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Hereturnedback - He went home to his house; probably he yet lived with his
parents, for it appears he was a single man: and he slew a yoke of the oxen - he made a
feast for his household, having boiled the flesh of the oxen with his agricultural
implements, probably in token that he had abandoned secular life: then, having bidden
them an affectionate farewell, he arose, went after Elijah, who probably still awaited
his coming in the field or its vicinity, and ministered unto him.
On the call of Elisha, I may make a few remarks.
Elijah is commanded, 1
Kings 19:16, to anoint Elisha prophet in his room. Though it is generally
believed that kings, priests, and prophets, were inaugurated into their respective
offices by the right of unction, and this I have elsewhere supposed; yet this is the
only instance on record where a prophet is commanded to be anointed; and even this
case is problematical, for it does not appear that Elijah did anoint Elisha. Nothing
is mentioned in his call to the prophetic office, but the casting the mantle of
Elijah upon him; wherefore it is probable that the word anoint, here signifies no
more than the call to the office, accompanied by the simple rite of having the
prophet's mantle thrown over his shoulders.
A call to the ministerial office, though it completely sever from all secular
occupations, yet never supersedes the duties of filial affection. Though Elisha must
leave his oxen, and become a prophet to Israel: yet he may first go home, eat and
drink with his parents and relatives, and bid them an affectionate farewell.
We do not find any attempt on the part of his parents to hinder him from obeying
the Divine call: they had too much respect for the authority of God, and they left
their son to the dictates of his conscience. Wo to those parents who strive, for
filthy lucre's sake, to prevent their sons from embracing a call to preach Jesus to
their perishing countrymen, or to the heathen, because they see that the life of a
true evangelist is a life of comparative poverty, and they had rather he should gain
money than save souls.
The cloak, we have already observed, was the prophet's peculiar habit; it was
probably in imitation of this that the Greek philosophers wore a sort of mantle, that
distinguished them from the common people; and by which they were at once as easily
known as certain academical characters are by their gowns and square caps. The
pallium was as common among the Greeks as the toga was among the Romans. Each of
these was so peculiar to those nations, that Palliatus is used to signify a Greek, as
Togatus is to signify a Roman.
Was it from this act of Elijah, conveying the prophetic office and its authority
to Elisha by throwing his mantle upon him, that the popes of Rome borrowed the
ceremony of collating an archbishop to the spiritualities and temporalities of his
see, and investing him with plenary sacerdotal authority, by sending him what is well
known in ecclesiastical history by the name pallium, pall, or cloak? I think this is
likely; for as we learn from Zechariah 13:4, and 2
Kings 1:8, that this mantle was a rough or hairy garment, so we learn from
Durandus that the pallium or pall was made of white wool, after the following manner:-
The nuns of St. Agnes, annually on the festival of their
patroness, offer two white lambs on the altar of their church, during the time they
sing Agnus Dei, in a solemn mass; which lambs are afterwards taken by two of the
canons of the Lateran church, and by them given to the pope's sub-deacons, who send
them to pasture till shearing time; and then they are shorn, and the pall is made of
their wool, mixed with other white wool.
The pall is then carried to the Lateran
church, and there placed on the high altar by the deacons, on the bodies of St. Peter
and St. Paul; and, after a usual watching or vigil, it is carried away in the night,
and delivered to the sub-deacons, who lay it up safely. Now, because it was taken
from the body of St. Peter, it signifies the plenitude of ecclesiastical power: and,
therefore, the popes assume it as their prerogative, being the professed successors
of this apostle, to invest other prelates with it. This was at first confined to
Rome, but afterwards it was sent to popish prelates in different parts of the
world.
It seems, from the place in Zechariah, quoted above, that this rough cloak or
garment became the covering of hypocrites and deceivers; and that persons assumed the
prophetic dress without the prophetic call, and God threatens to unmask them. We know
that this became general in the popish Church in the beginning of the 16th century;
and God stripped those false prophets of their false and wicked pretensions, and
exposed them to the people. Many of them profited by this exposure, and became
reformed; and the whole community became at least more cautious. The Romish Church
should be thankful to the Reformation for the moral purity which is now found in it;
for, had not its vices, and usurpations, and super-scandalous sales of indulgences,
been thus checked, the whole fabric had by this time been probably dissolved. Should
it carry its reformation still farther, it would have a more legitimate pretension to
the title of apostolic. Let them compare their ritual with the Bible and common
sense, and they will find cause to lop many cumbrous and rotten branches from a good
tree.
Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible
Elisha returns to his oxen and laborers. He indicates his relinquishment of his home and calling by the slaughter of the particular yoke of oxen with which he had himself been plowing, probably the best beasts of the twelve, and by burning the “instruments,” the p oughs and yokes, both made of wood. Next he feasts his people to show his gratitude for his call, Elijah apparently remaining the while; and then, leaving father and mother, cattle and land, good position and comfortable home, Elisha became the “minister” to the wanderer. Compare Exodus 24:13; Joshua 1:1.
Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary
Elijah found Elisha by Divine direction, not in the schools of the prophets, but in the field; not reading, or praying, or sacrificing, but ploughing. Idleness is no man's honour, nor is husbandry any man's disgrace. An honest calling in the world, does not put us out of the way of our heavenly calling, any more than it did Elisha. His heart was touched by the Holy Spirit, and he was ready to leave all to attend Elijah. It is in a day of power that Christ's subjects are made willing; nor would any come to Christ unless they were thus drawn. It was a discouraging time for prophets to set out in. A man that had consulted with flesh and blood, would not be fond of Elijah's mantle; yet Elisha cheerfully leaves all to accompany him. When the Saviour said to one and to another, Follow me, the dearest friends and most profitable occupations were cheerfully left, and the most arduous duties done from love to his name. May we, in like manner, feel the energy of his grace working in us mightily, and by unreserved submission at once, may we make our calling and election sure.
SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7
21. A yoke of oxen. Elisha took the pair of oxen with which he had been plowing, slew them, and boiled their flesh on a fire kindled with the plow and yoke, thus signifying that he would never need them again. He was turning his back on the past, and entering the service of God.
Ministered unto him. The older prophet was in need of a younger companion and helper. The two were henceforth as one in their work for the Lord. The association reminds us of that of Moses and Joshua, and of Paul and Silas. The two men had different personalities, and the younger, calmer man would be of great help to his older more impetuous associate.
chapter 20
1Ben-hadad, not content with Ahab’s homage, besiegeth Samaria.13By the direction of a prophet, the Syrians are slain.22As the prophet forewarned Ahab, the Syrians, trusting in the valleys, come against him in Apheck.28By the word of the prophet, and God’s judgment, the Syrians are smitten again.31The Syrians submitting themselves, Ahab sendeth Ben-hadad away with a covenant.35The prophet, under the parable of a prisoner, making Ahab to judge himself, denounceth God’s judgment against him.
Ellen G. White
Prophets and Kings, 217-20
God had bidden Elijah anoint another to be prophet in his stead. “Elisha the son of Shaphat ... shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room” (1 Kings 19:16), He had said; and in obedience to the command, Elijah went to find Elisha. As he journeyed northward, how changed was the scene from what it had been only a short while before! Then the ground was parched, the farming districts unworked, for neither dew nor rain had fallen for three and a half years. Now on every hand vegetation was springing up as if to redeem the time of drought and famine.PK 217.1
Elisha's father was a wealthy farmer, a man whose household were among the number that in a time of almost universal apostasy had not bowed the knee to Baal. Theirs was a home where God was honored and where allegiance to the faith of ancient Israel was the rule of daily life. In such surroundings the early years of Elisha were passed. In the quietude of country life, under the teaching of God and nature and the discipline of useful work, he received the training in habits of simplicity and of obedience to his parents and to God that helped to fit him for the high position he was afterward to occupy.PK 217.2
Young men who have a practical knowledge of how to treat the sick are now to be sent out to do gospel medical missionary work, in connection with more experienced gospel workers. If these young men will give themselves to the study of the word, they will become successful evangelists. The ministers with whom these young men labor are to give them the same opportunity to learn that Elijah gave Elisha. They are to show them how to teach the truth to others. Where it is possible, these young men should visit the hospitals, and in some cases they may connect with them for a while, laboring disinterestedly.CH 538.1
God sent His angel to move upon the heart of a farmer who had not believed the Bible, to lead him to search the prophecies. Angels of God repeatedly visited that chosen one, to guide his mind and open to his understanding prophecies which had ever been dark to God's people. The commencement of the chain of truth was given to him, and he was led on to search for link after link, until he looked with wonder and admiration upon the Word of God. He saw there a perfect chain of truth. That Word which he had regarded as uninspired now opened before his vision in its beauty and glory. He saw that one portion of Scripture explains another, and when one passage was closed to his understanding, he found in another part of the Word that which explained it. He regarded the sacred Word of God with joy and with the deepest respect and awe.EW 229.1
Every youth, every child, has a work to do for the honor of God and the uplifting of humanity.Ed 58.1
The early years of the prophet Elisha were passed in the quietude of country life, under the teaching of God and nature and the discipline of useful work. In a time of almost universal apostasy his father's household were among the number who had not bowed the knee to Baal. Theirs was a home where God was honored and where faithfulness to duty was the rule of daily life.Ed 58.2
