“How Would You Spend Your Last Day on Earth”
2 Kings 2:1-14
What if you knew without a shadow of doubt that today was going to be your last day on earth? Suppose you had only 24 hours to live. What would you do? Where would you go? How would you spend your last few hours on planet earth? If you knew you were going to die today, what would you do? Where would you go? Would you stay where you are right now, or would you hop on a plane and go see someone you love? Would you pick up the phone and call a few people? If you did, who would you call? What would you say? Jim Elliott said he wanted to live so that when it came time to die, there was nothing else he needed to do but die.
Apparently the Lord has revealed to Elijah that this was to be his final day on Earth. As Charles Swindoll says, “the fiery prophet doesn’t age gracefully and then quietly die – he doesn’t die at all.”
Before the next and final event in the life of Elijah, his departure into heaven, we find him leaving Samaria along with Elisha and walking some 30-35 miles.
First, Places of Remembrance (2:1-5)
Elijah's travels show us something of the progression of the normal Christian life. Lets look at each of Elijah’s stop on his journey to glory.
• Gilgal – Place of Beginnings (v. 1)
“And it came to pass, when the LORD was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.” Gilgal was important because it was the first place that Israel camped after crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land.
It was also here that the Israelites first celebrated Passover in the promised land. Here the males born during the wilderness wanderings were circumcised and the covenant was renewed (Joshua 5).
Far too many believers spend their entire Christian lives at Gilgal. They never grow and they never leave the place of beginnings. Some go as far as Bethel. They catch the vision of God’s great work which must be done. They see the needs, they feel the tug, but they never get past the place of dreaming about what they might do. They never take the next step of making those dreams and visions realities.
• Bethel – Place of the Consecration
(vv. 2-3)
“Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel. (3) Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”
Three times Elijah tests Elisha to see whether or not he would remain with him until the end. After months of intensive training Elijah wanted to know if Elisha is up to the challenge, Was he determined to follow through and stay with Elijah to the very end or would he become overwhelmed with the tremendous responsibility that would follow Elijah’s departure. It was a test of loyalty and a test of tenacity. It was Elijah’s way of saying to his man, "I’m about to leave you. Can you handle it?"
The first test is found in verse two where Elijah tells Elisha to stay behind in Gilgal while he went on to Bethel by himself. Elisha would not hear of it, he was going to make sure that he was faithful to Elijah until the very final moment of his life.
It was at Bethel that the patriarch Jacob had met the Lord God, Gen. 28:11-22. Bethel signified the place of commitment and of total dependence upon the Lord.
• Jericho – Place of Past Victories
(vv. 4-5)
“Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho. (5) Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?” So he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”
Now a second time Elijah tests Elisha by asking him to remain behind in Bethel while he goes some fifteen miles southeast to the city of Jericho. But again Elisha would not consent to leave Elijah. Twice Elijah has tried to get Elisha to stay put where he was first in Gilgal and then in Bethel while moved on toward his departure. And twice Elisha had refused to leave the prophets side.
Jericho is important because It was here that Israel had its first military victory in the promised land (Joshua 6). Jericho was also a border town. To pass beyond this location was to enter wild, new territory.
Sometimes believers are guilty of holding on their Jericho’s, in the sense that they live in the reflected glories of past victories. They remember what happened back there, forgetting that the same God who blessed then desires to bless now.
• Jordan – Place of Passing Over (vv. 6-7)
“Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.”
But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So the two of them went on. (7) And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.”
For the third time Elijah tried to convince Elisha he should stay behind, and for the third time Elisha refuses to be persuaded. Elisha determination reminds us of Ruth’s decision to follow Naomi even after she had been discouraged from doing so: But Ruth said: “ Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16).
Elisha determination not to look back is an example to all who desire to have the Lord’s full blessing on their ministries. Jesus once warned his disciples: “But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).
Jordan was important because it was the barrier that Israel crossed to enter the Promised Land. And because of that the Jordan River came to represent the boundary to entering the spiritual Promised Land. So crossing the Jordan came to represent death. It was a formidable barriers that few would ever want to cross.
As I have already said Elijah's travels show us something of the progression of the normal Christian life. First, we all must have that Gilgal experience. That is, there must be that time of beginnings, when we meet the Lord Jesus in a personal manner.
Then, as we grow in the Lord and learn to pray, we come to that Bethel time of our walk with Jesus. At Bethel, we learn to walk in dependence upon the Lord. It is the place of maturity.
