4 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 . 5 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 ." 6 Then Elijah said to him, "Please stay here , for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan ." And he said , "As the Lord lives , and as you yourself live , I will not leave you." So the two of them went on.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Kings 2:4-6
Commentary on 2 Kings 2:1-8
(Read 2 Kings 2:1-8)
The Lord had let Elijah know that his time was at hand. He therefore went to the different schools of the prophets to give them his last exhortations and blessing. The removal of Elijah was a type and figure of the ascension of Christ, and the opening of the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Elisha had long followed Elijah, and he would not leave him now when he hoped for the parting blessing. Let not those who follow Christ come short by tiring at last. The waters of Jordan, of old, yielded to the ark; now, to the prophet's mantle, as a token of God's presence. When God will take up his faithful ones to heaven, death is the Jordan which they must pass through, and they find a way through it. The death of Christ has divided those waters, that the ransomed of the Lord may pass over. O death, where is thy sting, thy hurt, thy terror!