2Ki 2:1 | KingComments | STEP | Before Elijah was taken up to heaven, he and Elisha made a trip to some of the most famous places in Israel. He traveled from Gilgal to Bethel, then to Jericho, and finally to the Jordan. Elisha later would visit all these places ( ). These places are known from the ancient history of the people of God: 1. Gilgal is the place of circumcision, the starting point for the conquest of the promised land ( ). 2. We already know Bethel from the book of Genesis. It is the place where God revealed Himself to the patriarch Jacob and where He gave him His unconditional promises of blessing; Bethel is the place where God wanted to live – Bethel means “house of God” ( ). 3. In Jericho, the LORD revealed Himself to Joshua as the Prince of the LORD's army, the Commander of His army ( ). Jericho is the great stronghold that prevented the Israelites from entering the Promised Land, but fell for the power of Israel's God ( ). 4. The Jordan is the river that prevented the Israelites from entering the land, however its waters were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, so that all Israel could cross over on dry land ( ). Unfortunately in the days of Elijah and Elisha these places no longer only bore witness to the great deeds of God. They had become much more the monuments of the sinfulness of the people, places of degeneration and idolatry. Originating from Egypt, calf worship was introduced by Jeroboam in Bethel and in Dan ( ). The prophets Hosea and Amos condemned this idolatry cult in Bethel, together with that in Gilgal ( ; ). Jericho was not well known either. It was the city of a curse, which according to God’s command should not have been rebuilt. In the days of Ahab this had still happened anyway, by a resident of Bethel. This man had to pay for his transgression of the word of the LORD with the lives of two of his sons ( ; ). It is remarkable that precisely this fact of the rebuilding of Jericho, formed the link between Ahab’s iniquities – it concludes with a summary of them ( ) – and of Elijah’s sudden appearance as a prophet of judgment ( ). It is as if the rebuilding of Jericho had reached the height of iniquity, and the judgment of the people and their wicked ruler had become unavoidable. As he walked through these places, Elijah said goodbye to his earthly career. He will have thought of all that God had done for Israel, but also of Israel's decay and apostasy from their privileged position. God took him into His glory outside the promised land, after he had travelled through the Jordan with Elisha. It seems that God could not give him this homage in the land that had departed so much from Him. His ascension could not take place in Gilgal, or in Bethel, or in Jericho, or on the nation’s side of the Jordan. Elijah had to move on and on, until God took him away from the earth on the wilderness side of the Jordan. We could almost say that it was a variant of what happened to Enoch. Of Enoch, we read that he “walked with God, and he was no longer, for God took him away” ( ; ). Elijah pleased God, as Enoch did, and God honored him by taking him up to heaven, as He did with Enoch. However, this last journey of the prophet was also of great significance for Elisha, who accompanied him faithfully and did not want to leave his side. For Elisha, this long trip was on the one hand a good opportunity to prepare for the departure of his master, and on the other hand, a good introduction to his own career. Here we see him walking next to his honored master, whose work he must continue. He was not only Elijah’s companion, but also his successor. If his master was in heaven, he had to continue his task below. This is an important lesson for us as Christians, who are connected with a Lord in heaven. We serve a glorified Lord and may “represent” Him here on earth. We do this in the power of the Holy Spirit, Whom He has given us from heaven. As the spirit of Elijah rested upon Elisha, Christ has given us His Spirit, that we may be readable letters of Him ( ). But we also need the necessary preparation to serve Him in a dignified manner. We will have to walk by His side and follow Him where He leads us. Although Elisha was tested here three times, he remained inseparable from Elijah’s side ( ). Together they moved on and even went on dry land through the Jordan, the dead river. “So they both went on” ( ; cf. ; ). When we walk with the Lord, He leads us step by step, from one “stopping-place” to another. Then we will, like Elijah and Elisha, consider the situation of God’s people. We, in turn, will be confronted with the deep decay, the corruption that has entered into the midst of what is now the people of God on earth, Christianity i.e. the professing church. The emphasis is on Elijah’s ascension. Elijah is thus also a picture of the Lord Jesus Himself, and of the believers of the church who will also go to heaven. In