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Though used here primarily as a symbol, the cloak was real and did serve a purpose -protection from the hot desert sun and provision for cold nights. Earlier prophets, Samuel being one, wore robes similar to the priests and levites. Perhaps Elijah established a trend picked up by later Old Testament prophets (Zechariah 13:4), eventually even John the Baptist (Mark 1:6). Next, consider the enthusiasm with which Elisha responded. Spotting Elisha, he ran after him (1 Kings 19:20). Such eagerness brings to mind Phillip the evangelist running to the Ethiopian eu nuch’s chariot when instructed by the Spirit to do so (Acts 8:30). President Lincoln was walking through aWar Department hallway when an officer, not paying attention, collided with him. Discovering who he had run into, the horrified officer gasped, “A thousand pardons Mr. President! A thousand pardons!” “One is quite enough,” responded Lincoln, adding, “I wish the whole army would charge like that.” Interestingly, the word enthusiasm comes from the two Greek words en and theos, which combine to render “full of God.” What better way to receive a call of God than to be full of God. See finally that Elisha responded completely.After taking on the cloak and returning to say goodbye to the family, “He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate” (1 Kings 19:21). This brings to mind a story dating back in 1519. It was then when a Spanish expedition ventured across the seas to the new world. Landing exhausted in Mexico after an extensive journey, leader Hernan Cortoz ordered that the ships be scuttled.Thus, they were burned to the waterline to remove any temptation on the part of his soldiers to turn back, giving us the phrase “burning the boats.” Elisha answered God’s call by burning the plowing equip-

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