The Lord is about to take Elijah up to be with Him in heaven. Elijah’s successor, Elisha, faithfully follows after him saying, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So Elijah strikes the Jordan and the water parts, letting him and Elisha cross on dry ground, much like in the Exodus Era with Moses and the Red Sea and in the Conquest Era with Joshua and the Jordan.
Before Elijah is taken up, he asks Elisha what he can do for him. Elisha responds, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” Double portion is a common concept in the Old Testament. We read about it in the Book of Law regarding the firstborn getting a double portion (Deuteronomy 21:17). We also saw that Hannah’s husband gave her a double portion because of his love for her (1 Samuel 1:5). And we see that the Lord honors Elisha’s request. After Elijah is taken up in a chariot of fire by a whirlwind into heaven, Elisha parts the Jordan just as Elijah had done — “Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, ‘The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.’”
Elisha performs more miracles — he heals the water of Jericho, pronounces a curse on mockers, provides oil for a poor widow and her sons, and gives a Shunammite woman and her husband a child and brings that child back to life when he dies. As a matter of fact, there are twenty-eight miracles performed by Elisha that are recorded in the Bible compared to Elijah’s fourteen recorded miracles, which is exactly double!
Tomorrow, the Lord heals Naaman, a commander of the Syrian army, from leprosy and He spares the Shunammite woman that we read about today during a dire famine in Israel. Keep reading. (2 Kings 2:1-25, 2 Kings 4:1-44)
Chronological Bible in Layman's Terms 