May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this morning as we meditate in his word. Let
us turn to the second book of the Kings and chapter four, and
we'll read verse 40. The second book of the Kings,
chapter four, and reading verse 40. So they poured out for the
men to eat 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. We read together this morning
this fourth chapter in the Kings, which is quite a remarkable chapter,
really. And it speaks about a number
of things, of course, which Elisha did when he was on the earth
and very wonderful things. And as we come down into the
end of this chapter, we have this relatively short account. There's only four verses that
speak about this situation when Elisha came to Gilgal at a time
when there was a dearth in the land, that means there was a
famine in the land, that means they were in under great difficulties,
and it's only four verses, but we read in those four verses
really a very interesting account. Now, we must always realize,
and I hope you always do realize that the Word of God is there
for instruction and it is there for a natural instruction but
there is always a spiritual instruction and the Word of God describes
how that is sometimes and it's like this there is a deep which
couches beneath that means that on the surface We don't see very
much perhaps of a spiritual significance But it's a blessing if God leads
us into that which is really underneath the surface We can
read that particularly in the New Testament in the many parables
that Jesus spoke There was a natural picture, but there was also a
deeply spiritual significance Well, I believe that is so here
in this account of Elisha going to Gilgal in this time when there
was this dearth, this famine. And may God help us to understand,
therefore, the spiritual significance. It's quite clear and simple,
isn't it? What the natural picture is, it's very clear and it's
of interest, but we must not stop there. pray that the Lord
would direct us to see the glory really of the truth of God displayed
in verses like this. So we see here then there was
this time of dearth, time of famine, and that is so still
today in a spiritual sense. And you might say, well why is
that and how is it? Well, the Word of God tells us
that there are those times and periods when there is a famine
of the hearing of the Word. That means there's no profit
in it as we may come and listen and we don't profit from it. And what is there? There is then
what the Word of God describes here as a dearth. Well, on this
occasion, there was this dearth and Elisha was clearly instructing
the prophets. He was teaching them. And there
he was, we're told, and the sons of the prophets were sitting
before him. And he said unto his servant,
set on the great pot and seeth pottage for the sons of the prophets. But again, reminding ourselves
of the spiritual significance, there is an importance that we
didn't want to just be there physically eating. And that's
the same with us. We don't want to just be enjoying
and looking forward to natural food. We want to look beyond
that to spiritual food. And you see here, Elisa, tells
them to set on the great pot. It wasn't a little pot, it was
a great pot. And we should realise that with
God all things are possible. And the Lord does indeed set
before us the greatness of the gospel and the glory of the gospel. And it's therefore not something
which is small and insignificant. It is very great and very wonderful. And then we're told, and one
went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine and
gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full and came, and shred
them into the pot of pottage, for they knew them not. Now remember, this was a time
of dearth, this was a time of famine, and if we read in another
part, it would appear this is possibly a time of seven years'
famine. So it wasn't just a short time,
it was a long time, and there was a great need. And so we can
understand then, there was this man, as they went to find things
to put into this great pot, that he went and he found a wild vine. And he gathered wild gourds,
his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage,
for they knew them not. And you may say, well, what relevance
has that got in a spiritual sense? Well, I believe it has a relevance
like this. Sometimes, therefore, that when there is a time of
famine, and I'm talking here of spiritual famine, then the
tendency is to perhaps go out and find what else there is that
could be put into the pot, into the mixture perhaps, which would
be of some benefit. And this man went out and he
found something that was wild. He didn't know what it was. They
didn't know what it was. But nonetheless, he took it and
ground it up and put it into the pot. And we might think,
well, surely there was nothing wrong with that. It looked good.
