2 kings 2:11

2 Kings 2:11 says, 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.  As Elijah and Elisha were walking long and talking, a chariot and horses of fire came between them, and Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind.  Matthew Henry says that Elijh went up in the chariot of fire aided by the whirlwind, but to me it seems that the chariot of fire separated him from Elisha and went ahead of him, and the whirlwind carried him up.  Either way, he like Enoch never faced physical death, even though he had once asked God to just let him die.  As I have stated before, those who are alive when Jesus Chrost returns will not face physical death, but it is really spiritual death, or everlasting separation from God that really matters.  Verse twelve adds, 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.  Elisha saw Elijah being taken up, and Elijah had told him if he did, that his request for a double portion of the Spirit of God would be granted.  Matthew Henry says this wasn't a double portion of the Spirit that Elijah had but of the rest of the prophets.  Either way, it wasn't for Elisha's glory, but for God's.  We as Christians all have the same access to the Holy Spirit, since He comes to indwell us all.  Elisha then cried out to God, his heavenly Father, and tore his clothes in two.  Verse thirteen continues, He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;  Elisha then took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and put it on.  I don't believe that we are going to have actual clothes of those we replace in doing God's work, but we do need to take up the task that they were doing if God has called us to replace them.  Verse fourteen states, 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.  Elisha then took Elijah's mantle and hit the waters of the Jordan asking where the God of Elijah was.  He may have been looking for a physical conformation that God was still with him, and he got one when the waters parted as they had for Elijah.  It was God Who parted the waters in both cases.  I don't believe that we as followers of Christ should need physical signs that God is with us but must simply live by faith that He is.  Verse fifteen adds, 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.  When the other prophets saw the water part, they said the spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha and came and bowed down to him.  They were wrong in their assumption and their actions.  It was God's Spirit that rested on Elisha and not Elijah's spirit and they should not have bowed down to him, but to God alone.  We cannot inherit the spirit of anyone else, but as Christians are all empowered by the same Holy Spirit.  Verse sixteen continues, 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.  These other prophets asked Elisha for permission to go and look for Elijah in case God had taken him up but then cast him down somewhere. but Elisha forbade them to go.  We don't need to look for things that would imply that God has not completed something that He set out to do.  Elisha had actually witnessed Elijah being taken up into heaven.  Verse seventeen says, 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.  When they continued to urge Elisha to send them to look, he gave in and told them to go.  I really don't believe that Elisha should have given in to the pressure when he already knew the truth, and neither should we today.  Fifty men looked for three days and did not find Elijahs's body, because it wasn't there.  People today still spend a lot of wasted time trying to disprove the truth of God's word.  Verse eighteen adds, And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?  When they returned without finding Elijah or his body, Elisha, who had remained at the Jordan asked them had he not told them not to go.  If people are looking to disprove God's word today, we certainly do not need to join them, and they will one day have to acknowledge defeat. 

