Elisha Bible Study Lesson Snippet
The call of Elisha - From physical to spiritual plowman
1 Kings 19:19-21 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. 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 good-by,' he said, 'and then I will come with you.' 'Go back,' Elijah replied. 'What have I done to you?' 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 attendant.
The first thing we see about Elisha is that he was a plowman. Here he was, plowing with his oxen to break up the tough rugged ground. He would remain a plowman to the end of his life although God had a whole new 'ground' in mind for Elisha. It wouldn't be the hard natural ground that would concern Elisha after this point... Oh no! God had an even harder ground for Elisha to plow! It would be the hard hearts of the Israelites themselves that Elisha would now be concerned with.
So Elijah comes up and throws his mantle around Elisha. You will see from above that Elisha didn't have to ask 'what's going on?' He knew exactly what that meant. Mantle's were typically made of animal hair (not overly popular today!) and were generally worn by kings and prophets. They were symbolic of the owners calling, position, and authority. So Elisha didn't have to ask Elijah what was going on. He knew. This was a passing of Elijah's calling and position onto Elisha.
I find it interesting that the ministry of both Elijah and Elisha is foretold in the meanings of their name. Elijah means 'Yahweh is God' and that was his ministry. The people didn't know who the true God was anymore. Most followed Baal. Elijah had to come to again show them the true God. Elisha means 'God is salvation' and that was his calling. Not so much to point out who the true God was, but to show that God was alive and well and was able to save. That is why Elisha performed more miracles than anyone else in the Bible apart from Jesus. He showed that God is salvation.
From: Elisha's Journey - How far do you want to go?