Elijah we see displayed the Lord Jesus passing through death and resurrection and taking His place in heaven. In Elisha we see a picture of the Lord Jesus who, through the Spirit of God, maintains on earth today a testimony before God. Elijah was replaced by Elisha. Elijah is also a picture of John the baptist, the forerunner of the Lord Jesus, and Elisha is a picture of the Lord Jesus Who came with blessing after John, as Elisha came with blessing after Elijah. The testimony on earth is given in the Spirit of Him Who has gone to heaven. This testimony is often forgotten, but the faithful are allowed to see and show it again in days of decay. Elijah had left the apostate people behind him by his passage through the Jordan, but Elisha returned to do a service that started from heaven, as it were. In order to be able to perform this service properly, Elisha received an education based on the four places he traveled through with Elijah. The days of Elijah’s ascension was the starting point for this education. It shows what God had done and how the people have subsequently reacted to His will. In every service it is important to know how God thinks about the things we meet and also to see how man has dealt with them. The “whirlwind” and the “fire”– a chariot of fire and horses of fire – in which the LORD took Elijah up to heaven ( ), are phenomena that are more common in the Old Testament. We see them by direct revelation or by personal intervention of the LORD God ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ). However, these were not just impressive natural phenomena, which, incidentally, fitted in well with Elijah’s character as a prophet of judgment. ‘Whirlwind’ and ‘fire’ also represent angelic powers ( ). Therefore we can imagine the catching up of Elijah in the following way: the LORD Himself came as the Ruler of His heavenly armies, surrounded by His mighty angels (cf. ), to take up His faithful warrior to heaven. What a tribute to Elijah! God took him away, as He once did with Enoch and as He will soon do with the believers who remain alive until the coming of the Lord. God took him away so that he would not see death, but would enter heaven in the twinkling of an eye (cf. ; ; ; ). In Elijah, we see the Lord Jesus returning to heaven, and in Elisha, we see the Lord Jesus coming to earth in the Spirit to give testimony. The testimony is given in the Spirit of Him Who ascended to heaven. Both aspects express the essence of true Christian belief, which is 1. A glorified Man in heaven and 2. God the Holy Spirit on earth. True service is performed according to the measure we have received an impression of the glorified Man at the right hand of God. The impression we have of this will characterize our testimony. Elisha had accompanied Elijah all the way. He did not start his service until after the ascension of Elijah. It is in a picture the way of the remnant that is traveling with the Lord Jesus and is testifying in the power of the Holy Spirit. The remnant, as represented by the disciples who are on earth with the Lord Jesus, form the core of the church. It does not say that Elisha went with Elijah, but that Elijah went with Elisha. It is in fact Elisha’s way, but Elijah went with him to give him Divine teaching. It is the teaching that was needed for servants of God. At the beginning of the chapter we are immediately informed of what was going to happen to Elijah: he would be taken up to heaven. Thus we hear early in the Gospel to Luke that the Lord Jesus was going to Jerusalem because “the days were approaching for His ascension” ( ). At the cross, that is His departure about which Moses and Elijah spoke with Him on the mountain of glorification ( ), the Holy Spirit directed the eye to His ascension into heaven. Gilgal was the first place of education. In Gilgal, the people had been circumcised ( ). Gilgal was also the place from which the people departed for the conquest of Canaan. This has a spiritual meaning for us. We participate in the circumcision of Christ, because we are united with Him in the judgment that has fallen upon Him in our place on the cross ( ). That is our ‘Gilgal’, and from there we may take possession of our heavenly inheritance in Christ. Gilgal means ‘rolled away’. Spiritually, it is the application of the death of Christ to our flesh. In the death of the Lord Jesus, God ‘rolled away’ from us the reproach of the world. We need to know the unchanging wickedness of our fleshly nature. That is where every true service begins for the servant. Without the lesson of Gilgal, that is to say, the deep awareness of the unchanging wickedness of our flesh and God’s judgment upon it, we cannot serve. That Gilgal has become a place of idolatry and corruption has something to tell us. If the lesson of Gilgal is forgotten, Gilgal becomes the place of promotion of the flesh. What God calls evil is then praised.

