From an earlier article, God had told Elijah (see 1 Kings 19:15-21) to anoint Elisha as his successor. 1 Kings 19:21 says that Elisha “…set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.”
However, if the content in 1 and 2 Kings is in more or less chronological order (which I suspect is the case), enough things have transpired between that time and the events of 2 Kings 2 (which includes the content being looked at over the next few articles), that it’s probably been a matter of years since this initial calling. Like the apostles who followed Jesus for a few years before Jesus left them to start the church (giving the apostles the Holy Spirit to enable them to succeed), it seems that merely throwing someone into a key leadership role over God’s people – even though God is there to help – is often not the way that God transfers this role from one person to the next. Consider how much Paul invested in training Timothy, for instance, or how long Joshua spent at Moses’ side.
So, over the next few articles, let’s learn more about the process by which the proverbial (and literal) mantle was passed from Elijah to Elisha (and I encourage you to read all of 2 Kings 2:1-18 for the whole account).
Starting at the beginning of 2 Kings 2, with the advantage of history, the author (or perhaps editor) of that book knew what would happen next: Elijah was going to be taken up to heaven, and in a dramatic manner.
When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.
2 Kings 2:1 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/2ki.2.1.NIV
At this time, Elijah was still traveling with his appointee Elisha, who had been serving Elijah in something of an “apprenticeship” or “discipleship” arrangement. (By the way, we’re not exactly sure where this Gilgal was, or even if it was a city, rather than a particular type of place. That’s not critical to this account, though.)
Now, just to give you a peek into how this mini-series (i.e., on the passing of responsibility from Elijah to Elisha) is organized, I propose that the first 18 verses of this chapter could be divided into 3 sections, and my headings are: “It’s Coming”, “It’s Here”, and “Now What?” So, as we study 2 Kings 2:1-18, I’d like you to consider what actions Elisha and those around him took before, during, and after this handover.
Before getting too far into this account, though, let’s consider this: when we think about what is important to us in life, which “phase” are we in? Whether we’ve just experienced a big event in our lives, or we expect a major transition soon, or even looking forward to spending eternity with God, we might even be in different phases of major events for different parts of our lives at the same time. At a high level, here are some things that we can do in each “phase”:
Are we anticipating that something will happen? This is the “It’s Coming” phase, when we can…
- Trust God
- Get ready
- Don’t quit
Are we in the middle of a big thing that God is doing? This is the “It’s Here” phase, when we can…
- Ask Him for help in what comes next
- Let Him work powerfully
- Give Him praise for doing great things
Are we looking back at something that God has done in our lives? This is the “Now What?” phase, when we can…
- Be grateful.
- Trust Him that He did the right thing.
- Don’t feel like we have to “fix” what God has already accomplished.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for June 1, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – 1 & 2 Kings, by Jesse C. Long, Jr. © 2002 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 