7. The Double Portion granted to Elisha

The Double Portion granted to Elisha

Elisha asked for a hard thing from Elijah. Elijah said, ’You will get it on one condition, and that is that you keep your eye fixed upon me and if you see me ascending into the heavens then your request will be granted to you’. Well, the time came when Elijah was caught up. Oh, what a wonderful translation! Elisha was watching carefully and he saw Elijah being caught up and received the double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Then he said ’I have this double portion, and I am going to see how it works.’ Elisha wanted to experience the truth and reality of this wonderful gift that had been given to him (a double portion of Elijah’s spirit) for himself before he ever went out in public service. So just as Elijah smote the river Jordan and was able to walk over on dry land, so Elisha took the mantle of Elijah and smote the Jordan and the river went back as Elisha too walked over on dry land. This was an incident in the life of Elijah and Elisha, but we believe it has a lesson for us today. We do not want to be imaginative, we just want to follow out these two or three things that are mentioned, and just see how we can fit them in to New Testament teaching that we might get the gain of them.

"And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." (2 Kings 2:9) In other words Elijah asked Elisha ’What do you want? What is nearest to your heart?’, and of course Elisha asked him for a double portion. Now this matter of Christians making requests is a very, very important thing. The Lord Jesus said often in His ministry "Ask, and ye shall receive" (John 14:13-14; John 15:16; John 16:23-24). I believe that that was carried out to the letter. In the early days of the church’s history when the apostles, utterly dependent upon their Lord for power in their service, cried aloud to Him in prayer, He answered them. I believe, by extension, that it applies to us too, that if there are matters connected with our witness and testimony in this world we can cry aloud to the Lord and get the help and blessing that is necessary. I do not think it means that any prayer that we utter to the Lord is going to be answered; I do not believe that for one moment. I am sure that every Christian here knows what it is to ask the Lord for help and blessing for himself and others and, for the moment, prayers have not been answered, but this is something that we must learn, we must learn what is the Lord’s will. I have heard people say that we should not qualify our prayers by saying ’If the Lord will’, we should demand of the Lord - oh, what a fallacy! This is presumption of the highest possible kind. I remember our Master, bowed down in the garden, saying "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). I believe every prayer of every Christian should be qualified by this statement, ’If it is Thy will’. So this matter of requesting is a very important thing. We need to have spiritual discernment to ask the right kind of things. Nothing pleases the heart of God more than to hear us praying in relation to His own glory, as centred in Christ, and made known in the power of the Spirit. The two prayers of Paul in Ephesians 1:1-23; Ephesians 3:1-21 are beautiful examples of prayers by a spiritually minded man. Do we find in them anything of Paul’s difficulties, his trials, his sorrows, or the opposition to him? No, we find Paul praying in those prayers for the upbuilding and benefit of the saints, for the glory of Christ, for the glory of God. What wonderful requests. But to come back to our incident in connection with Elijah and Elisha, it is perfectly permissible for us to pray for things that stand related to our witness here in this world, and we cannot ask enough as far as this is concerned. God appeared to Solomon and said, "Ask what I shall give thee" (2 Chronicles 1:7). Oh, my friend, I often feel that this is one of the most difficult things for us to answer, God saying to any man, ’If you ask me what you want most I will give it to you’. What a challenge! What would we ask for? I think it is perfectly obvious that we would ask for what was nearest to our hearts. Solomon said "Give me now wisdom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this, thy people, who are so great?" (v.10) He wanted this in relation to God’s people, and God was so pleased with that request that He said, "Wisdom and knowledge are granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour" (v.12). He would give more than wisdom, He would give him all the things that he did not ask for, the things that are nearest to a man’s heart. There are many requests like this, not for personal gain, not for fame, not to make oneself important, but praying earnestly in relation to the needs of the people of God. I do not think for one moment that Elisha wanted a double portion of Elijah’s spirit just to make much of himself, not for a moment. I believe he was really anxious to serve the people of God just as Elijah had done, and, in fact, in a greater way because he wanted a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.

