"Burning Bridges"
1 Kings 19:19-21
1 Kings 19:19 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?
21 And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
Introduction: I've selected a title this morning that can be viewed to two ways. Over the years I've had the opportunity to advise folks on a number of decisions involving relationships and job changes and one of the pieces of advice that I having given them is don't burn any bridges because you may want to retrace your steps! On the other hand there are times when we do need to "burn some bridges," especially when the work of the Kingdom is concerned. Let's look at the ministry of Elisha and see if he burned any bridges.
I. THE CALL OF ELISHA
a. Elijah's retirement
In chapter 19 we read about the retirement of Elijah from the prophetic office. After the triumph on Mt. Carmel where the prophet called down fire from heaven and the slaying of the 400 prophets of Baal, Elijah receives a death threat from Jezebel and "runs for cover" so to speak and asks God to be relieved of his office. Later in 2 Kings 2:11 we read of the catching up of the prophet into heaven.
"And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."
b. Elijah's replacement
God honors Elijah's request to be "relieved of duty" and in verse 16 we read about Elijah's replacement:
1 Kings 19:16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
Who is this man called Elisha? He was from the tribe of Issachar and his name means "Jehovah my Savior!" He and Elijah could not have been any different but they became close friends and co-laborers. Lockyer writes about the contrasts in these men:
Elijah was a prophet of the wilderness
Elisha was a prince of the court
Elijah had no settled home
Elisha enjoyed the peace of a home
Elijah was known for his long hair and mantle
Elisha by his staff and bald head
Elijah was mainly prophetical
Elisha's work was mainly miraculous
Elijah was a rebuke of kings
Elisha was a friend and admirer
Elijah was a messenger of vengeance
Elisha was a messenger of mercy
Elijah was fierce, fiery, energetic;
Elisha was gentle, sympathetic, simple.
Elijah was a solitary figure
Elisha was more social
Elijah had an extraordinary departure
Elisha's death was ordinary.
ILL - It is observable that God has often called men to places of dignity and honor when they have busy and honest employment of their vocation. Saul was seeking his father's donkeys and David his father's sheep when called to the Kingdom. The shepherds were feeding their flocks when they had their glorious revelation. God called the 4 apostles from their fishing and Matthew from collecting taxes. Amos from the horsemen of Tecoah; Moses from keeping Jethro's sheep; Gideon from the threshing floor; Elisha from the plows. God never called a lazy man. God never encourages idleness and will not despise persons in the lowest employment.
D.L. Moody
II. THE CONSECREATION OF ELISHA
a. Elisha's surrender
There are two things that come to mind when we think of Elisha's yielding to the call to the prophetic office. First, he said yes to God and no to his possessions. Notice that he is ploughing "...with twelve yoke of oxen..." when he is called. This would indicate that he was a man of some means. With 2 oxen per yoke times 12 you have 24 oxen, 12 plows and 11 additional men ploughing with him. The fact that he was leading this group of workers would also indicate that he was the first born son and therefore the heir to a substantial fortune. Question: What are you giving up for God my friend? Is what you give to God a sacrifice or what you feel that you can spare? Recently a friend posted the following on a social web page:
ILL - I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, bk. III, chap. 3, para. 7, pp. 81-82
Second, and even more telling is that fact that he would "...kiss..." his father and mother goodbye! It's difficult for us today to understand the bonds that tied a family together in Elisha's day. In this day of family disintegration and dissolution it's hard for us to wrap our minds around the extent to which Elisha was willing to go to answer God's call on his life. We sing "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go," but for many believers there is no willingness to separate from family or anything else for that matter to serve God and I might add we are unwilling for our children to follow God's leading in their lives as well. One of my mentors, Bro. Ben Scott said, "Elisha kissed his possessions and his parents goodbye but many Christians have never kissed anything goodbye!"
b. Elisha's sacrifice
1 Kings 19:21 And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
Elisha sacrificed the oxen he was plowing with and the plow itself to "seal the deal" so to speak! It's interesting that Jesus said:
Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Elisha made sure that there was no plow to "turn back" to and no oxen to pull it! Our choir sings a song called "I'll Not Turn Back," and I love the truth expressed in those lyrics:
I've been changed, healed, freed, delivered,
I've found joy, peace, grace and favor;
Chorus:
I won't go back, I can't go back to the way it used to be, before your presence came and changed me...
ILL - Hernando (Hernan) Cortez was a Spanish Conquistador who launched ships from Spanish held Cuba and conquered Mexico in 1519. In doing so he brought about the demise of the great Aztec empire. As the legend goes, when Cortez first landed on the shores of Mexico he commanded his men to burn the ships. This burning made retreat impossible and has thus become the classic historical example of going "all in" for an endeavor.
III. THE CONTINUATION OF ELISHA
a. His attitude
You would think that with the call Elisha had that he would have set to work immediately carving a place in ministry for himself, but that was not the case. Notice what we read at the end of verse 21...
"...Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him..."
After this farewell feast Elisha leaves his funds, his family and his friends behind and "...ministered..." to Elijah. This means that Elisha became the prophet's personal servant.
2 Kings 3:11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.
So Elisha goes to school under Elijah's tutelage and learns the office, the obligations and the operation of the prophetic ministry! He plays "second fiddle" to Elijah until the day that his mentor is transported into heaven by a fiery chariot.
b. His activity
After a period of training as the servant to Elijah, Elisha begins his own ministry, made notable by the "miracle of the mantle" where he is granted a double portion of the spirit of the prophet and consequently performed twice the miracles!
ILL - There were six major miracles in Elijah life and eleven in Elisha's. The 12th took place in 2 Kings 13:20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. 13:21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.
Conclusion: What can we learn from call and consecration of Elisha? First, get busy living. Time and again we see God calling people at work into His service. Moses and David were tending sheep, Gideon was threshing grain, Elisha was plowing, Peter, James and John were fishing, Matthew was collecting taxes and Paul was on His way to Damascus to continue his persecution of the church. Point is, they were all busy. Second, when God calls go all in! Jesus said: Matthew 16:24 ... If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Third, burn any bridges that might tempt you to turn back, and finally, stick with your decision until God calls you home!
In just a moment I'm going to ask our musicians and worship leader to come and we will sing an invitation hymn and you will have the opportunity to make a public response to the claims of Christ on your life. You must respond publically because according to what Jesus taught if you are ashamed to confess Him (publically) before men then He would be ashamed to confess you before His Father. You may need to come for some other
