2 Kings 2
Kingdom, Come • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Scripture Reading: Acts 1:4-11
Scripture Reading: Acts 1:4-11
Introduction
Introduction
On Sunday Mornings & Wednesday Nights…
We’re Going to Start Studying the Topic of Discipleship
A Disciple is a Student/Learner/Follower
The Purpose of a Disciple is to One Day…
Become Like the Master
And, in Many Cases, Replace the Master…
And Take on New Students of His Own
A Disciple of Jesus is a Student of Jesus
A Learner of Jesus
A Follower of Jesus
A Person Whose Goal it is to One Day Be Like Jesus
It Just So Happens that Our Text Tonight…
Shows Us Beautiful Imagery of Discipleship
2 Kings 2
2 Kings 2
2 Kings 2:1–6 (CSB)
1 The time had come for the Lord to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal, 2 and Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the Lord is sending me on to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; the Lord is sending me to Jericho.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho. 5 Then the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.” 6 Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord is sending me to the Jordan.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
Without Any Warning at All…
The Author Tells Us that Elijah is about to Be Taken By God
And All the Prophets Seem to Know about it
Why is this Happening?
We aren’t Told
It Just Simply is
We See that Elijah & Elisha Travel from:
Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to the Jordan River
At Gilgal, Elijah Tells Elisha to Stay There…
As He Travels on to Bethel
Then He Tells Elisha to Stay at Bethel While He Travels to Jericho
Then He Tells Elisha to Stay at Jericho While He Travels to the Jordan River
Why Does Elijah Keep Trying to Get Rid of Elisha?
We aren’t Told
And I Don’t Think that’s Where Our Focus is Meant to Be
I Think Our Focus is Meant to Be on Elisha’s Persistent Response
Each Times He’s Asked to Stay & Not Travel with Elijah…
He Vehemently Responds with:
“I Will Not Leave You!”
Elisha is Not Leaving His Master’s Side
Where Elijah Goes, Elisha Goes
What Elijah Does, Elisha Does
We Also See a Group of Prophets at Bethel & Jericho…
Who Keep Reminding Elisha that Today’s the Day…
When God is Going to Take His Master Away
Elisha Tells Them:
“I Know, Be Quiet!”
Why Does Elisha Respond that Way?
The Text Doesn’t Tell Us
But I Think I Know Why I’d Respond that Way
When You’re on the Cusp of Losing a Loved One…
The Last Thing You Want…
Is for People to Keep Reminding You of it
So, Elijah & Elisha Make Their Way to the Jordan River
2 Kings 2:7–8 (CSB)
7 Fifty men from the sons of the prophets came and stood observing them at a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water, which parted to the right and left. Then the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
Just Like Moses & the Red Sea…
Elijah Divides the Water & Walks on Dry Ground
2 Kings 2:9–10 (NLT)
9 When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.” And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.” 10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah replied. “If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won’t.”
After They Cross the Jordan River…
Elijah Asks Elisha What He Wants from Him Before He’s Taken
Elisha Asks for a Double Portion of Elijah’s Spirit
The NLT Adds an Explanation…
That Gets to the Heart of What Elisha is Asking:
“And Become Your Successor”
I’d Always Thought Elisha was Asking for Double the Power of Elijah
And Elijah Responds with:
“Shew! That’s Gonna Be Pretty Hard to Accomplish!”
That’s Not Really What Elisha is Asking
His Request is that of a Firstborn Son to His Father
Under the Law of Moses…
The Firstborn Son is to Receive a Double Portion of the Inheritance
Elisha is Asking for a Double Portion of Elijah’s Spirit-Given Power
But Not So He can Be More Powerful/Amazing than Elijah
What Elisha is Asking:
Is to Be Elijah’s Successor
He Wants to Carry on Elijah’s Prophetic Work in Israel
When Elijah Responds with:
“You’ve Asked for a Difficult Thing”…
He isn’t Saying:
“I Just Don’t Know if God’s Capable of Giving You that Much Power!”
He’s Saying:
“You’re Asking for a Very Difficult Responsibility”
Elijah’s Ministry was Anything But Easy
He had Moments Where He was Literally Begging God to Kill Him
And Now Elisha is Asking to Be His Successor in that Work
Elijah Tells Him:
“If You See Me Taken Away By God…”
“Then You’ll have Your Request”
“But if You Don’t, Then You Won’t”
2 Kings 2:11–18 (CSB)
11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind. 12 As Elisha watched, he kept crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” When he could see him no longer, he took hold of his own clothes, tore them in two, 13 picked up the mantle that had fallen off Elijah, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle Elijah had dropped, and he struck the water. “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” he asked. He struck the water himself, and it parted to the right and the left, and Elisha crossed over.
