Elijah and Elisha: The Double Portion and Ministry of Miracles, 1 & 2 Kings

Elijah and Elisha

The relationship between Elijah and Elisha stands as one of the most powerful mentor-successor stories in Scripture. When Elisha boldly requested a double portion of Elijah's spirit, he positioned himself to inherit an extraordinary ministry of miracles that would demonstrate God's power throughout Israel. From the dramatic calling at the plow to the spectacular translation of Elijah into heaven, this narrative in 1 Kings 19 and 2 Kings 2 reveals how God equips His servants for supernatural service and passes the mantle of prophetic authority from one generation to the next. 

Elijah: One of the Most Colorful and Courageous Prophets in the Bible

Elijah is one of the most colorful and courageous prophets who ever lived. Dr. John C. Whitcomb sees Elijah's arrival this way: 

"Like a meteor suddenly flashing across the dark sky, Elijah appears on the scene without historical background and without warning!"

The Call of Elisha to Special Service as Elijah's Successor (1 Kings 19:19-21)

¹⁹ So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. ²⁰ And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.”

And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”

²¹ So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

Elisha Prepared for Special Service: 2 Kings 2:1-10

1 And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. ² Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel.

³ Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?”

And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”

⁴ Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho.”

But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho.

⁵ Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?”

So he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”

⁶ Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.”

But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So the two of them went on. ⁷ And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. ⁸ Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

⁹ And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?”

Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”

¹⁰ So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” ¹¹ Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

The Still Small Voice: God Speaks to Elijah in the Cave 1 Kings 19:9

Elijah as One of the Two Witnesses in Revelation

Someday the Lord will allow His prophet to lay down his life for Jesus (Compare Malachi 4:5-6 with Revelation 11:3-12). Both Moses (Numbers 11:15) and Jonah (John 4:3) had also prayed this despondent prayer. Elijah is one of the two witnesses, that is one of the two olive trees, that is one of the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth (Revelation 11:3-4).

God's Ministering Angels: God's Provision for His Exhausted Prophet

As Elijah slept, an angel touched him and fed him (1 Kings 19:5). God often allows his angels to participate in his dealing with man. (see Hebrews 1:14; 1 Peter 1:12).

Elijah was by now totally exhausted, having traveled 150 miles from Jezreel to Beersheba. But now he desperately needed food.

Physical and Spiritual Natures: The Body-Soul Connection

Our spiritual and physical natures are so closely entwined that one automatically affects the other. Part of his terrible soul depression was due to the mistreatment of his body. The stomach can affect the soul. (See Psalms 127:2.) God himself finally spoke through a Still, Small Voice to Elijah in a cave, perhaps the same one where Moses had viewed God's glory some five centuries before. (Compare 1 Kings 19:9 with Exodus 33:21-23.)

Four Divine Tasks: God's Says to Elijah

Despite his objections, Elijah was ordered immediately to perform four tasks:

     a. Get back and start preaching again. Besides, he was not alone as he claimed, for God still had 7,000 followers in Israel who had not bowed to Baal (1 Kings 19:15,18).

     b. Anoint a man named Hazael to be king of Syria (1 Kings 19:15).

     c. Anoint a man named Jehu to be king of Israel (1 Kings 19:16).

     d. Begin training Elisha to succeed him (1 Kings 19:16).

The Beginning of Elisha's Ministry

From Plowing Fields to Following the Prophet

Elijah returned and found Elisha plowing in a field. Elijah went over to him and threw his coat across his shoulders. Elisha thereupon prepared a farewell feast for his family and servants and followed Elijah (1 Kings 19:19-21).

Elisha: "I Will Not Leave Thee"

Elijah's Final Journey: From Gilgal to the Jordan

After Ahaziah died, and was succeeded by his brother Jehoram (2 Kings 1:7-17), Elijah's magnificent ministry had come to a close and he would soon be taken heavenward by means of a whirlwind, without having died. He quickly traveled his circuit for the final time, moving rapidly from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to the Jordan River. At the first three stops he tested the determination of Elisha by suggesting that he might want to drop the hectic life of the prophet and return to his quiet farm. But on each occasion (2 Kings 2:2,4,6) Elisha refused by uttering five fearless words:

Unwavering Commitment: Elisha's Ruth-Like Devotion

"I will not leave thee!" Elisha, like Ruth thus proved worthy for the blessings of God! (See Ruth 1:15-17). 

Parting the Jordan: A Sign of God's Power

When they came to the Jordan River, Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it, and the river divided, allowing them to cross on dry ground (2 Kings 2:8).

A Double Portion: Elisha's Bold Request

Elijah then asked Elisha what wish he would have granted before Elijah's heavenly departure. Elisha asked for a double portion of his master's power. He was told this was a hard thing, but that if he were present at Elijah's translation the request would be granted (2 Kings 2:9-10).

Elijah's Translation to Heaven

The Dramatic Departure: Taken Up in a Whirlwind

Suddenly, a chariot of fire, drawn by horses of fire, representing the presence of God, much as the fiery angels do that Isaiah saw stationed around the throne of God (see Isaiah 6:2), appeared and drove between them, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven (2 Kings 2:11). He thus became the second of two individuals who saw glory without the grave. (See Genesis 5:24 for the other person).

Elisha Receives the Mantle

The Mantle of Power

When Elijah had disappeared from view, Elisha picked up his master's cloak that had fallen; the mantle, signifying the transfer of authority (2 Kings 2:14), and returned to the Jordan River bank to see if his request for power had been granted. Striking the river with Elijah's cloak, he thundered out,

"Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" 

The Third Parting of the Jordan: Confirmation of God's Anointing

Immediately the Jordan waters parted. This is the third time such a miracle had happened in Israel's history (cp Joshua 3:17; 2 Kings 2:8,14.) Today in our desperate world, the cry is:

"Where are the Elijah's of the Lord God?"

Elisha's Miracle Ministry Begins

Elisha now employed his supernatural powers to their greatest extent.

No other Old or New Testament individual (apart from the Savior), with the possible exception of Moses, could match the sheer number of his miracles. Many scholars note the Bible records 14 miracles for Elijah and 28 for Elisha (exact counts can vary based on definitions), thus fulfilling the inheritance of Elisha's request of a "double portion" and his receiving of it.

Read about Elisha’s and his exciting miracle ministry (circa 9th century BC), in 1 & 2 Kings, highlighting the prophets role in demonstrating God's power, compassion and sovereignty through miracles of provision, healing, resurrection and supernatural intervention. 

A God Thing - Chosen Road

When God intervenes with His provision, and purpose, we witness His sovereign hand at work. Just as Elisha received a double portion of Elijah's spirit through the divine anointing, God continues to work miracles in the lives of His people today. 

Watch this powerful worship song that celebrates how God moves in impossible situations, reminding us that when God shows up, everything changes!