(19) В¶ So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. (20) And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?
The call of Elisha is very striking. It was wholly unexpected, unlooked for on his part; but on the Lord's part long ordained, long intended. What a proof we have of this in the call of Jeremiah. Before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, (saith the Lord) and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Jeremiah 1:5. And depend upon it, so it is in the appointment of all God's sent servants. See a beautiful instance in the case of Saul and Barnabas. Acts 9:15-16; Acts 9:15-16. Of all subjects none can be more important than that everyone who ministers in holy things should see to it that his call is clear. Most awful it is to rush into the ministry unsent; and most awful in the end will be that solemn question, Who hath required this at your hands? And assuredly that awful sentence which will follow: Isaiah 1:12; Matthew 7:22-23. In the instance of Elijah we see all the marks following the Lord's declaration to Elijah. The mantle of Elijah was accompanied with the Spirit of Elijah's God. He was made willing in the day of his power. Thus the Lord prevents, or goes before-hand with the sweet influences of his grace. Disposes the heart, constrains the mind, and leads the soul to follow the soft calls of his grace. Reader! as it is by his ministers, so is it by the private believer. The Lord passeth by when we are in our blood, and bids us live. Ezekiel 16:6. The Lord gives grace to follow his call, notwithstanding both the unexpectedness of the call, and our unpreparedness to receive it; and yet more, all our undeservings; and though the whole life of grace as much exceeds all we can ask or think, as his thoughts exceed our thoughts, or his ways our ways. Ephesians 3:20.