This chapter is complete in itself. In it, we have the translation, or ascension, of the witness of God. Elijah: a name very significant—“My God is the Lord” We shall find in this deeply interesting portion of the word, that Elijah is a type of Him whom Thomas would call “my Lord and my God.”
The starting-point of this moral picture of Jesus has been greatly overlooked. A little careful examination of the word will show that this Gilgal, from which Elisha went with Elijah, was not the Gilgal on the low banks of the Jordan near to Jericho. From that Gilgal, it was not possible for them to have gone down to Beth-el. Indeed it is said of Elisha, when he had re-crossed the Jordan and was therefore in the neighborhood of the Jordan-Gilgal, that “he went up from thence unto Beth-el.” (Ver. 23.)
In chapter 1 Elijah had been sent to meet the messengers of the king Ahaziah, who was sick; and who had wickedly sent them from Samaria to Ekron. (Ver. 3.) Elijah is found sitting on the top of the hill, and from thence he went down to Samaria. The king was surprised that the messengers had turned back. All this could not be, if we supposed Elijah on the low plains of the Jordan far away. But if we look at the Gilgal placed on the map about ten miles from Samaria, near to Shechem, over against the West or Mediterranean Sea, then this Gilgal would be straight in the way to Ekron, where the messengers would pass. And this agrees exactly with its position viewed from the standpoint of Moses, in the land of Moab, when he wrote these words: “ Put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal; are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the campaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh?” (Deut. 11:29, 3029And it shall come to pass, when the Lord thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. 30Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh? (Deuteronomy 11:29‑30).) Thus Gilgal must have been on the heights of Canaan, between the plains of Moreh and the coast of the sea, where the sun goeth down; as placed on the map. To this also agrees the account of Joshua, of the kings he smote, beginning with Jericho, and going further up the country, until we reach this very district. “The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, one; the king of the nations of Gilgal, one.” (Josh. 12:2323The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, one; the king of the nations of Gilgal, one; (Joshua 12:23).) This Gilgal then was a royal city on the heights of the mountains of Canaan.
The descent of Elijah was from the heights of Canaan to the depths of the Jordan. Do we not then see here a picture of the path of the Lord Jesus? “ Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens.” (Eph. 4:99(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? (Ephesians 4:9).) There was a solemnity gathered around the scene “when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven.” You will find it nearly a straight line from the Gilgal of the heights of Canaan, to Beth-el, Jericho, and the Jordan. In figure, he must pass through the very Jordan of death. Surely this points us to that one hour in His history who made the heavens and the earth. Oh that hour! when He must needs suffer, must needs die.
Let us then commence with Elijah at the royal city on the heights of Canaan. From this height he is the sent one down to Beth-el, “the house of God.” What a figure of the true starting-point of the Son of God, the sent One. If Canaan be a figure of the heavenlies, then the heights of the royal Gilgal remind us of those heights of glory He had with the Father before the world was. (John 17:55And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. (John 17:5).) What a descent! The first step in Elijah’s descent was from Gilgal to Beth-el. “Tarry, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el.” Yes, let us tarry awhile, and dwell on the first step downwards from those heights of glory, when He who is the image of the invisible God, became man. “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” (Phil. 2:66Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (Philippians 2:6).) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” He is the self-existent eternal God. “In him was life.” The glory of His person is the true starting-point in the sinner’s redemption. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.”
Now as Elijah was sent to Beth-el, the house of God, so the incarnate Son, God manifest in the flesh, was sent to His own, and His own received Him not. He could say, “ It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.” What a sentence on His own, to whom He was first sent! As the incarnate Son, He was sent to Beth-el, the house of God, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And just as Elisha, the called one, clave to Elijah, whilst the sons of the prophets, at Beth-el had mere knowledge and talk; so in the midst of rejecting Israel could Jesus say, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6:3737All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37).) As Elijah had the called one with him. who clave to Him with purpose of heart; so the called ones could say of the Son sent down from heaven, “Lord to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” Very beautiful were the words of Elisha: “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” Has the Holy Spirit put these words into your heart as to Jesus?
What a step this was in the descent from God to man! The Creator and Upholder of the universe humbled Himself. Not only did He empty Himself to become truly man; but as man He humbled Himself. “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil, ii. 8.)
