Death in the Pot!

Once our eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit, we cannot read the Bible without marveling at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  The articles and vestments of the Temple, the Law and prophets, the Old Testament appearances of the "Angel of the Lord, and even miracles reveal the power and person of Jesus.  Even as a quality film director uses foreshadowing, God has set the standard with all the foreshadowing of Christ and details of His life in the Old Testament.  God brought one of these instances to mind this morning during a time of prayer.

The Bible speaks of a time when prophet Elisha went to Gilgal to meet with the sons of the prophets.  At that time there was a famine in the land.  Elisha commanded his servant to set a pot to boil stew for the men who gathered together.  They rustled up whatever they could.  One man found a vine with gourds on it that were chopped up and put into the stew to boil.  What they did not know, however, is the gourds were poisonous.  2 Kings 4:40-41 reads, "Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, "Man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it. ⁴¹ So he said, "Then bring some flour." And he put it into the pot, and said, "Serve it to the people, that they may eat." And there was nothing harmful in the pot."  Through the power of God, Elisha did a miracle that day.  Flour has no purifying qualities, nor does it neutralise poison.  Yet flour was used to reverse the poisonous effects of the gourds on the stew.  Flour (KJV calls it "meal") is made from ground up grain, the main ingredient in bread.

In those days there was not only a famine of food, but in hearing the good Word of God.  Paganism and heathen practices had been adopted by God's people.  These sinful acts and deeds brought destruction and death to the people, even as the gourds were poison in the stew.  The people remained outwardly religious, yet they had forsaken the pure worship of the One True God.  We can apply this truth even to the church.  There are some who have embraced heretical doctrines and teachings and have turned from faith in God.  In the early church the misuse of the Lord's Supper led to sickness and death (1 Cor. 11:30).  Jesus once compared Himself to a grain of wheat falling to the earth and that His death would result in a bountiful harvest of much grain.  Jesus also compared Himself to Living Bread.  The children of Israel ate manna in the wilderness provided by God and ended up eventually dying:  those who partake of Jesus Christ in faith will live forever!  The way we should not take this passage is to simply "add" a bit of Jesus to heathen practices and all will be well.  The world is a pot of death.  All of us have death working in our members.  It is only a matter of time until we go the "way of the earth" and perish.  But God has offered all eternal life through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.  Life is not found in food alone, but in the Word who became flesh.

The picture of Christ is further amplified by the immediate passage that follows.  2 Kings 4:42-44 says, "Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, "Give it to the people, that they may eat." ⁴³ But his servant said, "What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?" He said again, "Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD: 'They shall eat and have some left over.' " ⁴⁴ So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD."  A man brought a knapsack of food to Elisha:  20 small loaves of barley bread, and some ripened grain.  Elisha told the man to distribute the food among the men.  The man was incredulous at such an idea.  "What?  It's not nearly enough to feed 100 men!"  Elisha told the man to distribute it anyway "...For thus says the LORD:  'They shall eat and have some left over.'"  As the LORD spoke through Elisha, so it was.  Although the food did not seem enough to feed the men, they were all satisfied and still had some left over!  What a picture of Jesus, who on one occasion fed 5,000 men with five small loaves and 2 fish!  After everyone ate and was full, there were 12 baskets of food left over.

Even as Jesus took the bread, blessed, broke, and distributed it to His disciples to pass around, so the Father has taken the Son Jesus Christ - the Living Bread from heaven - blessed Him, broke Him, and given Him to all who have been born again through faith in Him.  God has committed to us the words of life, for Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Jesus is the Living Bread that has been sent from heaven, and we catch glimpses of Him throughout all the Old Testament.  Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!  There was death in the pot, but those who believe have been healed and made whole!