It seemed good. It was a wild vine and he gathered
the wild gourds, and there's plenty of it. And surely people
might say, well that was a wonderful provision. And again we have
to be very careful in a spiritual sense, when perhaps people might
grasp at something which might appear to be good, might perhaps
touch our natural mind, and we might think well that was very
useful and very beneficial and let's go along with it and let's
enjoy it and you can follow that through and think sometimes there
may be that which is not good spiritually maybe false spiritually
we live in a day and age where there is much false teaching
much teaching which panders to the flesh, much that is attractive
to the flesh. And yet, you see, we have, blessedly
and gloriously, in the Word of God, the true gospel. And the true gospel declares
to us great truths like this. It is through much tribulation
that we shall enter the kingdom. So when things are not going
smoothly, when it appears there's not profit, when there appears
there is barrenness, when there appears there is a time of famine,
we should realize that it's God that brings these things. He
doesn't bring these things to direct us to another gospel. He doesn't bring these things
to direct us to something which is pleasing to the flesh. He brings us to these times,
to these situations, so that we come earnestly and prayerfully
to God, that he will come and graciously meet our spiritual
need. You see, our spiritual need is
the great need that we have. And yet so often we're more concerned
about our natural need, our body, our work, our school, our university,
whatever it may be. We're more concerned and we spend
more time perhaps praying that God will help us and God will
direct us God will be gracious to us than we do for rather than
earnestly seeking for blessing in our own souls because we each
have a never-dying soul and we must each stand before that holy
and righteous God and we must all spend eternity in either
heaven or in hell and therefore how necessary and how needful
it is that we receive spiritual food which shall be good for
us and not go after something which may appear easy you see
this person he found it there was plenty of it he gathered
it he brought it back shred it in a pot, it all seemed fine. Everything seemed smooth and
everything seemed easy. And it may be so in our spiritual
life, but we have to be very careful in those things that
we go after. If they seem to be suitable,
they seem to attract us, and perhaps they will easily come
by, And we think, well, I'm going to give up the old ways. They're
just too difficult. This is the way I'm going. This
is far easier and much simpler. Well, this man then, he came
and he shred these gourds into the pot. They stirred the pot,
it boiled up, it cooked, it all seemed good. And then we're told,
so they poured out for the men to eat. He came to pass as they
were eating of the pottage and they cried out and said, O thou
man of God. They didn't look to the man who
put the gourds in, but they looked to Elisha and realised that he
was the man of God. He was the man that could direct
what was needful. O thou man of God, there is death
in the pot. and they could not eat thereof. Well, from a spiritual perspective,
we can understand that therefore, that which appeared to be pleasant,
easy to come by, easily came, didn't it? Man went out, he just
found this wild vine, these gourds, and there was plenty of it, and
he came, Shred it into the pot, it all seemed very easy and very
wonderful. And yet you see, it wasn't. There was death. It wasn't spiritually
beneficial. The opposite was true. it was
false it wasn't good it was death and so easily today we live in
a day when there is much deception people go after vain things things
which please the flesh but things which don't profit the soul and
that's what you and i need to consider and when i say Things
that please the flesh. I really mean that they please
our natural mind. You think, oh, that was very
wonderful. That was very good. But the reality
is, did it really profit our soul? That is the vital thing
in religion. It always has been, and it is
today. And yet, you see, on the face
of it, it seemed a good idea to take this and put it in the
pot. And we don't know, we're not
told, but it may have had a very good effect or pleasant effect
upon it. It seemed very attractive. They all ate of it. They were
all eating of the pottage. And it wasn't until they were
eating it, it wasn't until they were partaking of it, and they
realized it wasn't good. It wasn't good. And they had
to cry out, there's death in the pot. And let's put it this
way. The things which don't accord
with the Word of God is death in the pot. Things which may
accord to our natural viewpoint and be very attractive to us.
And how many things are attractive in worship today, we only have
to look around. The churches today, churches
today which at one time were very wholesome and God-honouring,
now are not so. They don't declare the whole
counsel of God. It's a watered-down gospel, or
it's not a gospel. And how necessary it is, therefore,
that we are able to cleave to that which is good, cleave to
the Word of God and to analyse those things which we hear as
to whether they are in accordance with the Word of God. Not that
which is attracted to us naturally. Because that which is attracted
to us naturally, we will have to prove there's not life There's
not spiritual life. There's death. There's spiritual
death. They don't benefit our soul. That's the great important aspect,
isn't it? And it's so easy in this day
and age to be sidetracked, to go along with the things which
are naturally things that we think, well, that was very interesting,
that was really good. But was it good to our soul?
