Israel's Prophecy Program

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II Kings

Chapter One

The Fire of God

   Our story now goes from the first book of Kings unto the second book of Kings. There is no book of second Kings in the Masoretic Hebrew Text they are both one book. They were split up to help fit onto scrolls easier in the old days.

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 Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.

   What a terrible state the northern tribes had gotten themselves into that they no longer trusted in the God of their fathers' but now almost wholeheartedly followed the gods of the heathens that surrounded them.

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 Baalzebub 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.

   Praise the Lord God can still use the Prophet Elijah even after his fearful running from Jezebel and his wishing for death to come upon him.

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 Baalzebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.

   These men turned back at Elijah's command to instruct the king as to what they had seen and heard from Elijah, this could have gotten them the death penalty for not obeying the king. These men truly believed that it is better to obey God than man.

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 an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

   Elijah had a reputation for what he spoke and also for what he looked like. Elijah would not be allowed to speak in any church in America today.

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.

   Obviously, the King meant Elijah harm, or he would not have sent fifty soldiers to bring one prophet unto himself. Surely the king would reconsider his request and repent when he heard the news of the demise of his soldiers at the hands of Elijah, but no.

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.

   The thoughts that must have been going through the mind of this captain before he came upon Elijah and those of his soldiers must have bordered on desertion, but they continued on as do the lost straight on their pathway to death and Hell.

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.

   Finally, someone comes along with some common sense, or maybe the king still had a few loyal men who had not bowed their knees to all the pagan gods in the land.

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. 16 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast 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 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?

   Ahaziah was now dead and Elijah would soon pass off the scene but not before anointing his replacement Elisha. Many ministries have died because they were built around a personality and when that personality died so did that ministry.

Chapter Two

A Double Portion

1 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.

   Not all that is spoken by the LORD is written for us to see, such as the fact that it was known to Elisha and to the sons of the prophets in Bethel that Elijah would be taken away from them on that day, but we are not privy to the events that surrounded that announcement.

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.

   Elisha loved Elijah and wanted to be with him in his last moments as can be expected. It was not because he expected anything from his master at his departure.

   What Elisha would receive solely was a gift of God's grace. Elisha did not want to be reminded that his master would be leaving him soon.

   Everywhere he went the sons of the prophets would come to meet with Elisha as God know doubt spoke to them and Elijah was speaking unto their fathers.

   Elijah was preparing Israel's prophets for his soon departure, while God was preparing the next generation to work with Elijah's replacement.

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.

   These sons of the prophets would follow at the commandment of the LORD so that they might see that the spirit that rested on the prophet of their fathers would now rest on the one that they would follow.

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.

   The LORD sent Elijah to the very spot where Israel crossed over Jordan from their forty years of wilderness journeys so as to send a message to Israel that God could still give Israel deliverance if they trusted in the LORD as Elijah did.

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.

   Fear could have been the motivating factor in Elisha asking for a double portion of Elijah's spirit, knowing he would have to stand between a Holy God and a wicked nation in Elijah's absence. Elisha felt ill prepared to follow in Elijah's sandals.

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.

   Here we have only the second time in the whole bible where a person is taken up into heaven, the only other was Enoch a gentile. Could it be that Enoch is a type of the gentile church who is raptured up before the tribulation that comes upon Israel?

   Could Elijah be a type of the nation of Israel that will go through the tribulation period? Elijah must return and restore all things during the seventieth week of Daniel and be killed and rise again as was spoken of by Christ in Matthew.

   Israel, like Elijah will be resurrected in a day an enter into the Millennial Kingdom where Elijah will have a very prominent part in the government of this earth during that time.

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.

   This event greatly affected Elisha as it most likely did the sons of the prophets standing afar off. While Elijah did not die on that day, it is a hard thing to come to grips with when you realize that you will never see someone you have been so close to.

   This was obviously how Elisha felt as he rent his clothes in two as someone in Israel would do when they lost a dear loved one.

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.

   Elisha knew that what Elijah had promised God would give to him, so without hesitation he smote the waters by faith knowing that God had brought them to that very spot for to show Israel's future prophets that the God of Elijah was working on Israel's behalf now through Elisha.

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. 16 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? 

   Elisha was ashamed of the sons of the prophets, who although they wanted to see the great prophet Elijah again, they showed a lack of faith in the word they had each received from God concerning Elijah's departure just a few days earlier.

   Elijah will return but it will not be because a group of fifty strong men are seeking for him on the mountain tops and in the valleys, he will come when God says he will come, just as he left when God said he would.

19 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 barren. 20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. 21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. 22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.

   God now uses Elisha to heal the waters at Jericho just as Moses did a Meribah. This act along with his parting the Jordan river no doubt served as signs to the nation that God was both with him and them still.

23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. 25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

   As Elisha returned, he followed the same route his master had taken and as the people of those places learned of the news of the death of Israel's prophet, they also learned of the man that God had anointed to be Israel’s' new prophet.

   God at critical times in Israel's history would raise up leaders and would give them great signs and wonders as the Jew always required a sign to verify the message and the messenger. Such as was the case with Moses prior to the Law, and Jesus prior to the New Covenant.

   Notice that the two she bears only tore the 42 children they did not kill them. The story records only 42 being torn by these bears so there must have been a major mob out there mocking Elisha.  

The End