Elisha's Ministry - God’s Abundance Is Man’s Sufficiency 2 Kings 4:42-44 Series

ELISHA'S MINISTRY - GOD’S ABUNDANCE IS MAN’S SUFFICIENCY 2 Kings 4:42-44

SERIES – MESSAGES ON ELISHA – HIS LIFE AND MINISTRY Number 13

[1]. GOD’S PROVISION FOR THE FEEDING OF THE 100

2Kings 4 v 42 [[Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack and he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat,”

2Kings 4:43 and his attendant said, “What, shall I set this before a hundred men?” but he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and have some left over,’”

2Kings 4:44 so he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.]]

This account begins with “Now a man”. It was just one of the miraculous events in the prophet’s ministry, but worthy enough to register in God’s word. This man came to Elisha with an offering, a gift from his land. What prompted the man to do this? I would suggest two reasons. The first is practical and the second is spiritual.

(A). THE FIRST REASON FOR THE GIFT: What was the first? We know from the previous story that there was a famine in the land, and even the group with Elisha resorted to picking gourds for a stew. Those of a compassionate heart will try to help those in need, especially if they are of the same mind set, for example, a Christian will probably give to a fellow Christian in need before a non-Christian in need. A famine decimated the land. What does a famine mean? It is a time of absence, a time of lack, especially in the necessities of life - food and water. In the days of Elisha there was no widespread farming and storage and processing. People tended to live from one year to the next, from one harvest to the next. A famine was devastating. Famine features quite a bit in Elisha’s ministry, in at least three stories I know of.

Famines in Israel were associated with evil as I will shortly mention, but there are other famines. As the word means “lack”, then we can say there is a great famine of morality in Australia. When we murder the unborn and promote homosexual marriage with more rights than a traditional marriage, then we have a great famine. There is a famine of decency seen in the modern education of students, in gender decisions, and in repressive and restrictive laws and regulations, especially in Queensland. We know these evil things are coming because they are prophesied in the New Testament and goodness and righteousness have now been abandoned. When I was young I remember a good, helpful, generous relatively honest and caring and happy society. Now we have a bad, unsupportive, selfish, dishonest, uncaring and sad society by comparison. Why? It is because we have a drought of righteousness in this country.

The days of Elisha were dark ones. Samaria, the northern kingdom, also Israel, was under the control of Jezebel and her wicked dynasty, the most evil in all of Israel and Judah's history. It is where Elisha ministered. God is sovereign and in a general sense, what Jesus said regarding drought applies to the world in general - Matthew 5 v 45 [[in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.]] However in regards to the nation of Israel, this is the promise that applied to them - Deuteronomy 11 v 16 [[Beware, lest your hearts be deceived and you turn away and serve other gods and worship them. Deut 11:17 The anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit, and you will perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you.”]] This is exactly what was happening in Israel in the reigns of the two most wicked people in all of Israel's history, Ahab and Jezebel, who had set up and promoted idolatry more than any other person including Jeroboam. The great famine was caused by the wickedness of the rulers and even by the wickedness of the society. Remember, in Elijah’s time, only 7000 were not worshippers of Baal.

It was because of the famine that this good, yet unnamed man, brought a gift to Elisha. There is a Christian ethic here as well for Christians, found in this passage - James 2 v 14 [[What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? James 2:15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, James 2:16 and one of you says to him/her, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? James 2:17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. The faith of that unnamed man resulted in works for the prophet of God.]] Christians have a responsibility to all other Christians. That is why we should be very mindful of persecuted Christians, and those among us who are sick. There are many more aspects to that responsibility as well.