Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Kings
Chapter 2: Where Is the LORD God of Elijah?
Elijah is carried to heaven in a whirlwind with a chariot of fire, and his mantle falls to Elisha, who had refused to leave his master and asked for a double portion of his spirit. Taking up the mantle, Elisha cries, 'Where is the LORD God of Elijah?', and the Jordan parts again. The God of Elijah is the God of Elisha, and the ministry of the word goes on.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Kings chapter 2. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
The Last Journey (2 Kings 2:1-8)
Elisha will not leave his master, and Elijah divides the Jordan with his mantle.
As the LORD Liveth, I Will Not Leave Thee
"And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. 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."
Word Study
"I will not leave thee," Hebrew lo e'ezveka (לֹא אֶעֶזְבֶךָּ), a solemn vow of unwavering attachment. Three times Elijah tests Elisha, "tarry here," and three times Elisha vows, "As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." The threefold journey, Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to Jordan, is a test of Elisha's resolve, and he passes it with a determined, single-minded cleaving to his master to the very end. His words echo Ruth's great vow of loyalty (Ruth 1:16-17), and they model the perseverance that presses on to receive God's fullest blessing. The "sons of the prophets," schools of prophets kept alive even in that dark age, twice tell Elisha his master will be taken; he already knows, and answers, "hold ye your peace," treasuring the sacred moment rather than dwelling on the loss. Then, at Jordan, Elijah takes his mantle (addereth, the emblem of his prophetic office), smites the waters, and they part, so the two cross "on dry ground." The dividing of the Jordan deliberately recalls Moses at the Red Sea and Joshua at this same river (Joshua 3), marking Elijah as a prophet in that great line and about to mark Elisha as his successor. The lesson of the passage is Elisha's persistence: those who would receive much from God do not turn back at the first "tarry here," but press on, saying, "I will not leave thee."
Explanation
The day had come for God to take Elijah to heaven. As the two prophets traveled from Gilgal, Elijah three times urged Elisha to stay behind while he went on, first to Bethel, then Jericho, then the Jordan, and each time Elisha refused with a solemn vow never to leave him. At Bethel and Jericho the resident companies of prophets reminded Elisha that his master would be taken that day; he already knew, and told them to be silent. At last the two came to the Jordan, with fifty of the prophets watching from a distance. Elijah rolled up his mantle, struck the river, and the waters parted so the pair crossed on dry ground, a sign echoing the great water-partings of Israel's history and setting the stage for the transfer of the prophetic office.
Gospel Focus
"I will not leave thee." Elisha's threefold refusal to turn back is a picture of the persevering faith that presses on to God's fullest blessing. Many receive little from God because they stop at the first discouragement, the first "tarry here." But Elisha clung to his master through every test, and so came to the place of blessing. So we are called to "follow on to know the LORD" (Hosea 6:3), to be "not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (Hebrews 6:12). The greatest gifts of God come to those who will not let go. Jacob wrestled and said, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me" (Genesis 32:26), and Elisha would not leave Elijah. Are you willing to press on when others urge you to settle, to hold fast when the way grows hard? And notice the God who divides rivers: no barrier can stop the purposes of God or the progress of His servants. The same power that opened the Red Sea and the Jordan is at work still, making a way where there is no way for all who follow Him.
Elijah Taken Up (2 Kings 2:9-14)
A chariot of fire carries Elijah to heaven, and his mantle falls to Elisha.
Where Is the LORD God of Elijah?
"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. 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. 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. 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. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; 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."
