2 Kings 2:13-15

C. THE COMMISSIONING OF ELISHA 2:13-15

TRANSLATION

(13) And he took up the mantle of Elijah which had fallen from upon him, and returned, and stood on the bank of the Jordan. (14) And he took the mantle of Elijah which had fallen from upon him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah, even He? And he smote the waters, and they parted asunder, and Elisha passed over. (15) And the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho opposite saw him and they said, The spirit of Elijah has rested upon Elisha. And they came to meet him and bowed down to him to the ground.

COMMENTS

Sadly Elisha picked up the mantle that had fallen from the shoulders of Elijah as he swept heavenward, and walked back to the edge of Jordan (2 Kings 2:13). In imitation of the actions of his master, Elisha smote the waters with the mantle at the same time saying, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? Elisha wondered if the all powerful God who had so blessed the ministry of Elijah was still with His people now that Elijah had departed. When the waters instantly parted, Elisha knew the answer to that question. By enabling him to repeat Elijah's last miracle, the Lord gave assurance to Elisha that the divine power would be available to him throughout his prophetic ministry (2 Kings 2:14).

When the sons of the prophets saw Elisha returning from Jordan alone they concluded that the spirit of Elijah rested upon him. It is not clear on what ground they reached this conclusion. Perhaps they had witnessed the miracle which Elisha had performed at Jordan; or they may have inferred that the leadership had passed to Elisha because he was now wearing the mantle of his master. In any case, they came forth and bowed before him and thus acknowledged him as their master as they had previously recognized Elijah (2 Kings 2:15).