James Nisbet Commentary - 1 Kings 19:19 - 19:19

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James Nisbet Commentary - 1 Kings 19:19 - 19:19


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INFLUENCE AND DECISION

‘So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth; and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.’

1Ki_19:19

There may be many to whom the casting of the mantle does not mean the leaving of home and business, but a continuing in the state of life where you are, only with the mantle still over you, with Jesus Christ as the ruling partner of the firm, with Jesus Christ as master of the home. There are some to whom the call is, as it was to St. Matthew or Elisha, to give up the secular life, as men call it, and go out, it may be, to the foreign field, or to the slums of London, Belfast, or Glasgow, to live and labour for Jesus Christ.

I. The simple call.—But whatever the new life may be, the summons to it comes in a very simple way. God never forces men into His service. How easy it would have been for Elisha to have neglected this call; how easily he might have argued ‘If Elijah really wants me, let him ask me straight out.’ God’s call comes in very ordinary ways. Some servant of God is wearing the mantle, some Elijah has crossed your path, and something of his earnestness or the simplicity of his faith, or the attractiveness of his joy, has touched you. That was God’s call to you to share the mantle; it was not an accident. Elijah passed on; he did not stay by Elisha’s side to wait for his answer. He walked rapidly past him, and Elisha had to run after him to accept the invitation. Jesus Christ passes by; it may be that at one time you feel the rustle of the mantle—but if you do not obey or yield then, the invitation may not be repeated.

II. What is this new life?—What does it mean? Well, in the case of Elisha it meant (a) a life of devotion to Elijah. He went after him and ministered unto him. It means a life of devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ, not the following afar off of St. Peter, denying the Lord who bought you, but such a life that your one thought day by day, week in and week out, is this: ‘I belong to Jesus, I love Jesus, I am all for Jesus.’ (b) A life of separation. As a follower of Elijah, Elisha was separated from the old life. He had to bid good-bye to the life on the farm, to the old interests and pursuits. It must be so; though in the world, we are not of it. (c) It was a life of hardship. The soft bed that had been Elisha’s from childhood was his no more: he lived with Elijah in the deserts, in the dens and caves. You cannot be the Lord’s disciple unless you carry the Lord’s cross. (d) But it was also a life of privilege. There are three places in which we read of Elijah’s mantle. The first is in Illustration

‘There is room in our Lord’s service for men of every type, and of all kinds of gifts. Let no one hang back because his gifts are not the same as someone else’s. Gifts of thought, gifts of speech, gifts of heart—Christ wants them all. He wants you and your gift, whatever it may be. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are diversities of operations, but the same Lord.’