2 Kings 2:11-18

2 Kings 2:11-18 - Daily Devotion - 4 July 2026 St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park 11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.12 As Elisha watched, he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two.13 Elisha also picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah, and he went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked.And when he had struck the waters, they parted to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over.15 When the sons of the prophets who were facing him from Jericho saw what had happened, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.16 “Look now,” they said to Elisha, “we your servants have fifty valiant men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and put him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys.”“Do not send them,” Elisha replied.17 But when they pressed him to the point of embarrassment, he said, “Send them.”And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find Elijah.18 When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”REFLECTIONSWritten by Stephen Shead(Apologies that there was a delay in getting this devotion out.)Reading today’s passage, I realised I have always assumed the Bible says something that it doesn’t say. I had always thought that the chariot of fire was what carried Elijah up to heaven … which, now I come to think of it, probably would have left him with third degree burns – he was still a flesh-and-blood human! The Bible actually says he was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. The horses and chariots were what separated Elisha from his master, they weren’t his personal ride. Maybe the fiery display was a sign that the Spirit of God was at work protecting his people.Yesterday I mentioned that this chapter is an echo of Moses and Joshua. But reading it again, what strikes me is not the echoes of the past, it’s how much Elijah foreshadows Jesus – and how much greater Jesus is than Elijah.Back in verse 9, Elisha asked Elijah for a parting gift: “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.” That is, Elisha wants to receive the same prophetic anointing of the Spirit of God that Elijah had received. But for Elijah, this request was “a difficult thing” (v. 10) – he knew that Elisha had requested something that was not in his power to give.In the end, Elisha did receive the Spirit when Elijah ascended – parting the waters of the Jordan River showed that. But Jesus’ ascension is so much greater! When Jesus ascended to the right hand of God, he himself sent the Spirit from the Father (see John 15:26 and Acts 2:33). In fact, the Spirit of God IS the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9).And when Elisha ascended, the miracle was that the same prophetic Spirit was passed on to one other, who would continue his work. Jesus has poured out the Spirit on all those who believe in him, in fulfilment of the prophet Joel (Acts 2:16-18). All of us – including you! – are now an enormous crowd of Spirit-anointed agents of Jesus’ ministry. We continue his work as the true Prophet when we share the good news of the gospel wherever he sends us. ABOUT THE AUTHORStephen is our Senior Minister.