‏ 2 Kings 2:1

Introduction

Before Elijah was taken up to heaven, he and Elisha made a trip to some of the most famous places in Israel. He traveled from Gilgal to Bethel, then to Jericho, and finally to the Jordan. Elisha later would visit all these places (2Kgs 2:18 ; 2Kgs 4:38 ; 2Kgs 6:2).

These places are known from the ancient history of the people of God:

1. Gilgal is the place of circumcision, the starting point for the conquest of the promised land (Jos 4:19 ; Jos 5:9 ; Jos 10:43).

2. We already know Bethel from the book of Genesis. It is the place where God revealed Himself to the patriarch Jacob and where He gave him His unconditional promises of blessing; Bethel is the place where God wanted to live – Bethel means “house of God” (Gen 28:11-19 ; Gen 35:1-4 ; 14-15).

3. In Jericho, the LORD revealed Himself to Joshua as the Prince of the LORD's army, the Commander of His army (Jos 5:13-15). Jericho is the great stronghold that prevented the Israelites from entering the Promised Land, but fell for the power of Israel's God (Jos 6:20-21).

4. The Jordan is the river that prevented the Israelites from entering the land, however its waters were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, so that all Israel could cross over on dry land (Jos 3:1 ; 14-17).

Unfortunately in the days of Elijah and Elisha these places no longer only bore witness to the great deeds of God. They had become much more the monuments of the sinfulness of the people, places of degeneration and idolatry. Originating from Egypt, calf worship was introduced by Jeroboam in Bethel and in Dan (1Kgs 12:28-29). The prophets Hosea and Amos condemned this idolatry cult in Bethel, together with that in Gilgal (Hos 4:15 ; Hos 9:15 ; Hos 12:12; Amos 4:4 ; Amos 5:5).

Jericho was not well known either. It was the city of a curse, which according to God’s command should not have been rebuilt. In the days of Ahab this had still happened anyway, by a resident of Bethel. This man had to pay for his transgression of the word of the LORD with the lives of two of his sons (Jos 6:26; 1Kgs 16:34). It is remarkable that precisely this fact of the rebuilding of Jericho, formed the link between Ahab’s iniquities – it concludes with a summary of them (1Kgs 16:28-34) – and of Elijah’s sudden appearance as a prophet of judgment (1Kgs 17:1). It is as if the rebuilding of Jericho had reached the height of iniquity, and the judgment of the people and their wicked ruler had become unavoidable.

As he walked through these places, Elijah said goodbye to his earthly career. He will have thought of all that God had done for Israel, but also of Israel's decay and apostasy from their privileged position. God took him into His glory outside the promised land, after he had travelled through the Jordan with Elisha. It seems that God could not give him this homage in the land that had departed so much from Him.

His ascension could not take place in Gilgal, or in Bethel, or in Jericho, or on the nation’s side of the Jordan. Elijah had to move on and on, until God took him away from the earth on the wilderness side of the Jordan. We could almost say that it was a variant of what happened to Enoch. Of Enoch, we read that he “walked with God, and he was no longer, for God took him away” (Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5). Elijah pleased God, as Enoch did, and God honored him by taking him up to heaven, as He did with Enoch.

However, this last journey of the prophet was also of great significance for Elisha, who accompanied him faithfully and did not want to leave his side. For Elisha, this long trip was on the one hand a good opportunity to prepare for the departure of his master, and on the other hand, a good introduction to his own career. Here we see him walking next to his honored master, whose work he must continue. He was not only Elijah’s companion, but also his successor. If his master was in heaven, he had to continue his task below.

This is an important lesson for us as Christians, who are connected with a Lord in heaven. We serve a glorified Lord and may “represent” Him here on earth. We do this in the power of the Holy Spirit, Whom He has given us from heaven. As the spirit of Elijah rested upon Elisha, Christ has given us His Spirit, that we may be readable letters of Him (2Cor 3:2-3).

But we also need the necessary preparation to serve Him in a dignified manner. We will have to walk by His side and follow Him where He leads us. Although Elisha was tested here three times, he remained inseparable from Elijah’s side (2Kgs 2:2 ; 4 ; 6). Together they moved on and even went on dry land through the Jordan, the dead river. “So they both went on” (2Kgs 2:6; cf. Gen 22:6 ; 8; Rth 1:19).

When we walk with the Lord, He leads us step by step, from one “stopping-place” to another. Then we will, like Elijah and Elisha, consider the situation of God’s people. We, in turn, will be confronted with the deep decay, the corruption that has entered into the midst of what is now the people of God on earth, Christianity i.e. the professing church.

Taken Up to Heaven and Leaving Gilgal

The emphasis is on Elijah’s ascension. Elijah is thus also a picture of the Lord Jesus Himself, and of the believers of the church who will also go to heaven. In Elijah we see displayed the Lord Jesus passing through death and resurrection and taking His place in heaven. In Elisha we see a picture of the Lord Jesus who, through the Spirit of God, maintains on earth today a testimony before God. Elijah was replaced by Elisha. Elijah is also a picture of John the baptist, the forerunner of the Lord Jesus, and Elisha is a picture of the Lord Jesus Who came with blessing after John, as Elisha came with blessing after Elijah.

