Elijah Departs in Style

Let's pray together lord. Thank you for tonight. Thank you for the study of elijah the things you've taught us And pray lord as we look at this man once again tonight you Continue to illuminate our hearts and minds the truth of your word.

We pray in jesus name amen second kings chapter two second kings chapter two Two You know my children asked me this past week what was the most embarrassing thing that's happened to me as a pastor And I told him I said, you know, the most embarrassing thing is that one day I was preaching And I was sucking on a halls And as I was preaching I was really getting into it like I can do every once in a while And that halls just came shooting right out of my mouth And I forget who had hit this was about 15 years ago I forget who they're no longer in the church, by the way But uh, I came shooting out of my mouth and and I you know I had to apologize but you know sometimes when I get a cold if I don't suck on something when i'm preaching that i'm going to start coughing and hacking and all that kind of stuff and hopefully that won't happen tonight and hopefully Uh, my halls won't hit any of you as i'm preaching If it comes out just duck and duck real quick and act as if nothing happened and we'll just keep moving on Okay, because I have another one right here just in case it does happen, okay i've come prepared But today tonight elijah departs in style.

Nobody departs like elijah departs. We know that enoch walked with god and uh, He just was no more. He just kept walking right into heaven but but his departure was different than elijah's department the uh, departure and uh is different than any of our Departure will be Uh, unfortunately, there are people who live in the world today who are afraid to death to die They are scared as to what? the unknown brings They they are hopeless They they live in fear And they are scared to death of dying Yet for the believer, he understands that death truly is a departure It's not the end of anything It's a moving on to that Which he's always anticipated That's why paul says these words over in second timothy chapter four verse number six He says for I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure has come I have fought the good fight.

I have finished the course I have kept the faith in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness Which the lord the righteous judge will award to me on that day And not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing So he saw death as a departure here. He was in the mamertine prison in rome and he was Looking at death as a departure. He was going to die and he knew his death was imminent But he saw it as a departure He saw it as something that he would obtain at the crown of righteousness Which the lord gives to all those who love his appearing And of course the apostle paul was looking and anticipating the appearing of his great god and savior Maybe he would come before he died Well, he didn't and paul died, but he was ushered into glory And we live in anticipation of jesus coming again Taking us home to to be with him We know that when we die as believers, we're going to go home to be with the lord But we would like the lord to come and take us home Based on first thessalonians 4 13 to 18 And the bible says very clearly in those verses paul says But we do not want you to be uninformed brethren about those who are asleep.

That is who are dead So you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope so paul says look We don't want you to grieve as the unbeliever grieves and we don't We're very sad when a loved one dies, but we don't grieve Like the like the world grieves because they have no hope We have the blessed hope we understand Where our loved one is and we understand where we're going when we die, but the unbeliever does not So we don't grieve as the unbeliever For if we believe he says that jesus died and rose again Even so god will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in jesus For this we say to you by the word of the lord That we who are alive and remain until the coming of the lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep For the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout With the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of god and the dead in christ will rise first Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the lord in the air And so we shall always be with the lord therefore Comfort one another with these words in other words.

Here is your comfort The comfort's this That if you die before jesus comes again You will come with him in the clouds, but your body will be raised Okay And we will be caught up together in the air with those whose bodies are raised And so shall we ever be with the lord the bottom line is there is a future there is a hope it's all based on The resurrected christ himself his promise to us Who believe in him? Okay, so we know that when we depart from this life we are going to be with the lord Elijah knows that on this day second king shepherd two He is going to depart The lord's told him that He's also told the prophets that the prophets in jericho the prophets in beth el the prophets By the jordan they also know That this is the day The question is how did they know?

Well, the lord god told them So let me read to you the the narrative as it's recorded in second kings chapter two And this is how it goes It came about when the lord was about to take up elijah by a whirlwind to heaven That elijah went with elisha from gilgal Elijah said to elijah stay here, please For the lord has sent me as far as beth el but elijah said as the lord lives and as your As you yourself live, I will not leave you so they went down to beth el Then the sons of the prophets who were at beth el came out to elijah and said to him Do you know that the lord will take away your master from over you today?

