“Fifty men from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped beside the Jordan River. Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it. The river divided, and the two of them went across on dry ground. When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.” And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.” - 2 Kings 2:7-9
The book of 2 Kings picks up right where 1 Kings left off. The kingdom of Israel is divided into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, and the prospects for God’s people seem to wax and wane on the different leaders to come to power in each of these regions. Let’s be clear, most of the leaders are, to put it mildly, not good. But there are a few bright spots too. In 2 Kings we also see Elijah taken to heaven and ascension of Elisha as we heard in the passage I read at the beginning of this episode. Trust me, you’ll want to stay tuned later in the episode when we talk about Elisha – he’s such a fun, interesting figure in the Bible. 2 Kings is fascinating because it toggles back and forth from Israel to Judah and back, all the while pointing us to a God who remains sovereign even when the kings of this earth turn away from him.
To help us navigate the book of 2 Kings is Dr. Philip Ryken. Dr. Ryken is the president of Wheaton College and author of a commentary on the book of 2 Kings.
Doable Discipleship is a Saddleback Church podcast produced and hosted by Jason Wieland. It premiered in 2017 and now offers more than 400 episodes. Episodes release every Tuesday on your favorite podcast app and on the Saddleback Church YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/saddleback).
Resources Related to This Episode:
https://www.amazon.com/Kings-Reformed-Expository-Commentary-Commentaries/dp/1629954462
Subscribe to the Doable Discipleship podcast at Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/doable-discipleship/id1240966935) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1Zc9nuwQZOLadbFCZCmZ1V)
Related Doable Discipleship Episodes:
Navigating the Bible: 1 Kings - https://youtu.be/aS-KoeQXl2k
Navigating the Bible: 2 Samuel - https://youtu.be/ZbpafGgOW7c
Navigating the Bible: 1 Samuel - https://youtu.be/lY8wPElSFMY
Navigating the Bible: Rute - https://youtu.be/YaH-t-ZzTaM
Navigating the Bible: Judges - https://youtu.be/qNGcOf2o0NU
Navigating the Bible: Joshua - https://youtu.be/hF28aThBtFs
Navigating the Bible: Deuteronomy - https://youtu.be/HzmNgPOM4zU
Navigating the Bible: Numbers - https://youtu.be/H1HO6V9HDxs
Navigating the Bible: Leviticus - https://youtu.be/08RhDCXYex4
Navigating the Bible: Exodus - https://youtu.be/NB9UTpS1F3M
Navigating the Bible: Genesis - https://youtu.be/ddhjMfOoasA
Inspiring Dreams by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!