I used to have a lot of trouble keeping Elijah and Elisha distinguished from each other in my mind. I'd get them confused and have trouble remembering which one of them did what. But a good way to keep them straight in our minds is to remember that they appear in the Bible in alphabetical order: Elijah before Elisha. If we were filing their names by alphabetical order, Elijah would come before Elisha.
Elijah, who was so depressed he was ready to die earlier in Chapter 19, has been encouraged by the Lord. He thought his ministry had been a failure and that there was nothing left for him to do on earth. But the Lord has given him things to do so he leaves the cave on Mount Horeb and gets on with those things.
"So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair." (1 Kings 19:19a) This information tells us that Elisha is from a wealthy family. The family owns twelve yoke of oxen and so much land that it takes twelve yoke of oxen to plow it. The family also has a number of servants, for eleven other people have to be operating the other eleven yoke of oxen and the plows. It's possible that there are twelve sons in this family and that they are all driving plows but the Bible only mentions Elisha and skips over the identities of the other men in the field, which leads me to think Elisha is the only family member present and that the others are servants. Either way, I think we can safely conclude that he is the eldest son of the family since he is in charge and that means he's the heir to his father's estate.
"So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair." (1 Kings 19:19a) This information tells us that Elisha is from a wealthy family. The family owns twelve yoke of oxen and so much land that it takes twelve yoke of oxen to plow it. The family also has a number of servants, for eleven other people have to be operating the other eleven yoke of oxen and the plows. It's possible that there are twelve sons in this family and that they are all driving plows but the Bible only mentions Elisha and skips over the identities of the other men in the field, which leads me to think Elisha is the only family member present and that the others are servants. Either way, I think we can safely conclude that he is the eldest son of the family since he is in charge and that means he's the heir to his father's estate.
But the Lord has placed a different calling on his life if he will accept it. The Lord wants him to be heir of Elijah's ministry. When Elijah does what he does next, there is no doubt in Elisha's mind what it signifies. He understands immediately what he's being asked to do. "Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. 'Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,' he said, 'and then I will come with you.'" (1 Kings 19:19b-20a)
We don't know whether Elisha had ever seen Elijah in person before but he knows what a prophet's cloak (often called a "mantle") looks like. In Zechariah 13:4 we find the prophet's mantle referred to as "a prophet's garment of hair" and in 2 Kings 1:8 the prophet's mantle is called "a garment of hair". As soon as Elijah walks by and throws his cloak around Elisha, Elisha completely understands who the man is and that the man is declaring him his successor. I wonder whether Elisha had been feeling the call of the Lord for some time. I wonder if he had been expecting something to happen. The Lord usually provides us with some preparation for a great calling on our lives and I wouldn't be at all surprised to know that He had alerted Elisha to be prepared for something big. Elisha is ready in his heart to step out in faith and serve the Lord; he just wants to say goodbye to his parents and tell them where he's going. He's a good son who loves his parents and he doesn't want them to think harm befell him or that he simply deserted his family.
When Elisha asks Elijah if he can run back to the house to say goodbye to his parents, Elijah answers in an odd way. "'Go back,' Elijah replied. 'What have I done to you?'" (1 Kings 19:20b) Many scholars interpret this enigmatic answer to mean, "Do what you will. You don't owe an explanation to me---only to God. The Lord is the one calling you, not me. Return home to say goodbye or return home to stay and go on with your life. The choice is up to you." Other scholars think verse 20b should be rendered as, "Go back but remember what I have done to you." In other words, Elisha has permission to say goodbye to his parents but that he shouldn't allow his resolve to waver while he is back at his house.
Elisha has a farewell dinner with the people of his household before he leaves to follow Elijah. "So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant." (1 Kings 19:21) The oxen that were in his yoke may have been offered to the Lord as a sacrifice before he and his family and the servants ate the meal together. In most sacrifices other than in the burnt offering, a portion was offered first to the Lord and then the bringer of the offering could share the remainder with his family. Whether or not he offered any of the meal to the Lord, I think there is something symbolic about his slaughtering of the one yoke of oxen and the burning up of his plow: he's saying goodbye to his old way of living. He's saying yes to the calling the Lord has placed upon his life.
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