Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 2
The men who served the true God at Jericho immediately accepted Elisha as a prophet, a holy man. They showed him honour; and they were unwilling to carry out their own plans without his agreement. However, they tried to persuade him to agree with what they wanted. They respected him – but not enough to listen to what he said.
Elisha knew clearly that God had taken Elijah to heaven. The men at Jericho agreed that God’s Spirit had come extremely powerfully on Elijah. However, they argued that God could have taken Elijah somewhere else, and not to heaven. They did not realise that God always carries out these powerful actions for a clear and definite purpose. So, they wanted to search for Elijah. With fifty men to look for him across the region, they thought that they could find him. He might be on a distant mountain or in a distant valley, and need their help. They wanted to bring him back to Jericho.
Elisha protested against this wrong idea, but they would not listen. They insisted so strongly on their plan that, in the end, Elisha permitted them to go. So, they went and they searched.
Of course, they did not find Elijah. God truly had taken him away from this world, as Elisha knew. God had given them Elisha to be their prophet now, instead of Elijah.
Next part: Jericho's people ask Elisha to pray for them (2 Kings 2:19)
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