Theophany #56 — Elisha: “A Double Portion”
- Feb 16
- 3 min read
2 Kings 2:9–12 (KJV)
Elisha asked for the impossible: a double portion of Elijah's spirit.
And the Lord gave it to him because he was faithful.
He did other impossible things, like raising the dead and making an axe head float!
The Bible shows us 12 miracles he did vs. the 6 of Elijah.
What are you asking of the Lord? Ask for the "impossible"!
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Elijah’s work is finished. His long and difficult ministry in the northern kingdom is coming to an end, not quietly, not in decline, but in a way unlike any other prophet before or since. The LORD is about to take him home.
Walking together after crossing the Jordan, Elijah turns to Elisha and asks a simple but searching question: “Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee.” It is the final moment of apprenticeship, the last chance for Elisha to speak his heart.
Elisha’s answer is bold and honest: “I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.”
He is not asking for fame or comfort. He is asking for what he knows he will need. Elijah’s path has been lonely, dangerous, and costly. To follow in his place will require more strength, not less.
Elijah answers him carefully: “Thou hast asked a hard thing.” Yet he gives Elisha a sign—not a promise rooted in human choice, but in God’s will: “If thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee.”
And then it happens.
As they walk and talk, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appear and separate the two of them, and Elijah is taken up by a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha sees it. He cries out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!”
And then Elijah is gone.
This moment is a theophany not because Elisha ascends, but because God reveals Himself in the taking.
The fiery chariot is not sent for spectacle. It is sent to make plain that Elijah’s power never belonged to him. Israel’s true defense was not armies or kings, but the presence of the LORD with His prophet.
When Elijah is taken, heaven itself claims him.
Elisha tears his clothes in grief. There is no triumph in the scene, only loss and responsibility.
But when he picks up Elijah’s fallen mantle and strikes the Jordan, asking, “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” the waters part. The answer is immediate. The LORD is still there.
This is the passing of the prophetic calling, but it is also something more. God shows that His work does not end when His servants depart.
The same LORD who revealed His power through Elijah now confirms His presence with Elisha. The spirit given is not Elijah’s to own or transfer. It is God’s to give.
For us, this theophany points forward. Elijah’s departure without death stirs Israel’s long hope, later echoed in the prophets and fulfilled in Christ.
And Elisha’s call reminds us that God’s work moves on through faithful hands, generation by generation.
The God who took Elijah up in fire is the same God who sent His Son from heaven and received Him again in glory.
He is faithful to finish what He begins, and faithful to raise up servants to carry His work forward.
Closing Prayer: Faithful LORD, You are the God who calls, equips, and sends. When Your servants depart, You remain.
Give us the grace we need for the work set before us, and hearts willing to follow wherever You lead. Teach us to trust Your power, not our own. InJesus’ name, Amen.
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Got any rivers you think are impossible?
Got any mountains you can not tunnel through?
God specializes in things thought impossible
And he can do what no other God can do.
I learned this song about 50 years ago from my fourth-grade school teacher. I believe it is just a chorus.
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