Message to the Overcomer
“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
Again, Elijah tries to leave Elisha behind and continue on his journey alone to Jericho, 2 Kings 2:6. Elisha refuses to stay behind, so the two of them continue on their journey to Jericho. If we continue with our reference of first mention, we should go to Numbers 22:1. The original meaning of Jericho is a place of fragrance, a fenced city and palm trees.
However Joshua 6:17 (ESV) will help us with the meaning of the name Jericho.“And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction.” KJV says, “And the city shall be accursed, even it and all who are therein, to theLord.” Joshua 6:26 “At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho.” This leads us to a new, revised meaning of Jericho, “cursed”.
Joshua was leading the Israelites to the promise land and came upon Jericho. They could not enter or pass through the city, because “… the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites.” God gave Joshua instructions on how to overcome Jericho. In order to continue on the road to the double portion we must overcome the enemy, the cursed one, the devil.
Once we overcome the flesh and the world, we now must overcome the enemy. Our greatest enemy is Satan. He comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). We are now entering into the arena of spiritual warfare. Ephesians 6:12 (J.B. Phillips), “For our fight is not against any physical enemy: it is against organizations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil.” This is why Ephesians encourages us to put on the whole armor of God, so that we can withstand in the evil day.
The word of God overcomes the work of the enemy. God gave a word to Joshua, told him what to do to overcome his enemy Jericho. He follows the instructions right down to the final shout. God made the walls fall and Israel took the city. Israel overcame the enemy and was able to enter the land of promise. Unless we learn how to ignore our feelings, know our enemy, trust in God and obey His word we will never be able to overcome the enemy of our souls.
Again, the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho confront Elisha. Taunting him about his master, but Elisha refuses to get off track. He and Elijah continue their journey towards Jordan, the final leg of their journey.
To be continued…
Pastor Rosita