2 Kings 2:1

2 Kings 1:1 says, And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.  God would took Elisha up in a whirlwind.  He never faced physical death, just as those followers of Christ who are alive when Jesus returns will not face death, but will be caught up into heaven in the twinkling of an eye.  Before this, Elijah went to Elisha from Gilgal.  Verse two adds, 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.  Elijah told Elisha to tarry there, but that God was sending him to Bethel.  Elisha, who had been following Elijah, basically took an oath to not leave Elijah, even though he had been asked to.  We need to be careful that our devotion to a particular person does not keep us from obey God's commands to us.  Verse three continues, 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.  The other prophets at Bethel asked Elisha if he didn't know that God was going to take away Elijah that day, and he said that he did.  He also told them to hold their peace.  When we know God's plan, even if we may not like it from a personal perspective, we need to be at peace with it.  Verse four states, 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.  Elijah asked Elisha to stay at Bethel because God had sent Elijah to Jerico, but once again Elisha refused to stay.  If God had told Elijah to tell Elijah to go and Elisha to stay, Elisha was disobeying God, but Elijah never really said God had told Elisha to stay.  Verse five adds, 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.  Once more, Elisha was asked by the sons of the prophets, this time in Jericho, if he didn't know that God was going to take away his master that day, and he again said yes and for them to hold their peace.  As stated, once we know God's plan, we need to simply be at peace with it.  Verse six continues, 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.  Once more, Elijah attempted to get Elisha to stay behind while he went to Jordan, and once again Elisha refused to leave him.  We have to be certain that what we as Christians are telling others is God's word and not our own desire, and as we listen to others proclaim God's word we must make sure that it is His word.  I cannot say who was not strictly following God's command in this, but both could not have been.  Verse seven says, And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.  Fifty other sons of the prophets stood far off and watched Elijah and Elisha as they stood by the Jordan.  Sometimes, all we can do is stand and watch what God is doing through the lives of other Christians.  Verse eight adds, 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.  Elijah used his mantle to part the waters of the Jordan and Elisha and he went over on dry land.  Matthew Henry says this was a preface to Elijah's translation into heaven just as the parting of the Jordan preceded the Israelites journey into Canaan.  At the second coming of Christ, those of His people who are still here will be miraculously translated up into heaven, just as Jesus was before them.  Verse nine continues, 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.  After crossing over, Elijah asked Elisha what he could do for him before he was taken away.  Elisha did not ask for riches, power, or honor, but only that he be blessed with a double portion of God's spirit.  This is the best that we can ask for today from our spiritual mentors, and not so that we may be more glorified than they were, but that we might be even more effective in doing God's work for His honor and glory.  Verse ten concludes, 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.  Elijah basically said that Elisha was asking something that he could not give.  God's Spirit cannot be given to one person by another.  Still, Elijah told Elisha if he saw him when he was taken up that God would grant his request and if he didn't see him, God wouldn't.  Then, Elisha would have to be satisfied whichever happened.  If God's will is being done, we as Christians need to be satisfied whether it is what we personally wanted or not.

2 Kings 1:9

2 Kings 1:9 says, Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.  Ahaziah sent for Elijah, who was sitting on a hill.  He had delivered God's message and simply gone on his way.  When we share God's message, all we can do them is go on with our life.  It is up to them whether they believe it or not.  Yet, if they do ask us to come and share more, we should go.  Verse ten adds, And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.  Elijah offered them proof that he was a man of God, but it wasn't proof that they wanted or would ever really know for long.  One day, the proof that we as followers of Christ are speaking the truth will come, but it will be of no benefit to those who see that proof, since they will come to acknowledge God too late.  Verse eleven continues, Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.  Ahaziah did not accept what happened as proof the Elijah was a man of God but sent another fifty men to get Elijah to come to him.  God has been sending people to witness to others for centuries, and they still do not believe and instead of going to God, they still expect Him to be at their beck and call.  Verse twelve states, And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.  Once more, Elijah said if he was a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume this fifty as well.  We might say that this was unfair to these men who were dying since they were simply doing their job, but none who believed in God suffered a spiritual death and this is all that really matters.  Verse thirteen adds, And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.  Ahaziah sent a third group of fifty to Elijah.  He really wasn't suffering personally for his actions, and people today may be willing to continue to see others suffer before they will come to God themselves.  The leader of this group fell on his knees before Elijah. acknowledged that he was a man of God, and asked him to have mercy on them.  We should never want or allow people to fall down worshipping us as Christians, but we do need to pray that they will recognize us a people of God and believe the gospel when we present it.  Verse fourteen continues, Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.  Thís man acknowledged that he knew what had happened to the first two groups.  One day, everyone will know what will happen to all those who do not put their faith in Jesus Christ, and hopefully it will be before it is too late to do them any good.  Verse fifteen declares, And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.  This time, an angel of the Lord came to Elijah and told him to go with the men and to not be afraid.  We as Christians, whether an angel appears to us or not, should never be afraid to share the gospel with people nor to stand for His truth.  Verse sixteen adds, And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.  The message for Ahaziah was that because he was looking to false gods for answers that he would surely die.  Those who are looking for answers from false gods while rejecting the true God will one day surely suffer a spiritual death, which is everlasting separation from God.  We need to be willing to tell them this, guided by the love of God.  Verse seventeen continues, So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.  Ahaziah died according to the word of God, as people always will unless Jesus Christ returns first.  Jehoram, his brother, then reigned in his place since he had no son.  Verse eighteen concludes, Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?  We are told that the rest of the acts of Ahaziah were written in the chronicles of the kings.  One day, those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord will be held accountable for all their actions. 