Eventually, we will face our own Jordan. We will come to the end of our journey just as Elijah did.
Secondly, A Final Request (vv. 8-10)
“Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. (9) And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” (10) So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.”
After he performed his last miracle He turned to Elisha and makes an incredible offer, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?” (v.9b). Without battling an eye Elisha says, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”
(v. 9c). I will have to admit that I have in the past been troubled by Elisha’s request for a “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit (v. 9). On the surface at least, his request smacks of raw ambition. But as one commentator said,
“If Elisha thought of Elijah as twice the man he was, then in his mind it would take twice the Spirit to enable him to carry on his ministry. I do not see an ambitious man here, I see a humble man; who desires the grace that is needed for him to do his job well.” [Bob Deffinbaugh. “The Life and Times of Elijah the Prophet – Chariots of Fire.” www. Bible.org]
So Elisha in his request for a double portion is not asking for more power than Elijah but instead it is an acknowledgment that he will need twice as much divine help if he is to carry on Elijah’s ministry.
We also need to remember that in Old Testament times, the oldest son received a double portion of his father's estate (Deut 21:17). Of course Elisha was not literally the physical son of Elijah, but he was the spiritual son of Elijah. But Elijah knew that Elisha was to be his successor (1 Ki 19:6) and he had been preparing him over several years.
Elijah responds by saying, "You have asked a hard thing" (v. 10). In other words what he was asking was beyond his power to grant, it was a gift only God could give. Then he adds an important condition: “… if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so” (v. 10).
Elijah said, "You can have the power if you see me depart." He didn’t just mean if you visually see me, but if God gives you spiritual sight to understand, if he opens the eyes of your heart. We see an example of this spiritual vision in 2 Kings 6.
Because Elisha had refused to be side-tracked or distracted Elisha received exactly what he had asked for.
Third, A Sudden Departure (vv. 11-14)
“Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. (12) And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. (13) He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. (14) Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.”
While many if not most, of us have the mistaken idea that Elijah was carried into heaven on a chariot of fire that is not the case. The text does not tell us that Elijah got into the chariot of fire and rode off into heaven. It tells us that the fiery chariot and horsemen of Israel appeared, separating Elijah from Elisha. We are actually told that Elijah was taken into heaven “by a whirlwind” (v.11) It may be that the horses and chariots of fire which are manifestations of God’s divine presence, are more for Elisha benefit than Elijah’s.
Elijah had to leave in order that Elisha to take up his ministry. It is the same in every generation. Leaders rise, lead, fight the battle for God, and then at the appointed hour, they move off the scene, to be replaced by others whom God has raised up. None of us are indispensable to the Kingdom of God. Sooner or later God is going to remove us or someone whose ministry we depend upon. No matter how important we may think we are or others may think we are to the work, a church, our family, or the nation, the only one who is really indispensable is the LORD!
Don’t you think it took courage to take that cloak and hit the Jordan River? He had seen Elijah separate the waters, but would the same thing happen for him? Elijah is gone, but is Elijah's God gone also? That's always the great question.
Elijah is unique in a couple of ways. First he is unique in that the Bible says that he is one of only two humans who have lived and passed off the scene without dying, Enoch was the first. Enoch was the only other person privileged to pass directly from earth to Heaven without experiencing death; “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24).
And secondly Elijah is unique in that the Bible says that Elijah would have a continuing ministry. The prophet Malachi fore-told , "I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes." (Malachi 4:5). Four hundred years later, Jesus said of John the Baptist, "He is Elijah, who was to come" (Matthew 11:14). He meant that John the Baptist had come in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). And later Elijah appears on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus, Peter and John (Mark 9:2-8). There may even be one final ministry for Elijah, the two witnesses of Revelation 11 sound very much like Moses and Elijah,
Conclusion
So let me ask you, “If this were your last day, how would you spend it?” What would you do? For those who know the Lord, death holds no fear. Our time on planet earth no matter how long that is, zips by, and then we fly away. We're here today and gone tomorrow. Here is the wonderful final word from Elijah's life.
Elijah went to heaven.
Elisha carried on his work.
God's work goes on.
It goes on because God goes on.
In closing we need to ask ourselves two questions.
1. Am I like Elijah, seeking to be a blessing to others right up until the Lord takes me home?
2. Am I like Elisha, committed to the call upon my life no matter what?