He said yes, I know be still Elijah said to him Elisha, please stay here for the lord has sent me to jericho But he said as the lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you So they came to jericho The sons of the prophets who were at jericho approached elisha and said to him Do you know that the lord will take away your master from over you today? And he answered yes, I know be still in other words be quiet Then elijah said to him, please stay here for the lord has sent me to the jordan He said as the lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you So the two of them went on Now 50 men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance while the two of them stood by the jordan Elijah took his mantle and folded it together and struck the waters And they were divided here and there So that the two of them crossed over on dry ground When they had crossed over Elijah said to elisha ask What I shall do for you Before I am taken from you And elisha said please Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me He said You have asked a hard thing Nevertheless If you see me when I am taken from you It shall be so for you, but if not It shall not be so As they were going along and talking Behold there appeared appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire And separated the two of them and elijah Went up by a whirlwind to heaven Elijah saw it and cried my father my father the chariots of israel and its horsemen They saw elijah no more They took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces He also took up the mantle of elijah that fell from him And he turned and stood by the bank of the jordan He took the mantle of elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said where is the lord the god of elijah?

And when he also had struck the waters They were divided here and there and elijah crossed over Well, you read that And you think okay What is all that about because his departure is one sentence? Okay His leaving this earth is one sentence But there are so many preliminaries Before he leaves So we're going to look at elijah's path elijah's parting And then we'll look at what we'll say as elijah's Portrayal Okay Three things we want to cover with you.

First of all elijah's path He's on a path to leave He knows that this is the day And he's going to take elijah with him but in his conversation with elijah he says please stay here But elijah's not going to do that because elijah knows of elijah He's been with him for approximately 10 plus years And so he's going to stay with him because he loves elijah He's not going to let him go on by himself And so you will note that they begin at gilgal They move from gilgal to bethel And then from bethel they move to jericho then to the jordan and the question is why?

What is all this about And in each location there are some prophets school of prophets Who come out and greet elijah? And say hey, do you know that this is the day your master is going to be taken from you? How do they know that? Well, god must have told them How else would they have known? And elijah says Don't say anything Why Why is he going from place to place to place This is his last day Why doesn't he just cross over the jordan? And leave simply because He did at the end of his life What he did throughout his life He followed the word Of the lord So when the lord said go here That's where he went So the question comes What does he do at these locations?

The bava doesn't tell us Did he instruct the prophets while he was there maybe Was it a time of simple reflection for elijah Maybe Maybe Was it something he was trying to impart to elijah? So elijah would know about the ministry and what he should be doing maybe We don't know because the bible doesn't tell us So the best we can do Is speculate based on what the bible says concerning each location, okay?

So they're in gilgal And they leave there But you got to understand what gilgal is all about and maybe it was at gilgal that it was where the lord told elijah Today is the day And there he was It like uh gilgal is a place of commencement And commitment We know that based on what took place in the book of joshua When israel crossed over the jordan and camped at gilgal this was their benchmark location Once they crossed over the jordan. This was their place of new beginnings This is when they crossed over the jordan they entered into the promised land they camped out here and here a new generation of men Rose to leadership the previous generation Had all died in the wilderness And now there was a new generation of men who were going to lead the book of joshua Records it this way joshua chapter 4 verse number 19 Now the people came up from the jordan on the 10th of the first month and camped at gilgal on the eastern edge of jericho Those 12 stones which they had taken from the jordan joshua set up at gilgal He said to the sons of israel when your children ask their fathers in time to come saying what are these stones?

Then you shall inform your children saying israel crossed this jordan on dry ground For the lord your god dried up the waters of the jordan before you until you had crossed Just as the lord your god had done to the red sea Which he dried up before us until we had crossed That all the peoples of the earth may know That the hand of the lord is mighty So you may fear the lord your god forever This was a place of commencement a place of beginning a place of commitment For here the new generation would be circumcised they would be the sons of the covenants And here these these stones from the jordan would be laid down as a memorial To the mighty hand of god the power of god in israel So you can tell your sons and you can tell your daughters these Stones are here to remind us of the mighty hand of god And maybe it was that gilgal that it was where elijah would inform elisha, you know what you can never forget What god did when he brought us here?

