2 Kings - Chapter 2

The Amazing Bible. Book Club

As Roy L. Honeycutt said in his commentary of this chapter, "Elisha is Confirmed as Successor to Elijah, and the Confirmation of Elijah's translation." Elijah and Elisha start off at Gilgal, then go to Bethel, and then to Jericho. Each of these places have a company of prophets living there. Each time Elijah tells Elisha to stay there with the prophets, but each time Elisha says, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you!" Also at each city, the prophets told Elisha, "The Lord is going to take your master from you today," and each time Elisha said, "Yes, I know, but don't speak of it!" Then the Lord directed Elijah to go across the Jordan River, so he took his cloak, rolled it up, struck the water with it, the water divided, and they walked over on dry ground. Once across, Elijah asked what he could do for Elisha, and he asked for a double portion of his spirit. Elijah said that was difficult, but if Elisha saw Elijah taken up to heaven, then it would be so. The chariot of fire with horses of fire separated Elisha and Elijah, the the whirlwind took Elijah to heaven. Elisha ripped his clothes in lament, and then picked up Elijah's cloak which had fallen. He took the cloak, struck the river Jordan as Elijah had done and cried out, "Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" The waters divided and he walked back on dry ground. The 50 prophets of Jericho who had watched the whole thing said, "The Spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha!" They then asked him to heal their water, so Elisha asked them to bring a new bowl and place salt in it. They did, and he threw the salt into the spring, and then said, "This is what the Lord says, 'I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive." Elijah left Jericho and was heading to Bethel, when a large group of at least 42 young males jeered him and kept saying, "Go on up, you baldhead!" Finally, Elisha turned and looked at these youth that did not fear the Lord, and spoke a curse on them. Two bears came out of the woods and mauled them. The chapter ends with Elisha going to Mount Carmel, and then he returned to Samaria, the capital of the Northern Tribes of Israel.