REVIVE 40 DOUBLE PORTION

Elisha: “God is my salvation”

Complete surrender
1 Kings 19:19-21
We have already looked at this passage when considering the ministry of Elijah,
but it will do us no harm to consider it once more. There were four things which
could have discouraged Elisha from following Elijah’s call. First, he came from a
prominent family and had the prospect of inheriting considerable material
wealth. Second, he had a good relationship with his family, thus making it difficult
for him to leave them. Third, he was leaving the position of foreman over at least
eleven servants to assume a position of servitude. Fourth, he was breaking with a
secure and peaceful life for one of danger and physical hardship. Yet he did not
hesitate to do it.
Someone has pointed out that whenever God called anyone to a special work in
either the Old or New Testament, they were never idle but already engaged in a
specific task. An honest calling in the world does not preclude us from receiving a
higher and more heavenly call.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in
all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3:5-
6, NIV)
The mantle received
2 Kings chapter 2
Was Elisha disobedient in refusing to remain behind when his master asked him
to? (v.2) Some think so, but look again at the facts. Elisha was Elijah’s companion
for at least six years (1 Kings 20:22 & 26; 22:1 & 51). During that time, he had
learned to discern the true wishes and desires that lay behind his master’s words.
He would have been able to distinguish between a test and a command by the
very inflection of his master’s voice. Elijah’s words were a test, not a command.
That Elijah was pleased by Elisha’s refusal to remain behind is quite clear. He
presses on, sees his master taken up to heaven, obtains the coveted mantle of
power and goes out to accomplish twice as much as his master did.
For thought and contemplation:
Elisha demonstrated that he had acquired a servant’s heart by knowing and
following the unspoken wishes of his master. Without that quality, no one can
effectively serve as God’s representative here on earth. Ask God to help you
cultivate a ‘servant’s heart’.
“My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways.” (Prov. 23:26,
NIV)
Speaks with authority
2 Kings chapter 3
The king of Judah, the king of Israel, and the king of Edom join together to make
war on their common enemy, Moab, but on the journey south, disaster strikes
because of lack of water. Faithful Jehosphaphat suggests that they should seek
the help of the Lord through one of His prophets. They go to Elisha, who
condemns Joram as being insincere, but for the sake of godly Jehoshaphat, he
seeks the Lord on their behalf. A minstrel is summoned and, as he plays, Elisha
receives a prophetic word from God: “Make this valley full of ditches… You will
see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you… will
drink” (vv. 16-17, NIV). The next morning the prophecy is fulfilled.
It is a blessing to be favored with the company of those who have power with God
and know how to engage in prevailing prayer. It is a pity that many of the
governments and rulers of our day fail to understand this, for a nation may be
greatly upheld by the fervent prayers of those who live under God’s authority.
“…This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by
my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Zech. 4:6, NIV)
Miracles performed
2 Kings chapter 4
Miracles flow fast and furious in Elisha’s dynamic ministry. First, a widow who
comes to Elisha saying that a creditor has come to take her two sons is saved
through the miraculous supply of oil (vv. 1-7). Next, when Elisha stays in the home
of a wealthy woman in Shunem, he predicts that she will have a son—a prophecy
which is fulfilled.
At a certain point in his life, the son is taken ill and dies, but is miraculously
brought back to life through Elisha’s prayers (vv. 8-37).
Later, when some students at the school of the prophets are eating broth which
has inadvertently been poisoned, Elisha again intervenes and produces a miracle.
His final miracle is the feeding of 100 men with a small quantity of food.:
Does God work miracles today? Of course, He does. Salvation is a miracle. Divine
guidance is a miracle. Pause and give some thought today to the miracles which
God has done for you. Begin with your conversion—then add others as they come
to mind. And don’t forget to say ‘thanks.
“Jesus… said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
(Matt. 19:26, NIV)
The difference between Elijah and Elisha is much more striking than the
resemblance.
Elijah is the prophet of the wilderness, rugged and austere; Elisha is the prophet
of civilized life, of the city and the court, with the dress, manners, and appearance
of “other grave citizens.”
Elijah is the messenger of vengeance—sudden, fierce, and overwhelming; Elisha
is the messenger of mercy and restoration.
Elijah’s miracles, with few exceptions, are works of wrath and destruction;
Elisha’s miracles, with but one notable exception, are works of beneficence and
healing.
Elijah is the “prophet as fire”, an abnormal agent working for exceptional ends;
Elisha is the “holy man of God which passeth by us continually,” mixing in the
common life of the people, and promoting the advancement of the Kingdom of
God in its ordinary channels of mercy, righteousness, and peace.