Word Study
"a double portion of thy spirit," Hebrew pi shnayim (פִּי שְׁנַיִם), the share of the firstborn. When Elijah offered, "Ask what I shall do for thee," Elisha asked for "a double portion of thy spirit." The phrase pi shnayim is the legal term for the firstborn's inheritance, a double share (Deuteronomy 21:17); Elisha asks not to be twice as great as Elijah, but to be recognized as Elijah's spiritual heir, receiving the eldest son's portion of his master's prophetic spirit. It was "a hard thing," for such an anointing is God's to give, not Elijah's, and the sign of its granting would be whether Elisha was permitted to see his master taken. Then came the glory: "a chariot of fire, and horses of fire," and Elijah "went up by a whirlwind into heaven," one of only two men in Scripture (with Enoch, Genesis 5:24) taken without dying. Elisha's cry, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof," recognizes that the true defense of Israel was not its armies but its praying prophet. Elisha saw it, and so received the portion. He took up "the mantle of Elijah that fell from him," and at the Jordan cried the great question of the chapter: "Where is the LORD God of Elijah?" It is not a cry of doubt but of faith: the God who worked through Elijah is still living and able. He smote the waters, and they parted. The God of the departed servant is the God of the new one. God buries His workmen, but His work goes on.
Explanation
Once across the Jordan, Elijah invited Elisha to make a request before his departure, and Elisha asked for a double portion, the firstborn's share, of Elijah's spirit, to be his true successor. Elijah called it a hard thing, but promised it would be granted if Elisha saw him taken away. As they walked and talked, a fiery chariot and horses suddenly separated them, and Elijah was swept up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw it, cried out in grief and honor, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof," and tore his own garments. Then he picked up Elijah's fallen mantle, returned to the Jordan, struck the water with it, and asked, "Where is the LORD God of Elijah?" The river parted again, and Elisha crossed, the double portion granted and the prophetic ministry passed on.
Gospel Focus
Elijah's translation to heaven without dying, like Enoch's, is a bright pledge of the believer's hope, a foreshadowing of the day when "we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Death is not the only door to glory; God can take His own straight home. But the chapter's gospel heart is the great question, "Where is the LORD God of Elijah?" Elijah is gone, but his God remains. This is the comfort of God's people in every generation when a beloved leader is taken: the workman dies, but the God who worked through him lives on, and the same power is available to the next servant who takes up the mantle in faith. Above all, the transfer of the mantle and the outpouring of the spirit point to Christ, who, taken up into heaven, poured out His Spirit on His waiting disciples so that they, and we, might do His works; "he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father" (John 14:12). The ascended Lord did not leave us orphans but sent the Spirit. Where is the God of Elijah? He is here, in Christ, by the Spirit, working still. Take up the mantle in faith and ask, and the waters will part again.
Healing and Judgment (2 Kings 2:15-25)
Elisha heals the waters of Jericho, and judgment falls on the mockers of Bethel.
I Have Healed These Waters
"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. 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. 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. And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not? 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. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. 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. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. 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. 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. And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria."
Word Study
"I have healed these waters," Hebrew rapha (רָפָא), to heal, cure, make whole. The sons of the prophets recognize at once, "The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha," and the rest of the chapter shows the new prophet's ministry in two contrasting acts. First, healing: Jericho's spring was "naught" (bad), making the land barren. Elisha calls for "a new cruse" with "salt," and declares in the LORD's name, "I have healed (rapha) these waters." The salt and the new vessel are not magic; they are a visible sign, and the healing is explicitly God's, "Thus saith the LORD, I have healed." Elisha's ministry, unlike Elijah's fiery confrontations, is largely one of healing, provision, and life, a fitting picture of the gospel of grace; his very name means "God is salvation." The second act is judgment at Bethel, a center of Jeroboam's calf-worship. The "little children" (the Hebrew ne'arim can mean youths or young men, not toddlers) come out in an organized, jeering mob, mocking, "Go up, thou bald head", scorning both the prophet and, in "go up," perhaps sneering at Elijah's ascension and God's power to take His prophet. This was not childish teasing but a town's contempt for God's messenger and God's word, and Elisha "cursed them in the name of the LORD"; two bears mauled forty-two of them. The severity marks how seriously God takes contempt for His prophets and His word (compare 2 Chronicles 36:16). Healing for those who receive God's servant; judgment for those who despise him, two responses, two outcomes.
