|
by
Doug Ward |
Elijah was one of the greatest of the biblical prophets. He lived in the ninth
century BC, during the era when Israel was divided into two kingdoms-a northern
kingdom of Israel, with capital at Samaria; and a southern kingdom of Judah,
whose capital was at Jerusalem. When Ahab and his son Ahaziah, kings of Israel,
were guilty of idolatry, theft, and murder, Elijah confronted them with their
sins and called them to repentance (1 Kings17-2 Kings 1).
Elijah
demonstrated the power of God through mighty miracles, even bringing back to
life a young man who had died (1 Kings 17). But because he "spoke truth to
power," his life was constantly in danger. When he suffered a kind of
burnout, God determined that he should soon "pass the baton" to his
protégé Elisha and retire (1 Kings 19:16).
Elijah
was given a spectacular retirement sendoff, complete with "chariots of
fire and horses." According to 2 Kings 2:11, "Elijah went up by a
whirlwind into heaven."
Since
the Hebrew word for "heaven" designates both the sky and the dwelling
place of God, there is some question about Elijah's destination. While it is
often assumed that Elijah was taken to God's dwelling place, it is also
possible that Elijah was taken up into the sky and then deposited in an unknown
location. The Greek Septuagint translates the verse, "Elijah was taken up
in the air as into heaven."
One
reason this question arises is that the Bible mentions one additional act of
Elijah. Elijah's retirement seems to have occurred at about the time when King
Ahaziah of Israel died and was replaced by his brother Jehoram (2 Kings 1:17;
3:1). Scholars date this event to 852 BC.
But
Elijah appears again during the reign of a different King Jehoram (2 Chronicles
21). This Jehoram ruled the southern kingdom of Judah from 848-841 BC. He was
married to a daughter of Ahab, and like Ahab, he was an evil king (verse 6). In
particular, he put six of his brothers to death shortly after taking the throne
(verse 4).
Jehoram's
sins prompted Elijah to send a letter to the king giving an oracle from God.
The letter, sent several years after Elijah was "taken up," announced
that Jehoram would die from a horrible disease of the bowels, a prediction that
came to pass (verses 12-15, 18).
Considering
all of the biblical data, I lean toward the conclusion that Elijah was not
taken to the dwelling place of God, but rather to some undisclosed location on
earth where he could spend a (mostly) quiet retirement. Several years later,
when God revealed to him what was in store for Jehoram, Elijah felt moved to
contact the king but chose to send a letter rather than travel to Jerusalem
himself.
As I
like to picture it, Elijah was able to enjoy a peaceful retirement in an
out-of-the-way place but still had the opportunity to do some writing and help
out from time to time. I hope that the same might be true of my own retirement.
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On 09 Aug 2024, 14:41.
