Double Portion, Double Trouble, Double Blessing

Before the prophet Elijah was taken away, he asked his understudy a very important question:

"And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee.

Elish probably shocked his master with his request:

"And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." (2 Kings 2:9)"

Elijah did not answer one way or another, yet when Elijah departed, Elisha demonstrated amazing power:

"He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. (v 13-14)

Elisha took up the mantle of authority and split the river, just as his master had done before. But God's Spirit manifested in greater ways following:

"And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake." (v 21-22)

Elisha has restored foul water for a population desperate to drink again. This miracle speaks to the power of the Holy Spirit, by whose power we bless and refresh everyone we encounter:

"If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38)

Yet what followed after these miracles used to puzzle me:

"And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria. (2 Kings 2:23-25)

For a man who was not just blessed with the Spirit of Elijah, but a double portion, why did he end up dealing with the petty taunting of little children? Elijah was never mocked in such a fashion, although he did flee in foundless fear from the feckless threats of Queen Jezebel (2 Kings 19:1-2)

The answer: when you are blessed with a double blessing, the Enemy will attack you even more, because He knows that if you succeed in being all that Christ Jesus has endowed you to be, you will further frustrate the wicked designs of the Evil One.

Let us not despair when opposition rises up against us. It is the Lord who is with us; therefore, we will not fear what man may do to us. (Hebrews 13:5-6)