We need to analyse it very carefully to see whether it really benefited
our soul. It doesn't matter about our mind,
our natural mind. It does matter about our soul,
our spiritual life. And so here we have this statement,
O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. So what was to be
done? What was to be done? Well, it's
very interesting. What is to be done? Elisha said,
then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot.
And he said, pour out for the people that they may eat. And there was no harm in the
pot. So what do we think does this
illustrate for us? Then bring meal. Well, first
of all, meal was a very simple ingredient. There was nothing
complicated about it. It was a very simple ingredient
and it was something which was readily available. And so they
were told, then bring meal. We might say, well, how does
that refer then to the gospel analogy? I believe very simply
it means this, that we are to therefore come to the great and
simple truths of the gospel and not be moved away by something
which may appear to be a bit unique which may appear to be
a bit naturally attracted to our minds but we need to be directed
to the simplicity which is in Christ that is that which will
truly be beneficial to us these people were no doubt hungry there
was this time of a dearth they were hungry And they were first
of all fed with that which was attracted to them naturally.
But you see, in it there wasn't the great and wonderful simplicity. It was meal that was needed to
put it right. And my friends, today it's the
simplicity of the Gospel that we need. And what is that centered
on? It's centred on, very wonderfully
and very gloriously, on none less than the suffering Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ. If you and I are to receive that
which will be good for us in our souls, it must be centred
on the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work. Because it's
that which will do our souls good. So, if we are spiritually
hungry, spiritually thirsty, what a wonderful blessing it
is to come to the Blessed Gospel and come and see in the Gospel
all that we need. All that we need. It lifts us
out. of ourselves. And it shows us
that which we really need, that which will really do us good. So Elisha said then, bring meal. And he cast it into the pot.
It's interesting, isn't it, that the people were told to bring
the meal and he cast it into the pot. And he said, pour out
for the people, pour out for the people that they may eat. Every true believer needs to
feed on the gospel. And we this morning, we've gathered
here to worship God. Now it may be that we come and
we thought, well, there's this meal that is set before us, it's
pottage and it's got this new element this new wild vine in
it which is really interesting and really good and this is something
which we like and we're benefiting but there may be that when the
Spirit of God comes and tells us there's no spiritual profit
What there is, on the other hand, there's death in the pot. What does that mean? It means
it's leading us, not to Christ, it's leading us away from Christ. It's leading us to that which
is of the flesh, not that which is of the spirit. And how, in
the day and age in which we live, there is so much today. We only
have to look around. We see how The Church of God,
generally speaking, is at a low ebb. There are very few people
who truly desire to worship the true God. Very few people who
come with that cry those ancient Greeks had, Sir, we would see
Jesus. That was their great desire.
That was their great need. And what a blessing for us when
we have that real concern and that true desire. And it is a God-given concern
and a God-given desire to hear the Gospel and in that Gospel
to be led to the blessed Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. and to
realise the wonder there is in the Gospel. You see, when Christ
is set before us, what does He do? These people were healed
of the poison of that which was in that gourd which was set before
them. Yes, there was poison. They said
there was death in the pot. what a blessing there is when
that meal was put in which cured the poison and what a blessing
there is today for us we may have been led astray perhaps
in our minds perhaps in our hearts perhaps after something which
is more naturally attractive you see the gospel to the unbeliever
The true gospel is not attractive because the true gospel means
that you and I will be followers of a despised and crucified Saviour. Not someone that the picture
books depict the Lord Jesus Christ as some wonderfully good-looking
person. We're told his face was more
mild than any man. Naturally, there's nothing attractive
in the Gospel. But there is to the needy soul. and that will bring relief to
our souls. Now, our souls won't be needy,
although we may be in a time of dearth, in a gospel famine,
unless the Spirit of God shows us our need. These people didn't
realise they had a need until they tasted of the evil and then
had to say there's death in the pot it's not the true gospel
there's death in it what a blessing then when you and I realised
that nothing will satisfy us rather than the true gospel because
we have a spiritual need because of our sins because of the blackness
of them we cannot heal ourselves and whatever man may do whatever
