2 Kings 2:1-10 - Daily Devotion - 3 July 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

1 Shortly before the LORD took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal, 2 and Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.”

But Elisha replied, “As surely 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 at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do not speak of it.”

4 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.”

But Elisha replied, “As surely 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 at Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do not speak of it.”

6 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.”

But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”

So the two of them went on.

7 Then a company of fifty of the sons of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing Elijah and Elisha as the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 And Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the waters, which parted to the right and to the left, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

9 After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken away from you?”

“Please, let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

10 “You have requested a difficult thing,” said Elijah. “Nevertheless, if you see me as I am taken from you, it will be yours. But if not, then it will not be so.”

REFLECTIONS

Written by Stephen Shead

Today and tomorrow, we are reading about the moment when Elijah, Israel’s greatest prophet after Moses, was taken up to heaven and passed on his prophetic mantle to Elisha. It’s a bit like when Moses handed over the reins to Joshua – Elijah parts the waters of the Jordan like Moses had parted the Red Sea, and Elisha becomes his successor to carry on his ministry like Joshua led Israel after Moses’ death.

I have so many questions, though. We know the Lord took Elijah up to heaven (v. 1) – but was he really taken to heaven permanently, so that he would never die? Is he still there now? That would seem a bit bizarre, because if not even the incarnate Son of God escaped death, I’m not sure how a sinful man could. More importantly, we’re told that “as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:21) – because all will be raised from death through Jesus’ resurrection. Surely even Elijah is part of that “all”?

If I had to guess, I’d say: maybe Elijah was taken from the trials of this world to experience a special communion with God, before God laid his body to rest in some secret place, like God had buried Moses’ body (Deut. 34:5-6). But I suppose this is one of those mysteries that we won’t be able to answer until glory.

For today, Elisha’s sadness at losing his master reminded me of Mary’s tears after Jesus’ died and then his body disappeared from the tomb: “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put Him” (John 20:13). But unlike Elisha, Mary’s sadness was quickly turned to joy, because Jesus rose again, just as he promised. And Jesus was taken to heaven like Elijah – but we know that he will return in the same way he went (Acts 1:11), and when he does, our grief will turn to joy (John 16:20).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen is our Senior Minister.