2 Kings 2:15

THE SONS OF THE PROPHETS VAINLY SEARCHED FOR ELIJAH'S BODY

"And when the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho over against him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. And they said unto him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest the spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. And they came back to him while he tarried at Jericho; and he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?"

Keil pointed out that there were two purposes in the miracle of Elisha's smiting the Jordan with Elijah's mantle: (1) It confirmed in the mind of Elisha that God had granted his prayer for a double portion of the spirit of Elijah, and (2) it established Elisha as the legitimate successor to Elijah and the Divinely-appointed leader of the prophets. He then added that, "The two following miracles recorded in this chapter were also intended to accredit Elisha in the eyes of the people as a man endowed with the Spirit and power of God, as Elijah had been."[16]

"Till he was ashamed" (2 Kings 2:17). "The New English Bible renders this `had not the heart to refuse.'" "Elijah's work was done; it was a fierce work of judgment that became symbolic (Malachi 4:5-6), even idealized (John 1:21) and seen again at the end of the Jewish era in the person of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-10). After the work of Moses and Elijah, God had nothing whatever fundamentally new to say to his rebellious people, - UNTIL the coming of that Holy ONE whom Moses and Elijah would meet upon the mount of transfiguration"![17]