Where Have all the Godly Gone?

2 Kings 2:11-12 ESV

11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

As we have been working through the narrative of Elijah’s ascension from the world and Elisha’s succession to the prophetic office we have been closely examining different parts of the narrative that have built a ton of suspense.

Each week the text has proclaimed that something was going to happen, leaves us on the edge of our seats to see what’s going to happen, but then we end to say, “More will be revealed”.

In the first message in this series, we talked about how God had called Elijah the prophet to go to the other side of the Jordan where he would be taken from the world by God, and how Elijah obediently went, with his protégé Elisha by his side.

Then in the second message, we looked at how Elijah and Elisha crossed over that Jordan River, even though Elijah knew that he would never cross it back over to the other side ever again.

Then last week we looked at how after Elijah and Elisha crossed over the Jordan how Elisha requested that his master pass along to him a double portion of his spirit that he may carry on Elijah’s prophetic ministry.

So, God had already told Elijah that when crossed to the other side of the Jordan that he would be taken up by Him, and now here they were on the other side, so is God going to keep His word concerning this?

And also, we have been working through the 2ndchapter of the 2nd book of Kings, but back in the 19thchapter of 1st Kings God told Elijah that eventually Elisha would be prophet in his place.

Now, as we read last week, Elijah said that God had revealed to him that if Elisha were to see him being taken away and carried to heaven, that then yes, he would carry on the prophetic ministry of Elijah.

Well, God had already told Elijah that He was going to anoint Elisha in the place of Elijah, and God is about to take Elijah, so, is God going to keep His word concerning this?

Well, we find the answer to both of these questions in the first verse of our reading, where it says:

2 Kings 2:11 ESV

11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

This is a scene that has surely been visualized by millions upon millions of people throughout the ages. And what an amazing scene it must have been!

It says that as Elijah and Elisha went along, they talked, knowing that at any moment, God was going to take Elijah away just as He had promised. And even though they knew that God was going to take Elijah, it still must have come as a surprise when as they went along talking there came chariots of fire and horses of fire!

And these chariots and horses of fire passed between the two of them, separating them. And one of them, Elijah, was taken. Not in his spirit, but in his body, without tasting death, Elijah was taken from this earth and carried upward into Heaven.

That most certainly is not something that you witness every day.

So, yes, God kept His word when He told Elijah that He was going to take him up to Heaven by a whirlwind.

But let’s take a further look at our reading and see what else it tells us concerning this narrative. Right after Elijah was taken to Heaven in the whirlwind, the very beginning of verse 12 tells us:

2 Kings 2:12a ESV

12a And Elisha saw it

Elijah had just been taken to heaven by God in a whirlwind and as it is written here, Elisha saw the whole thing unfold before his very eyes.

Now, why do you think that our reading for today stresses the point that Elisha saw, visibly saw his master being taken to heaven by a whirlwind? Because Elijah had already told Elisha that if he visibly saw him being carried away, then he would inherit a double portion of his spirit and thus carry out Elijah’s prophetic ministry.

And now we see that yes, Elisha saw what had happened to his master. He visibly saw it, not in a vision or a dream, but before his very eyes! So, according to the word of God Himself, this solidifies the calling that God had placed on Elisha back in 1st Kings, chapter 19 when He said that Eisha would be prophet in place of Elijah.

So, we see God fulfilling His Word when He takes Elijah to heaven in a whirlwind. Whether or not He will fulfill the second part of His word concerning Elisha succeeding Elijah as prophet will be answered for us in our message next week.

But for now, we see that before the very eyes of Elisha, God has translated his master Elijah to Heaven.

Now, let’s take a look at Elisha’s reaction to all of this. First, we see where he cries out:

2 Samuel 2:12b ESV

12b “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”

Speaking of Elijah here, Elisha calls him his father. Now of course, Elijah was not Elisha’s father in the sense of a typical father. But remember last week, we talked about the nature of Elisha’s request when he asked Elijah to give him a double portion of his spirit.

We said that the language that Elisha was using there was indicative of the right of a firstborn son in Israel when he inherited his father’s estate.

An Israeli man may have any number of sons, but the firstborn son always received double of what his brothers receive when their father dies and they inherit what is his.

