Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Wednesday, November 28, 2012 Read – 2 Kings 1 & 2 The conflict between Elijah and the kings of the North continues in chapter 1 of 2 Kings. This time the dispute is with Ahaziah. Ahaziah has fallen through the lattice of his upper chamber and lays mortally wounded. He sends a messenger to enquire of Baalzebub, from which the New Testament Beelzebul may likely derive, to see if he will recover. God sends Elijah to bring a message to Ahaziah – he will not recover. The language used in the first eight verses of 2 Kings is picked up by Mark in the beginning of his gospel as he describes John, the Baptist. Here in 2 Kings Elijah is said to be “a hairy man, with a leather belt around his waist.” In his description of John, Mark wants us to be thinking of Elijah because John is Elijah, coming before the Messiah to prepare his way. Ahaziah attempts to capture Elijah by sending a cohort of fifty men. Each time Elijah averts the capture by calling down fire from heaven to burn up the soldiers. Finally a soldier who fears God appears on the scene and Elijah goes with him to pronounce God’s judgment upon Ahaziah. At this point the story can become a little confusing. Ahaziah is succeeded by his brother Jehoram who shares the same name with the king of the Southern Kingdom who followed Jehoshphat. More about that later. Chapter 2 intervenes in the middle of the story of the kings of Israel and Judah to tell the story of the succession of Elisha as the prophet who takes Elijah’s place. The story is an important one for both the Old Testament in the New Testament. It appears that Elijah is trying to avoid passing the torch on to Elisha. Perhaps he was only testing him. Elijah tells Elisha to wait behind on several occasions, but Elisha will not do so. He clings to Elijah all the way. The story is filled with the miraculous. Just as Moses had parted the Red Sea and Joshua had parted the Jordan River, Elijah parts the Jordan River and the two walk across on dry ground. And when it finally comes to Elijah’s departure he is taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire. This is important since Elijah is now available to return at the appointed time. Elijah, like Enoch before him, does not die. Elijah becomes for the Old Testament people of God the messenger who will one day come to herald the coming of the Messiah. At the time of Jesus, Christians believe that Elijah is the one who came in the person of John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus. Now that the mantle of prophecy has been passed on from Elijah to Elisha we are told that upon his return Elisha is able to part the Jordan River as his predecessor had done.