There's Death In The Pot

On Easter Sunday we had lunch out at the house and all the kids and grandkids came over. Sister Betty was there too. It was a good time. Family all getting together. But after we were done eating some of us went out MUSHROOM HUNTING. We were looking for MURREL mushrooms or the BIG WHITE ones that turn into PUFFBALLS when they dry out. Anyway, we went down by the creek where I found them before. And ... I came up empty handed. I didn’t find a one. Back, a year or two ago, Brother Wayne brought me some. They were delicious.

Now you can find different mushrooms besides MURRELS and the BIG WHITE ONES but I’m not sure which ones are safe to eat and which ones aren’t. But I DO KNOW that you don’t want to eat the MAGIC MUSHROOMS that grow in COW PATTIES. For more than one reason.

But this morning I want to look at a passage of scripture that’s NOT preached on too often. 2 Kings 4: 38-41. So let’s go ahead and read this passage.

“And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.

39 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.

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.

41 But 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.”

If you get the opportunity today, read the entire chapter of 2 Kings 4. I love this chapter because in it God performs some WONDERFUL MIRACLES.

I LOVE the story of the widow woman and her two sons who are at the point of DESPERATION. The CREDITORS are coming to ENSLAVE the two boys and she runs to Elisha and begs him to help her. Elisha says, “Sure, what do you have in the house?” Maybe he thought they could have a Garage Sale and make a little bit of money. Evidently they had already done that because she answers, “Uh, we have NOTHING but A POT of oil.”

Let me ask you today, How many of you all know that my God can take something so SMALL, so MINUTE and then MULTIPLY IT into something HUGE? And that’s what He did. They began using THAT POT of oil to fill EMPTY POTS with oil and it wasn’t long until they had sold enough oil to pay off their DEBTS and LIVE!!!

The second MIRACLE that God performs in this chapter is the story of the KIND OLD COUPLE who BLESS Elisha with a place to stay when he comes into town. They aren’t able to have children so God gives them a SON. Later that same son has a Heat Stroke and dies but GOD raises him from the dead. That’s just a summation of this Chapter but that brings us up to this STORY and MIRACLE that I want to look at today. So let’s go ahead and go to the Lord in Prayer.

Brother ____, would you lead us in Prayer?

I. The first thing that we see as we read this passage is that Elisha is in Shunem and he drops DOWN to the SOUTH a pretty good distance to Gilgal. And when he arrives there he finds out REAL QUICK that there’s a DEARTH in the land. A FAMINE. It seems there wasn’t a whole lot to EAT there in the area around GILGAL. And the SONS of the PROPHETS are setting there looking at him like, “We’re hungry, what are we gonna do?” These were students of his and he probably felt a responsibility for them. So he says to his servant, “Well, let’s get out the BIG POT and we’ll make a batch of STEW.” So that’s what they began to do.

Maybe you think I’m stretching this a bit but I am telling you this morning that there is a DEARTH in our LAND TODAY.

Not of FOOD. Most of us have plenty to eat. Just take a look at us.

Not of WATER. There’s PLENTY to DRINK.

Not of MONEY!!!! The governments printing BILLIONS of it EVERYDAY!!!