So he 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.
Elijah was worn out and sure he stood alone. God had just told him that seven thousand in Israel had not bowed to Baal. The first of them He shows him is a farmer at work in a field. The call comes with no sermon, only a cloak thrown over the young man's shoulders as the prophet walks past.
God's Answer to a Discouraged Servant
Elijah thought the work rested on him alone. Choosing Elisha answers that fear:
Hamilton SmithIn our own day, with its growing corruption, our outlook is limited. So we often imagine that the work of God depends on one or two devoted and faithful servants of the Lord. We imagine that when they are taken away, all testimony for the Lord will stop. We have to learn that though servants pass, God remains. God has other servants in preparation for His service. And, unknown to us, God has His hidden ones who have not bowed down to prevailing evils.
Chosen From the Field, Not the Palace
God found His next prophet behind a plough, not in a palace. Writers see a pattern in this:
Hamilton SmithThe one chosen to take the place of the prophet is not found among the great men of the earth. God is no respecter of persons, and in choosing His servants God is not restricted to the great and noble. He may indeed employ the rich and the learned, kings and priests, as He sees fit. But at times He pours contempt on all our pride by taking up a man from the humblest walks of life to perform the highest spiritual service. So it happens that in the days of Elijah He calls a simple farmer from following the plough to be the prophet of his age.
Found Working, Not Idle
He was driving the twelfth pair himself. God's call found him hard at work:
Frank WallaceElijah did not find Elisha sitting down enjoying himself or taking a nap in the heat of the day. He found a very industrious man, ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen. This is a good thing to see in the Lord's servants. We see it all through the Bible: God chooses men of action, men of industry, men who can do things... God has called many, many great men from very active lives to serve Him. They proved themselves in their secular calling, and then they proved themselves in the calling of God.
His daily work also matched his future work. One writer reads the field as a picture of the ministry ahead:
Leslie M. GrantHis ploughing is typical of the spiritual work God called him to do: ploughing up the consciences of Israel in repentance toward God, so that the seed of the Word of God could be sown.
The Meaning of the Mantle
Elisha was working the last pair himself. Elijah says nothing, and lets the mantle speak:
The Bible TreasuryElisha is found ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and "he was with the twelfth" — no doubt a strong and patient farmer. Elijah passes by and casts his mantle on him, showing, I would suppose, that he was to take the place and calling of the owner of it. Elisha clearly understood it that way. But for a moment he yields to his natural affection, and asks permission to go back and kiss his father and mother. The prophet's reply throws him on his own responsibility: "Go back again, for what have I done to you?" It was for him to judge whether Elijah's action toward him had been a divine call or not.
Others press the symbol further, to the power behind the office:
Leslie M. GrantThe mantle pictures the Spirit of God, who clothes the one who receives it with spiritual power. So Elisha was to have the same Spirit that Elijah had for serving the Lord.
What It Cost Him
Elisha was ploughing land the rain had made ready, and the farm was a large one:
W. W. FeredayThe rain Elijah had prayed for had done its work, and the land was ready for ploughing. Twelve yoke of oxen were in use, which shows that Elisha's father was a farmer on a large scale. So Elisha turned his back on good prospects when he accepted the call to follow Elijah. This is what God loves to see in those who serve Him... But, my friends, what has the step cost you? Have you given up something substantial (as people say) to serve the interests of Christ in a needy world?
Hidden Preparation First
Elisha shows no shock when the mantle falls on him — a sign, some suggest, that God had been at work in him long before that morning:
A J PollockGod's chosen servants are always trained in secret before they are called to public service. The training ground before the open field — the discipline of training before the noise of battle — is always the order. The future teacher must be taught. The future leader must learn to follow. The future commander must know first how to obey.
Summary
- Hidden — Elijah thought the testimony would die with him. But servants pass and God remains, and He keeps ready ones we know nothing about.
- Busy — the call finds Elisha at the twelfth yoke. God calls men already faithful in ordinary work, not idle ones.
- Fitting — the plough matches the mission. Elisha's task was to break up Israel's conscience, so the seed of God's word could be sown.
- Clothed — the mantle, thrown without a word, marked him for Elijah's place and the power to fill it. Elijah's words left the choice with Elisha himself.
- Costly — twelve yoke of oxen was real wealth, and he left it. The passage asks every reader what their own following has cost.