Let’s talk Bible~

2Kings 2:15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

It’s important to have the scriptural background for what the sons of the prophets are talking about here..

A little further back in 2 Kings 2:9-14 you read:

2Kings 2:9-14 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. And he 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. 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, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof! And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. 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.

Now to really understand, you are going to have to go back to when Elijah pops on the scene in the scriptures. 1 Kings 17:1 is his very first appearance, and scripture doesn’t show him being called to be a prophet like many others, it just shows him operating in his gift.

1Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

In the following verses of chapter 17 you see that Elijah causes it to cease from raining or even making dew for the next few years. He is told by the Lord to “turn eastward, and hide himself by the brook at Cherith that is next to Jordan. The word “Cherith” means CUTTING. The Lord tells him that he will drink from the brook at Cherith (cutting) and that He has commanded the “ravens” to feed him. Every morning and night the “ravens” brought him bread and meat to eat, until the brook dried up due to the drought he had prophesied.

*Ravens represent unclean people or unclean nations in the bible or even on occasion the wicked. And a “cutting” of the foreskin of the flesh or for the Gentiles the “heart” is required to come and share in His covenant.

After the brook dried up, the word of the Lord came to Elijah again saying:

1Kings 17:9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

Zarephath = “refinery” So after the cutting, comes the refinement of Elijah.

1Ki 17:10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

1Ki 17:11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

This is a widow woman, out of food, gathering sticks to prepare her last cake so that her and her son could eat it and then wait for starvation. She told Elijah exactly what she was doing.

1Kings 17:13-16 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

The widow of Zerephath represents those barely clinging to their faith in Israel. Sheep without a shepherd. Elijah going to the widow after his first prophecy in the name of the Lord was a precursor to Elijah going to deliver the word of the Lord to Israel. The lack of meal and oil are the signs of a spiritual famine, as well as a natural famine.

THEN in verse 17 it says that the widow’s son became sick. She told Elijah, “did you come to me just to make me remember all my sins?” verse 18.

The boy dying and then being revived by Elijah laying HIMSELF upon the child three times and praying “O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.” represented the REVIVAL of Israel, and three times Elijah would have to lay himself over the problem, because three more times the Lord would have him speak to Ahab before life would once again be restored to Israel.

The following Encounters of Elijah and Ahab

#1

1Kings 18:1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.

1Ki 18:17 And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?

1Ki 18:18-19 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.

#2

1Kings 18:41 And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. (He had to say this in faith because there wasn’t a cloud in the sky)

#3

1Kings 21:18-19 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

1Ki 21:20-22 And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.

So as you can see Elijah had to risk death, encapturment and prison to deliver the word of the Lord to King Ahab three more times after his first appearance.

1Kings 21:25-29 But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.

Mal 4:5-6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

A quick recap of the adventures and attributes of Elijah in his life, to better understand the spirit of Elijah.

1. He prophesied a drought that kept it from raining on the land for 3 years.

2. He was told to remove himself and stay hidden and the Lord would provide.

3. He was sent to a widow woman that was waiting for death, and asked for her assistance and if she trusted God and served him first, she would not run out of oil and meal until the drought ended.

4. He brought the widow woman’s son back to life!

5. He confronted Ahab King of Israel three times

6. He challenged the prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth

7. He killed the prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth

8. He proclaimed that there was only ONE GOD, “Monotheism”.

9. He went on a pilgramage to Mt Horeb (Sinai) and was corrected by the Lord.

10. He exposed and renounced Ahab for stealing Naboth’s inheritance.

11. He Spoke judgment upon Ahab’s son king Azariah when he appealed to Baal for his healing.

12. His mantle was passed to Elisha to continue the work of God.

It’s important to understand it is not Elijah’s spirit but rather the Anointing of God that was upon him that was passed to Elisha. Just as it was passed to John the Baptist, and possibly is what came upon Paul during his ministry, and will be poured out in these latter days as the Lord sends out those “to prepare the Way of the Lord” for His second coming. Oh and it’s important to take into account that although there are teachings that say Elijah and Moses are going to come back to life and stand as the two witnesses: This cannot be true, they have the anointing of these two men, but the only person mentioned in the bible coming back from the dead to prophecy the words of the Father is Jesus Christ. Also Revelation 11:7 says the beast makes war against them and kills them. So they are living breathing human beings, not spiritual re-visitations from the prophets of old.

The anointing and the Spirit of God that was upon people like Elijah, Moses, and even Deborah and others can be carried down by generation. Look at this verse~

2Tim 1:5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

Also the company of prophets in the bible were referred to as the “sons of the prophets” which shows that it was passed down from generation to generation of those that Loved and obeyed God’s Word.

I hope that this article has brought some biblical clarity to the subject of “The Spirit of Elijah” for you, and I pray that you continue to ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in ALL Truth and bring to your remembrance ALL that He has said!

God Bless you! Be Free and Set Free!