This book and 1 Kings were one book anciently and later divided, as was 1 and 2 Samuel. It is a continuation of the history of the kings of Israel and Judah.
2 Kings 1.1-18 gives us the account of the rebellion of Moab after the death of Ahab. Ahaziah, Ahab’s son, falls through a lattice in his house and was injured, and he became ill as a result. He sends messengers to Ekron to inquire of Baal-zebub (“Lord of the Flies”-Matt 10.25, 12.24; Mark 3.22; Luke 11.15-18) whether he would recover. Baal-zebub was the god of Ekron; and are stopped by Elijah and sent back; the king sends captains of fifty to bring Elijah back; the death of Ahaziah.
v 1…Now Moab rebelled against the Israel after the death of Ahab (they were in subjection since the time of David-2 Sam 8.2).
v 2…And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber (probably the rails on a balcony) which was in Samaria, and became ill (as a result). So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub (lord of the fly-Matt 10.25, 12.24; Mark 3.22; Luke 11.15-18), the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.”
v 3…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 to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’
v 4…Now thus says the Lord (Yehovah), ‘You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up (the beds were high off the floor), but you shall surely die.’ ” Then Elijah departed.
v 5…When the messengers returned to him he said to them, “Why have you returned (knowing they came back too soon to have gone to Ekron)?”
v 6…And they said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king and say to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’ ” ‘ ”
v 7…And he said to them, “What kind of a man was he who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?”
v 8…And they answered him, “A hairy man (“hairy” is “se’ar” and it could mean he was hairy or it was his camel hair mantle) with a leather girdle bound about his loins (God showed Ahaziah mercy by showing him that he was going to die, and this gave him time to repent).”
v 9…Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty and his fifty (five is the number of responsibility). And he went up to to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill (probably Mount Carmel). And he said to him, “O man of God (He may have been sarcastic here, or the captain admitted the righteousness of Elijah and recognized his office; either way), the king says, ‘Come down.’ ”
v 10…And Elijah answered and said to the captain of the fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty (This was not in anger but in vindication of God’s honor and a sign that his word to Ahaziah was true. These men were on an ungodly mission. They either did not believe him to be a prophet or they believed the power of the king was above the power of Yehovah. He let God evaluate their motives. Notice he doesn’t say, “Yup, I am a man of God.” He says, “If I am a man of God.” If he was a man of God, they were not treating him like one. Let God decide by fire, and he did. God brought judgment on those who did not believe Yehovah was a real God. Elijah didn’t “come down” but the fire did. As we know, fire is an established sign of Elijah in Rev 11.5; Luke 9.54; 1 Kings 18.38).” Then the fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
v 11…So he again sent to him another captain of fifty and his fifty (they repeated the same error as the first group, even after they knew what had happened to the first group. This captain got even more demanding) And he answered and said to him, “O man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly.”
v 12…And Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire from God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
v 13…So he again sent the captain of a third fifty. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah (in humility), and begged him and said to him, “O man of God (in respect), please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight (This captain was more humble, recognizing he really was a man of God. He saw the blackened spots of the first two groups and did not want that to happen to him, so he was much more courteous).
v 14…Behold fire came down from heaven, and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.”
v 15…And the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him, do not be afraid of him (the king).” So he arose and went down from him to the king (It wasn’t that Yehovah did not want Elijah to go see the king, but Ahaziah and his soldiers acted like there was no God in Israel. When God was honored they acted with more respect to Elijah and he went with them)
v 16…Then he said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron-is it because there is not God in Israel to inquire of his word (by prophets; Urim and Thummim, etc; Elijah delivers the same message to Ahaziah. It didn’t change just because Ahaziah did not want to hear it, and that is a good spiritual lesson for us. Keep telling the truth and don’t change it just because people don’t want to hear it)?-therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die. ‘ ”
v 17…So, Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken (just as predicted, and just how long after this is not mentioned). And because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place in the seond year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah (He had no son so Yehoram became king because he was Ahaziah’s brother and also a son of Ahab-2 Kings 3.1. Ahaziah’s death proved that Elijah was a prophet. Now, all this can get a little confusing here because the King of Judah at the time was also named Yehoram, but the son of Yehoshaphat).
v 18…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 (not the Scripture, but a scribal historical record)
2 Kings 2.1-25 deals with how Elisha accompanies Elijah to several places; Elijah is taken up to another place by the whirlwind; the ministry now falls on Elisha; he heals the waters at Jericho; the destruction of forty-two lads at Bethel by bears for mocking Elisha.
v 1…And it came about when the Lord was about to take up Elijah by a whirlwind (Hebrew “ruach”) to heaven (the first heaven; we are going to look at this incident from a different perspective from what many teach) that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal (Elisha went with Elijah from Gilgal -Josh 4.19; 1 Sam 1.4).