Because the nation's forgotten The fathers have forgotten to tell their children The fathers have forgotten to inform their children as to the mighty hand of god They no longer fear god they're they're involved in idol worship. They're involved in baal worship They're involved in immorality They have they have forgotten the fear of god because they didn't remind their children of the mighty hand of god You stop reminding your children Of how god functions and how god works And how god And his providence moves his people You stop informing your children About the mighty hand of god and they will soon turn from god And maybe this was a time of reflection for elijah as he would think about the nation And why he came on the scene back in first kings chapter 17 about a nation that had turned away from the lord And he reminded elisha Who was going to be his successor?

To understand you must never forget the mighty hand of god This became a place of remembrance This is where it all began for israel when they entered into the promised land And this is where the sons of the covenant made a commitment to god. We will teach our children We will raise our children and maybe elijah said you know what elisha? You gotta go back to this point you gotta remind the nation of what it is god has done So that they never forget And they turn away from the true and living god When they were done They moved to bethel And elijah says you stay here it's 15 mile journey Elijah says as long as you're alive i'm going with you So off they went together And when they got there there were a school of prophets there at bethel And they met them Said hey elijah Today's the day I know This became Bethel a place A place That you need to understand is one truly Of devotion And dependency Because it was at bethel That abraham pitched his tent And that abraham built an altar Way back in genesis chapter 12 See there's a reason why god moved him to gilgal to bethel to jericho then to the jordan And maybe it was for instruction for the prophets maybe it was for instruction for elijah maybe it was for reflection for elijah We don't know But why would god move him from these strategic locations one step at a time He would take elijah and there they would be And he would be reminded once again of how abraham Would not only pitch his tent at bethel Set up an altar at bethel, but there he would call on the name of the lord Here was a man who who who made this altar in a pagan land in genesis chapter 12 God calls abraham.

He moves him from uru the caldees. He moves him He crosses over the great river euphrates and he brings him to this land and says this is the land This is where I will make you a great nation And at bethel which is in hebrew the house of god He builds this altar He pitches his tent Because it was a reminder that he was a stranger in a foreign land And the altar was a reminder of his devotion to his god to worship him no matter where he was no matter what he did And the bible says he called on the name of the lord because he lived the life of dependency Upon the lord Bethel is also the place where jacob Would see the angels ascending and descending On the staircase coming down out of heaven Where he would say i've seen the doorway to heaven And he would build an altar At bethel and he would call upon the name of the lord You see This was a reminder for elisha and the prophets That all their lives must be one of devotion and dependency upon the living god And maybe elijah would take them back to abraham isaac and jacob Take them back to the beginning and help them to understand.

This is how our fathers live their lives This is how we must live our lives And maybe this was his last hurrah, this was his last opportunity to preach and to teach his Last opportunity to to invest into these prophets to invest into elisha that they would know Listen, you can't forgo your devotion. You cannot Renig on your dependency with the living god And so when you think about that You think about gilgol a place of new beginnings And how god Called us to himself That we might embark on a journey that would glorify his name That we might honor him I wonder if you remember your beginnings Your commencement When you began walking with the lord When you gave your life to jesus christ and you began to serve and honor him and your life became one of commitment to christ And you would learn to be devoted to christ and you would learn to be dependent upon the christ and you would learn to live and walk with christ these are things that elijah wants elisha to understand because He will be his successor And the prophets need to grasp is they're going to be effective for the living god And so god would move him from gilgol to bethel And then to jericho If gilgol is a place of commencement and commitment And if bethel is a place of devotion and dependency Jericho is a place of victory and tragedy Victory and tragedy And god would move him to jericho and there would be some more prophets and they would come out and say hey Elijah elisha.

Do you know that your master is going to depart from you today? Yes, I know Stop reminding me I Got it And maybe there'd be another opportunity for instruction. Maybe not another opportunity for reflection But god brought him here for a purpose because jericho is a place of great victory, right? That's where joshua won the victory right after they can't at gilgol They embarked on jericho and they won a a huge victory And it's a reminder that listen if you're going to win a victory it's because you are dependent and you're committed to your god as joshua was And maybe maybe elijah had an opportunity to reflect back on his victories as the prophet of israel and to encourage the prophets and elisha To live a life of victory for their god, but jericho was also a place of tragedy remember achan Remember achan's sin He had taken spoils from jericho And israel would leave jericho and go to a little city called ai much smaller than jericho Very few people inhabited the city And israel lost a battle Because there was sin in the camp And god revealed that through achan And they all died that is achan died His wife died his kids died.

