Seeing right: Where the real battle is
2 Kings 2:1-13
We continue with the series on the Book of Kings. For anyone new here, below are previous posts on Solomon, on the early divided kingdom and on Elijah’s career. And for a refresher, here is the introduction to Kings.
A change of leadership can be unsettling and the anxiety over change in the church may be compounded by fear of losing momentum in God’s work. For an incoming minister with perhaps less experience, filling the shoes of a well-loved and admired pastor can be daunting. A congregation may criticise the new person’s suggestions or their style of leadership. All these dynamics are present in our reading. Elijah, whose prophetic ministry was so crucial, will leave a huge gap when God takes him (2 Kings 2:1). The godly remnant that survived Ahab’s purges (1 Kings 18:4; 19:18) must have been anxious. God designated Elisha as successor (1 Kings 19:16, 19-21) but will he be up to the task? He certainly has big boots to fill, much like Joshua had as Moses’ successor.
Elisha: a nervous successor
As the story develops, we can feel Elisha’s nervousness. He clings to his master while Elijah visits prophetic groups (perhaps to strengthen them one last time?) in Bethel and Jericho (2 Kings 2:2-3, 4-5). The prophets’ question to Elisha (‘Do you know…? – vv.3, 5) does not show confidence in his ability for discernment. Elisha’s impatience in shushing them hints at insecurity regarding his authority and at distress over the separation from Elijah, a father figure to him (2 Kings 2:12). Sensing perhaps that Elisha needs reassurance, Elijah moves across the Jordan with him giving him private time. Elisha’s request for a double spirit (v.9) is not a plea to be greater than Elijah but a desire for affirmation as successor. Like the first-born son was given special honour among his brothers by a double inheritance (Deut 21:17), so Elisha wishes for legitimation as leader among the other prophets.
The spiritual realities: what is really at stake?
The dramatic crossing of the Jordan (2 Kings 2:8) parallels the crossings at the exodus and at entering the land (Exod 14:21-22; Josh 3:14-17). The area beyond the Jordan is also where Moses died (Deut 34:1, 5) and where Elijah will be taken (2 Kings 2:11), further linking the two transitions of authority. The juxtaposition is illuminating because, in both, the struggle was for keeping Israel faithful to God and strong against the temptations to be moulded by the idolatry of the culture around them. Moses fought the battle through teaching God’s Law (i.e. His will), Joshua through attack on the Canaanites and their influence in the land, Elijah through showing that the Lord, and not the local Canaanite god Baal, was the God with power to give life. But what would make Elisha a worthy successor and prophet?
Elijah correctly notes that it is dependent on discernment, on ‘seeing’ (2 Kings 2:10). Elisha’s cry affirms what the narrator has just stated that he ‘saw’ what was happening (2 Kings 2:12). Not only did he see Elijah taken up by God but also the chariot of fire and horses. The image evokes warfare and alludes to the spiritual battle God fights through the prophetic ministry.[1] Elisha’s ‘seeing’ suggests that he understands what is at stake in the spiritual realm, which makes him a worthy successor. It is also a reminder that it is not earthly kingdoms that decide the fate of God’s people. Israel and Judah will be overpowered by political powers, but it is because they lost the battle against idolatry first.
God is fighting for us
Looking at Israel’s long history of unfaithfulness, it is heartening to know that God perseveres no matter how discouraging His people’s attitude is. We may look at the Church and feel dismayed by much that goes on there. Yet our reliance, as Israel’s, should not be on gifted individuals like Elijah but on the God who enabled His servants to awaken His people to the spiritual realities. It is also a reminder not to idolise particular leaders but look to the Lord. Finally, the symbolism of the chariot of fire teaches us that the real battles rage not in our outward circumstances, but in what is going on in our hearts. God is fighting for us and, as Christians, we have the edge over Israel. The Lord provided teachers and spiritual leaders to both groups, but we also have God’s Holy Spirit living in us to convict, encourage and transform us – if we let Him.
[1] Lissa M. Wray Beal, 1&2 Kings, AOTC 9 (Downers’ Grove: IVP/Nottingham: Apollos, 2014), 304. Walter Brueggemann also points out that contrary to artistic representations, Elijah does not ride the chariot into heaven but is taken in the whirlwind, a symbol of God’s presence (Job 38:1). The chariot stands between them (2 Kings 2:11). 1 & 2 Kings, SHBC (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2000), 297.
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