2d  Kings 2

 

  
   T
he 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?

   Repent and obey His divine Word. 
  Now is the time.  This is the hour to start.

May God help you to go forward in the way of faith as did Elijah.

 

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