They were all stoned and killed Because they had brought defeat upon israel It's a place of tragedy But it's also a place of tragedy for hayal. It says back in Uh, first king 16.

Remember this we read this earlier first king 16 in his days hayal the bethelite Bethelite bill jericho.

He laid his foundations with the loss of abiram his firstborn and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son segu According to the word of the lord, which he spoke by joshua the son of nun that is in joshua 6 Joshua said no one is to to rebuild the walls nor rebuild the gates if they do their sons will die So hayal Did rebuild the walls? He lost both of his sons Because he did not pay attention to the word of the lord. It's a place of tragedy And maybe this was the opportunity for for elijah to to tell the prophets and to tell elijah listen Whatever god says to do make sure you do it because the wages of sin is always going to be death The wages of sin is death now.

You might not physically die on the spot Like achan and his family did or like hayal's sons did but you can live a death like existence because of your sin And so maybe this was his time to instruct the prophets and remind elisha of the effects and the consequences of sin Jericho is a place of tragedy But it's also a place of victory And maybe he would contrast the two to help them understand listen live a life of victory not a life of tragedy If you do what god says you'll be victorious if you don't you're gonna lose So make sure you do what god says Again, we have no idea what took place in these cities We have no idea what elijah said or if he said anything or if it was just a time of reflection for elijah Where he said nothing to elijah and nothing to the prophets.

We have no idea. We can only speculate about what took place But if you go back and you review the history of israel and you realized what took place at gilgal After they crossed over the jordan They set those memorial stones the place of new beginning for a nation that had so much Promise as he embarked on the land that god had given to them and yet the promise was Unfulfilled And then at bethel the house of god where where it takes you even uh back to abraham to realize the promise that god Gave gave to abraham and his devotion and dependency upon the living god that the nation needs to live that kind of life and then to go to jericho and realize a place of victory a place of Tragedy and god wants us to live a victorious life.

All these were instrumental in elijah Helping elijah understand the great responsibility That would soon be his and then Then It says He went To jordan He went to the river Jordan And there were the sons of the prophets again different ones Looking and watching elijah and elisha And they moved from jericho to the jordan If you've been to israel and you've been to jericho you can very easily see the jordan from from that city And there they stood on the banks of the jordan For jordan is a place of memory and destiny A place of memory and destiny so much took place when the nation crossed over the jordan Here was elijah Thinking You know, it was about 10 years ago that I asked the lord to kill me About 10 years ago Went down and I fled to the wilderness I went to beersheba I went to mount horrib in the wilderness And I asked the lord to kill me.

He did not I'm, so glad that he didn't But What elijah did kill was his selfishness Because in all reality it was selfish for elijah to say lord kill me i'm done that was just selfishness speaking And so he killed his selfish spirit And did what god said to do and obeyed his god And he becomes a model for us an example for us Of a man that on the last day of his life What would you do if god says okay today's the day you're going home to be with me.

What would you do? Where would you go And who would you take with you? Well elijah only had elisha So he took him but he asked him to stay at each spot but elijah says no i'm going with you as long as you're alive I'm going with you wherever you go. I'm gonna go And he went to all these different locations for reflective purposes we presume or Instructive purposes we presume we we don't know but god led them there led them there for a specific purpose But he was busy He didn't sit back and say okay lord take me i'm ready He worked up to the very end He did all he could do until the very very end And he gets to the jordan He takes off his outer cloak his mantle he wraps it up and smacks the water It splits He And elisha Walked through on dry land all these prophets were watching It's one great act of elijah And they're all sitting there watching and he goes through on dry land To the other side now the question comes why is it?

Why is it god did that? If god's going to take him up in a whirlwind, why not take him up from mount carmel? Right think about it Why not journey to the jezreel valley climb mount carmel and let the whirlwind take you up into glory from that one location? Where you shined for god Why Why not take him up in front of all of israel So israel would know about the power of god and the and the mighty miracle of god why take him further? Into the wilderness across the jordan where he and elisha were by themselves If god wanted to take him to heaven he could take him to heaven anywhere From any place, right?