This leads us to the further descent of Elijah. “And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho.” If Beth-el was the house of God, Jericho was the place of the curse. Even so it is written, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Not only did Jesus descend to Israel, as man, Messiah: but He descended to man in his lost guilty estate. Blessed for us poor guilty Gentiles that it was so. Oh, how wonderful, that God should have so loved a world under the blighting curse of sin. What a Jericho! But the holy One must descend lower still; so in the figure.
“And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan.” To Jordan the well-known type of death. Thus Elijah, “My God is the Lord,” descends from Gilgal on the heights of Canaan, to Beth-el, to Jericho, to Jordan. In figure, he must pass through death, before he is the ascended man. How strikingly this illustrates the downward path of the true “My God is the Lord!” Not only did He become the incarnate man, and as such present Himself to Israel, and to man under the curse; but He must descend to the depths of death. Before He could ascend to glory, and be Head of anew race, He must go down into death. Elijah said, “Tarry, I pray thee, here.” And when the hour was come that Jesus must pass through death for us, He said, as He entered dark Gethsemane, “Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.” (Matt. 26:3636Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. (Matthew 26:36).) If Elijah was sent to Jordan, the figure of death: Jesus was sent to the deep untold realities of atoning death for us. Yes, “sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.”
“Here we rest, in wonder viewing All our sins on Jesus laid,”
Elijah was sent alone; yet Elisha went with him. There are also two distinct aspects of the death of Jesus. In the one, as the atoning substitute of God, He was absolutely alone. Alone in that darkness, forsaken of God. Wounded for our transgressions; bruised for our iniquities. In another aspect, as Head of the new creation, we are reckoned to have died with Him. This is also the meaning of christian baptism, as every believer understood it in the beginning; “Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into [or unto] Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death,” &c. (Rom. 6:3-113Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:3‑11).)
We doubt not there is important instruction in this aspect of the death of Christ, in the contrast betwixt the fifty sons of the prophets who went, and stood to view afar off; and Elisha who went down and passed over with Elijah. Is it not one thing to believe that Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures, and quite another thing to accept that place of death with Him? How many have been baptized, who have never understood in the least the meaning of the figure of baptism! How many stand afar off to view, like the fifty sons of the prophets! How few accept the place of death with Christ! This is not a matter of attainment, but of understanding and of faith. We are to reckon ourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Jesus Christ our Lord. All believers were thus to reckon themselves dead with Christ; and, if dead, also risen with Christ.
As Elijah took his mantle and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground; so the Lord Jesus the righteous One could pass through death. He, in divine righteousness, could endure the righteous judgment of God for us: and thus, in righteousness, we pass in Him from the old creation to the new. “And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said to 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 thy spirit be upon me.”
Jesus said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” “And whatsover ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.” “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” All these precious words were spoken by Jesus “when he knew that the hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father.”
Elijah did not so speak to the fifty men, sons of the prophets that were standing to view afar off, but to the one who had gone down to Jordan and passed over with him. It was when they two had passed over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do unto thee, before I be taken from thee. Which is our reader’s position? Standing afar off to view, having some knowledge and able to talk about it? or, as baptism shows it in figure, have you taken the place of death with Jesus?
Do you know that you have died with Christ? If we have passed through death with Jesus, we cannot ask too great a request. Elisha asked a hard thing. “And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing.” This reminds us of the words of Jesus, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” This was an amazing promise. Elijah felt Elisha’s request a hard thing, and at once names an important condition. He says, “If thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.” He does not say, if thou hast seen me in my past life: or if thou hast seen me descend from the heights of Canaan down to Beth-el: then to Jericho: then to the depths of Jordan. All this he had seen. And surely, most important for us to see the path of the Lord Jesus down from the highest throne of glory down to Beth-el—the house and people of God—yea, down to Jericho to reach lost man: yea, to do this, down, down to Jordan’s lowest depths of death. “Obedient unto death.” Yet if this be all, faith is vain—“If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” (1 Cor. 15:12-2012Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 20But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (1 Corinthians 15:12‑20).) To Elisha the answer to faiths request depended on this one thing: seeing the ascended man who had passed through the Jordan.