Why did Elisha request a double portion of Elijah's spirit?

Now the first thing I desire to notice in the portion I have read is this, and I beg you to mark it well, that Elijah first of all carries Elisha, in the power that belonged to himself, across Jordan. He took his mantle and smote the waters, and he carries Elisha over with him. Now every child of God has been, in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by His power, carried over Jordan; of course I mean positionally. If you are a Christian, you are over Jordan. He has carried you over. And note that it is not until they are across the river that any communication takes place between them. When they get over Jordan, Elijah says, as it were, "You are about to be left without me. You will have to be alone in this world; you can no longer have me, or count upon my wing to protect you. You have hitherto had my sustainment, my presence, personally with you; but now you can have it no more; and before I depart ask what I shall do for thee!" Elisha's reply is, "Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." And Elijah said, "Thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee it shall be so unto thee." Now there you have what I wish to speak about; that is, power. What Elisha wanted, and what he asked for, was power, in order that he might be a true representative of the one who was absent; and this is what the true saint of God desires; it is the longing of all who are devoted to Christ. He does not say, "I want to get all the blessing I can — heaven secured, and everything in the future made good — taking no thought about the present." This is not true-heartedness for Christ; it is not loyalty and affection for Him. A person who, as it were, says, "I am very glad to take all the blessings, all the good of Christ's death, all the advantages that flow to me from what He has done: I shall be in heaven with Christ, in glory with Him; but as to this world He does not expect me to do anything save the best I can" — such an one has no loyalty, or devotedness, or true-heartedness, to His rejected Lord. True-heartedness, on the contrary, says, "I delight that He has brought me into all the blessings, but at the same time my heart longs to be for Him here, and all the more so because there was nothing for Him here but rejection." Is it not a wonderful thing to think that before the blessed Lord takes His throne in this world — for He has no throne in it yet, though He will have — He condescends to take a throne in our poor hearts; and the one who is really loyal to Him delights to say, — Before He has His throne here I will give Him the throne of my heart. I delight in my affections to antedate the day when He will sway that sovereignty over the whole universe. I delight He should do it in my heart now — that Christ should be Lord of every motion there, the sovereign of my heart; that there should not be a single motion — wonderful though it be to say it — not a single motion of which He is not the spring, and source, and satisfaction. Thus it is the heart longs to represent Him here. It knows He has sent us here to be for Him, and it wants to be in his mind as to this; it longs thus practically to be the friend of Christ. Now this is true loyalty to the Lord Jesus. Of course it is at best in a poor, feeble way; but still, no matter how feeble it is, what He looks at is the heart. Remember there may be a great deal of show and profession that has no reality in it; but if He sees that at cost, and loss, and trial, we place all we have on one side, in order that we may truly represent Him in this world, it delights His heart. It was this Elisha wanted, and asked for. He asked for nothing else — not for usefulness, not that he might be the great benefactor of his age, or some wonderful person that all would look up to, and record him as the means of blessing to hundreds and thousands of his fellow-creatures. Not a word of it; it was something infinitely beyond that, and it was expressed just in these simple words "I pray thee let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." And the reply is as simple; viz., "Thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee, but if not, it shall not be so." Now the very thing we require for that is power, as I have already said. Therefore, when we come to the doctrine in the New Testament, we find that when the Lord Jesus Christ went away from this world the Holy Ghost came down. It is extremely interesting, as well as important for us, to look at the order of this in Acts 1. There you will find that the word "taken," which is used here in 2 Kings — "if you see me taken" — occurs no less than four times, and that in connection with the Lord Jesus Christ going up. "He was taken" — that is the thought running all through that chapter. Afterwards the Holy Ghost came down. Christ being taken up, the Holy Spirit descended. So Elijah being taken, his mantle descended upon Elisha.

Now they come to Jordan. "As Jehovah lives, and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men, the sons of the prophets, went and stood afar off." They did not go on; they were arrested by the difficulties; but "they two," the two that were as one, so to speak, stood by Jordan. "And Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass when they were gone over, that Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee." They had gone down through the great and well-known sign of death — not now passing through death to enter into the land, but passing through death for one of them at least. And this becomes an epoch that gives its proper character to the prophet. He was right. Not merely his own mind, but a spiritual instinct of the Holy Ghost gave him to look for a higher degree still. He goes on, and now he is on the very eve of it. Elijah puts the question, "Ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." Not a double portion as compared with Elijah's, but a double portion as compared with any other as a successor of Elijah. A double portion was the firstborn's portion. He asked for this, for the firstborn's portion. "And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing, nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so to thee; but if not, it shall not be so."

