Elisha~ The man who went from plow to prophet because of his faith in God

In front of you is a picture of Elisha. let us look at him to see why he is here.

Elisha was son of Shaphat. son of Hori of the tribe of Simeon (I Kings 19:10; Num. 13:5). God called Elisha to be his prophet while he was plowing a field. It happened when Elijah walked by and cast his mantle on him (I Kings 19:15-21). A mantle is a sleeveless outer garment that was worn over the tunic. The Jewish tradition said that the mantle was to have blue fringes on the edges of it.It could have been a lot like the robe of the ephod that the priest wore, that is described in Exodus 28:31-35. It was also worn by prophets, kings & the very rich of that time. On a prophet,  it was a symbol of  a calling to service, sanctification or a special relationship to God. The one that was thrown on Elisha had God's power in it, for it was used to part the water two times (2 Kings 2:8, 14).

Elisha followed Elijah after the mantle was thrown on him. Elijah taught him as they walked together. They did this until the day that God came and took Elijah up in a chariot of fire  I Kings 19:19-21;(2 Kings 2:1-17). That is when Elisha's ministry started. But before God took Elijah, he had asked Elisha what he wanted from him. Elisha asked for a double portion of the Spirit to be upon him (2 Kings 2: 9-10). And God granted that to him. Why? I  believe it was because of the great faith that he had in God.  Let us look at his life.

When Elisha was called, he gave his life totally to God (I Kings 19:20-21; 2 Kings 4:34-35).

Elisha was a man of godly integrity ( 2 Kings 5:16).

Elisha lived in a victorious life (2 Kings 5:15-16).

Elisha was a man with great spiritual vision ( 2 Kings 6:17).

Because of all of these above he spoke with Godly authority (2 Kings 3:16-17), and performed almost 2 times as many miracles as Elijah. They are found in 2 Kings 2:14, 21, 24; 2 Kings 4:5, 35, 41. 43; 2 Kings 5:10, 27; 2 Kings 6:5, 18; 2 Kings 13:21).

Because of his faith in God and faithfulness to God, he died a victorious death (2 Kings 13:14-19), and left behind a great legacy (2 Kings 13:20-21).