Biblical Prophets - Bible Study OnlineLocated at the Bottom of Page In the last article we discovered that the Lord had allowed the rain to finally fall upon the city of Samaria - which in turn ended the "famine judgment" that was wreaking havoc upon the land. Ahab would return to Jezreel a little before the rain had hit, and when he'd arrived, he told his wife Jezebel all that Elijah had done when it came to the fire contest between God and Baal - and how Elijah later on, had the Baal prophets executed by the sword.
Because of this, Jezebel would become so angry, she'd vowed to have Elijah killed. And after hearing of this, Elijah would flee Ahab's kingdom. He would end up at a place that was known as "The Mountain of God" - and it would be at this time that he would have second thoughts about the ministry that the Lord had called him to do. God would end up visiting and encouraging Elijah by promising to send him some help in the very near future. Now we have arrived at the point where Elijah would finally leave "The Mountain of God" in order to continue on with his calling. He began his journey by searching for Elisha the one who God had proclaimed to be his successor. Know that at this point, the plan that God had for Israel involved three major phases. "The Lord said to him, 'Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, [1] anoint Hazael king over Aram. [2] Also anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and [3] anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet." - 1 Kings 19:15-16 Know that anointing Elisha would end up being the first phase when it came to God's plan to further punish Israel for their continued idolatry and sinful ways. The other two phases would involve anointing Hazael to be king over the Arameans and anointing Jehu to eventually be the new king of Israel.
Now Elijah's search would soon lead him to Elisha son of Shaphat. Elijah would find him plowing with his twelve pairs of oxen in his family fields. And after he had noticed Elisha, he walked up to him and threw his cloak around him and walked away. Understand that with the prophet putting his personal cloak around Elisha, showed not only a token of friendship, but it was Elijah's way of telling Elisha that he would be accepted as his student if he so chooses the invitation. Elisha then left his twelve pairs of oxen and ran towards the prophet and asked if he could go and say goodbye to his family first. The prophet agreed and gave Elisha permission to do so. Now the prophet Elijah would stay in the fields, while Elisha went back to his family to say goodbye. Elijah wouldn't accompany Elisha because he did not want to have any added influence when it came to Elisha's decision - when it came to following him. In the meantime, Elisha makes it back to his family house to say his goodbyes. But first, he would prepare a farewell feast to share with his family and all who was there. He slaughtered the twelve pairs of oxen that he was plowing the fields with to use as the main course. He would also use the plowing equipment as fire wood to cook the oxen with. And after they had eaten and Elisha had said his goodbyes, he met back up with Elijah and they headed out to begin their ministry together. Note: Remember God had instructed the prophet Elijah to go and find Elisha so he could anoint him to be his successor. Because of this, we can only assume that God had already spoken with Elisha about his ministry that was about to take place within his life. With that being said, Elisha would have been already waiting for the prophet to show up and confirm God's Word. Remember this would be the first of two more phases when it came to God's judgment plan against Israel. And now that Elijah has found his successor and they have went off to start Elisha's training - something big was beginning to happen back at the city of Samaria.
**YOUR CURRENT BIBLICAL PROPHETS SERIES WOULD BE HERE** 02) Obadiah and the Caves of Refuge 03) The Fire Contest Between God & Baal 04) The Gift of Rain That Came From The Heavens 05) <-CURRENT BIBLICAL PROPHETS PAGE-> 06) The Thirty Two Kings of Mass Destruction 07) Ben-Hadad The Drunken King 09) The Prophets of the Groves 10) Micaiah The One True Prophet 13) Elijah and the Chariot of Fire 14) Elisha the Miracle Prophet  |
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