15 When the sons of the prophets from Jericho who were observing saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed down to the ground in front of him. 16 Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Since there are fifty strong men here with your servants, please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has carried him away and put him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.” He answered, “Don’t send them.” 17 However, they urged him to the point of embarrassment, so he said, “Send them.” They sent fifty men, who looked for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to him in Jericho where he was staying, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
Elisha Saw Elijah Ascend into Heaven…
And Therefore, He Received His Double Portion
The Power of God is in Him…
And Now He’s to Carry on Elijah’s Mission to Israel…
And the Battle Against Baal Worship
Just Like Moses’ Successor, Joshua…
Elisha Divides the Jordan River & Crosses Back into the Promised Land
Elisha’s Servants, the Prophets, Want to Go Looking for Elijah…
But Elisha Tells Them its a Waste of Time
But He Finally Allows Them to Go, But to No Avail
Elijah was Gone
2 Kings 2:19–22 (NLT)
19 One day the leaders of the town of Jericho visited Elisha. “We have a problem, my lord,” they told him. “This town is located in pleasant surroundings, as you can see. But the water is bad, and the land is unproductive.” 20 Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl with salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it. And he said, “This is what the Lord says: I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or infertility.” 22 And the water has remained pure ever since, just as Elisha said.
This is the First Real Demonstration of Elisha’s New Power as Prophet
He Brings Blessing to the Cursed City of Jericho
He Brings Restoration and Life to a Place of Death
2 Kings 2:23–25 (CSB)
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking up the path, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, baldy! Go up, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the children. 25 From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel, and then he returned to Samaria.
If You Notice, Elisha is Following the Path of His Master, Elijah
He Crossed Back Over the Jordan River…
Then Went to Jericho & Brought a Blessing…
And Now He Enters Bethel & Brings a Curse
Bethel was One of the Cities…
Where King Jeroboam Placed a Golden Calf to Worship
It was a Focal Point for Israel’s Idolatry
And Now a Bunch of Young Thugs…
Begin to Disrespect God’s Prophet
Disrespect Shown to God’s Prophet…
Is Disrespect Shown to God
They were Mocking His Baldness, for One
But the Major Offense, I Believe, was the Other Part:
“Go Up”
They could Be Referring to Elijah’s “Going Up” in the Whirlwind
Or They could Just Be Telling Elisha to “Go Up” the Mountain
Either Way, They’re Telling God’s Prophet to Get Lost
So He Brings a Curse Upon Them & 42 of Them are Killed By Bears
Elisha Then Makes His Way to Mount Carmel
(The Famous Place of Elijah & God’s Defeat of Baal & His Prophets)
Then He Makes His Way to the Capital City of Samaria…
To Continue the War Against Baal Worship in Israel
Application
Application
In this Chapter, We See a Foreshadowing…
Of Jesus & His Apostles
Elisha Follows Elijah Everywhere He Goes
After Elijah Ascends into Heaven…
Elisha is Empowered By the Same Spirit as Elijah…
And then Carries on the Mission of Elijah
This is a Beautiful Picture of Discipleship
A Student Who Refuses to Leave His Teacher’s Side
A Student Who Seeks to Take On His Teacher’s Mission
A Student Who Walks the Path of His Teacher
This is the Kind of Disciples that Jesus Wants
Disciples Who Refuse to Leave His Side
Disciples Who Seek to Take on His Mission for Themselves
Disciples Who Walk the Path that He Walked
God Wants Us to Learn from Him & Grow into Him
Our Purpose is to Be Like Jesus
We See this So Clearly is Elisha Toward His Master Elijah
It Ought to Be Seen Clearly is Us Today Too
But What about Those Stories…
Of the Deadly Water & the Killer Bears?
What Purpose Did Those Stories Play in this Text?
Before Moses’ Death, He Presented Israel with 2 Choices:
Obey the Law & Live
Disobey the Law & Die
A Blessing or a Curse
Life or Death
This Text is Showing Us that Elisha…
Has Now Fully Become a Leader of God’s People…
And a Prophet to Israel
He Brought a Blessing to a Place that Wanted Him
He Brought a Curse to a Place that Didn’t Want Him
This Also Points Us to Jesus:
He’s Going to Return with a Blessing & a Curse
A Blessing for Those Who are Happy to See Him
A Curse for Those Who Aren’t
Just as Elisha Restored the Water in Jericho…
Jesus is Going to Restore All of Creation
Just as Elisha Brought Destruction Upon the Foolish Wickedness in Bethel…
Jesus is Going to Bring Destruction Upon the Foolish Wickedness of the World