man may say whatever man may endeavour to do we'll find that
if it's that which is of the flesh the works works of the
flesh there's no spiritual blessing in it what a mercy then when
by the grace of God we are led we are directed we partake of
the blessed Gospel and the Lord Jesus is then food and drink
to our souls. And it's really very precious
and very glorious that the Lord Jesus Christ directs us very
personally and very directly to the wonder and the blessing
of partaking spiritually of the Lord Jesus Christ And we're directed
very clearly to two significant things. First of all, the broken
body of Christ. And secondly, the blood of Christ. Now to natural man, there's nothing attractive. But
to spiritual man, to the spiritual life, there is. because there
is life in those elements. And as the Lord Jesus blessedly
said, except ye eat the flesh, spiritual bread, and drink the
blood, spiritual drink, there is no life in you. That's a very
clear statement, isn't it? It's a very true statement. And
it's very blessed, therefore, if you not understand it. And
what a blessing, therefore, if the Lord then puts this meal
into the pot, puts the blessed Saviour into the pot. I say it very reverently, but
it's very true, and it's very wonderful. Because then we understand that
with Christ in the vessel, we smile at the storm. And similarly,
I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me. So whatever
difficulty, whatever opposition there may be and there will be,
as I've said already, it's through much tribulation. We are not
promised an easy life. We're not promised a cushy life. If your life is easy, with no
difficulties, with no trials, no temptations, you'll have to
question whether there's death in the pot, whether you've been
lulled to sleep. Yes, whether there's something
false in your religion. Because true religion needs Christ. True religion needs the wonderful
comfort to know that we are united to Christ, that we're walking
with Christ, and in that walk we have fellowship with Christ. See, that makes all the difference.
And that's a lovely and wonderful antidote to the poison of the
things of a false religion. There is much poison about today. And we need much grace to discern. But the reality is that the blessing
of Christ touches our heart. It doesn't just reside in our
head. And you may say, well, how would
I know the difference? The things in the head don't
last forever. The blessings of God in the soul,
in the heart, are eternal blessings. Sometimes they may, we might say, lose
their vitality. They may perhaps be dim, but
they don't fade away. They are there. And then in due
time, when the Lord see fits, they are revived. And our spirits
rejoice in remembrance of what Christ has done. Yes, as it were,
there's that meal put into the pot and we remember the blessings
that God has done. They're brought to our remembrance. And those things which have perhaps
crowded in and perhaps filled our minds, we realise there's
death in the pot. They don't satisfy. They take
us away from the things of God. They take us to the things of
time. There's death in the pot. with
a blessing therefore if we are favoured to realise that in our
lives there's been that meal the gospel brought to us and
cast into our pot and it's been poured out and we've partaken
of it And then, as these prophets were, there was no harm in the
pot, purified, purified by the great blessed work of the Saviour. What a mercy that is! When our religion is purified,
yes, gold in the furnace tried, only loses dross and that's the
same spiritually my friends we don't lose anything as our soul
is purified and as we are brought closer perhaps we might say for
the first time to view the suffering saviour and to rejoice in it
What a blessing it will be. It's only, as I've said, a very
short account. Only four verses. And yet, you
know, there's really a great depth in it. Well, it'll be a
blessing today if through this we perhaps look into our own
soul and remember the Word of God encourages us to examine
ourselves Because we don't want to have a false religion. Examine
ourselves whether we be in the faith or not. And the true faith
brings us to Christ, brings us into union, brings us into communion
with the Lord Jesus Christ in his sufferings. And we rejoice
then in what Christ has done in order to redeem our souls,
and have the evidence, therefore, that it is well with our soul. You might remember in that account
of the Shunammite, she was asked, is it well? And she said, it
is well. What a blessing, therefore, under
the influence of the Holy Spirit of God. When we are asked, is
it well? with our soul. We're able to
examine ourselves and see God graciously and lovingly and wonderfully
showing mercy to us so that we can say, by his grace, it is
well. The Blessed Spirit has shown
me myself, shown me I've been relying on what I've done, on
my good works, and now enabled me to cast it all away and to
be found looking only to the finished work of the Saviour. Well, it came to pass. What a blessing it's come to
pass in our life. And it came to pass as they were
eating in 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. And he said, then bring meal.
And he cast it into the pot and he said, pour out for the people
that they may eat. And there was no harm in the
pot.