Poison Removed
Elisha went to Gilgal, where there was a famine in the land. The people, including the sons of the prophets, were suffering. Elisha told his servant to "Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets" (2 Kgs 4.38). One of the men went off to find herbs to put in the pot, and found a wild creeper bearing gourds. On his return, not realising that they were poisonous, he shredded them into the pot. The men partook of the stew and cried out "O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof" (v 40). God showed His power, mercy and grace in saving the men from the consequences of taking poison. Guided by God, Elisha asked for meal which he cast into the pot. He told the men to eat, "and there was no harm in the pot" (v 41). The miracle was yet another example of the grace and almighty power of God. Elisha's obedience glorified God, and the whole situation strengthened the faith of both Elisha and the sons of the prophets. Once again, we see all things being worked together for the good of believers and the glory of God (Rom 8.28).
There were probably good and wholesome things in the pot as well as the poisonous gourds which could cause death. We have to be careful regarding the spiritual food we consume. We need the pure, unadulterated Word of God to feed on so that we may grow spiritually. If false teaching is propounded it must not be tolerated, but there must be an immediate reaction, declaring its falsity, and replacing it with pure, cleansing, life-giving, soundly-based, wholesome teaching, given in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Food for the Hungry
A man brought Elisha "bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof" (v 42). Normally, the offering of firstfruits would be kept for God and the priests (Lev 23.20; Num 18.12; Deut 18.3-5). The man is not identified, but he gave of his substance, as do many believers. What they do is often known only to themselves and to God, who "… is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister" (Heb 6.10). The loaves and the corn he brought would make us think of the Lord Jesus Christ who was the "bread of life" (Jn 6.35, 48), and of the seed which is the "word of God" (Lk 8.11), of which we must speak to others and feed upon ourselves.
When Elisha told his servant to give the food to the people, he protested that it was insufficient to feed 100 men. Elisha said "… thus saith the Lord, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof" (2 Kgs 4.43). Elisha's faith in the omnipotent God was absolute, and the food was given to the people. They ate, and a surplus remained after they had eaten (v 44), just as it did when the Lord fed thousands of people. On that occasion, there were 12 baskets full of fragments in excess of what was needed (Mk 6.35-44). God can take what we have and use it for His glory and the benefit of others.
Naaman the Leper
Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Syria. He was a valiant soldier, respected and honoured by the king, "but he was a leper" (2 Kgs 5.1). This loathsome skin disease is a picture of sin. All of us are sinners (Rom 3.23), and our behaviour manifests our sin in loathsome ways. Leprosy could not be cured by men, and Naaman was in a desperate condition.
The Syrians had carried out raids into Israel, and had brought back, as one of their captives, a young Israelite girl who became a servant of Naaman's wife. The girl demonstrated her care for them when "she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy" (2 Kgs 5.3). She was only a "little maid", but she had faith in the power of the true God, and knew that Elisha was His prophet. Wonderful blessings resulted from her witness. When the girl's words were reported to Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, he sent Naaman with a letter and a generous gift to Jehoram, king of Israel. Ignoring the gracious message he had been given, and leaving God out of his thinking, he asked Jehoram to cure Naaman's leprosy. Jehoram declared Ben-Hadad's request to be unreasonable, and believed that the king of Syria was seeking an excuse to declare war on Israel (vv 5-7).
On hearing of these events, Elisha sent to Jehoram, asking the king to send Naaman to him, that "he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel" (v 8). As a result of this, Naaman, and those who accompanied him, came and stood outside Elisha's door. Elisha did not go to see him, but sent a messenger to tell Naaman that, in order for him to be cured, he was to wash in Jordan seven times. Naaman was a proud man, and reacted in anger to Elisha's message. He had expected Elisha to come out to him personally, call on the name of God, and perform some dramatic ritual leading to his healing. He believed that there were rivers in Damascus in which he could wash which were better than any of the rivers in Israel (vv 9-12). Naaman proudly rejected the gracious offer of healing which had been made to him, and went away. In the same way many reject God's simple way of salvation, instead seeking something spectacular, or some way of contributing to their own salvation.
Naaman's servants, who obviously cared about him, said that if Elisha had asked him to do a great thing he would have done it, and they persuaded him to dip seven times in Jordan "according to the saying of the man of God" (v 14). Naaman obeyed God's command, given through Elisha, and was made whole immediately. Humbled and healed, he returned to Elisha and said "Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel" (v 15). He was grateful, and wanted to give gifts to the prophet, but Elisha refused to accept anything. Naaman intended, in the future, to worship the true God in his home country, where idols were worshipped. He informed Elisha that, because of his official position, he would have to go with the king into the temple of the idol Rimmon and there bow down. He hoped that the Lord would forgive him. Elisha made no comment but simply said "Go in peace" (v 19). It might well be that, as his faith grew, Naaman would refuse to enter that temple.
Naaman was an enemy of Israel, a Gentile, and hopeless and helpless as far as any ability to cure his leprosy was concerned. His healing, conversion, and intention to worship God shows the grace of God. We see that same grace working in the salvation of a soul (Eph 2.8-9). There was only one way for Naaman to be healed, and that was by obeying God's command. Likewise, there is only one way of salvation today, and that is not by payment or doing good works, but by grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 4.12; 16.31).
Elisha is mentioned in the New Testament, where we read "And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian" (Lk 4.27). God's prophets, like Elijah and Elisha, were rejected by the majority in the Jewish nation, but they brought blessing to Gentiles, and now both believing Jews and Gentiles are being blessed and are "all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3.28). (To be continued …)