Elisha, Poisonous Stew and Feeding 100 Men

Bible Passage:  2 Kings 4:38-44

Two short and straight-forward incidents.

But there’s nothing insignificant about the events and this serves as a great reminder as we start the week.

Poisonous Stew

In the case of the poisonous stew, the flour itself did not make the stew edible.  It was simply a means by which God provided for those who were faithful to Him, while others suffered the effects of the drought because they chose to serve other gods.

Again we see God’s care and concern for His people through the hands of His servants.  Flour was used when Elijah ‘saved’ the widow and son’s life in the famine.  Now Elisha used flour to ‘save’ the lives of those who ate the poisonous stew.  This reflects God’s intimate concern for “daily bread”.

Pr Ko in his evangelistic sermons in over the past few nights spoke about how poor his family was when he was a child and said that this is something Singaporeans may never really understand given the abundance and convenience of how we can get food.  But we have heard of testimonies of our brethren in Africa, Philippines and Myanmar on how God sustained them, even when the cupboard was bare.  They could see God’s hand in the details of their providence – just like the sons of the prophets here.

We have never experienced such poverty in our lives but I am sure there are times in your life when you can see clearly how God saved you in your daily life.

Remember, reflect and give thanks today.

Feeding of 100 Men

The theme of God’s providence continues in the feeding of 100 men.

Now, I am not so sure if what the man who brought the loaves to Elisha as first fruits was right.  This is because normally, these portions were reserved for God and the Levitical priests (Lev 23:15-17, 20; Deut 18:4-5).

Perhaps because the northern kingdom was so chaotic and astray in their ways that they no longer was sure and the man brought them to the person he correctly considered to be the true representative of godly religion in Israel,.

But God chose to use what he brought to feed the 100 men.

Now 20 loaves of bread sounds like a lot and can feed 100 men easily …. that is until you realise that that the size of the loaves is not our Gardenia sized loaves that we are used to buying at the shops today.  They are much smaller and indeed, when the man was told to set it before the 100 men, he wondered aloud if this was enough.

But God honours obedience.

When this man did it according to the word of Elisha, there was more than enough.  It certainly brings to remembrance of the feeding of the 5000 by Jesus as well.

So God cares and provides for His people – always.

But for this to happen – Obedience is vital.

So as we start this week, let us remember this – God cares and will take care of us. But we must be obedient in all that we do.