MAR. 11.] 1 LESSON X. ELIJAH TRANSLATED.—2 Kings ii. 1–12. [About 896 B. C. RECITE VS. 8, 9, 11. And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from 2 Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave 3 thee. So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold 4 ye your peace. | And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. 5 And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he answered, 6 Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. | And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will 7 not leave thee. And they two went on. | And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they 8 two stood by Jordan. | And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. 9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of 10 thy spirit be upon me. | And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. 11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind 12 into heaven. | And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father. my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. GOLDEN TEXT.-And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.-Gen. v. 24. CENTRAL TRUTH. Heaven is the home of the righteous. DAILY READINGS. M. 2 Kings ii. 1-12. W. Josh. iii. 7-17. CONNECTED HISTORY.-Ahab humbled himself, and his punishment was delayed; he and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, fought with Syria; Ahab was slain; Ahaziah, his son, king (2 years); Elijah called fire from heaven and consumed two military companies of Ahaziah; Jehoram, brother of Ahaziah, king of Israel (12 years); Elijah went to heaven in a whirlwind. ORDER OF EVENTS.-(66.) Elijah rebukes Ahab. (67.) Ahab humbles himself. (68.) Ahab slain by the Syrians. (69.) Ahaziah king (70.) Elijah calls fire from heaven. (71.) Joram king. (72.) Elijah translated. TO THE SCHOLAR.-Notice that the solemn scene awed Elisha into silence, and he wished the "sons" to be silent also. We may well be silent when God comes specially near. NOTES.-Gil'-gal, not the place where Joshua set up the 12 stones, for that is below Bethel; but the prophets went down from Gilgal to Bethel. This Gilgal was in Ephraim, between Nablus and Bethel, about 82 miles north of the latter, and now called Jiljilich. -Beth'-el, see Notes, Lesson II.-Jor'-dan "the descender," chief river of Palestine; has 4 sources, the Hashbâny, Baniàsy, Leddan, and Esh-shar; rising near foot of Mt. Hermon, runs south through Lakes Huleh and Galilee, and empties into the Dead Sea; rises 1700 feet above the Mediterranean, while its mouth is 1300 feet below the Mediterranean, making its total descent about 3000; length of the river by the crooked channel is about 225 miles, in a direct line about 136 miles; is about 400 feet wide at its mouth; is crossed by many fords, and by one or two bridges near the Sea of Galilee.E-li'-sha, see next lesson. EXPLANATIONS AND QUESTIONS. Lesson Topics.-(I.) ELIJAH'S LAST JOURNEY. (II.) HIS BEQUEST TO ELISHA. (III.) HIS TRANSLATION. 1. ELIJAH'S LAST JOURNEY. (1.) Lord would take up, the event was known to Elijah, Elisha, and the prophets at Bethel and Jericho; Gilgal, see Notes. (2.) Tarry here, said, perhaps, to try Elisha's faithfulness, or because the coming scene was so sacred that Elijah wished to be alone; to Bethel, about 81⁄2 miles, see Notes; the Lord liveth, an earnest affirmation, like an oath, 1 Sam. xx. 3; xxv. 26. (3.) sons of the proph ets, those in the schools of the prophets; from thy head, from his place at thy head; disciples sat at the feet of their master; hold your peace, say nothing to disturb us. (4.) to Jericho, about 12 miles from Bethel. (5.) prophets, these schools were not for education merely, but great missionary centres from which laborers went forth to the Lord's work, like that of the old Culdee church on Ionia Island. See Taylor's "Elijah," p. 181. (6.) to Jordan, about 5 miles from Jericho. (7.) fifty of the sons, the school at Jericho was large; 50 were only a portion of it; stood to view, afai off, or to view in sight, or "over against" Jericho, perhaps going upon the high hills behind Jericho, whence they could see across the Jordan. (8.) mantle, "sheepskin says the Greek version; it may have been made of skins; wrapped, rolled it together; smote, Ex. xiv. 21; Josh. iii. 14. I. Questions.-What was the Lord about to do for Elijah? To what place did the two prophets first go? State Elijah's re quest at Gilgal. v. 2. Why made? How answered by Elisha? Who met them at Bethel? With what message for Elisha? How did he receive it? What request was repeated at Bethel? How again answered? Describe the place next visited. What schools are supposed to have been at these three places? For what purpose? What message was repeated to Elisha by the prophets at Jericho? How again received? State the third request of Elijah to Elisha. Why made three times? (See under v. 2.) To what river did they go? How far had they travelled from Gilgal? [About 26 miles.] Whither did the "sons of the prophets" go? How many of them? For what purpose? How did the prophets cross Jordan? When had it been crossed near this place before in a similar way? Who by? Josh. iii. 16. II. HIS BEQUEST TO ELISHA. (9.) what I shall do, make your final request; double portion of thy spirit, let "two parts" be given me (Heb.); the heir or "first born" received "two portions" (Deut. xxi. 17), so Elisha asked to be made Elijah's heir and successor, not, as some say, to be made twice as great a prophet. (10.) hard thing, "hast done hard in asking" (marginal reading); see me, if thou continue faithful. II. Questions.