So Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will follow you." "Go on back," Elijah replied, "for what have I done to you?" So Elisha left the oxen,Elisha turned from a prosperous livelihood marked by twelve yoke of oxen and servants. He left behind security, status, and the work that had defined his life in order to answer God’s call through Elijah. Luk 5:28 and Levi got up, left everything, and followed Him. ran after Elijah, Elisha responded without delay. His pursuit of Elijah revealed a willing heart, like the disciples who immediately left their nets when Jesus called them. 2Ki 2:2 “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.”… and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, Elisha honored his parents and sought to depart properly from his household. His request did not become an excuse to delay, for his later sacrifice of the oxen showed that he was not intending to return to his former life. Rut 1:14 Again they wept aloud, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law… and then I will follow you.” Elisha accepted the calling to become Elijah’s attendant and eventual successor. Following God required a decisive break with his previous occupation and a new commitment to serve the Lord’s prophetic purposes in Israel. Mat 8:21-22 Another of His disciples requested, “Lord, first let me go… “Go on back,” Elijah replied, Elijah did not compel Elisha to follow him. God’s servants must respond freely and wholeheartedly to His call. Rut 1:15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law has gone back… “for what have I done to you?” Elijah reminded Elisha that the decisive summons had come from God, not merely from a human prophet. Elisha’s loyalty therefore belonged ultimately to the Lord who had chosen him for ministry. 2Ki 2:9-10 After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha… Persons / Places / Events 1. ElishaA farmer called by God to be a prophet, successor to Elijah. His immediate response to Elijah's call shows his willingness to leave his past life behind. 2. Elijah A major prophet in Israel, known for his powerful ministry and miracles. He is tasked with anointing Elisha as his successor. 3. Oxen Symbolic of Elisha's former life as a farmer. Leaving them signifies his readiness to embrace a new calling. 4. Elisha's Parents Represent Elisha's familial ties and responsibilities, which he seeks to honor before following Elijah. 5. The Call to Prophetic Ministry This event marks the transition of Elisha from a farmer to a prophet, highlighting the cost and commitment of following God's call. Teaching Points The Cost of DiscipleshipFollowing God's call often requires leaving behind familiar comforts and relationships. Elisha's willingness to leave his family and livelihood is a powerful example of commitment. Immediate Obedience Elisha's prompt response to Elijah's call demonstrates the importance of immediate obedience to God's direction in our lives. Honoring Family While Elisha was ready to follow Elijah, he also sought to honor his parents by saying goodbye, showing a balance between commitment to God and respect for family. God's Sovereign Call God's call can come at unexpected times and places. Elisha was in the middle of his daily work when he was called, reminding us to be ready for God's call at any moment. Transition and Transformation Elisha's transition from farmer to prophet illustrates how God can transform our lives and use us for His purposes when we are willing to follow Him. Bible Study Questions 1. What does Elisha's response to Elijah's call teach us about the nature of true discipleship?2. How can we balance our commitment to God with our responsibilities to family, as Elisha sought to do? 3. In what ways does Elisha's immediate obedience challenge us in our own walk with God? 4. How can we prepare ourselves to recognize and respond to God's call in our daily lives? 5. Reflect on a time when you had to leave something behind to follow God's leading. How did that experience transform your life? Connections to Other Scriptures Luke 9:61-62Jesus speaks about the cost of discipleship, emphasizing the need to prioritize the kingdom of God over familial ties, similar to Elisha's situation. Matthew 4:18-22 The calling of the first disciples, who immediately left their nets and followed Jesus, parallels Elisha's immediate response to Elijah's call. Philippians 3:13-14 Paul speaks about forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, which resonates with Elisha's decision to leave his past life.
People Abel, Ahab, Aram, Elijah, Elisha, Hazael, Israelites, Jehu, Jezebel, Nimshi, ShaphatPlaces Abel-meholah, Beersheba, Damascus, Horeb, Jezreel, SyriaTopics Elijah, Eli'jah, Follow, Forsaketh, Good-by, Kiss, Letting, Oxen, Please, Ran, Replied, Runneth, Running, TurnDictionary of Bible Themes 1 Kings 19:20 5898 kissing 4478 meat Library Elijah's Weakness, and Its Cube'And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time. 3. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. 4. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down … Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture What Doest Thou Here? God's Gentle Power "Therefore, Brethren, we are Debtors, not to the Flesh, to Live after the Flesh," A Solemn Address to those who Will not be Persuaded to Fall in with the Design of the Gospel. What Doest Thou Here? An Address to the Regenerate, Founded on the Preceding Discourses. The Uses of the Law Seven Sanctified Thoughts and Mournful Sighs of a Sick Man Ready to Die. Of the True Church. Duty of Cultivating Unity with Her, as the Mother of all the Godly. Concerning the Ministry. Grace Before Meat. Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners: "My Little Children, These Things Write I unto You, that Ye Sin Not. And if any Man Sin, we have an Advocate with the Father," The Case of the Christian under the Hiding of God's Face. Conflicts with Giant Mistake Concerning Peaceableness Of Passages from the Holy Scriptures, and from the Apocrypha, which are Quoted, or Incidentally Illustrated, in the Institutes. Of the Discipline of the Church, and Its Principal Use in Censures and Excommunication. A Cloud of Witnesses. Links 1 Kings 19:20 NIV1 Kings 19:20 NLT 1 Kings 19:20 ESV 1 Kings 19:20 NASB 1 Kings 19:20 KJV 1 Kings 19:20 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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