14 Days in the Company of ElijahSample

Day 13: Elijah Ascends to Heaven (2 Kings 2:1–12; 1 Kings 19:19–21; Joshua 3–4)

2 Kings 2 opens with these words: “Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal” (2 Ki. 2:1, NRSV). The Spirit-inspired narrator gives us two essential hints. First, the end of Elijah’s earthly story is going to be as dramatic as the rest of his prophetic ministry! Second, although we haven’t heard anything from Elisha since his initial decision to follow Elijah (1 Ki. 19:19–21), we can infer that he had stayed by Elijah’s side, observing and learning, throughout the final days of Ahab and the feeble, short-lived monarchy of Ahaziah.

Elisha’s commitment to his mentor is fierce, repeated three times: “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you!” (2 Ki. 2:2, 4, 6, NLT). Three times, Elijah gives his protégé the chance to stay behind as their journey takes them to places significant in Israel’s history (Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho). Still, Elisha persists in accompanying him to the end of the journey. They are accompanied by others from “the company of prophets” (2 Ki. 2:7, NRSV), but these remain at a distance while Elijah and Elisha approach the Jordan River. In an act that recalls Israel’s own river crossing (Joshua 3–4), Elijah strikes the water with his rolled-up mantle, the waters part, and the two prophets cross on dry ground.

In a gracious gesture, Elijah offers Elisha the chance to request him before he is taken from him. Bold like his role model, Elisha exclaims: “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit” (2 Ki. 2:9, NRSV). He seems to be asking, "Let me do what you have done, and even more!" Elijah’s careful response seems to indicate that it is not up to him to grant that request, but that the Giver of the prophetic spirit has heard Elisha’s desire: “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you, you will have it. If not, you won’t” (2 Ki. 2:10, CSB). While the conversation was still going, while they were still walking, the two of them were suddenly separated by a chariot of fire pulled by horses of fire, which swept Elijah into heaven in a whirlwind! Elisha watches, spellbound, as Elijah, the one who ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot under the power of the Spirit, is now granted a chariot ride of his own. The prophet who called down heavenly fire to purge the evils of idolatry from his people is now swept into the Presence of the Holy One of Israel by fiery steeds—a fitting end to the saga of this courageous, faithful, obedient man of God.