1 Kings 19:19-21 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
Luke 9:62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
When Elijah cast his cloak over Elisha in the field, it wasn’t just a symbolic act — it was a divine call. Elisha understood this and responded not with delay or excuse, but with decisive action. After asking to say goodbye to his parents, he returned, slaughtered his oxen, and used the wooden yokes as fuel for the sacrifice. Then he gave the meal to the people and walked away from everything familiar to follow the prophet Elijah.
Elisha didn’t just leave his past — he burned it. The plow, the oxen, the life he once knew — all of it became a sacrifice. He didn’t just say yes to God’s call; he made sure there was nothing to go back to.
Now consider the words of Yeshua (Jesus) in Luke 9:62: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Yeshua wasn’t speaking to farmers. He was speaking to His followers. To those who say “yes” but keep glancing in the rearview mirror. Elisha didn’t just put his hand to the plow — he let it go entirely. Yeshua warns that any heart still attached to the old life, any disciple still wondering “what if,” is not truly fit for the work of the Kingdom.
There’s a high cost to discipleship. It requires a clean break from the past and full focus on the future God is calling us into. Looking back implies regret, reservation, or second thoughts. But the Kingdom of God advances through those who have burned their plows and never looked back.
The call to follow the Lord isn’t partial—it demands everything. It’s not just about saying “yes” with our lips, but showing it with our lives — cutting ties with comfort, releasing control, and refusing to look over our shoulder. If there’s still a plow in your grip, it’s time to let go. Burn it. Walk away fully. Fix your eyes on the One who calls, and follow Him without regret, without delay, and without looking back — for only then will we be truly fit for the Kingdom. For the Bridegroom is calling to His bride: Get ready — I’m coming soon!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]This story is such a powerful illustration of testing and faith that I can’t help but speak about it over and over again. How the Lord could sleep in a boat in a violent storm speaks volumes about His own self-confidence and His natural capacity to disappear from the scene so He can check how well His disciples have apprehended His miraculous power, and really trust Him. He doesn’t spare them one tiny bit from the sense of real and imminent danger. The storm is ferocious, the waves gigantic, the boat really is being overwhelmed with water, nearly swamped, the situation truly is life-threatening, and He’s out, quietly refreshing Himself in dreamland.
Have you ever considered why Abraham was called the father of faith? Why not Enoch, who was translated from this world? Or Noah, who by faith created an ark to save mankind in the days of the flood? Abraham didn’t perform any miracles, signs, or wonders, which would qualify him by today’s standards of spiritual performance, yet he is known as the Father of Faith, simply because he trusted in the Kingdom to come.
Last week, we discussed the significance of Jerusalem in the culmination of the age. Here, we’ll continue to scratch that surface. The word “Jerusalem” is so rich with meaning that a single devotion will only begin to unpack it; there are so many etymological approaches. But most agree that the root letters at the end, שלם (shalem) spell a Hebrew word requiring numerous English words to fully comprehend including, “perfect”, “complete”, “sound”, “whole”, “harmony”, “peace”, etc. In addition, the concept of payment is present, as לשלם (leshalem), “to pay”, also suggests “reward”.
When God set apart the Seventh Day it was after He Himself had worked for six, and then rested. Shabbat is therefore, “primordial” in a real sense, something established from the beginning of time. This makes the pattern of working six days and resting on the seventh something fundamental to human existence, and something exceedingly blessed.
The expectation of the coming Kingdom of God is intimately connected with the restoration of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. The preceding passage describes Zion in labor, as once again, we find the metaphor of birth used to convey this scriptural promise. It is a national gestation which will not be aborted, but will come to fruition. But first, before this labor begins…a “male child” is born… This can be none other than Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, Israel’s King, Himself, arriving beforehand, (on a donkey, at that), quite some time before the labor which gives birth to the nation; and causing the prophet to wonder if a nation can be born in a day.
Here’s an interesting fact about American church history that you may not know. Years ago, when the first New England churches were designed, they were built with clear windows rather than the stained glass ones we see so often today — and the graveyard was usually built in the churchyard, which would normally be seen from the pulpit. Why?
Yesterday, we began our series of devotions focused on the birthing of the Kingdom. Continuing to develop these insights, let’s look at day 2 of creation and its focus upon water.