Please Read 1 Kings 19.15-21In this passage, we learn about the person, the call and the response of Elisha.
First, the PERSON of Elisha. Elisha was a prophet in the 800s BC. He lived and prophesied mostly in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It seems that he came from a somewhat wealthy family (12 yoke of oxen and the workers to use them) and was called to ministry when he was still young, for according the Bible, his prophetic ministry lasted over fifty years and extended through the reigns of six kings. Elisha was the disciple and successor of Elijah and, like Elijah, stood against the idolatry and corruption of his generation. Elisha’s life was one of faithful, fearless following after God. Elisha was among those whose knees had not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths had not kissed him. In the midst of a faithless, corrupt generation that had, for the most part, turned from the Lord to follow other gods, Elisha was one who remained faithful. Though king Ahab and his wife Jezebel led the nation into idolatry and though the majority followed like lemmings, Elisha was one who stood firm, resilient to the cultural pressures, and worshipped the Lord alone.
Next, we learn about the CALL of Elisha. When Elijah found Elisha he was out plowing the fields. Elijah “passed by him” and threw his cloak around him. That is the same phrase used before when the Lord passed by Elijah on the mountain. It appears then that God passed by Elisha as well, calling him to follow and be His prophet. Elijah threw his cloak around Elisha to confer a new role and responsibility upon Elisha and to mark him as his successor.
Finally, we see the RESPONSE of Elisha. Evidently Elijah didn’t linger but kept on walking so that Elisha ran after him to stop him. And when he had caught up to him he said, “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye and then I will come with you.” Now the jury is still out on whether this was a positive or negative response (see Luke 9:61-62). But Regardless of Elisha’s initial response, his overall response is clear and decisive (see 1 Kings 19:21). Elisha’s actions marked a clear break with his former life. How did Elisha make a living? Farming. What do you need to farm? Oxen and plowing equipment. And here Elisha breaks apart his plow and makes a bonfire out of it and then slaughters his oxen and cooks them over the fire. Talk about burning your bridges! Elisha left himself no means of return. This was no experiment. He was not trying out the life of a prophet to see if he liked it or not. He committed himself completely to following the Lord as he served Elijah. There was no going back.
This reminds me of the story told about the Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez. In the year 1519, he anchored his 11 ships off the Yucatan Peninsula in an ambitious attempt to conquer the Aztec empire. He was vastly outnumbered and was separated from home and reinforcements by thousands of miles of ocean. Even so, after his men went onshore, he ordered for all of his 11 ships to be burned. Now, you can rightly condemn Cortez for many things, but one thing is certain: he was totally committed. But even more was Elisha totally committed. Elisha made a burning decision out of a burning desire to serve the Lord.
So what do we lean from this story of Elisha’s calling?
1. We learn that Israelite culture was idolatrous and corrupt. Israel had rejected their covenant with the Lord, killed his prophets and worshiped other gods, such as Baal and Asherah. Their king and leaders were corrupt, leading them away from the Lord.
2. We learn that God did not give up on them. He still spoke to them through His prophets. God preserved a remnant of those faithful to Him and sent His prophets to call out to them and to serve as a witness of His presence, power and authority over them.
3. And we learn that Elisha was:
a. willing to be apprenticed. An apprentice learns, serves, imitates and eventually
does the work of the master craftsman. And that is what Elisha did. He let go of
his former life in order to commit himself as a disciple of Elijah; to learn and live a
new life.
b. willing to be marked. At this time, Elijah was at the top of the ‘Israel’s Most
Wanted’ list. He was a marked man and considered an enemy of the state. King
Ahab hated him and Queen Jezebel was actively trying to kill him. Elisha then was
risking his life in obeying the Lord and following Elijah. But he was ready and
willing to do so.
c. was willing to be used. Like Elijah, Elisha would stand up to kings; would stand
against his corrupt culture; would speak God’s message, show off God’s power
and follow God’s leading. His was not an easy life, but it was an obedient,
powerful, God-glorifying life and therefore a compelling life.
But what do we learn about us? How do we fit into this story? How does it shape us? Like Elisha, we live in an idolatrous, corrupt culture. We may not worship Baal and Asherah, per se, but we have a host of other gods and goddesses that we bow down to, the foremost being the chief god of Self. We have broken our relationship with the Lord and turned our hearts away from him. Like Elisha’s culture and like the world Paul refers to, we live in a ‘crooked and depraved generation’. But God is patient and faithful. He does not give up, but continues to speak through His servants and use His servants to “shine like stars in the universe as [we] hold out the word of life.” God continues to carry out His plan of redemption through the men and women He calls to follow Him.