2 Kings 1:1

2 Kings 1:1 says, Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.  After Ahab's death, the people of Moab rebelled against the people of Israel.  The people of the world will always be at war with Christians, more so at some times than others.  Verse two adds, And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.  Matthew Henry says that Ahaziah was an evil king who stood against God, and asked what did he think was going to happen to him.  He fell through the lattice work in the upper chamber and was sick.  He sent messengers to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, whether he was going to recover or not. People are still looking to false gods for answers to life's problems today.  Verse three adds, But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?  Elijah was told by God to go and meet these messengers and ask them if they were going to inquire of Baalzebub in Ekron because there was no God in Israel.  If we are looking to other god's for answers today, it has to be because we refuse to acknowledge the only true God.  Verse four states, Now therefore thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.  Elijah told them to return to Ahaziah and tell him that God said he would die, and then Elijah departed.  I am sure this was not something that the messengers wanted to do.  Still, all we can do as Christians is speak the truth of God, whether it is what people want to hear or not.  Verse five adds, And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back?  When the messengers returned, Ahaziah asked them why they had.  They actually hadn't been sent to find God's truth but to go to Ekron and inquire of the god there.  Ahaziah knew they hadn't had time to do this.  People today may not want to hear from God because they do not believe in Him or because what He says is not what they want to hear.  Yet, one day they will acknowledge the truth of God, but it will be to late to help them.  Verse six continues, And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.  The messengers delivered the message that the man they met on the way to Ekron had delivered to them from God.  Ahaziah was going to die because he refused to acknowledge the God of Israel.  They evidently didn't know who Elijah was, but they still believed he spoke for God.  It really isn't the messenger but the truth of God that people need to recognize, even if it isn't what they want to hear.  Verse seven says, And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?  Ahaziah asked them what manner of man it was that told them this.  Ahaziah wanted to know about the man who sent the message.  We should also want to know about those who say they speak for God.  Verse eight adds, And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.  When they described him, Ahaziah knew it was Elijah.  We may not be that well known as we speak God's truth today, but people need to recognize that as Christians, we always speak the truth of God.

1 Kings review concluded

 After Solomon's reign, the kingdom of Israel became divided.  At first, it was divided when Rehoboam, Solmon's son became king and decided to make things tougher for the people who anointed Jeroboam king instead, and only the people of Judah followed Rehoboam and the house of David.  Still, it was through David that God had promised a Messiah, and his people could not really be divided into two camps.  We as followers of Christ today cannot be divided if we are to successfully represent God.  We are told of the prophets who often stood in opposition to the kings and were often in danger or killed because of it.  We especially are told of Elijah and his contest with the four-hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, of his victory over them because He represented the true God, and of their destruction.  It may not always be in this lifetime, but those who follow God will always be victorious over the people who do not, no matter how badly they may outnumber us.  Of course, we are also told of Elijah's lack of faith at times when he was ready to die, but God always provided for him and at one time for others because of him as well.  If we have doubts, God is still never going to leave us, and we still need to do what He tells us to do by faith. There are other prophets who God worked through as well, but the important thing is that God was still always at work amongst His people, just as he is today.  There were also many kings, some good and some bad in both kingdoms, and it seems as a general rule that the bad kings didn't rule as long as the good kings.  What we can be certain of is that there is but one King for the followers of Christ, and that is Jesus Christ Himself.  He will always be the good King, and He will reign forever.  There are many more things that 1 Kings teaches us, but we will stop here.  Next, we will look at 2 Kings.  