-State Elijah's final request to Elisha. Where made. Elisha's response. What he meant by "double portion." Why does his request not mean twice as great a prophet? On what conditions would the request be granted? III. HIS TRANSLATION. (11.) chariot of fire, so it appeared to Elisha; afterward his servant saw a similar appearance. 2 Kings vi, 17. (12.) My father, etc., "O my master, my master, who by thy prayers wast better to Israel than chariots and horses" (Chaldee Targum); rent them in two pieces, in token of his sorrow over his loss. III. Questions.-How were the prophets engaged now as they journeyed? What appeared to them? What did it do to them? Whither did Elijah go? By what? State Elisha's cry. Its meaning. His first act after this. What it showed. What facts in this lesson teach us- (1.) The value of faithfully serving God even in a wicked nation? (2.) The benefit of being a companion of a godly person? HYMN, "We dwell this side of Jordan's stream."-Calvary Songs, p. 137. THE SPIRIT ON ELISHA.-2 Kings ii. 13-25. [About 896 B. C. RECITE VS. 19-21. 13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and 14 went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; | And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. 15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest ou Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to 16 the ground before him. And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men: let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon same mountain, 17 or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. | And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him 18 not. And when they came again to him (for he tarried at Jericho), he said unto them, Did I not say unto you. Go not? 19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is 20 naught, and the ground barren. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And 21 they brought it to him. | And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any 22 more death or barren land. | So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. 23 And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald 24 head; go up, thou bald head. | And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two 25 children of them. | And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria. GOLDEN TEXT.-They said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.-2 Kings ii. 15. The CENTRAL TRUTH. Spirit is given to those who ask. DAILY READINGS. CONNECTED HISTORY.-Elijah returned to Jericho and healed its fountains. [Some suppose the events in this and the preceding lesson are, for obvious reasons, recorded out of the order in which they occurred, and that Elijah's translation took place after the beginning of the reign of Jehoram of Judah, which was in the fifth year of the reign of Jehoram king of Israel. In that case the dates at the head of these lessons should be 891 B. C.] ORDER OF EVENTS.-(73.) Elisha at Jericho. TO THE SCHOLAR.-In this lesson three successive miracles and the "sons of the prophets" unite in testifying that Elisha had received the "spirit of Elijah," and had become his successor. NOTES.-Jer'-i-cho, see Notes, p. 19.-E-li'-sha, son of Shaphat, lived at Abel-meholah; a farmer; called by Elijah; appointed his successor; saw his translation to heaven; healed the waters at Jericho; increased the widow's oil; raised the Shunammite's son; healed the poisoned pottage; cured Naaman; made iron swim; smote an army with blindness; prophesied from 50 to 60 years; his bones revived a dead man.-Bears, she-bears robbed of their young are particularly ferocious, see 2 Sam. xvii. 8. Bears are still common in Palestine.-Car-mel, see Notes, p. 28. EXPLANATIONS AND QUESTIONS. Lesson Topics.-(I.) ELISHA SUCCEEDS ELIJAH. (II.) SEARCH FOR ELIJAH. (III.) THE WATERS HEALED. (IV.) THE MOCKERS PUNISHED. I. ELISHA SUCCEEDS ELIJAH. (13.) bank of Jordan, "lip of Jordan" (Heb.). (14.) when he also, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah, even he? and when he had," etc.-Lange. (15.) to view at Jericho, "which were at Jericho, opposite," see v.7; saw him, work the miracle; spirit of Elijah doth rest, Elisha has succeeded Elijah as leader of the prophets; bowed themselves, to acknowledge him as their future leader. I. Questions.-Whither did Elisha go after Elijah's translation? What did he take with him? How did he use it at the Jordan? What did he say as he snote the waters? What did he mean by that? What happened to the waters? How did the sons of the prophets greet him? How show their respect for him? II. SEARCH FOR ELIJAH. (16.) fifty strong men, fifty "sons of strength" (Heb.), perhaps those spoken of in v. 7; lest peradventure, for fear that it may be; spirit.. ... hath taken, so Obadiah feared, 1 Kings xviii. 12; some mountain or ... valley, either, having died as Moses, they would bury his body, or they hoped to find him alive. (17.) ashamed, to refuse them any longer. |