Explanation
The watching prophets acknowledged that Elijah's spirit now rested on Elisha and bowed before him. They insisted, against Elisha's advice, on sending fifty men to search for Elijah's body; after three fruitless days they returned, and Elisha reminded them he had told them not to go. Then Elisha performed his first miracle: the men of Jericho complained that their water was bad and the land unfruitful, so Elisha threw salt from a new bowl into the spring and declared, in the LORD's name, that the waters were healed, and so they remained. Traveling on to Bethel, a hub of idolatry, Elisha was mocked by a jeering mob of youths who sneered "Go up, thou bald head." He cursed them in the LORD's name, and two bears came out and mauled forty-two of them. Elisha then went on to Carmel and back to Samaria. His ministry had begun with both healing grace and solemn judgment.
Gospel Focus
Elisha's opening ministry sets side by side the two great themes of God's dealings: healing grace and holy judgment. To a city with poisoned water and barren ground he brought life, "I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land." This is the work of the gospel, which takes what is cursed and deadly and makes it whole; Christ heals the poisoned spring of the human heart and turns barrenness into fruitfulness. His name, "God is salvation," is the name above every name, Jesus, "for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). But the same chapter warns that to despise God's messenger and mock His power is deadly serious. The youths of Bethel treated the prophet, and the God who took Elijah, with open contempt, and judgment fell. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked" (Galatians 6:7); "he that despised Moses' law died without mercy... of how much sorer punishment... shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God?" (Hebrews 10:28-29). The gospel comes as a savour of life to those who receive it and of death to those who scorn it (2 Corinthians 2:16). The same Elisha healed and cursed; the same Christ saves and judges. Do not mock the message; receive the healing.
Chapter in Review
Second Kings 2 records the passing of the prophetic mantle from Elijah to Elisha. Elisha, refusing three times to leave his master, presses on to the Jordan, which Elijah divides with his mantle. Across the river Elisha asks for a double portion, the firstborn's share, of Elijah's spirit, and receives it as he watches Elijah swept to heaven in a whirlwind with a chariot of fire, one of only two men taken without dying. Taking up the fallen mantle, Elisha cries, "Where is the LORD God of Elijah?", and the Jordan parts again: the God of the departed prophet is the God of the new one. Elisha's ministry then opens with healing grace at Jericho and solemn judgment at Bethel. The chapter proclaims persevering faith, the continuing power of God beyond any one servant, and the two responses, receiving or despising, that meet God's word.
Key Takeaways
- Press on for God's fullest blessing. Elisha would not leave his master; the greatest gifts come to those who will not let go.
- God buries His workmen, but His work goes on. "Where is the LORD God of Elijah?" is a cry of faith, not despair.
- The ascended Lord pours out His Spirit. As Elijah's mantle fell to Elisha, so Christ, taken up, sent the Spirit to continue His work through us.
- The gospel heals what is cursed. Elisha made the poisoned waters whole; Christ heals the barren, deadly human heart.
- Do not mock God's word. Contempt for God's messenger is deadly serious; the same message is life to some and judgment to others.
Questions for Reflection
- Do you press on for God's fullest blessing, or stop at the first "tarry here"?
- When a godly leader is taken, do you despair, or trust that "the LORD God of Elijah" lives on?
- Have you received the Spirit that the ascended Christ pours out to continue His work?
- Where do you need the gospel's healing of some poisoned "spring" in your life?
- Do you receive God's word with reverence, or treat it, as Bethel did, with contempt?
References
- Scripture: 2 Kings 2:1-25, King James Version.
- Cross-references: Genesis 5:24; 32:26; Deuteronomy 21:17; Joshua 3:14-17; Ruth 1:16-17; 2 Chronicles 36:16; Hosea 6:3; Matthew 1:21; John 14:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; 2 Corinthians 2:16; Galatians 6:7; Hebrews 6:12; 10:28-29.
- Hebrew word meanings: standard lexical sources (Strong's, BDB) for lo e'ezveka, pi shnayim, rapha, and the youths (ne'arim) of Bethel.