I think it is right to say that when we read the Bible we find that succeeding generations lessen in spiritual power. When things are set up by God there is power and prosperity and strength, but then, as generations succeed, things seem to diminish. I feel that Elisha was saying ’I do not want to be any less than Elijah (not for any pride), I want to maintain the testimony that this dear man has maintained, and I will require a double portion of his spirit to do it. I require help and strength to continue this wonderful testimony that he rendered’. That is a worthy thing to pray for today, dear brethren, that God would give us power, faithfulness, devotedness and energy, that we might be enabled to maintain what has been handed down to us. Those who have gone before in courage and faithfulness and devotedness to the Lord maintained things for His glory, and very often in self sacrifice. We are responsible now to maintain those things and hand them on to others if the Lord should not come soon. So you see it requires a great deal of spiritual energy, wisdom, faithfulness and power. Paul said to Timothy "The things that thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2). And so the testimony is carried on in power and blessing. What a responsibility to receive from the hands of others, those precious, holy, eternal things that have been made known.

"And [Elijah] said, Thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so." (2 Kings 2:10)

We find in Scripture that some of the things that are really worthwhile are things that are hard things. In John 6:1-71 the Lord Jesus said "It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (v.63). The disciples said "This is a hard saying. Who can hear it?" (v.60). and "from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him" (v.66). I am sure that they felt ’Well, we are wonderful people. We have a wonderful teacher. He is going to restore the glories of Israel. All the energy that we can impart in this service is going to make things work’, but the Lord was saying ’The flesh can profit you nothing. Do not think for one moment that in your power and in your energy you are going to achieve anything. I only have the words of eternal life. The words that I speak unto you are spirit and life. If you listen to my teaching and appropriate it then you are really going to know what eternal life is’. What did he say? "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you" (v.53). They did not understand that all this glorious blessing was bound up in the Person of the Lord and in the appropriation of His death. It was a hard saying and so many walked no more with Him.

Peter, in his writings, said "our beloved brother Paul..... hath written unto you..... speaking of these things in which are some things hard to be understood" (2 Peter 3:15-16), but Peter did not leave Paul, he did not say ’I am leaving Paul and his ministry because I cannot understand it’. I heard recently of some young people who said ’We are not going to go back to the meetings any more. We cannot understand. The Lord’s supper does not seem to provide anything for us. We do not get anything out of the meetings, the Bible readings are too deep, we do not understand and so we are stopping going.’ Could you imagine that happening in university, that the students, when they enrol and hear a lecture by a professor, saying, ’We have stopped going to the university because we do not understand’. The thing is ludicrous! How could they ever make progress? If we give up because we do not understand we will never make progress. Peter said that Paul wrote things "hard to be understood" but he carried on. The Spirit of God would teach and unfold these hard things. There has to be a diligent acquiring of the truth. ’Hard to understand?’ Paul was speaking of things that had never been revealed before, a Man in the glory of God, the body of Christ here upon earth, the body united to Him in the power of the Spirit; things hard to be understood indeed. Dear brethren, if things are hard to be understood, let us pursue them until we get to know. Do not give up. There are many, many things that I do not understand in the Scriptures (and I have been reading them for a very long time now), but I keep on hoping that someday they will be opened up to me. Oh, there is so much to learn. So Elijah said to Elisha "It is a hard thing that you have asked, Elisha. Now you watch carefully, if you see me ascending you will get what you asked for". So Elisha watched carefully and saw Elijah being caught up to heaven and he received the double portion.

Now what is the double portion? When Christ ascended into glory the Holy Spirit was sent down into the life and bodies of the believers. He indwelt them. This is the great distinctive teaching of the present dispensation. There is a living Man in the glory of God who represents the people of God continually, and there is a divine Person, coequal with the Father and the Son who indwells the bodies of the believers and represents them in all their affairs upon earth. There is an Advocate in glory and an Advocate upon earth: a wonderful, wonderful blessing. The word for "Comforter" in John 14:26 is the same word as the Advocate of 1 John 2:1. So we are represented in glory and we are represented upon earth, and that by divine Persons. Now this is the real spring and power of the enjoyment of all Christian blessing and the power for all Christian testimony. If we do not understand this then we are missing the very best. Here are the essentials of the present Christian dispensation; and it is a very wonderful thing to take account of. If I see a Man at the right hand of God I realise that victory has been accomplished over death, the purpose of God has been secured in a Man, and He is the guarantee that every thought of God will be fulfilled. If I take account of the Holy Spirit indwelling me, I realise that I have a power to rise above every opposition that might face me as I seek to follow out the truth of God in this world. I think that is a wonderful double portion, a wonderful provision for every believer at the present time. I suggest to you, dear brethren, that this is an application that can stand the test of Scripture. This man Elisha, from this moment onwards, would be faced with many difficulties, many trials, and, thank God, many blessings too. This double portion of Elijah’s spirit that he received would be his sustaining power in all that he sought to do and enjoy. So we think of it in relation to ourselves, this is a double portion that we have for every step of the journey and for the enjoyment of all that God has given to us.