And so, we, like Elisha, are called to be:
Apprenticed. We are called to leave behind our former life (what we knew and what we were) in order to commit ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ – to follow and learn from him. We are called to learn, serve, imitate and do the work of our Master Craftsman. We are called to let go of our former life in order to learn and live a new life.
Marked. Sometimes being marked is a difficult thing. It means you have to live differently. It means some people may resent and hate you because you live differently. You will experience some cultural friction. But our lives should clearly display our allegiance to Jesus and His claim over us.
Used. We are called to stand up against our corrupt culture; to stand up even in the face of kings and rulers; to speak God’s message, show off God’s love and power and follow God’s leading. The Christian life is not an easy life, but it is a joy-filled, hope-filled life. And an obedient, authentic, loving, God-glorifying life is a compelling life.
Elisha had the mantle of Elijah thrown upon Him. We however, have had Jesus say to us, “Follow Me”. But what is our response? Is it like those who, when Jesus called them to follow, came up with excuses and ways of stalling? Is it like the son, in the parable of the father who asked his sons to work in his vineyard, who said yes but didn’t go? Is it like the rich young man who decided that following Jesus cost too much? Or is it like that of Elisha who dropped everything, burned his ships and set out to follow?
Are we totally committed to Jesus or only mostly or partly of kind of? With Jesus, it is all or nothing. We can’t hold anything back. Jesus is not merely Lord of our “spiritual lives” while we run our physical and professional lives. Jesus is not Lord over our private life while we take care of our public one. He is Lord of all – all of us, every part of us.
With Jesus, it is all or nothing. And so, there is no returning. We must burn our ships. We must give ourselves totally to Him. We make a clean break with the old way of doing things (the way of the fallen world). We give those things up. And though that sounds like a lot, its really nothing. We give up nothing and gain everything.
We have a burning decision to make. Will we choose the plow and oxen over the call and keep on doing what we’re doing – the seemingly safe and steady thing, ‘our thing’? Will we chose th plow and oxen or will we light it up, throw a farewell party and follow our Lord and Savior on the adventure of being His disciple?
Anybody got some matches?
First, the PERSON of Elisha. Elisha was a prophet in the 800s BC. He lived and prophesied mostly in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It seems that he came from a somewhat wealthy family (12 yoke of oxen and the workers to use them) and was called to ministry when he was still young, for according the Bible, his prophetic ministry lasted over fifty years and extended through the reigns of six kings. Elisha was the disciple and successor of Elijah and, like Elijah, stood against the idolatry and corruption of his generation. Elisha’s life was one of faithful, fearless following after God. Elisha was among those whose knees had not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths had not kissed him. In the midst of a faithless, corrupt generation that had, for the most part, turned from the Lord to follow other gods, Elisha was one who remained faithful. Though king Ahab and his wife Jezebel led the nation into idolatry and though the majority followed like lemmings, Elisha was one who stood firm, resilient to the cultural pressures, and worshipped the Lord alone.
Next, we learn about the CALL of Elisha. When Elijah found Elisha he was out plowing the fields. Elijah “passed by him” and threw his cloak around him. That is the same phrase used before when the Lord passed by Elijah on the mountain. It appears then that God passed by Elisha as well, calling him to follow and be His prophet. Elijah threw his cloak around Elisha to confer a new role and responsibility upon Elisha and to mark him as his successor.
Finally, we see the RESPONSE of Elisha. Evidently Elijah didn’t linger but kept on walking so that Elisha ran after him to stop him. And when he had caught up to him he said, “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye and then I will come with you.” Now the jury is still out on whether this was a positive or negative response (see Luke 9:61-62). But Regardless of Elisha’s initial response, his overall response is clear and decisive (see 1 Kings 19:21). Elisha’s actions marked a clear break with his former life. How did Elisha make a living? Farming. What do you need to farm? Oxen and plowing equipment. And here Elisha breaks apart his plow and makes a bonfire out of it and then slaughters his oxen and cooks them over the fire. Talk about burning your bridges! Elisha left himself no means of return. This was no experiment. He was not trying out the life of a prophet to see if he liked it or not. He committed himself completely to following the Lord as he served Elijah. There was no going back.