But Elijah informed him that it is not he who is able to give this kind of inheritance to anyone, it is God alone Who can do that. But as we’ve been saying, Elijah did tell him that God had informed him that if Elisha were to see Elijah being taken away in the whirlwind, then yes, Elisha would inherit this double portion of his spirit.

Well, as this portion of the verse tells us, Elisha saw what he called the chariots of Israel and its horsemen. This means that Elisha clearly saw what was happening. That means that Elisha’s request to receive a double portion of Elijah’s spirit will indeed be granted.

As a father gives what is his to son at the time of his death, so does Elijah give to his protégé Elisha what is his, the only thing that is his, his spirit, that is, his divinely appointed prophetic office. Thus, Elisha cries out, “My father! My father!”.

Elisha loved his master dearly and surely would have been content to serve him forever, but now, as a child would scream in horror if his parents were taken from him, so now Elisha screams in horror, “My father! My father!”.

At this point, Elisha saw his master, Elijah, no more. He was taken from the earth in bodily form and ushered into the direct presence of God without tasting death.

But this wasn’t the only way that Elisha responded to what happened here, the very last part of this verse also tells us:

2 Kings 2:12c ESV

12c Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

This is a sign of intense grief and mourning. Yes, God had big plans for Elisha, and something amazing had just happened, and where Elijah had gone is indeed the most glorious of places, yet Elisha mourned Elijah being taken away. Why? Why would he be in so much grief? Why would he mourn?

Because he was as his own father. Back in 1stKings, chapter 19, we are first introduced to Elisha, and as Elijah called him to follow him, Elisha said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” What this means is that Elisha was determining to leave his home forever, even leave his parents so that Elijah could be as a father to him. From that time on, following and serving Elijah were going to be everything that Elisha did.

But now, Elijah is gone. His father is gone, taken away from him. Thus, he grieves and mourns.

But that isn’t the only reason he grieves and mourns. He also does so because of all that Elijah had done while he was on earth.

In a nation that was riddled with heresy and filled with apostates, Elijah stood out and against them as one who was fully dedicated to the truth.

Israel was steeped in idolatry and joyfully living in moral and religious filth. And anyone who dare stand against the way things were in Israel at that time and stand for the truth was sure to face intense persecution.

Yet Elijah stood against kings, queens, men in other powerful places, false religious teachers, and when threatened with persecution, even with death, he was always eventually assured that God was greater than those who came against him and he knew that if he faced persecution or death for the sake of the truth, then that was God’s will. And if it is God’s will, then everything is going to go God’s way. And if everything goes God’s way, then for the one who is saved, everything is going to be just fine.

This is how Elijah reasoned therefore this is how Elijah lived. That is why he was able to stand toe to toe with kings and leaders of false religions and courageously declare, “Thus saith the Lord!”.

Elisha looked to the heavens and realized that not only was the man who was like a father to him now gone, but also a devout man of God in a time and in a place where there were very few men like him was now gone. Thus, Elisha cries out, “Where have all the godly men gone?”

You know, we may ask the very same thing. With each day that passes, our society is inching closer and closer to mirroring what the heretical culture in Israel looked like in the days of Elijah.

It started with our political leaders dismissing God and essentially setting themselves up as gods. Then the masses followed suit scoffing at anything legitimately godly and praising ways of life that are contrary to what God demands.

Now, even churches all across our country are riddled with apostates, those who follow and adhere to a false gospel, usually not even aware that the gospel that they believe is false.

And the preachers who fill the pulpits at these churches are more committed to their paycheck than they are to their God, so they’re willing to tell their people whatever they want their preacher to tell them and keep them happy.

And as the remnant of God stands, misunderstood, alienated, persecuted in many ways, we cry out, “Where have all the godly men gone?”

Beloved, YOU are those godly men. YOU are those godly women. It is time for YOU to stand firm for the Gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone!

This is what our Protestant forefathers stood for 500 years ago in the face of the corrupt Catholic Church. This is what Elijah stood for thousands of years ago in the face of idolatrous, apostate Israel. And this is what we must stand for today in the face of the godless society that is in our nation today and the false works-based gospel that is in nearly every church today.

Because just as that spirit of godliness was passed along from Elijah’s generation to Elisha’s, so is the spirit of godliness passed from one generation of godly men and women to the next still to this day.

Beloved, God has not left us, let us not leave Him! Fight the good fight today!

Amen?