The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1891-02-12
ELIJAH TAKEN TO HEAVEN.
tntsrnational Sunday-school Lesson for
February ID, 1891.

Especially Arranged from 8. g. Quarterly1
| LESSON TExT--e Kings 9:1-11.
I GOLDEN TExT-And Enoch walked with God;
and he was not; for God took him-Gen. o:sA
CENTRAL TRUTH-"Let mo die the death o:
the Righteous, and let my last end be like
His
TIME-B. c. about So2-s9o
PLACE-Q Gilgal near Mt Ephraim, nine
miles west Of Bethel. (2) Bethel, twelve miles
north Of Jerusalem. t3 Jericho. near Jordan.
~ The eastern shore of the Jordan, In Gilead,
Elijah's native country.
RULERs--Jehoram, son of Ahab King Of Is
real. Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, King of
Judah. He married Athaliah, the daughter OF
Jozebel. and sister Of Jehoram Of Israel
HELPS OVER HARD PLAcEs-i. when the
Lords" Our times are in His hands. "Gilgal:"
In Ephram, where was one of the schools OF the
prophets. 2. 'Tarry here:" either Elijah's love
Of solitude returned, He would prove Elisha, or
would spare him the pain of the sudden parting.
1.-THE Lord hath sent me-" the impulse to re-
visit His loved prophet colleges once more was
from God. "As the Lord liveth, and as thy
soul livett..' solemn oath by Gods eternity
Syi mans immortality. "Down:" a descent OF
six hundred feet in eight and half miles. g.
'Sons of the prophets:" those belonging to the
schools of the prophets, who were engaged in
giving religious instruction to the people.
tF'rom thy head:'' from being thy MASTER
sHold ye your peace:" the subject is too sacred
IL
from Bethel, and twelve hundred feet lower.
In each of these places was o school Of the
prophets. Z. "Stood to view" watching. 0.
@'Before be taken away" not, What interces-
sion can make in Heaven? IA double por-
tion:" thy spirit, thy prophetic spirit; that is,
he desires the eldest sons portion (Deut
21:1O, and thus to be the successor Of the
prophet in his work. 1t does not mean that he
desired twice as much as Elijah possessed. TO-
"A hard thing:" it might not be Gods will. III
thou see me:" that would be a sign that God
had chosen Elisha Elijah's successor.
LESSON COMMENTS.
FIRST Step Elijah taken. The long
est life has turning, and the longest
lane has an end. We can not say how
old Elijah was at the time Of his remov
al from earth; but his work was done,
and so his Master called him home. The
story is very touching. Show how 1t
came to pass that Elisha became Elijah's
constant attendant (see Kings 19:19-21).
As the end of Elijah's work drew near,
the ''sons of the prophets" seem in some
way to have known that God was to take
him away (see verses 8, 8, Of the les
sony. 1t may be that God had revealed
it to some of them directly; or it may
be that Elijah himself had been told OF
itby God, and had in turn told them that
he was soon to leave them. However
that was, evidently they were awe
struck, and evidently Elisha had feel
ing that he could by no means abandon
his master until the very last moment
That solemn experience on the east side
OF the Jordan can never be fittingly de-
scribed. No words can improve on the
simple narrative Of verses 11-13. Never
but once before, and never but once
since, has any of earth's sons gone to
Heaven with his physical body.
SECOND STEP-Elisha's request. Eli
jah seems to have had most kindly
feeling for his associate prophet, as the
end of their partnership was drawing
near, and to have felt that he would like
to give him some parting gift, If possi-
bile. So he asked him what he would
like. To this Elisha answers, that he
craved double portion of the spirit that
had dominated his master. "Thou hast
asked hard thing" says Elijah, "but
II thou see me when I am taken from
fhee, 1t shall be so unto thee, but If not,
1t shall not be So" Exactly why this
-C0ndition was laid down tt is not posi-
.6le for us to say. Nor need we stop to
dnQuire. That to which we may more
proatably direct attention is the nature
of the request that Elisha made. 1t was
lRrequest for spiritual power. He might
have asked for temporal things, such
rs fame, or wealth, or long life.
But none Of these things seems to
have had any attraction for him, in
Domparison with that spiritual power
which he had seen 30 prominent in the
life of his master. Elijah's life was
we'll known to his pupil, and he OF
course knew that this spiritual power
had brought the prophet into trouble.
He had had to fee more than once for
his life from Ahab, and from Jezebel.
Hardship had been his lot, instead Of
that ease which he might have enjoyed
the Groves. say, Elisha knew all this,
and yet, in spite Of the fact that double
portion OF Elijah's spirit might bring to
him the same Affections, he asked for it.
This shows that he was Of such stuff as
martyrs are made Of. Well would It
have been for Israel had she had but one
prophet Of the Groves, and one of Baal
and seven hundred and fifty such as
Elisha. The end Of Israel would not
have been what It was. To have the
spirit of Elijah, spirit of uncompro-
mising hostility to wrong, and of eter-
nal fidelity to the right, is blessing to
every man, and an inestimable blessing
10 any community. The great danger Of
our days is that we shall crave the
spirit Of Ahab and not that of Elijah.
Oh. for the Elijah spirit in all our pub
lilo men, and in all our business marts,
that shall fear dishonesty more than
failure, and crookedness moro than pow
orty, and speculation more than OBJ
ecurityl Elisha's choice brought great
blessing to his people; and so the honest
choioe by every boy and girl OF right ]
eousness is blessing, not only to them,
but to all in the family and in the COM
munity in which they live. See how
recent event illustrates this. In New
York State q murderer has been lately
Al - ~