CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
2 Kings 2:16. Lest peradventure, &c.—They had seen Elijah pass miraculously over Jordan, but did not witness his ascension. Even if he had been taken up to heaven, they imagined that his body would be remaining somewhere on earth.
HOMILETICS OF 2 Kings 2:16-18
THE MYSTERIOUSNESS OF THE DIVINE ACTIONS
I. A severe trial of faith. The sons of the prophets were slow to believe that Elijah had so utterly vanished as to return no more. It is true that one moment they saw him in company with Elisha; the next Elisha was alone, and their great leader was nowhere to be seen. Still it might be only another of the many sudden, abrupt disappearances which had marked Elijah’s erratic career. Besides, if the spirit had ascended to heaven, his body might have been dropped on some mountain side, or into the depths of some valley; and this should, if possible, be recovered, and reverently buried. Elisha’s account of the great prophet’s exit only increased the mystery, and they wearied him with speculations and suggestions. Faith must be prepared to take much on trust. Where there is no mystery, there is no faith. “Trials,” says F. W. Robertson, “bring man face to face with God—God and he touch; and the flimsy veil of bright cloud that hung between him and the sky is blown away; he feels that he is standing outside the earth, with nothing between him and the Eternal Infinite.”
II. Provokes diligent inquiry. The commonplaces of to-day were the mysteries of yesterday. The phenomena of nature, which to our fore-fathers were occasions of superstitious dread, are to us familiar friends, and our most valuable servants. Discoveries have been made by the diligent investigator which would have remained unknown secrets, and are secrets still, to the indolent and indifferent. Mystery piques curiosity, and curiosity keeps alive the investigating faculty. The more mystery there is surrounding a subject, the more eager is the earnest student to solve it.
III. Not always fathomed by the most laborious human endeavours. The search of the fifty strong men among the mountains of Gilead was fruitless: they found no trace of the missing Elijah, and they were compelled to accept the testimony of Elisha without further question. Much has been revealed to the diligent seeker after truth, there is much that is yet wrapped in mystery. We cannot know everything about every truth. Revelation is necessarily limited by two things: by the Divine will—there is nothing to impel the Divine Being to reveal Himself beyond what He wills to do—and by our human capacity. However effulgent the revelation on God’s part, its comprehension is necessarily limited on our part. We soon come to the extreme boundary of the known, and vainly we wave our hand in the darkness of the unknown. Much as we may discover by persevering study, more yet remains undiscovered. The pleasures of inquiry and discovery are endless. The investigation of all truth is ennobling, but none more so than the contemplation of those redemptive truths which, like the stars, their fittest emblems, fix the eye above in the very act of vision; a countless procession of brightness and wonder, lights visible to the humblest eye, yet fit to exercise the thoughts of angels: their full grandeur to be approached only when we shall have passed the grave, and, not less than sons of God, shall be free to enter into the mystery and magnificence of heaven.
LESSONS:—
1. The mystery of Divine truth is no sufficient reason for rejecting it.
2. The truth essential to salvation is plainly revealed.
3. More mysteries are solved by faith than by the most daring unbelief.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2 Kings 2:16-18. An obstinate incredulity. I. Is dissatisfied with the most reliable testimony. II. Constructs theories of its own (2 Kings 2:16). III. Persists in having its own way, notwithstanding repeated efforts to persuade to the contrary (2 Kings 2:17). IV. Suffers ignominious defeat (2 Kings 2:18).
—How many, especially young and inexperienced persons, will not be dissuaded from their opinions, views, and doubts, and will not heed the words of their teachers and parents, who have the best intentions towards them, and far more experience. They must become wise by bitter experience, and then hear to their shame, “Did I not say unto you, Go not?”
2 Kings 2:18. Some men are best satisfied when they have wearied themselves in their own ways Nothing will teach them wit but disappointment. Their painful error leads them to a right conceit of Elijah’s happier transportation. Those that would find Elijah, let them aspire to the heavenly paradise. Let them follow the high steps of his sincere faithfulness, strong patience, undaunted courage, fervent zeal, and constant obedience. Then God shall send the fiery chariot of death to fetch them up to that heaven of heavens where they shall triumph in everlasting joys.—Bp. Hall.