This reminds me of the story told about the Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez. In the year 1519, he anchored his 11 ships off the Yucatan Peninsula in an ambitious attempt to conquer the Aztec empire. He was vastly outnumbered and was separated from home and reinforcements by thousands of miles of ocean. Even so, after his men went onshore, he ordered for all of his 11 ships to be burned. Now, you can rightly condemn Cortez for many things, but one thing is certain: he was totally committed. But even more was Elisha totally committed. Elisha made a burning decision out of a burning desire to serve the Lord.
So what do we lean from this story of Elisha’s calling?
1. We learn that Israelite culture was idolatrous and corrupt. Israel had rejected their covenant with the Lord, killed his prophets and worshiped other gods, such as Baal and Asherah. Their king and leaders were corrupt, leading them away from the Lord.
2. We learn that God did not give up on them. He still spoke to them through His prophets. God preserved a remnant of those faithful to Him and sent His prophets to call out to them and to serve as a witness of His presence, power and authority over them.
3. And we learn that Elisha was:
a. willing to be apprenticed. An apprentice learns, serves, imitates and eventually
does the work of the master craftsman. And that is what Elisha did. He let go of
his former life in order to commit himself as a disciple of Elijah; to learn and live a
new life.
b. willing to be marked. At this time, Elijah was at the top of the ‘Israel’s Most
Wanted’ list. He was a marked man and considered an enemy of the state. King
Ahab hated him and Queen Jezebel was actively trying to kill him. Elisha then was
risking his life in obeying the Lord and following Elijah. But he was ready and
willing to do so.
c. was willing to be used. Like Elijah, Elisha would stand up to kings; would stand
against his corrupt culture; would speak God’s message, show off God’s power
and follow God’s leading. His was not an easy life, but it was an obedient,
powerful, God-glorifying life and therefore a compelling life.
But what do we learn about us? How do we fit into this story? How does it shape us? Like Elisha, we live in an idolatrous, corrupt culture. We may not worship Baal and Asherah, per se, but we have a host of other gods and goddesses that we bow down to, the foremost being the chief god of Self. We have broken our relationship with the Lord and turned our hearts away from him. Like Elisha’s culture and like the world Paul refers to, we live in a ‘crooked and depraved generation’. But God is patient and faithful. He does not give up, but continues to speak through His servants and use His servants to “shine like stars in the universe as [we] hold out the word of life.” God continues to carry out His plan of redemption through the men and women He calls to follow Him.
And so, we, like Elisha, are called to be:
Apprenticed. We are called to leave behind our former life (what we knew and what we were) in order to commit ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ – to follow and learn from him. We are called to learn, serve, imitate and do the work of our Master Craftsman. We are called to let go of our former life in order to learn and live a new life.
Marked. Sometimes being marked is a difficult thing. It means you have to live differently. It means some people may resent and hate you because you live differently. You will experience some cultural friction. But our lives should clearly display our allegiance to Jesus and His claim over us.
Used. We are called to stand up against our corrupt culture; to stand up even in the face of kings and rulers; to speak God’s message, show off God’s love and power and follow God’s leading. The Christian life is not an easy life, but it is a joy-filled, hope-filled life. And an obedient, authentic, loving, God-glorifying life is a compelling life.
Elisha had the mantle of Elijah thrown upon Him. We however, have had Jesus say to us, “Follow Me”. But what is our response? Is it like those who, when Jesus called them to follow, came up with excuses and ways of stalling? Is it like the son, in the parable of the father who asked his sons to work in his vineyard, who said yes but didn’t go? Is it like the rich young man who decided that following Jesus cost too much? Or is it like that of Elisha who dropped everything, burned his ships and set out to follow?
Are we totally committed to Jesus or only mostly or partly of kind of? With Jesus, it is all or nothing. We can’t hold anything back. Jesus is not merely Lord of our “spiritual lives” while we run our physical and professional lives. Jesus is not Lord over our private life while we take care of our public one. He is Lord of all – all of us, every part of us.
With Jesus, it is all or nothing. And so, there is no returning. We must burn our ships. We must give ourselves totally to Him. We make a clean break with the old way of doing things (the way of the fallen world). We give those things up. And though that sounds like a lot, its really nothing. We give up nothing and gain everything.
We have a burning decision to make. Will we choose the plow and oxen over the call and keep on doing what we’re doing – the seemingly safe and steady thing, ‘our thing’? Will we chose th plow and oxen or will we light it up, throw a farewell party and follow our Lord and Savior on the adventure of being His disciple?
Anybody got some matches?
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