The
time came for the LORD to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah
and Elisha set out from Gilgal, and on the way Elijah said to Elisha, "Now
stay here; the LORD has ordered me to go to Bethel."
But
Elisha answered, " I swear by my loyalty to the living LORD and to you that
I will not leave you." So they went on to Bethel.
A group of prophets who lived there went to Elisha and asked
him, "Do you know that LORD is going to take our master away form you
today?"
"Yes, I know, " Elisha answered. "But let's
not talk about it."
Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Now stay here; the LORD has
ordered me to go to Jericho."
But Elisha answered, "I swear by my loyalty to the
living LORD and to you that I will not leave you." So they went on to
Jericho.
A group of prophets who lived there went to Elisha and
asked him, there went to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD
is going to take our master away from you today?"
"Yes, I know, " Elisha answered. "But let's
not talk about it."
Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Now stay here; the LORD has ordered me to go
to Jordan River."
But Elisha answered, "I swear by my loyalty to the
living LORD and to you that I will not leave you." So they went on, and
fifty of the prophets followed them to the Jordan. Elijah and Elisha
stopped by the river, and the fifty prophets stood a short distance away.
Then Elijah took off his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the water with it; the
water divided, and he and Elisha crossed to the other side on dry ground.
there, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what you want me to do for you
before I am taken away."
"Let me receive the share of your power that will make
me your successor," Elisha answered.
"That is a difficult request to grant," Elijah
replied. "But you will receive it if you see me as I am being taken away
from you; if you don't see me, you won't receive it."
They kept taking as they walked on; then suddenly a chariot
of fire pulled by horsed of fire came between the, and Elijah was taken up to
heaven by a whirlwind. Elisha saw it and cried out to Elijah,
"My father, my father! Mighty defender of Israel! You are gone!"
And he never saw Elijah again.
In grief Elisha tore his cloak in two.
Then he picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him,
and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He struck the water
with Elijah's cloak and said, "Where is the LORD, the God of
Elijah?" Then he struck the water again, and it divided, and he
walked over to the other side.
The fifty prophets from Jericho saw him and said,
"The power of Elijah is on Elisha!" They went to meet him, bowed
down before him, and said, "There are fifty of us here, all strong
men. Let us go and look for your master, Maybe the sprit of the LORD has
carried him away and left him on some mountain or in some valley."
"No, you must not go," Elisha answered.
But they insisted until he gave in and let them go. the
fifty of them went and looked high and low for Elijah for three days, but didn't
find him.
Then they returned to Elisha, who had waited at Jericho, and
he said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?
Friend,
can you not draw encouragement and teaching from this man of God?
God has
a place for you; He has a work for you. Are you in that place, and are you
doing that work?
If not,
will you not listen to the still small voice of God's Spirit in your
heart? Will you not now listen to His Word and look to the Lord Jesus
Christ for salvation?