Strange Story: II Kings 2 How Was Elijah Taken to Heaven?

Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind. That’s right, Elijah went to heaven in the whirlwind, not in the chariot of fire. The story specifically states this two times (II Kings 2:1 & 11).  The purpose of the chariot of fire (other than as a reference to God’s power i Elijah’s life) was to serve as a distraction, to see if Elisha would take his eyes off of Elijah long enough for Elijah to be taken to heaven without Elisha seeing it happen. Elisha did not fall for the distraction, although he did notice it and was amazed by it.

We, however, usually do fall for the distraction and have retold the story with Elijah going to heaven in the chariot of fire, which is incorrect. Almost every visual rendition I have ever seen of Elijah going to heaven shows him in the chariot.

Don’t miss the fact that God took Elijah to himself without a normal death, as we know it. There was no sickness, no injury, no other natural cause of Death. God just took him like He did Enoch. This means that God determined that Elijah had successfully completed his mission, had fulfilled the purpose for which God placed him on this earth. When that mission was complete, God took Elijah home in a way that put an exclamation point at the end of his life. “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Symbolism

What did the chariot of fire symbolize? A chariot was the ultimate fighting machine of ancient times and represented unstoppable military power; fire was used to punish (destroy) or to purify (in this case purification does not fit the context).  Thus, the chariot of fire represented unlimited power to punish. It was God’s power, not man’s power because man cannot build a chariot out of fire.

The fire and the whirlwind may have represented how God worked through Elijah. Through the combined images of fire (which punishes) and a chariot (which effectively wages war) God was saying something like this, “My servant Elijah was faithful to me and through him I waged war against and punished the wicked; I punished the wicked king Ahab and his wicked queen Jezebel, I punished the prophets of Baal, and many other wicked people.

What did the whirlwind represent? The uses of a strong storm, either a thunderstorm or a windstorm without rain, were common in the Old Testament as references to God’s unstoppable power at work in the world around us (see Ez 1:4, Job 38:1, Neh 1:3, Ps 18:6-15 and Ps 104:3). Although the storm was not a military image by itself, there were aspects that overlapped with military imagery; the Jews saw the thunderstorm or the windstorm as God’s chariot, the thunder as His voice, and the lightning as His arrows (Ps 18:6-15 & Ps 104:3).

However, the difference between the image of the windstorm and the fiery chariot is that the storm included the idea of wind. The Hebrew word used here is different from the word for wind and it does not even include the word for wind, but the concept of a storm strongly implies the presence of wind. In the Hebrew mind, the idea of wind was inextricably joined to the Spirit of God. Thus the windstorm has a clear connection to the work of God’s holy spirit while the fiery chariot is simply a reference to God’s power to punish.

Therefore, the whirlwind could have been God’s way of saying, “Elijah, my servant, followed me faithfully; he allowed my Spirit to guide him and it was my Spirit’s power that worked through him to accomplish everything that he did. He was an obedient tool in my hand.”

Notice, that God chose the whirlwind over the chariot as Elijah’s vehicle for transportation to heaven. In this way God was saying, “Faithfully following my Spirit is more important than being a tool of warfare and punishment. Following my Spirit in the little things is the most important thing of all, and Elijah has done that.”

            In our lives, we should seek the whirlwind rather than the fiery chariot.

Take Away #1 Don’t Get Distracted

In order to not be deceived we need to be careful to not focus on the distractions. Rather, we must keep our focus on what really matters. Set biblically-based priorities and stay focused on them.

There are many things which can become distractions in our spiritual life. I will not try to name specific examples because I’m sure I would leave some out. Basically anything that can begin to claim the allegiance of my heart or mind is a distraction at best, and idolatry at worst. Anything that occupies an unwarranted amount of my time, energy or budget should likewise be rejected. If it does not work to simply control those things (and often it doesn’t), we must totally rid them from our lives. Of course there are certain things we cannot get rid of, such as food. But there are many other things which can be eliminated from our lives and doing so will make us better.

If you are an artist who draws pictures to be used in teaching material about the Bible, please be sure to do your homework first, don’t just follow your imagination.

If you are a song-writer, please do your homework and make sure that the biblical images, concepts or truths you are writing about are correct. I know a handful of songs about this story and all of them get it wrong.

Take Away #2 The Working of God’s Spirit Is What We Should Focus On

Both the chariot of fire and the windstorm were sent by God as demonstrations of great power which had been at work in Elijah. God demonstrated that it is more important for us to seek the working of His Holy Spirit in us than to see His punishment of the wicked.

We tend to want to follow the flashy, outward displays of God’s power, but the working of God inside us can be just as powerful, amazing, and effective. You can see a military force, but you cannot see the wind. God was saying, “stay focused on the ways I work that are not easily visible, not flashy, but are just as powerful.” Zechariah 4:6 says, “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says YHVH of hosts.” We also like clear victories but God’s spirit works in us to achieve growth that is sometimes slow, but solid.