Thus the last stage of the journey is reached. Intruders have been silenced, affections have been kindled, leading Elisha to cleave to his master through all these changing scenes. The parting moment has come; Elijah is about to be rapt to heaven; Elisha, bereft of his master, is to be left behind in an apostatizing religious nation, who once were Jehovah's people. In this solemn moment Elijah utters his final word, "Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee." Could this offer have been made before? Is it not, as it were, the supreme test for Elisha? Will not the answer make manifest whether Elisha has entered into the spirit of his call? Whether he has profited by his companionship with Elijah? Whether, above all, he has learnt the lessons of Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and Jordan? Will it not make manifest whether Elisha has before him earthly gain, fleshly ambition, and worldly power, or is his sole purpose henceforth to be in the prophet's room, and witness to the sovereign grace of God as the representative of man that has gone to heaven?

Very blessedly Elisha's answer discloses his single-hearted devotedness. He asks for neither long life, nor earthly riches, nor worldly fame. He covets none of those things the natural man values, but rather that which the spiritual man needs; for he says, "Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." This by no means implies that he asks for twice as much gift, or power, as Elijah possessed. The Hebrew word implies the double portion of the elder son (Deut. 21:17). Only Elisha asks not for a double portion of material wealth, but for a double portion of spiritual power. Other prophets will need spiritual power, but, if Elisha is anointed to take the place of Elijah — to be in his room — then, indeed, he will require a spiritual power twice as much as that of any other prophet.

Elijah replies, "Thou hast asked a hard thing." To gain riches, and fame, and worldly power, may entail toil and vexation of spirit, but they are not "hard" things, for men of the world can obtain these material advantages. To obtain, or confer, spiritual power is entirely outside the capabilities of the natural man. Nevertheless, says Elijah, "If thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so to thee; but if not it shall not be so." The granting of his request for a double portion of spiritual power, is made to turn upon Elisha seeing Elijah in his new position as the ascended man. The sight of Elijah in heaven will be the secret of Elisha's power on earth.

Jordan being passed, Elisha's great opportunity came. "Ask what I shall do for thee," said his master, "before I be taken away from thee." Like Solomon at an earlier date (1 Kings 3:5), his purpose of heart expressed itself in his reply. "I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." The "double portion" was the portion of the firstborn (Deut. 21:15-17), whereby he was enabled to worthily represent the dead, and maintain the honour of his name. All in the Church are firstborn ones (Heb. 12:23), and as such are endowed with blessings such as saints in former dispensations never knew. Nothing could exceed the wealthy portion which is ours in the risen Christ, that "better thing" which God has "provided for us" (Heb. 11:16). By the power of the Spirit we are enabled to enter into the realisation of it, and so become fitted to worthily represent the absent Christ in the scene of His rejection.

I should like to ask this question: If the Lord Jesus were to say to us this evening, on the eve of His departure out of this world (supposing that He had not as yet left it, and that we had been the companions, as His disciples were, of His blessed path down here) — "Ask what I shall do for you, before I be taken from you;" what answer would you give? I desire solemnly to exercise every heart here as to this. Because, remember well that whatever would be your request, whatever the nature of your petition, so would be indicated distinctly the object of your heart. Your request would declare what was in your heart; and hence it is that our prayers are the expression of the real state of our souls more than anything else, even than our conversation. What is really in our hearts, whatever is the commanding object of our affections, that which sways us, comes out more in prayer than we might suppose. If, then, you can put yourselves in this place for a moment, just reflect, if the Lord Jesus were to put that question to you now — "Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee" — what would you ask? You can see that it is a solemn question. I ask you, What is the dearest and nearest thing to your hearts? This scripture I have read will answer the question as to what we should ask if Christ were all to us. The one commanding desire of a heart that is really loyal to Him would be this — "I want to represent you on this earth." That was the nature of Elisha's request; and it would be the nature of the request of every heart in this company that was really true to Christ. If you were really true and devoted, if you really loved the Lord Jesus — I do not mean with natural affection, that is not worth anything — but if you loved Him divinely, if you had divine affection for Christ, if you had affection by the Holy Ghost in the new man for Christ, the one ruling desire in your heart would be — "Lord Jesus, my desire is to represent you when you are not in this world." That was Elisha's desire respecting Elijah, as can be seen in this chapter before us.

Elijah, as you know, was on the eve of being taken, and he was about to leave Elisha behind him. Elisha was attached to Elijah — would not leave him. He said, in effect, "I will not leave you. As long as you are here, I will cling to you." "Well," Elijah says, "I am about to be taken from you; what then?" "Then," said Elisha, as it were, "when I cannot have you, let me represent you." It is a wonderful thing to think of it: "Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me;" meaning not simply double in the ordinary sense of quantity, but as if he had said — "The desire of my heart is, that when you are removed you may still be here in me." That, I believe, is the thought, beloved friends — That I may represent you so distinctly, that it will be, as it were, a reproduction on this earth of the absent one. That is what I desire; the one thought and longing of my heart.

