"19 So he (Elijah) departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him.
20 And he (Elisha) left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go back again, for what have I done to you?"
21 And he (Elisha) returned from following him (Elijah) and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. "THEN HE AROSE AND WENT" after Elijah and assisted him."
Some of my early remembrances of my grandfather was him hitching a mule up to plow in the garden for crops. You see, I grew up with the food eaten by our family coming from my grandfathers garden, or the animals of the farm from where we lived. Seldom did we depend on the local grocery store to supply our family with the food we needed for our sustenance. Quite literally, we depended upon GOD. The are several years I remember my grandfather providing fruits of his labor (crops) to families who didn't have so they could eat. GOD provided the harvest and GOD directed where the harvest was to be dispensed!
Elisha was found to be plowing when Elijah "passed by him". Elijah found Elisha, not in the schools of the prophets, but in the field, not reading, nor praying, nor sacrificing, but plowing. Elisha's profession was cultivating crops, yet depending on The LORD to provide growth, so it seemed a natural progression that he would continue depending on The LORD for his needs. Elisha wasn't waiting for The LORD to "miraculously" intervene and provide for him. Instead he was plowing and Elijah simply "passed by him and cast his cloak upon him"!
Elisha then "sacrificed" the oxen and prepared meals with the meat by using the yokes with which he used to work the oxen. The people ate and Elisha's tools of his trade were used to feed them. "THEN HE AROSE AND WENT" after Elijah and assisted him in his ministry. Elisha "sacrificed" so the people could eat! He "sacrificed" the oxen so GOD could use him assisting Elijah. He left his father and mother to follow what The LORD had for him in his life!
My prayer is that when GOD sends someone "passing by" me that I will be willing to "sacrifice" for The LORD and leave everything behind. In the text above Elijah never asked Elisha to assist him, he only "cast his cloak upon him" and "THEN HE AROSE AND WENT"! The direction to follow Elijah had to come from someone, and I would presume it came from GOD. HEAVENLY FATHER, cause me to be SO in tune with YOUR will that my testimony will be "THEN HE AROSE AND WENT" when YOU call me!!!
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