NOTES for Ki2 2:6-14
6 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. |
7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. |
8 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. |
9 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. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. |
10 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. |
11 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. |
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. |
13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; |
14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. |
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Elijah knows that the day has come when the Lord will take him to Himself. At first he persistently tries to get rid of Elisha, urging him to stay and not follow him. Why? Does Elijah really not want Elisha beside him? Or is he testing whether his successor senses that something important is happening and whether it matters to him? Elisha passed the test, and now Elijah offers him the next choice: what do you want? The answer to this question essentially reveals what matters most to a person. And Elisha asks for “the spirit that is in Elijah”—the spirit of prophecy, that is, in fact, the Holy Spirit—and even twice as much as Elijah had! At this point Elijah can say nothing, because the gift of the Spirit depends on the Lord alone. We see that Elisha’s request was pleasing to God: he saw Elijah taken up into heaven and therefore received the gift of the Spirit for which he had asked.
Readings for 19 June 2024
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