Oh, there's a reason There's a reason because elijah Is going to have to cross back over the jordan See And elijah is going to have to part the waters to get back across the jordan And elijah to do that is going to have to trust the god. He says he believes in And for elijah to do that He will then prove to the prophets who are watching that he truly is called by god to be used by god And god's hand was upon him just like God did for joshua Remember back in joshua chapter three And of course you don't remember why would I ever expect you to remember?

I mean, that's what the preacher says when he's got to turn in his bible to the book of joshua and he can't find it But in joshua chapter three Joshua chapter three these words are recorded joshua 3 verse number 17 So joshua commanded the priest saying come up from the jordan. It came about when the priest who carried the ark I'm, sorry. I want joshua 3 Verse 7 now the lord said to joshua this day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all israel That they may know that just as I have been with moses, I will be with you Okay, i'm going to exalt you joshua.

So everybody will know as I was with moses So i'm going to be with you Elijah is saying to elisha As the lord was with me So he will be with you, but the prophets need to see that he's with you as he was with me And it says in verse number eight You shall move over command the priest who are carrying the ark of the covenant saying When you come to the edge of the waters of the jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan, and then it says over in chapter 4 verse number 14 these words on that day The lord exalted joshua in the sight of all israel so that they revered him Just as they had revered moses all the days of his life So what elijah was doing?

Was taking Elisha down memory lane to help him understand that your destiny is dependent Upon the prophets knowing that as god was upon me there upon you So we're going to cross the river jordan We're going to go god's going to take me you've got to go back across the river But to do so you got to part the waters when you part the waters They will know That as god was with me, so he will be with you That's why god took him over there What other reason would there be? see And that's exactly what happened Because he would take elijah's mantle.

He would take that mantle. He would strike the waters And the waters would depart And prophets would see all this And know that elisha Was the successor To elijah And they would respect and revere and honor him as they did Elijah So as they're parting as they're moving Elijah says as they crossed over verse nine Ask what what I shall do for you Before i'm taken from you Then remember they're walking along the way He just simply says to elisha What would you like me to do for you? ask What you wish And so elisha says please Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me double portion simply is the right to inheritance Based on deuteronomy 21 verse number 17.

The firstborn would receive the double portion. He would be the right Uh, he had the right to the inheritance and the right to succeed his father in leadership in his family So all the life elijah's not asking elijah's not saying I want to be Doubly great I want to be twice as good as you are. Give me a double portion No, he's just asking that he would be the successor and be the one to inherit What elijah had been given by god? Elijah says You have asked A hard thing You've asked something very difficult Number one because I can't give it to you That's only by god, so if you see me go up you'll get it if you don't see me go up you won't get it But it's also a hard thing because listen to be a spokesperson for god is a hard thing it's not easy ask elijah He got afraid he he became depressed he ran from jezebel Listen, if you're going to speak for god, it's not an easy thing.

It's a hard thing I was coming home the other day with my youngest son andrew aj and he said, you know what dad? I think i'm going to be a pastor And I said hold on a second If you could do anything other than being a pastor do it Because to be a pastor requires great responsibility Great integrity and the ramifications Are huge if you fail The bible says don't many of you seek to become teachers for with it comes a stricter and a greater condemnation well, even more so for the for the pastor who leads a church If you can do anything else do it if god's called you you must obey you must follow You must submit But to be a pastor is not an easy thing it's a very difficult thing very hard thing Elijah says to elisha.

It's a hard thing you ask You just don't think you can pick up my mantle and just do what I did I think you just follow my footsteps and you know You know pronounce judgment upon people and just go into people's homes and palaces and say hey You know what? God's gonna do this and god's gonna do that and everybody's gonna like you Remember, I was the most wanted man in all of israel there for a while It's a hard thing. You're asking me to let you do Hard thing But that's what elisha wanted He wanted to follow in the footsteps of elijah.

Now. Remember elijah's already called him 10 years ago Remember on mount horeb. God said you got to go You got to anoint the king of israel. You got to go anoint the king of syria and you got to go find elisha Anoint him to be your successor So elijah's already done they did it 10 years ago So So elisha knows it's coming But you never know the reality of it until it's finality and this was the day So he says I want a double portion I want the inheritance I want the right To succeed or to be your successor in this ministry And so elijah tells him it's a hard thing nevertheless if you see me when i'm taken from you It should be so for you, but if not It should not be so That is the path To his departure Point number two departing one verse As they were going along and talking Behold there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire Which separated the two of them?