1 Kings review continued

We are told a lot about the reign of Solomon, starting with David asking him to avenge what Joab did to two of the captains of Israel, Abner and Amasa.  David had asked Solomon to follow the ways of God but told him in God's wisdom to not let Joab live.  We need to make sure that we act in the wisdom of God and not just to seek revenge for something someone may have done to us.  We cannot have true wisdom if it doesn't come from God.  We are told of Adonijah still attempting to gain some status by asking through Bathsheba to take Abishag as his wife.  This resulted in his being killed.  We cannot fool God by our attempts to go around His word.  We also know that in spite of his wisdom that Solomon made a pact with the Egyptian Pharoah and took one of his daughters as his wife. We cannot make pacts with the lost people of the world that are against God's will.  This pact and marriage led Solomon to worship false gods.  There was basically peace during Solomon's reign, and he did many good things for God, but he still allowed the worship of idols.  We know of Solomon asking God for wisdom when God asked him what He could give him.  After we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we need to ask God for His wisdom to guide us through life.  Many of his first decisions came before this, and we may have made many bad decisions before we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, but we need to look to Him for wisdom in all that we do afterwards.  We are told a lot about Solomon having the Temple built and how ornate it was, but he still wasn't worshipping God alone.  We can build all the beautiful buildings that we want to and dedicate them to God, but if we allow false gods to guide us as we worship in them, they are going to do us no good.  He also had many other buildings built for his own use or pleasure.  The only thing that is really going to matter are the things that we build for God, and they should always come before anything else.  Solomon dedicated the Temple to God, but also asked if the God of the heavens and the earth would dwell in a building on earth.  No matter how beautiful a church building may be God does not live there.  After this, God appeared to Solomon a second time and asked him to follow after David in being obedient to Him.  Solomon was noted for his wisdom and many people came to him seeking advice, but he still had an affinity for strange women, those who were not Israelites, and when he was old they led him to worship idols, or false gods.  Because of this, God told Solomon that the kingdom was not going to pass to his sons.  If we are worshipping false gods, we can never really be a part of God's kingdom.   

1 Kings Review

The Book of 1 Kings tells us about many kings of Israel and Judah, as Israel became a divided kingdom due to the aspirations of the sons of the kings not always being in line with what God wanted for the people of Israel.  This starts when David was old and having a hard time staying warm.  David had been a good king and was called a man after God's own heart, but he was far from perfect.  We may be Christians and follow God's way in life, but we will never be perfect.  There was a proposal to get a young virgin to keep him warm, and Abishag was chosen.  This was not David's solution nor even God's but was the decision of those around David.  As we get older and less capable of taking care of ourselves, we need to pray that those who may feel the need to take over the task will follow God's will in doing so.  Abishag became fond of David and really did care about him.  Of course, with as many wives and concubines as David had, we might wonder why this was necessary.  Of course, we should only have one spouse, but hopefully as we get older and less capable of doing things for ourselves, he or she will be able to care for us.  At this time, Adonijah, one of David's sons, declared himself king.  Joab the head of David's army and Abiathar the priest supported him in this.  Just because we have the support of those in power does not mean that we are doing what God wants.  Abiathar especially should have been looking to God for guidance, and we aren't told that he did.  Adonijah invited all his brothers, the men of Judah who were David’s servants to a feast, but not Nathan the prophet, Benaiah and the mighty men of Solomon.  He may have believed that they wouldn't support him and figured that it would be better to already have claimed power before he faced them.  If people are worried that we will not support them in their plots today they may not invite us to participate, and that is really a good thing.  Nathan and Benaniah, another of David's sons, proposed to Bathsheba that she go to David and get him to anoint Solomon king and Nathen said he would help her.  Again, we need to hope that as a prophet Nathan was acting under God's guidance.  Bathsheba went to David and told him that Adonijah had taken over as king and David didn't even know it and asked that he anoint Solomon king and Nathan came in to support her request.  David called Bathsheba after Nathan told him what was happening and said that as he had sworn to God that Solomon would be king.  At least he was following God's guidance.  We really aren't told that Solomon himself made any demands during this time even if he had been chosen to be David's replacement.  If we are going to serve where God wants us to be, we need to rely on God to get us there without making demands.  David had Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah come to him and install Solomon as king and give him David's mule to ride and bring him to Gibon.  This would be a sign that David had chosen Solomon as his successor, and this was also consistent with God's will.  Having those in power endorse their replacement is important, but not as important as having God's endorsement.  When Adonijah heard the Solomon had been made king by David and sat on the throne, he was very afraid.  He went and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar.  If we are having problems today, there is nothing better to do than to go to the altar of God, as long as we go for the right reasons.