"And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horseman thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan." (1 Kings 2:11-13)

I feel that there is a very close connection between the double portion and Elisha rending his clothes in two pieces. Two in Scripture always indicates an adequate witness; one verse can prove this, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Corinthians 13:1). Indeed, no charge was to be held against an elder unless there were two witnesses (1 Timothy 5:19). Here we have a man who gives a witness to the fact by rending his own garments in two pieces that all that Elijah represented in the past is finished, and in the power of this double portion that he received by putting on Elijah’s mantle he is now striding forth in that energy. What a lesson for us, dear brethren! I believe the thing that we learn least of all is that our own flesh is of no use whatsoever in the things of God. We learn many other things before we learn that. It is a very difficult lesson for us to learn, but it is something that we must learn if we want to be true to the Lord because the flesh will always intrude itself into that which belongs to the Lord, it is that kind of thing, it is in hatred and rebellion against God. The Bible says that "they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:8), it is impossible, so if any bit of flesh intrudes into our service for God then, in that measure, the things of God are affected. So I believe Elisha rending his own garment in two pieces was his way of saying ’I am finished with that life. I want to be in this new life’. Oh, dear brethren, that we might learn this in a deeper fashion. In baptism we are giving an expression to that kind of thing. We have been baptised to the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and by baptism we are giving a witness that we are finished with what we were before and that we desire to walk in newness of life. What a test for us all, and yet this is the pathway we all have to tread if we are going to be here for the Lord’s glory.

"And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over." (2 Kings 2:14)

Elisha said ’I have this double portion, I am in the position that Elijah was in, I now want to do the things that he did’, and so he took Elijah’s mantle and smote the river Jordan and walked over on dry ground. So we today have to put into practice the things that we have learned. I am sure that this lies at the root of much of our weakness, that we learn many things but we fail to make them work, we acquire a great deal of knowledge but we seldom rise to the height that God would have us in experience. This is a wonderful lesson to learn. Elisha made his knowledge work. It was an experience with him. We might say that before ever he went out in public service he determined to prove for himself that God, the God of Elijah, still existed and was there to help him. I remember reading the life of the founder of the China Inland Mission, Hudson Taylor, and he said ’Before ever I go out to China I must prove for myself the power of prayer. I cannot possibly go out there to serve the Lord unless I know that God answers prayer’. I advise you to get that book if you have not read it before, it is called ’The growth of the soul’. It is a thrilling, establishing book. That dear man, in many difficult circumstances, waited upon God, prayed to God, and proved God so that when he went out to China he was going out in the value of a proved experience, and when difficulties came along it was simply a normal matter with him to refer the matter to God because he knew he would get the answer that was consistent with God’s will. George Muller of Bristol was another man who really proved God in prayer. Someone said to him ’Mr Muller, you have a marvellous faith.’ ’No,’ he replied, ’I have not. I have got the same faith that you have; only I make it work’. And how he made it work! What a man of faith! I suppose most of us would be very much concerned if we were responsible for a few children in our home and we sent them to bed, perhaps with a bite of supper, but with not a bite to give them for their breakfast the next morning. That would be a test of faith, but think of five to six hundred children to feed in the morning and no food. That man of God, with his companions, just got down on his knees and referred the matter to the Lord in the constant hope that everything would be all right, and it always was, not one child ever went without his or her meal. God answers believing faith.

I believe that this is what Elisha here represents, smiting the waters for himself, seeing it work and in the confidence that such an experience brought, striding forth in testimony for God. This is a wonderful lesson for us. This is something worthwhile for us to follow; not simply for the sake of something miraculous, oh, no, dear brethren, but as it applies to the will of God in our lives, this is what matters. Let us not be desirous of seeking miraculous things to make much of ourselves. There is a man in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, Simon the sorcerer (chap.8) who wanted this kind of thing. He wanted to be someone to demonstrate divine power operating, and that is simply out as far as the Christian testimony is concerned. But we do want to experience answers to prayer in relation to our testimony and the will of God. We must lay hold of the truth that there is a Man in the glory of God and the Spirit of God indwells us. These are the requisites for the real experience with God in this world.