Elijah went up by whirlwind to heaven That's it just so Simply stated This is a miracle. This is amazing They're walking along and as they're talking they're walking along here comes a chariot of fire and horses of fire In between the two of them to separate the two of them And they're separated And there's a whirlwind Elijah goes up into heaven In a whirlwind He departs he's gone just like That very simply stated No dramatics. No, no oohs and ahs no audience to watch Just elijah and elisha he's gone And there are many similarities to this throughout the scriptures when it comes to Understanding not only the rapture of the church and when the church will be translated into glory And even christ's ascension remember christ was talking to his men as he was talking to his men.

He just began to rise and ascend into heaven Then the angel said men of galilee. Why stands he gazing up into heaven? Do you not know that this same jesus will return in the same manner in which he left? They'd never seen an ascension before But they were talking to the messiah and he ascended in the into glory elijah and elisha they were talking and elijah's Caught up in a whirlwind and into glory he goes Isn't it interesting the the contrast between ahab jezebel and elijah? They have a shot with an arrow and he bleeds out and the dogs lick up his blood just like uh, elijah prophesied Jezebel was pushed out of her window and trampled by jehu's chariot the dogs came ate everything except for her Uh her hands and her her skull So she left but elijah He kind of just ascended up into heaven And with the unbeliever The destiny is always tragic with the believer The destiny is always triumphant Because he goes into glory with his lord but very simply Very quietly it stated they're walking along Here comes a chariot of fire.

Here comes horses of fire And they separate him That's why they're there And elijah ascends into heaven in the whirlwind He departs he is no more he's gone Which leads us to our third point and that is elijah's portrayal I want you to listen to what elijah says Elisha saw it and cried out my father my father the chariots of israel and its horsemen That is the epilogue I want at my funeral That should be the epilogue You want or the eulogy excuse me you want?

at your funeral That should be the eulogy spoken at your funeral my father my father The chariots of israel and its horsemen That's it That's all I need to say Say well What in the world does that mean oh, by the way when elisha dies later on in second kings King joash is there He weeps over him and king joash says the exact same thing my father my father The chariots of israel and his horsemen says the exact same thing.

He gets the exact same eulogy that elijah gets So it must be important and it is Why? Because it speaks of elisha number one as father number two as fortress As father he is provider as fortress he is protector Protector And that is the eulogy that should be read at every man's funeral My father my father now Elijah was in a sense elisha's father because if you were the teacher and you had a student the student would refer to you as father If You were a master and you had a servant which elisha did serve Elijah, he would refer to his master as father If you were the younger which elisha was and you had an older person next to you you would refer to him as father So elisha the younger would refer to elijah as father And because elisha was young when elijah took him in he was like his father to him It speaks of respect.

It speaks of affection. It speaks of adoration. It speaks of admiration It speaks of one's love and respect For the one who led him as he did Elijah was elisha's Provider And every man should be looked at when he dies as the ultimate provider for his family He provides because he he he leads he provides because he feeds He is the ultimate provider because he makes sure that not only are they fed physically They are fed spiritually And not only are they led to greater responsibility, but they are led to a greater spirituality That's what elijah did for elisha My father my father you can just see him as he sits there and watches as these chariots of horses These chariots of fire and horses on fire come right in between them and elijah Goes up into heaven my father my father Such great affection for him because elijah was his spiritual father Such respect admiration But more than just father More than just provider He was the fortress of israel When it speaks of The chariots of israel the chariot was a war chariot in hebrew And elijah Was the fortress of israel ahab had his chariots ahab had his horses, but remember after the rain had begun to Descend upon the earth at the three and a half years of a drought that ahab was in his chariot And he would ride back to jezreel, but it was elijah who ran past him and ran faster than his chariot Ahab had the chariots ahab had the horses.

He had the military might So when you speak of chariots and horses, you're speaking of military might The protective forces of a nation that's why psalm 20 verse number seven says some trust in chariots some Trust in horses, but we will trust in the name of the lord our god They shall be brought down and fall but we shall rise up and stand firm. That was elijah Ahab trusted in his chariots and his horses jezebel trusted in her chariots and her horses but elijah