v 2…And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel (“House of God” because there was a school of prophets there, Talmidim or students are seen as “sons” and these).” But Elisha said, ” As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
v 3…Then 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, be still (he did not want to talk about it; now, we are going to look at the following incident a little differently than most others who teach it. We do not believe that Elijah dies, or is taken to Heaven where God is here. So, let’s develop this a bit more to show you why).
v 4…And Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.
v 5…And the sons of the prophets (another school in Jericho) who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be still (same as v 3; he didn’t want to talk about it)
v 6…Then Elijah said to him, Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” And he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
v 7…Now fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.
v 8…And Elijah took his mantle and folded it together and struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over dry ground (like Moses).
v 9…Now it came about then they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you (Elijah will eventually die, but not here. Elijah is being replaced by Elisha so he was “removed” to another place. Elijah wrote a letter ten years later for instance-2 Chr 21.12-15).” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me (Elisha wanted a double-portion of the Spirit that was upon Elijah. This was like the double-portion of the first-born or bikur. This is in respect to the other “sons” of the prophets who were “younger” in respect to Elisha and what he was doing. He wanted a greater portion than they had)
v 10…And 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.”
v 11…Then it came about as they were going along and talking, that behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them (Angels can appear in this form-Psa 104.3-4). And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven (So let’s look at this; heaven can be understood in three ways. The first “heaven” is where the birds, clouds and airplanes fly. The second “heaven” is where the sun, moon and the stars are. The third “heaven” is where God is-2 Cor 12.2-4. Nobody had ascended to the third heaven as of John 3.13 according to Yeshua, so he did not go there. Elijah was not taken to outer space, so this had to be the first “heaven.” This fiery chariot was riding on the earth in Psa 104.3).
v 12…And Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father (this means “my teacher.” The same will be said about Elisha by Joash in 2 Kings 13.14; Elisha may be a type of the 144,000 who will see the Natzal, or rapture, of the believers on Tishri 1, Rosh Ha Shannah, year 6001 from creation. They will immediately believe in Yeshua and be saved to be used during the birth-pains as the “first fruits” of those saved during those seven years-Rev 14.4; Jer 50.8; Isa 18.3, 11.10. Isaiah is also seen as a type of the 144,000 in Isa 6.1-7. He sees Yehovah on his throne in a “Ma’aseh Merkavah” vision. He is cleansed right after King Uzziah dies and before his son Yotham can be coronated as the next king. Uzziah is a picture of the days right before the birth-pains or tribulation period, and Yotham and his reign is a picture of the first year of the birth-pains. So this is also alluding to Tishri 1, year 6001, Rosh Ha Shannah) the chariots of Israel and its horsemen (“The chariot of Israel and its horsemen” and means that God through Elijah was a great defense to Israel through his teachings and ministry). And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces (as an expression of mourning and lamenting his own loss and the loss to the nation)
v 13…He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell upon him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
v 14…And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and struck the waters and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he had also struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over (The words “Aph hu” in Hebrew appears after “the God of Elijah.” It means “hidden” and “even he himself.” Elisha calls him by his name “Yehovah.” Though Elijah is gone, Yehovah will be with Elisha, and us, because he is on throne).
v 15…Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him (If they weren’t with him before this, they are now)
v 16… And they said to him “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master, perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up (“nasa” meaning to lift) and cast him on some mountain or into some valley (that they wanted to go search for Elijah; this has happened before, like in 1 Kings 18.12; and later in Acts 8.39).” And he said, “You shall not send.”
v 17…But when they urged him until he was ashamed (to deny them any longer), he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men, and they searched for three days, but did not find him (‘Elisha tried to stop them from searching, but couldn’t. They sent out fifty men and searched for three days, confirming he was gone)
v 18…And they returned to him while he was staying at Jericho (he waited in Jericho); and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
v 19…Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.”
v 20…And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him (salt alludes to the salt covenant in Lev 2.13; salt was used for the sacrifices, or “korbanot” meaning to draw near, signifying preservation, never ceasing, purification and prevents fermentation; it also denotes suffering in some contexts; the salt covenant speaks of the perpetuation of his Torah and covenant-Num 18.19).
v 21…And he went out to the spring of water, and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or unfruitfulness any longer (like before).’ ”
v 22…So the waters have been purified to this day, according the the word of Elisha which he spoke (from the Lord).
v 23…Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads (this word is used for thirty to forty year old adults; they were able to leave the city alone, and they knew who Elisha was) came out of the city and mocked him (shows contempt for a true prophet in Bethel, the main center for pagan calf worship-1 Kings 12.28-29) and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead (like Elijah, leave them alone and don’t come preaching here; Elisha may have been bald, but it was not because he was old because he would live another fifty years-2 Kings 13.14; his baldness must have been in contrast to Elijah’s appearance; “bald head” was also an idiom for “scorn ” as in Isa 3.17, 24; and a “liar” which is still used today as in a “bald-faced liar”).
v 24…When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them (pronounced a curse) in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number (it does not say they were killed but their “gang” was broken up, and the rest were frightened away).
v 25…And he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria (the capital of Israel to begin his work)
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