If God, however, acted thus in regard to Elijah, it was only because He still had, in His longsuffering, thoughts of grace towards His guilty people. If they would not hear Elijah, He would yet send Elisha, as it were in the power of resurrection, as a new channel of blessing in the midst of Israel. Accordingly Elijah, as soon as they were over the Jordan, divinely guided, even if he did not fully know the purport of his words, said unto Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee." And Elisha, as distinctly guided in his answer as Elijah in his question, said, "I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." It was an endowment he would surely need for the mission on which he was about to be sent; and Elijah - surely in this an adumbration of Him who, after His ascension, baptized with the Holy Ghost - said, "Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so."

Arrived on the other side of Jordan, outside the land, all is at once changed. Not until then does Elijah say, "Ask what I shall do for thee." Grace puts all the power of a risen man at the disposal of Elisha. Death has opened the way for the outflow of sovereign grace. Alas! how little we realize the profound fact that all the grace and power of the risen Christ are at our disposal. What an opportunity for Elisha; he has only to ask to obtain. Does he ask for long life, or wealth, or power, or wisdom? Ah! no; his faith rising above all that the natural heart might covet, at once asks for a double portion of Elijah's spirit. He realizes that if he is to remain on earth in the place of Elijah, he will need the spirit of Elijah. Does not this scene carry our thoughts to the Upper Room of John 14? The Lord was about to leave His disciples and ascend to glory, and though He does not say, "Ask what I shall do for thee," yet He says, as it were, "I will make a request for you." "I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter that He may abide with you for ever." How slow we are to realize that a divine Person has gone up to heaven and a divine Person has come down from heaven to dwell in believers. And the Person who has come down is as great as the Person who has gone up. If we are left on this earth to be descriptive of Christ as the exalted Man, we shall need, as one has said, "a power commensurate with Himself."

Elisha had asked a hard thing, nevertheless it shall be granted if, says Elijah, "thou see me when I am taken from thee." "And it came to pass, as they still went on and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven, and Elisha saw it." He sees Elijah ascend into glory, but on earth he sees him "no more." "Yea," says the Apostle, "though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more." And what is the result for the Apostle of seeing Christ in the glory? He answers, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away; behold all things are become new." And this, too, is told out in this wonderful story, for we read that Elisha "took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces." But further, not only does he part with the "old things," but he makes them useless. He did not carefully fold and lay them aside, ready to be taken up again at some future time, but "he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces." He has done with them for ever. Henceforth he is clothed in the mantle of Elijah. But it is the mantle of the man who has gone to heaven by way of Jericho and Jordan. In figure he has gone through judgment and death, and as a result God is free to send back Elisha with a message of grace to a nation that is under judgment. But for this witness to have any power, he must be a true representative of the man in heaven. How blessedly this was so in Elisha's case, for on his return to Jericho from the scene of the rapture, the sons of the prophets at once exclaim, "The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him."

Elisha had the opportunity, only accorded to one other man in scripture, of giving expression to that which his heart valued. "And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: [nevertheless,] if thou see me taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee but if not, it shall not be." Well did his faith rise to the occasion, showing that the glory of God, and the true blessing of His people, were the things which he valued most. He desired to inherit the zeal for God and righteousness, which had filled and characterized his master, but with a spirit of grace in which perhaps Elijah had been lacking. The "double portion" rested upon Elisha. Men might wonder at the change which came over him, but it was a secret between God and his soul, and he did not, like Samson, divulge it. The other instance to which we have referred was that of King Solomon (2 Chron. 1:7-12). No doubt the same spirit which instructed Elisha, formed at an earlier period the desires of the king, so that Solomon asked for and received such a special endowment of wisdom and knowledge suited to his exalted position as king and leader of God's people in the land of Israel, together with the possession of riches, and wealth, and honour beyond all other kings precedent or to follow.

On the eastern side of Jordan Elijah said to Elisha "Ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee." A test question, assuredly, reminding us of Jehovah's word to Solomon in 1 Kings 3:5. Elisha's reply was prompt and decisive: "I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." Elijah spoke with authority. At this point he typifies the risen Christ who has boundless blessings to bestow upon His own. Elisha could have what he desired on one condition; he must see Elijah when taken from him. Faith now sees Christ risen and glorified. Had we known Christ after the flesh, i.e. as a living Messiah, we know Him as such no longer (2 Cor. 5:16). He has "gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God" (1 Peter 3:22). We are "in Him" there. This makes us heavenly as He is heavenly (1 Cor. 15:48). Elisha did see his master taken up, and received his mantle as it came down upon him. The risen Christ has sent down to us the Holy Spirit (John 16:7). We thus have the same power for life and testimony as the man Christ Jesus had when here amongst men.

This reminds me of Solomon in 2 Chr. 1; for after he had approved himself as taking his throne in right spirit, God appears to him and says to him, "Ask what I shall give thee." And Elisha's answer to Elijah, is as Solomon's answer to God. Solomon does not ask for the life of his enemies, nor for riches and honours for himself, but, for wisdom to execute the service appointed him over the Lord's people. So Elisha here simply replies to Elijah, "Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me."