2 Kings 2: A Double Portion

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.” -2 Kings 2:9-10

When Elijah was ready to leave this world, he asked his protege Elisha what he could do for him. Elisha’s answer? To receive a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.

What did Elisha mean? He simply wanted to have double the spiritual blessing upon his life that Elijah had. This answer must have please the Lord, for it came true shortly afterwards.

Interestingly, there is both one encouragement and one warning for believers today regarding this concept of a double portions. First, a warning. When a person comes to faith in Jesus, he or she receives all of God they need. There is no need to seek for “more” of God. Jesus is already with you.

Second, however, there is an encouragement for us today. The New Testament teaches that when we draw near to God, he will draw near to us. When God uses a person in your life to help you grow spiritually, you are also growing closer to God and God draws near to you. In this sense, surrounding ourselves with godly people provides significant blessings. We are called to reach the unreached, yet we are also called to live in community with other believers and under the influence of those who can help us develop a deeper spiritual life. We don’t need a double portion of some other Christian leader, but we can all benefit from the spiritual wisdom of other believers who can shape our lives here and now.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author and coauthor of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.