Double Portion - Lessons from an Amaryllis part 2

This week I have been thinking about double portions. It is a concept spoken about directly six times in scripture, but happens to appear in two of my favourite passages. In the story of Hannah, a women who walked through infertility, we read: 

 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb. 1 Samuel 1:5

In order to show love to his wife in the midst of a difficult season, he gave her a double portion of the sacrificial meat. 

We also read about a double portion in Isaiah 61. This is part of a scripture that has been spoken over me prophetically and one that I often return to. Verse 7 says: 

Instead of your shame  you will receive a double portion,

and instead of disgrace  you will rejoice in your inheritance.

And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,

 and everlasting joy will be yours.

I love the fact that in this scripture the double portion gets a double mention!!

So what is a double portion?

Originally in scripture it referred to the inheritance that the first born would receive. The first born was to receive twice as much as the other children. Later we hear of the double portion given out of love and in 2  kings 2 we hear about Elisha asking for a double portion of the spirit upon himself. 

In the two passages of scripture I have highlighted, a double portion is given in the midst of a difficult time, it was a sign of love and filled with joy. When my husband and I have been in particularly difficult times of ministry, we have often looked for double portions, a sign of God’s love to bring joy in a dark time. As Romans 10:11 says:

For the scriptures encourage us with these words:

“Everyone who believes in him will never be disappointed.”

I remember in a particularly difficult time of ministry, we had just had a conversation about double portions as we were waiting for our takeaway to be prepared. As I opened the food on delivery, I couldn’t believe my eyes as took out a literal double portion of my meal! A little God wink that was much needed. 

God has provided me with a double portion in recent weeks too which has been a real assurance in the midst of some hard times, and like the verse in Isaiah, it is a double portion of a double portion! Recently I wrote about an amaryllis gifted to me from a precious friend (you can read about it here: Lessons From an Amaryllis) The plant was a prophetic gift and my friend declared that God would use it to teach me something about him. When the plant had finished flowering, I followed the instructions of cutting down the stem and placing the bulb in a pot with soil.

Not long after I noticed that what had looked like a leaf, was now a new shoot and very soon a new flower began to emerge. My husband and I declared it was a double portion and just what we needed. As the flower was preparing to bloom we noticed that not only was the second flowering a double portion, but where there were 2 individual flowers in the last bloom, there were now 4. A double portion in a double portion. This was most certainly a sign of God’s love and brought us joy in difficulty. I can't wait to see how this prophetic message is seen too in our lives. 

Today if you are walking through a hard season, I urge you to look for a double portion or Joy and of God’s love around you.