Give Me a Double Portion
2 Kings 2
1 KINGS 19:15-16 (ESV)
And the Lord said to Him, “Go return on your way.... and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.
2 KINGS 2:9Â (NIV)
Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.
1st Gilgal: A place of separation
2 KINGS 2:1Â (ESV)
Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.
2nd Bethel: A place of consecration
2 KINGS 2:2-3a (ESV)
And Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you."Â So they went down to Bethel. And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out
1. Bethel was a place of sacrifice
GENESIS 35:1Â (NIV)
Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau."
2. Bethel was a place of worship
HOSEA 12:4-5Â (NLT)
There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him—the Lord God of Heaven's Armies, the Lord is his name!
3. Bethel was a place of commitment
GENESIS 28:19-22Â (NIV)
He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
3rd Jericho: A place of occupation
2 KINGS 2:4Â (ESV)
Elijah said to him, "Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you."Â So they came to Jericho.