The Man That Got Carried Into Heaven By A Chariot Of Fire

The Man That Got Carried Into Heaven By A Chariot Of Fire

Elijah was called during one of the most terrible times in Israel. In those times, Israel had one of the worst kings, and his name was Ahab. Ahab married a Tyrian Phoenician princess, and Jezebel was her name. It was clear that she was using Ahab for her own evil purposes, and he didn’t need much convincing. After they married, Jezebel persuaded Ahab to accept Baal, a nature god. As a woman seeking greater power, she sought to eliminate those who dared to question her, and she had the majority of Yahweh’s prophets assassinated at her request. She is the first and most powerful catalyst for the persecution of God’s saints. She went to great lengths to keep idolatry in all its glory around her, guided by no principle, controlled by no fear of either God or man, and devoted to her heathen worship. For example, it was her scheming that arranged the death of a neighbor, Naboth, so that Ahab could take possession of his vineyard. This event signaled the beginning of the prophet Elijah’s ministry. He was a Tishbite from Gilead in Trans-Jordan and was regarded as one of Israel’s greatest prophets, despite the fact that no book has been written in his honor. Kings covers more of his life than most of the kings themselves. On Mount Carmel, he is best known for his confrontation with the prophets of Baal. The plot is well known now. God’s prophets usually appeared when there was a spiritual problem with God’s people, and that problem was usually associated with idolatry. The spiritual breakdown in Ahab’s day had clearly reached epic proportions. God’s prophet stood between the people and God as a last resort before God had to address the issue directly from heaven, which would imply harsh punishment.

First Kings 19:15-16 states: The Lord said to him, Go back the way you came, and go to the desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. First Kings 19:19-22 adds that Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah, asking to kiss his father and mother goodbye before coming with him. Elijah replied to go back, asking what he had done to him. So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them, burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant. God had prepared Elijah’s next assignment. God also instructed Elijah to anoint his successor, Elisha son of Shaphat, indicating that he was not as alone as he had feared. There were other Lord’s servants in the land. In fact, God revealed to his prophet that he had seven thousand Israelite followers who had not bowed to Baal. Following this word, Elijah sought out Elisha and summoned him to serve alongside him, throwing his mantle over him as a sign that in time he would take Elijah’s place. Elisha rejoiced in the Lord’s calling on his life before following Elijah and serving under him.

Elijah’s power had not waned, but it was time for him to ascend to heaven and pass on the spiritual baton of prophetic leadership. Elisha, the man God chose to be Elijah’s helper and successor, was aware of this, as the following story demonstrates in Second Kings 2:1-18. When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha to stay here because the Lord had sent him to Bethel, but Elisha said that as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, he will not leave him. So they went down to Bethel. The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked if he knew that the Lord was going to take his master from him today. Elisha replied that he knew, telling them to be quiet. Then Elijah said to him to stay here because the Lord had sent him to Jericho, and he replied as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, he will not leave him. So they went to Jericho at the Lord’s command. Elijah’s next destination was Jericho, and once again he instructed Elisha to remain behind. Was this some kind of test for Elisha? He knew God was taking Elijah away in a matter of hours, and he also knew he was to be Elijah’s successor. Was Elijah putting his protege to the test to see if he was ready to take on divine responsibility? If that was the case, Elisha showed no signs of abandoning his mission, declaring once more that he would not leave him. Once more, Elisha’s tenacity demonstrated his determination to take on the mantle of leadership. The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him if he knew that the Lord was going to take his master from him today. He replied that he knew, telling them to be quiet.

Then Elijah said to him to stay here because the Lord had sent him to the Jordan, and he replied as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, he will not leave him. So the two of them walked on. Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. They went to another community of prophets’ sons in Jericho. They asked Elisha, like the group in Bethel, if he knew God was taking Elijah away. Elisha told them to be quiet once more, possibly because he was sad. Elijah told Elisha one last time not to follow him. Elisha, on the other hand, vowed once more to accompany his master and walked with him to the Jordan River. Each stop along their journey was a place where God’s presence and power had been demonstrated. It appears that Elijah wanted Elisha to go over key locations commemorating God’s acts with him in order to increase Elisha’s confidence in God’s presence and power being with him. When the pair arrived at their destination, fifty men from the prophet’s sons accompanied them. They knew it was time for Elijah to go, so they traveled to bid Israel’s faithful prophet farewell. They would also be present to witness the transfer of prophetic authority.