The testimony on earth is given in the Spirit of Him Who has gone to heaven. This testimony is often forgotten, but the faithful are allowed to see and show it again in days of decay. Elijah had left the apostate people behind him by his passage through the Jordan, but Elisha returned to do a service that started from heaven, as it were. In order to be able to perform this service properly, Elisha received an education based on the four places he traveled through with Elijah.

The days of Elijah’s ascension was the starting point for this education. It shows what God had done and how the people have subsequently reacted to His will. In every service it is important to know how God thinks about the things we meet and also to see how man has dealt with them.

The “whirlwind” and the “fire”– a chariot of fire and horses of fire – in which the LORD took Elijah up to heaven (2Kgs 2:1 ; 11), are phenomena that are more common in the Old Testament. We see them by direct revelation or by personal intervention of the LORD God (Exo 3:2 ; Exo 24:17; 1Kgs 19:11-12; Job 38:1 ; Job 40:6; Psa 18:8 ; Psa 50:3 ; Psa 104:3-4; Isa 30:27 ; Isa 66:15; Eze 1:4; Zec 9:14).

However, these were not just impressive natural phenomena, which, incidentally, fitted in well with Elijah’s character as a prophet of judgment. ‘Whirlwind’ and ‘fire’ also represent angelic powers (Heb 1:7). Therefore we can imagine the catching up of Elijah in the following way: the LORD Himself came as the Ruler of His heavenly armies, surrounded by His mighty angels (cf. 2Kgs 6:17), to take up His faithful warrior to heaven.

What a tribute to Elijah! God took him away, as He once did with Enoch and as He will soon do with the believers who remain alive until the coming of the Lord. God took him away so that he would not see death, but would enter heaven in the twinkling of an eye (cf. Gen 5:24; 1Cor 15:51-52; 1Thes 4:15-18; Heb 11:5).

In Elijah, we see the Lord Jesus returning to heaven, and in Elisha, we see the Lord Jesus coming to earth in the Spirit to give testimony. The testimony is given in the Spirit of Him Who ascended to heaven. Both aspects express the essence of true Christian belief, which is

1. A glorified Man in heaven and

2. God the Holy Spirit on earth.

True service is performed according to the measure we have received an impression of the glorified Man at the right hand of God. The impression we have of this will characterize our testimony.

Elisha had accompanied Elijah all the way. He did not start his service until after the ascension of Elijah. It is in a picture the way of the remnant that is traveling with the Lord Jesus and is testifying in the power of the Holy Spirit. The remnant, as represented by the disciples who are on earth with the Lord Jesus, form the core of the church.

It does not say that Elisha went with Elijah, but that Elijah went with Elisha. It is in fact Elisha’s way, but Elijah went with him to give him Divine teaching. It is the teaching that was needed for servants of God.

At the beginning of the chapter we are immediately informed of what was going to happen to Elijah: he would be taken up to heaven. Thus we hear early in the Gospel to Luke that the Lord Jesus was going to Jerusalem because “the days were approaching for His ascension” (Lk 9:51). At the cross, that is His departure about which Moses and Elijah spoke with Him on the mountain of glorification (Lk 9:30-31), the Holy Spirit directed the eye to His ascension into heaven.

Gilgal was the first place of education. In Gilgal, the people had been circumcised (Jos 5:7-9). Gilgal was also the place from which the people departed for the conquest of Canaan. This has a spiritual meaning for us. We participate in the circumcision of Christ, because we are united with Him in the judgment that has fallen upon Him in our place on the cross (Col 2:11). That is our ‘Gilgal’, and from there we may take possession of our heavenly inheritance in Christ. Gilgal means ‘rolled away’. Spiritually, it is the application of the death of Christ to our flesh. In the death of the Lord Jesus, God ‘rolled away’ from us the reproach of the world.

We need to know the unchanging wickedness of our fleshly nature. That is where every true service begins for the servant. Without the lesson of Gilgal, that is to say, the deep awareness of the unchanging wickedness of our flesh and God’s judgment upon it, we cannot serve. That Gilgal has become a place of idolatry and corruption has something to tell us. If the lesson of Gilgal is forgotten, Gilgal becomes the place of promotion of the flesh. What God calls evil is then praised.