Elisha Purifies The Deadly Stew
May 10, 2022
Commentary
Elisha goes back to Gilgal while there was famine in the land. Remember he was the man God choose to replace Elijah. Where Elijah’s ministry was marked with great events such the praying for a drought for three and half years or the battle between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, we find an entirely different type of prophet in Elisha. I believe he was a quieter man than Elijah was. What marked his ministry was his great desire to do something great for God. Elisha accounts for fourteen miracles of the Bible. That is double what Elijah had. This passage can be summed up as follows:
1. DEARTH IN THE LAND (v.38) – “there was a dearth in the land.” What is dearth? It is a severe famine in the land. The Lord promised it would happen.
2. DEATH IN THE POT (v. 40) – And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.”
3. DISTRESS OF THE HEART (v. 40) – By proclaiming the truth of the situation, it would be offensive to the one who put the wrong herbs in the pot. People get offended many times when they are confronted with the fact that they are sinners.
4. DELIEVERANCE IN THE MEAL (v. 41) – “But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people” The meal was the antidote to the poison. Meal in the Bible is a type of the pure Word of God.
5. DIVIDING OF THE LOAVES (v. 42-44) A man from Baal Shalisha brought some food for the prophet. The Lord multiplied it for 100 men and had some left over, just as He predicted.
Application
If I try to accomplish things in my own strength I will fail but when I attempt great things for God in His strength there is nothing that is too hard for Him.
2 Kings 4:38– 44 (NET)
38 Now Elisha went back to Gilgal, while there was a famine in the land. Some of the prophets were visiting him and he told his servant, “Put the big pot on the fire and boil some stew for the prophets.” 39 Someone went out to the field to gather some herbs and found a wild vine. He picked some of its fruit, enough to fill up the fold of his robe. He came back, cut it up, and threw the slices into the stew pot, not knowing they were harmful. 40 The stew was poured out for the men to eat. When they ate some of the stew, they cried out, “Death is in the pot, O prophet!” They could not eat it. 41 He said, “Get some flour.” Then he threw it into the pot and said, “Now pour some out for the men so they may eat.” There was no longer anything harmful in the pot.
42 Now a man from Baal Shalisha brought some food for the prophet —twenty loaves of bread made from the firstfruits of the barley harvest, as well as fresh ears of grain. Elisha said, “Set it before the people so they may eat.” 43 But his attendant said, “How can I feed a hundred men with this?” He replied, “Set it before the people so they may eat, for this is what the Lord has said, ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” 44 So he set it before them; they ate and had some left over, just as in the Lord’s message.
Illustration: His Hand is Bigger Than Mine
A young boy went to the local store with his mother. The shop owner, a kindly man, passed him a large jar of suckers and invited him to help himself to a handful. Uncharacteristically, the boy held back. So the shop owner pulled out a handful for him. When outside, the boy’s mother asked why he had suddenly been so shy and wouldn’t take a handful of suckers when offered. The boy replied, “Because his hand is much bigger than mine!” [The Giver’s Big Hands, Citation: Brian Harris, Mt. Roskill, Auckland, New Zealand]