Before the prophet Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, he did a three city tour of the countryside.
- Starting from Gigal (or on their way there, at least), Elijah headed to Bethel;
- From Bethel, he traveled to Jericho, and
- From Jericho, Elijah crossed the Jordan river
At each stop along the way, Elijah would tell Elisha to stay behind, but Elijah would consistently respond "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." Also at each stop, Elijah and Elisha would meet a company of prophets who would reiterate to Elisha that the LORD was going to take Elijah away. When they left Jericho, fifty prophets from the city accompanied them to the Jordan.
I never gave it much thought previously, but on Mount Carmel during the challenge to Baal, Elijah had proclaimed that "I am the only one of the LORD's prophets left." [1 Kings 18:22] Later, at Mount Horeb, Elijah complained to God that all the LORD's prophets had been killed but him. [1 Kings 19:10].
Perhaps God was taking Elijah on this little journey to show him that there were indeed prophets of the LORD left in Israel.
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