Elijah and Elisha
And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? and he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As they LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.-2 Kings 2:1-6***Bethel, Gilgal and Jericho were cities in Canaan, the Promised Land. In Canaan, Ishmael was born to 86-year-old Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Hagar, the maidservant of Abraham's wife Sarah (Sarai) When Abraham was 99 years old, the Lord God gave him the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham circumcised 13-year-old Ishmael, and Abraham and the males throughout Abraham's household and property were immediately circumcised. Isaac was born to 100-year-old Abraham and 90-year-old Sarah. On the 8th day after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised Isaac. Forty years after Isaac was born, he was married to Rebekah, Abraham and Sarah's grandniece. Fraternal twin sons Esau (Edom) and Jacob (Israel) were born to 60-year-old Isaac and Rebekah. Esau was Isaac's favorite, and Jacob was Rebekah's favorite. Isaac was elderly, and his eyesight was diminished, and he thought his death was near when he told Esau to hunt a specific animal, and cook and serve him a specific meal, and said that he would bless Esau before dying. Rebekah heard Isaac's instructions and prompted and prepared Jacob to deceive Isaac and cheat Esau. After Rebekah learned that Esau planned to kill Jacob, she spoke words to Isaac that led him to send Jacob from their home in Beersheba, Canaan, to Rebekah's family in Padan Aram, Haran. In Bethel (Luz), Jacob was asleep and saw, in a dream, the angels of God, and saw and heard the Lord God speaking to him. During Jacob's 7th year in Haran, Rebekah's brother Laban the Syrian (Aramean) deceived Jacob, and Jacob was married to Laban's oldest daughter Leah before Rachel, Laban's youngest daughter, became Jacob's wife. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and daughter Dinah were born to Jacob and Leah. Dan and Naphtali were born to Jacob and Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant. Gad and Asher were born to Jacob and Zilpah, Leah's maidservant. Joseph was the 1st son born to Jacob and Rachel, and Rachel and Joseph were Jacob's favorites. During Jacob's 20th year in Haran, he began journeying home to Canaan with his family, servants, animals, and possessions. Near Bethlehem, Benjamin was born to Jacob and Rachel, and Rachel died. Joseph was 17 years old when his brothers sold him to merchants traveling to Egypt and led Jacob to believe that Joseph was killed by a wild beast, and Joseph was 30 years old when Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, proclaimed him second-in-command. Jacob was 130 years old when he moved with his family from Canaan to Egypt. In Egypt, Jacob proclaimed Manasseh and Ephraim, the sons born to Joseph and his wife Asenath, to be his own sons, and the tribe of Joseph became the tribe of Manasseh and the tribe of Ephraim. Sometime after 147-year-old Jacob died in Egypt, and Jacob's family buried his body in Canaan, and 110-year-old Joseph and his siblings were dead, their descendants the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses were born into the tribe of Levi to Amram and Jochebed. Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when they led the Israelites away from Egypt, across the divinely parted Red Sea, into the desert wilderness of Shur, and the desert wilderness of Sin, and the desert wilderness of Sinai, according to the commands of the Lord God. During the 40-year journey to Canaan, Miriam the prophetess died and was buried in Kadesh, in the desert wilderness of Zin. Upon Mount Hor, 123-year-old Aaron the high priest died. When Moses went upon Mount Nebo, the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses the prophet died, and was divinely buried. Joshua, Moses' aide and successor from the tribe of Ephraim, led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. In Gilgal, uncircumcised Israelite males were circumcised, according to the command that the Lord God gave Joshua. Subsequently, the Israelites, led by Joshua, destroyed Jericho, according to the commands of the Lord God. After 110-year-old Joshua died, and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, the Israelites were led by elders, judges, and their own minds. Samuel the priest, prophet and judge was born into the tribe of Levi to Elkanah and Hannah. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that each year Samuel went on a yearly circuit between Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpah (Mizpeh). Bethel was located in the portion of the Promised Land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin, and the city named Gilgal that was on Samuel's route and the city named Mizpah on his route were in the same territory allotted to the Benjamites. When Samuel was elderly and his sons Joel (Vashni) and Abijah (Abiah) were not obeying the commands of the Lord God, and King Nahash and his Ammonite army were preparing to attack, the Israelite elders demanded that Samuel appoint a king to lead them, and Samuel anointed Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, to reign, according to the command of the Lord God. David, from the tribe of Judah, was the 2nd king to rule over all of the Israelites. Solomon, a son born to David and Bathsheba, was the 3rd king. Rehoboam, the son born to Solomon and Naamah, was the 4th king to rule over all of the Israelites, After Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south, Jerusalem was the royal city and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Israel was the northern nation, Samaria was the final royal city and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. Ahab was the 7th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel. During Ahab's 22-year reign, Elijah the prophet began proclaiming the words of the Lord God to the Israelites. Ahab's wife Jezebel was a Sidonian (Zidonian) princess. Ahab and Jezebel's son Ahaziah was the 8th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel, and Ahaziah's brother Jehoram (Joram) was the 9th king. In Abel-meholah, Elijah anoint Elisha as his successor, according to the command of the Lord God. Before Elijah went up into heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha spent time with prophets in Gilgal, Bethel and Jericho. Over 750 years after Elisha died, and a dead man began living again after contact with Elisha's bones, John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, were born. John the Baptist was born into the tribe of Levi to Zechariah (Zacharias) the priest and his wife Elizabeth (Elisabeth). Jesus the Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Elizabeth's relative Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem into the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin. On the 8th day after John the Baptist was born, he was circumcised, and on the 8th day after Jesus the Christ was born, Jesus was circumcised. Approximately 30 years after John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ were born, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Jesus having prayed, the heavens tearing open, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and lit upon Jesus. The Lord God in heaven audibly acknowledged his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert wilderness. Jesus fasted 40 days and nights and was tempted. Afterwards, Jesus was tended to by angels, and Jesus went to the area near John the Baptist, and John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world, and testified that Jesus is the Son of God. In Galilee, Jesus told specific Israelite men to follow him, and Jesus began to preach, teach and perform miracles among the Israelites. Before Jesus was betrayed, arrested, crucified, buried in a tomb, resurrected, seen by over 500 people, and returned to heaven less than 3 1/2 years after he was baptized, Jesus spoke of Elisha. In a synagogue, Jesus read some of the words that Elijah was divinely inspired to transcribe. Upon a mountain, Simon Peter, James and John saw Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah.-Genesis, Exodus, Numbers 13:1-14:45, 20:1-29, 26:1-27:23, Deuteronomy 31:1-34:12, Joshua 1:1-5:15, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra 1:1-11, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26
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