Elijah makes three attempts to remove himself from the presence of his faithful attendant, either because he truly desires to pass the few remaining hours of his earthly life in solitude, knowing that his end is near, or to test his fidelity and affection. Under normal circumstances, the servant would have naturally obeyed his lord and agreed to a temporary separation, but Elisha will not be induced to shorten the time of the last parting by a single moment. He will remain with his master until the end, ready to provide him with all necessary services. Bethel was the spiritual center of the ten tribes kingdom, and Elisha spoke to him saying that as the Lord lives and as his soul lives, he would not leave. The resolve suggests a strong attachment and deep fidelity, possibly combined with a reasonable curiosity to see how the end would be brought about. So they traveled to Bethel. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha to tell him what he could do for him before he was taken from him. Elisha replied by asking to let him inherit a double portion of his spirit. Elijah then performed his final miracle, parting the Jordan with his mantle, a sleeveless outer garment, allowing him and Elisha to cross on dry land. When the elder prophet arrived, he asked his successor if he had any final requests, so Elisha asked boldly to let him inherit two shares of his spirit.

This was not a haphazard request. Elisha was most likely recalling Deuteronomy 21:17, which states that a firstborn son is entitled to two shares of his father’s estate. Elisha was to be anointed prophet in Elijah’s place according to God’s own testimony. Elijah was his spiritual father, and Elisha was his heir, so to speak. It was a legitimate request, and Elisha knew he would need an extra dose of divine enablement for the tasks that lay ahead. Elijah said that he had asked a difficult thing, yet if he saw him when he was taken from him, it would be yours, otherwise it would not. As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out for his father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel, and Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. Though the request was legitimate, Elijah had no authority to grant it. As a result, he stated the requirement for Elisha’s plea to be granted. If God granted Elisha’s request, he would witness Elijah being taken away by God. As they continued on their journey, a chariot of fire pulled by fire horses appeared out of nowhere. Elijah boarded and ascended into heaven. Even though Elijah did not die, he was taken away. Elisha was heartbroken over the departure of his mentor. It appears he called Elijah both his father, a title of respect, and the chariots and horsemen of Israel, an admission that Israel’s true strength was not in their army but in this one who faithfully delivered the word of God.

Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it, asking where now the Lord, the God of Elijah is. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. Elisha picked up Elijah’s fallen mantle, which was a symbol of his authority after the chariot had faded into the distance. As Elijah’s successor, he put the mantle to use by striking the Jordan. Then Elisha demonstrated his understanding of the true source of power. The power didn’t reside in him, nor did it reside in the garment; it was in the hands of the Lord God. The river then parted just as it had done for Elijah. The company of the prophets from Jericho who were watching said that the spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha, and they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. They said that they had fifty able men and asked to let them go and look for their master, thinking perhaps the spirit of the Lord had picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley. Elisha replied with a refusal, telling them not to send them. But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse, so he said to send them, and they sent fifty men who searched for three days but did not find him. When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he asked them if he didn’t tell them not to go.

While the two men were traveling together, Elijah advised Elisha to stay in Gilgal because the Lord had directed him to Bethel. Elisha, on the other hand, refused to abandon his mentor. They came across some prophets’ sons at Bethel. The phrase does not mean children of the prophets, but rather some sort of school or seminary, a prophet training center. They had divine insight and asked Elisha if he knew God would take his master away that day. Elisha was aware, but he refused to discuss it. The sons of the prophets of Jericho recognized that there had been a change in authority, so they deferred to Elisha. Nonetheless, they asked to go look for Elijah, though it’s unclear why, even though they were aware that Elisha had assumed Elijah’s role. They may have expected Elijah to land somewhere after his supernatural flight. After all, it’s not every day that someone rides into heaven in a flaming chariot, never to be seen again. Or it’s possible that they assumed God would leave his body somewhere for them to bury. Elisha didn’t want the prophets’ sons to go looking for Elijah. Whatever happened to him, he was aware that Elijah had left. They pushed him to the point of embarrassment, however, so Elisha let them search, but it was in vain. Elijah would not be seen again until hundreds of years later when he appeared with Moses on a mountain in Israel, speaking with the Son of God, as recorded in Matthew 17:1-3.

After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. The people of the city said to Elisha that their lord, this town is well situated as they can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive. Elisha told them to bring him a new bowl and put salt in it, so they brought it to him. Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying that this is what the Lord says, that he has healed this water and never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive. And the water has remained pure to this day according to the word Elisha had spoken. If anyone questioned whether Elisha had received a double dose of divine power as he had requested, he answered their concerns with amazing demonstrations of power. He provided a miraculous cure for water that had turned bad, establishing his prophetic standing among the people of Israel permanently.