a little here, but it is the sample of a very great result. "So the waters were healed according to the saying of Elisha which he spake."

And thence he goes up, not to the place which was under the curse, and where he brings in a divine power of blessing and healing, but, to Bethel. Bethel was not under the curse, but it was under the burden of corruption. It is the place where God had caused the pledge and promise of His faithful care to be given to one that needed it, to one that was under circumstances of the greatest possible distress forlorn, obliged to flee from the house of his father and mother, with a deadly burning hatred of his brother against him. There it was that Jacob has a vision of God, and there it was that God plighted His word for ever. There it was that there was the house of God, that there was the gate of heaven opened to the slumbering Jacob, and there it was too that God made good, in after days, the purpose that was to be broken alas! by the unfaithfulness of man. But there Satan had so gained over the hearts of Israel that they had lifted up their calf-god and there they had insulted the God of Israel to His face. It was here that the prophet came, not to challenge, not to make of it another Gomorrah, not to bring down the calf worshippers and slay them, but here Elisha came, for it is Elisha with a heavenly vision. And yet for all that, it is remarkable it is one of the great exceptions of the prophet, that although he had this heavenly vision, woe be to the man that slights him; for the returning Lord Jesus Christ is the moral judge upon the earth His severest judgments will be from heaven.

That which will deal with the last mockers is given here in a little way, if I may so speak. Here there were those that insulted the prophet. It might be only little children, but little children often let out what their parents mean. How often you may know what goes wrong at home by that which little children say. And so it was with these little ones that mocked Elisha, and said, "Go up, thou bald head! Go up, thou bald head!" Now it was mockery that filled the land; there is no question of it. Elijah had gone up, and it was as good as telling him that he had better follow; that Elisha had better take the same route as Elijah. No doubt it would have been a relief to the carnal and the worldly and the idolatrous and the wicked generally in the land of Israel were there no Elijahs and no Elishas. It was therefore the taunt of unbelief, for if men had seriously realized that Elijah had gone up to heaven, and that Elisha was one that was here upon earth doing the will of God, neither the little children nor their parents would have so uttered their evil thoughts and feelings against the Lord. And so it was. And here again we have the same solemn thing, only in an exceptional way, with Elisha we have judgment accompanying the heavenly testimony.

The very same thing we find in St. Paul. It is not only that Peter tells of the day of the Lord, but there is judgment, and necessarily judgment executed by the Lord Jesus Christ upon earth. These little ones then who so spake "he cursed in the name of Jehovah. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood and tare forty and two children of them. And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria." Heaven is by no means the ordinary place from which judgment comes. Throughout the millennial reign heaven will be the source of countless comforts and blessings in a richer measure than the world has ever tasted before. So we find in Elisha a further illustration.