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. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 2 Kings 2:9
Biblical Hebrew is a very simple language, with only 400 word stems. For this reason it contains many homonyms and strange expressions which we often find contain spiritual messages. A example follows.
Elisha asks his teacher, Elijah, “Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me (II Kings 2:9). There is of course no quantitative measurement of spirit, so these words might seem senseless, but among the Jews, the eldest son commonly received a double portion of inheritance. Thus Elisha’s words imply, “Make me your principal spiritual heir.”
(Wurmbrand, Richard., 100 Prison Meditations Cries of Truth from Behind the Iron Curtain, Living Sacrifice Books, Bartlesville, OK, 1982, pg 193)
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This gives an added meaning then to this scripture below, which can be explained as the debt being paid by the Lord, but also, given what you wrote above - that Israel will be the "principal heir" of the Lord.
ReplyDeleteIsaiah 40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
please give us more on this thanks!!
ReplyDeleteSee post for Thursday, January 8, 2009
ReplyDeleteComfort that is double for sins