Second Kings 1:1

The Bible says in Second Kings 1:1-6, “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, inquire 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 inquire 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 inquire 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.” I think God is a jealous God. Yes, the Bible tells us that is true. The first of the Ten Commandments is, Thou shalt have no other gods before my face. God created us in order to know Him and serve Him. It is an insult to God to spurn His love and to follow another. Because Ahaziah went to the false god instead of to the true God, Elijah was sent to Ahaziah with the message, “Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.” God decides when and how we die. The time is short. Believe on Him and serve Him while you can.

The Bible says in Second Kings 1:7-15, “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 an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.[9] Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.[10] 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. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.[11] Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.[12] And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.[13] And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.[14] Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.[15] And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.” Of course, this is an amazing event where Elijah called down fire from heaven like that. The thing to remember about Elijah is what is said of him in James 5:17-18, “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.[18] And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” In other words, we should be able to see answers to prayer the same way that Elijah did. He was no different than us: a human being who was not perfect, but who believed in the Lord. Elijah prayed and trusted in the Lord, and he saw answers to prayer. The exact same thing will happen for every Christian who does what Elijah did: pray. Jesus said in John 15:16, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

The Bible says in Second Kings 1:16-18, “And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.[17] 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 king of Judah; because he had no son.[18] Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?” Verse seventeen says that “he died according to the word of the LORD.” Of course, that was a fulfillment of prophesy about the life of Ahaziah. God could give that prophecy about any one of us because He not only knows when we are going to die, but He decides when we are going to die. It says in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

The Bible says in Second Kings 2:1-8, “And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.[2] And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.[3] And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.[4] And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.[5] And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.[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.” It is interesting that a lot of people knew ahead of time that Elijah was going to be taken to heaven in a whirlwind, and of course, they wanted to see it. The fact that Elijah was given such a great privilege to go to heaven without dying and in such a spectacular manner shows how much the Lord thought of Elijah the prophet. There is no reason that we cannot be like Elijah if we will just draw close to the Lord and dedicate ourselves to Him. There will be a generation of Christians who will be alive during the rapture, and who will go to heaven without dying. We know that from First Thessalonians chapter 4.

Another amazing miracle was the fact that Elijah and Elisha walked over the Jordan River on dry ground. This is a replication of Joshua and the children of Israel crossing over the Jordan on dry ground as they entered the Promised Land. Elijah was getting ready to enter into heaven. It takes a miracle to get into heaven: the miracle of someone believing in Jesus and being born again by the working of the Spirit. Only God can touch the heart.

The Bible says in Second Kings 2:9-10, “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.” Elisha was very perceptive. Elijah’s power came from the “spirit.” That is the same Spirit who gives us power. Jesus said, “You shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you.” With the power of the Holy Spirit there is no limit to what we might do because God is all-powerful. Elisha was well within his rights to ask for a double portion. We should have the same desire.

The Bible says in Second Kings 2:11-12, “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.” These are two great verses in the Bible. What a wonderful and spectacular event that was. What a mighty God we serve. God decides not only when you will leave this earth, but how you will leave it. What a departure that Elijah had. It appears that God loves horses. He loves all His animals. Jesus will return riding a great white horse. Elijah leaves this earth with “horses of fire.”

The Bible says in Second Kings 2:13-15, “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.[15] 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.” Immediately after Elijah goes to heaven, Elisha sees the same miracle of the crossing of the Jordan River on dry land. This shows the rest of the prophets that Elisha is God’s replacement for Elijah. If God has something for you to do, He will validate it and He will touch other people’s hearts also concerning your calling.

The Bible says in Second Kings 2:16-18, “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: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.[17] And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.[18] And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?” Even though many prophets were eye-witnesses to Elijah being taken up into heaven in the fiery chariot and the whirlwind and the horses of fire, they just could not believe it. They were sure that Elijah must have fallen back down to earth somewhere, and they needed to send out a search party to find his body. That is just like people to not believe. The life of faith will require a strong resolve. Human logic says, “Gravity is too strong. Elijah must have fallen back to earth.” The scientists would have said, “Gravity is too strong. Elijah must have fallen back to earth.” But no, they did not find his body because Elijah was taken to heaven, just as the Word of God says. A miracle is supernatural. It cannot be explained by science because science is the study of the natural world only. Looked at only from the viewpoint of science, the virgin birth is impossible and the resurrection from the dead is impossible. But they are not impossible because God can do anything. Here is another great miracle: that an unbeliever could repent and come to know Jesus as Savior.

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