And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. (2 Kings 2:12)
The rending of clothes was usually a token of grief and dismay (Num. 14:6; 2 Sam. 13:19; 2 Chron. 34:27; Ezra 9:3; Job 1:20; 2:12). In this instance, however, Elisha’s rending of his garment was probably not so much an indication of his grief as of the fact that henceforth he would need his old garment no more—he would wear the mantle of Elijah (2 Kings 2:13).
No more.
Elisha had seen his master taken into heaven, but once he was gone, Elisha was to see him no more. Not until the resurrection, when all the righteous dead are raised from their graves, will Elisha be permitted to see Elijah again. So it will be with the disciples who saw Jesus ascend into heaven, and “a cloud received him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). At His second coming they will once more be permitted to see Him (Acts 1:11). Even though we may be parted from our loved ones for a time and in this present world see them no more, the hour is coming when we will see them again—the happy hour when we shall never part again.
My father.
Elisha regarded the older prophet as a spiritual father. As son and heir, the younger prophet was now to enter upon the responsibilities of the elder. The work Elijah had so nobly begun was henceforth to be carried on by Elisha.
Elisha saw it.
Thus was fulfilled the sign given by Elijah (v. 10). Elisha now knew that he was to have the double portion of Elijah’s spirit for which he had asked, and that there was an important work ahead for him.
The chariot of Israel.
The words were inspired by the awesome manner in which Elijah was taken into heaven, but they express the prophet’s realization of the fact that Israel’s true defense lay not in earthly might, not in armies, horsemen, and chariots, but in the might and power of God. One angel sent by God to guard His children is more than a match for the mightiest armies of earth.