Elisha was a prophet in the Bible known for performing incredible miracles, guiding kings, and showing God’s power in everyday life. His story is filled with adventure, faith, and divine intervention. From multiplying food during a famine to making an iron ax head float, Elisha’s life reminds us that nothing is impossible with God.
This post explores the most exciting and meaningful events from Elisha’s journey. You’ll read about how he healed a powerful warrior’s disease, fed a starving city, and even helped bring a man back to life after his own death. Whether you’re familiar with the Bible or hearing about Elisha for the first time, this detailed and engaging retelling will bring his story to life in a way that is easy to understand.
Get ready for a story filled with miracles, wisdom, and faith, showing how one man’s obedience to God changed history.
Elisha Plowing the Fields
In the quiet, rolling fields of Abel-meholah, a young man named Elisha spent his days working the land. He was no ordinary farmer—he came from a well-off family, one that owned many oxen, a sign of wealth in those times. Yet, despite his comfortable life, Elisha was no stranger to hard work. Day after day, under the scorching sun, he guided twelve pairs of strong oxen, plowing the rich earth with steady hands. His palms were rough from years of labor, and his clothes were stained with dust and sweat. Though his life was predictable and secure, something deep inside him stirred—a sense that he was meant for something greater, something beyond the fields he had known all his life.
Then, on an otherwise ordinary day, everything changed.
As Elisha drove his oxen forward, a shadow suddenly fell over him. Looking up, he saw a man standing before him—an old prophet with piercing eyes and a face weathered by years of travel and divine encounters. This was Elijah, the great prophet of God, a man feared and respected throughout the land. Without speaking a single word, Elijah took off his mantle, a heavy cloak that symbolized his prophetic authority, and placed it upon Elisha’s shoulders.
To the outside world, it may have seemed like a simple gesture, but to Elisha, it meant everything. This was a calling—an invitation to leave behind his former life and step into something far greater: the service of God.
For a moment, Elisha stood frozen, his mind racing. He understood the weight of what had just happened. If he accepted, he would have to leave behind everything—his family, his home, his work. There would be no turning back. Yet, deep down, he knew this was the path he was meant to take.
With a burst of determination, he let go of the plow and ran after Elijah. “Let me first go and say goodbye to my father and mother,” he pleaded. Elijah allowed it, and Elisha hurried home one last time. But his farewell was not just in words—he took his oxen, the very animals that had been his livelihood, and slaughtered them. Then, using the wood from his plow, he built a fire and prepared a great feast for his family and friends. This was no ordinary meal; it was a symbolic act, a declaration that his old life was over and a new chapter had begun.
With nothing tying him to his past, Elisha set out to follow Elijah, stepping into his divine calling—one that would shape the course of history.
Bible Verse: “So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him.” — 1 Kings 19:19