2 Kings 2:9 – When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.”
Reminiscent of the days of Moses when God parted the Red Sea, God then performs yet another miracle as the prophets of God look on. It must have felt something like a sports team watching the greatest player to ever play the sport take his last shot, or a legendary soldier firing his last round before walking off the field of battle forever.
We read of Elijah at the Jordan River in which Jesus would later be baptized, “Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground.” (2 Kings 2:8) Following Elijah’s departure to Heaven, Elisha crosses back over the Jordan by striking the water with the cloak of Elijah, parting it yet again. It is evident that the anointing was transferred to the next generation of leadership.
In an emotional farewell scene where Elisha will say his last goodbye to Elijah, he makes one request, “When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.’ And Elisha said, ‘Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.’ And he said, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.’” (2 Kings 2:9-10)
Elijah was empowered by the Holy Spirit. What Elisha is asking for is the same anointing. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is the power and presence of God to be at work for us, in us, through us, and around us. Elisha rightly knows that to continue supernatural ministry will require the Spirit of God.
What are you thankful for after studying the life of Elijah?
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