Temptation resisted
2 Kings 5:1-19
The healing of Naaman is, without doubt, one of the best known of Elisha’s
miracles. Naaman, a commander-in-chief of the Syrian army, was a great and
successful soldier—but he was a leper. His Jewish slave girl tells him there is a
prophet in Israel who can cure him, and a letter is dispatched from the king of
Syria to the king of Israel, asking for his help. The king of Israel, Joram, regards this
as an attempt to pick a quarrel, as he considers the request impossible to fulfil.
When Elisha hears this, he sends for Naaman and tells him to go and wash in the
river Jordan. Though resistant at first, he does as Elisha says and is healed.
Elisha refuses the presents he is offered, and resists the temptation to take any
credit to himself for the miracle.
Although a Christian faces many temptations, one of the greatest is the
temptation to take to oneself credit that is due only to God. Difficult though it
may be for us to understand, it is a firm Scriptural principle that God will not
share His glory with anyone else.
“For my own sake… I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my
glory to another.” (Isa. 48:11, NIV)
Exercising faith
2 Kings chapters 6 & 7
During building operations, one of the sons of the prophets loses a borrowed axe-
head in the river Jordan, and appeals to Elisha for help. Elisha miraculously causes
the axe-head to float in the water so that it can be easily retrieved.
Elisha’s supernatural knowledge also enables him to keep the king of Israel
informed of the Syrians’ every move in the war. Advised of this, the king of Syria
attempts to capture Elisha, but he is foiled and frustrated by the miraculous acts
of the prophet.
Elisha’s faith rises to every occasion, and nowhere is that more evident than in his
prediction of relief in the great famine of Samaria. His prediction comes to pass
the very next day.
Ever considered what faith really is? Take each letter of the word ‘faith’ and see if
you can think up various acrostics that spell out its meaning. Here’s one to start
with: Forsaking All I Trust Him. Now see how many you can come up with.
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
(Heb. 11:1, NIV)
Victorious in death
2 Kings 13:1-21
Elisha died when he was about eighty years of age. During his long ministry he
had been a prophet to whom rich and poor, great and small had turned for help.
Toward the close of his life, he appears to be on good terms with King Jehoash,
who visits him and shows deep concern over the prophet’s approaching demise.
On his deathbed, Elisha predicts the coming victory over Syria, instructing the king
in a symbolic ritual with bow and arrows. The king, who is not a man of
outstanding faith, limits the scope of the victory, thus making Elisha angry. One
last miracle remains: after Elisha dies and is buried, his bones bring life to a dead
man.
Elisha asked Elijah for twice as much power as that which was shown by his
master. Did he receive it? It is recorded that Elisha performed exactly twice as
many miracles as did Elijah. He seemed to have more power in his dead bones
than many of us have in our living bones!
“…if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised
Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit…”
(Rom. 8:11, NIV)
The lesson to be learned from Elisha
In much of the book of Kings, Elisha seems somewhat overshadowed by his
powerful and illustrious master, Elijah, but there can be no doubt that he was a
great and mighty prophet nevertheless. The outstanding lesson that we learn
from Elisha’s life is the importance of loyalty. But not just loyalty—a special kind
of loyalty. Elisha learned how to know and follow the unspoken wishes of his
master. Elisha was no doubt aware of the story of a previous servant of Elijah
who, when instructed by Elijah to remain behind while he went into the
wilderness to die, did exactly that. It is significant that, although the servant was
not disobedient, this is the last mention of him in Scripture (1 Kings 19:2-3).
Elisha demonstrated a sensitivity to Elijah’s unspoken wishes, and was rewarded
by God with a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.

QUESTIONS:
1. WHAT DO WE MEAN BY “DOUBLE PORTION?”.
2. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PROPHET ELIJAH AND THE
PROPHET ELISHA?
3. WHAT IS BASICALLY PROPHET ELISHA’S ROLE?