Friday 6-19-15 (Home in Modesto)
Scripture reading: 2 Kings
1-3 Psalm 82 1 Tim 1
S.
2 Kings 2:9 When they came to the
other side, Elijah said to Elisha, "What can I do for you before I am
taken away?" And Elisha replied, "Please let me become your rightful
successor." NLT
Same
verse in NKJV
2 Kings 2:9 And so it was, when
they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask! What may I do for
you, before I am taken away from you?"
Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon
me."
O. The moment is about to come
when the old prophet, Elijah will be captured by a better world. The younger Elisha refuses to leave his side
even when asked three times to stay behind.
He desperately wants something that Elijah has. So Elijah finally asks him, “What can I do
for you, boy, before I have to go?”
Elisha goes for the gold, “Give me a double portion of the spirit that
makes you like you are.” “That’s a tough
one, boy… but okay. If you see me go,
you’ve got it.”
And suddenly in a display of fireworks
mixed with a tornado, a heavenly space craft snatches Reverend Elijah up and
away. When the dust clears Elisha sees
Elijah’s cape lying there in the dirt.
He takes off his own mantle and tears it up. “I won’t need this rag anymore.” he mumbles…
and he grabs Elijah’s mantle, shakes off the dust and heads back to the Jordan River
to try it out.
A. I cannot imagine why the
translators of some versions feel they have to “explain” everything. The original Hebrew text says, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."
NKJV and the NLT translators
confess that this is really what it says, but they place it only as a footnote.
I enjoy
the candid style of the NLT, but in some cases, in their effort to
explain everything, their translators
greatly weaken the text… and this is one… by translating Elisha’s request: "Please let me become your rightful successor." Why
not translate it like it is? The meaning
is clear enough for a child to understand and carries with it a much stronger
message!
Elisha
was seeking whatever Elijah had. He
wanted to be just like him, but he wasn’t satisfied for just one portion… He
wanted a double portion of the same.
Have you ever been too bashful or too polite to ask for a second slice
of that wonderful apple pie?
P. Dear
Lord, You have allowed me the privilege of sitting under the ministry of
several of Your great men of God. I have
benefited and been blessed by their teaching and preaching. I have witnessed the miraculous results of
their faith. I have read some of their
writings. They have inspired me to new
heights. And I cry out to You: “Whatever
made these men so much like You in their ministry… that is what I want. I want that same Holy Spirit to descend upon
me. And while You are at it, Dear Lord
Jesus, please dish me out a double portion if You think I can handle it. Amen.
Ralph
No comments:
Post a Comment