So
he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. Elijah went over to him, and put his mantle on him. Elisha left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me please kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” He said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?”
He returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and served him.
1 Kings 19:19-21
1 Kings 19 [15.] Yahweh said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. Anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi to be king over Israel; and anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah to be prophet in your place. He who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and he who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. Yet I reserved seven thousand in Israel, all the knees of which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.”
1 Kings 19 [19.] So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. Elijah went over to him, and put his mantle on him. Elisha left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me please kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” He said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?”
1 Kings 19 [21.] He returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and served him.
1 Kings 20 [1.] Ben Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, with horses and chariots. He went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it. He sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and said to him, “Thus says Ben Hadad, ‘Your silver and your gold is mine. Your wives also and your children, even the best, are mine.’”
Meaning:
After his victory on Mount Carmel, Elijah fled from Jezebel’s threats and came, exhausted and discouraged, to Horeb, the mountain of God (1 Kings 19:2; 1 Kings 19:9-11). There Yahweh renewed him and gave him new tasks, among them to anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat as prophet in his place, and assured him that he was not alone: seven thousand in Israel had not bowed to Baal (1 Kings 19:18). These verses tell how Elijah found his successor.
- “Plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth”
Elisha was busy at ordinary work when God’s call came. Twelve yoke of oxen point to a prosperous family farm; Elisha was driving the last pair behind eleven others. He was not looking for a new life, and he had much to leave behind.
- “Put his mantle on him”
Elijah’s mantle, his prophet’s cloak, was a sign of his office and authority. By throwing it over Elisha, Elijah claimed him for God’s service and marked him as his successor. Elijah says nothing; the act speaks for itself.
- “Let me please kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you”
Elisha responds at once. He leaves the oxen and runs after Elijah, but asks first to say farewell to his parents. Elijah’s reply, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?”, seems to leave the choice with Elisha: the call is from God, not from Elijah, and Elisha must decide for himself whether to answer it.
- “He returned … and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them”
Elisha’s farewell becomes a decisive break. He slaughters the oxen, uses the wooden equipment as fuel to cook the meat, and gives a feast for the people. Without oxen and plow, there is no going back to farming. The meal was also a public celebration and thanksgiving as he left his old life. Then he “went after Elijah, and served him,” beginning as the prophet’s servant before he became a prophet himself.
- Jesus and the plow
Jesus’ words recall this story when a man said to him, “I want to follow you, Lord, but first allow me to say good-bye to those who are at my house.” He answered, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for God’s Kingdom” (Luke 9:61-62). Jesus’ call is even more urgent than Elijah’s, because in him God’s Kingdom has come. Like Elisha, the fishermen of Galilee left their work at once: “They immediately left their nets and followed him” (Matthew 4:20).
The Significance of 1 Kings 19:19-21
- God calls people in ordinary life
Elisha was at his daily work when God called him. God still meets people in their ordinary routines and calls them to serve him.
- Burning the bridges
Elisha left nothing to return to. Following God wholeheartedly may mean letting go of security and old ways, so that nothing pulls the heart back.
- Beginning as a servant
Elisha’s first task was simply to serve Elijah. Faithful service in small things prepares God’s people for greater responsibility.
Cross-References:
Luke 9:62: "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for God’s Kingdom." Jesus’ stronger call.
Matthew 4:20: "They immediately left their nets and followed him." The first disciples leave their work.
1 Kings 19:18: "Yet I reserved seven thousand in Israel, all the knees of which have not bowed to Baal" Yahweh reminds Elijah of the faithful remnant before he calls Elisha.
Conclusion: In 1 Kings 19:19-21 Elijah finds Elisha plowing and throws his mantle over him. Elisha asks to kiss his parents good-bye, then makes a decisive break, slaughtering his oxen, cooking them with the plow equipment and feeding the people, before following Elijah as his servant. His wholehearted response lies behind Jesus’ saying about the one who puts his hand to the plow and does not look back.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible