Ill. A little girl wanted a classmate to join her family for a meal at a restaurant. When the family reached to hold hands and bowed their heads to give thanks for the meal, the guest was confused, but cooperative.
Later, she asked her friend what that was about. The girl answered, “We always give thanks to God for everything we receive.”
The guest girl replied, “We don’t, we just start eating.”
The friend laughed.
“Why do you find that so funny?” the guest asked.
“Because my dog does the same thing.” (adapted from a previously used illustration).
2 Kings 4:38-41 - 38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal when there was a famine in the land. And as the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his servant, "Set on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets." 39 One of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew, not knowing what they were. 40 And they poured out some for the men to eat. But while they were eating of the stew, they cried out, "O man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it. 41 He said, "Then bring flour." And he threw it into the pot and said, "Pour some out for the men, that they may eat." And there was no harm in the pot.
What was the school of the prophets? According to a Wikipedia article, “It was the name given to bands of prophets or “sons of prophets” living together for instruction and worship under Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha. Little is known about these schools, but they seem to have been important religious institutions in Israel and references to them are frequent.”
Elisha was there, probably teaching, and he said to his servant, “Let’s have a big meal. How about a big stew?”
More than likely, the idea spread, and people began to bring things to put in it. One of them went out to find some herbs. He didn’t know his herbs very well and got some wild gourds, cut them up, and dumped them in.
So after a while, the stew was done. Time for the feast. The servant begin dishing it out.
One taste, and the people eating it knew it was bad. Gagging and spitting, they cried out, “Teacher, somebody put death in the pot.”
Ill. Laura and I came to an agreement many years back. She hates to cook and I enjoy it. BTW, she seems to be enjoying it better more lately.
My problem is, I hate recipes. I don’t even like recipes by memory. I love to create, experiment, guess and sometimes get lucky. Sometimes I have heard something similar, “Pops, there’s death in the pot.”
We have eaten some combinations that no one in history has ever eaten, I believe. Some of my ideas have worked out great. Other times, I have sought redemption by taking the family out to eat after total rejection of my creations.
“There is death in the pot.” And they could not eat it. All the excitement of Thanksgiving, all the anticipation, all the work, down to nothing.
I remind you there was a famine in the land. Food was one of the most valuable commodities in those days. What do you do, throw it out?
Perhaps you are wondering, “Why did the writers put this in the Bible? What did God have in mind?” I want us to look at three things I am sure we must learn and practice from this story.
I. Everybody wanted to participate.
Elisha comes up with this idea, “Hey, let’s put on a big batch of good stew.” Elisha’s servant put a built a fire, suspended a big pot, and everybody headed off to find things to put in it.
Ill. When I was at Jacksonville College, I traveled, sang, and played the bass guitar for the traveling choir. My sophomore year, we headed to Florida. We sang our way there and back. Our college had booked with Churches, they would feed us that day, put us up at night (usually in homes) and take up a love offering for expenses.
Best I can remember, we stopped somewhere in the panhandle of Florida that was known as the “something” capital of the world. I don’t remember what, but they put a big pot on a fire, much like they did in our text scripture. Church members and community members brought chicken, shrimp, and someone told me squirrel, cray fish, armadillo and alligator, but I am not certain about all that. They also brought onions, celary, tomatoes, corn, and I don’t know what else. Somebody brought some kind of Cajun sauce. I remember, it was really good. I also remember it was also hard to sing afterwards.
I picture this is what was happening here. Everybody wanted to bring something. If they didn’t have something, they went out in the woods and found something.
I have met people through the years who said they didn’t have time for Church. They had too much of the “important things” in their lives to get involved in Church.
Let me tell you something. I worry about Church members who don’t want any more responsibility. It isn’t natural. Not for someone who really has the King of the Universe living in their hearts. True Christians want to do more. They want to contribute. They want to be a part.
The most important things in the world are what the final judgment is going to be looking for. It will not be your job. It will not be your grades at school or your sports team record. It is going to come down to what you did for God, His way, through the Church. Every Christian knows that in their heart of hearts and wants to be a part of it.
Don’t be fooled by the demanding in this life and neglect the mandatory. Get involved. Get busy. Do something that will impact eternity for good. God doesn’t need you, but in His mercy, He invites you to join Him in His work.
This poor soul wanted to participate, and his only way was to run in the woods for some flavoring. Instead, he gathered poison. Look at this….
II. Our participation alone is poison in the pot.
This poor soul went out to find something to put in the stew and only came up with poison. He didn’t know it until somebody had put a spoon in their mouth and spit the stew across the room. By then, the whole pot was contaminated.
There is a good lesson here. There is a lesson taught by Jesus many years after this.
Matthew 7:21-23 - 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
Basically, you might say that these people went out into the field and picked some works. They put it in the stew. But the judge tells them, “Oops, there’s death in the pot.”
Isaiah 64:6 - We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
The best we can find is not only not good enough. It poisons the pot, so to speak. It causes our entire lives to be rejectable (probably not a word).
If you are going to try to be good enough to just get by and get to heaven, sorry, there is death in the pot. If you dedicate your entire life to work for God, and that is the basis of your confidence for heaven, sorry, there is death in the pot. The best we have to offer poisons the entire life, condemns for eternity and is rejected by the judge.
There is death in the pot. So what can we do. Watch this….
III. It’s going to take a miracle.
Elisha heard the gags and complaints and said, bring me some meal, or flour. Now, I have cooked long enough that I have learned that flour cannot save a bad stew.
Ill. I think my dislike of recipes goes back to my high school days. One day my parents were out of the house visiting the hospital and I got hungry for something sweet. I got out Mom’s recipe book and found a recipe for chocolate icing. I got to thinking about how good chocolate icing would taste on saltine crackers. So I gathered the ingredients and went to work. Soon I was finished and admired my handiwork. It looked really good; chocolaty and rich. It smelled great. I got out the saltine crackers, liberally covered one with my masterpiece, and took a big bite. GAG. There was death in the pot. I knew exactly what the problem was, but I had to review the recipe to figure how I did it. This particular recipe called for 1/3 teaspoon of salt. In my haste, I added 1/3 cup of salt. There is a little difference between the two measurements.
Now, Elisha, are you telling me all I had to do was throw in a hand full of flour or meal and it would have recovered the icing?
Sometimes, don’t you wish there was something that could save a ruined dish? Well, there is. But it is not flour.
How can my deeds ever be acceptable to a holy, righteous God and judge? It would take a miracle.
There wre no magical or chemical characteristics of flour that would have saved the stew. All Elisha did was all he could do and trusted God to make it work. It would take a miracle, and that is what God sent.
It took a miracle for you to be saved. For Jesus death to apply to your life is a miracle. It takes a miracle for God to use you, or even use me. But He said He would if we trust Him. The most important ingredient in this stew for this feast was trust in God.
Ill. Uncle Oscar was apprehensive about his first airplane ride. His friends, eager to hear how it went, asked if he enjoyed the flight. "Well," commented Uncle Oscar, "it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, but I'll tell you this. I never did put all my weight in the seat!"
• Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee,
• Trust Him when thy strength is small,
• Trust Him when to simply trust Him
• Seems the hardest thing of all.
• Trust Him, He is ever faithful,
• Trust Him, for his will is best,
• Trust Him, for the heart of Jesus
• Is the only place of rest. (Unknown)
