Just Add Flour
2 Kings 4:38-41:
"And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, 'Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.' So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, 'Man of God, there is death in the pot!' And they could not eat it. So he said, 'Then bring some flour.' And he put it into the pot, and said, 'Serve it to the people, that they may eat.' And there was nothing harmful in the pot."
Have you ever been spiritually famished? Someone offers you a meal with a wild gourd, maybe a wild doctrine or a strange teaching which you haven't heard or seen anywhere else. Then you partake of it and find that there was poison in the stew. You might even lose your spiritual appetite.
In the above passage of scripture, Elisha shows us how to deal with wild gourds in the stew!
The fear of poisoning and death did not shake Elisha's peace. He did not anxiously seek to remove the poisonous substance; rather, he simply instructed the men to add flour.
What is the significance of flour? It is the staple ingredient in bread; and in this case, represents the Bread of Life—God's Word. Later, Jesus would call Himself the Bread of Life.
When we encounter a bad taste in our spiritual meal, or have a damaging experience with one who claims to be a prophet, let's go to the Word of God and become like the Bereans in Acts 17:11. They examined the Scriptures daily to see what the Word of God said about the new doctrine of experience.
God bless you as you enjoy feasting upon the wholesome and healthy Word of God.
"And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, 'Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.' So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, 'Man of God, there is death in the pot!' And they could not eat it. So he said, 'Then bring some flour.' And he put it into the pot, and said, 'Serve it to the people, that they may eat.' And there was nothing harmful in the pot."
Have you ever been spiritually famished? Someone offers you a meal with a wild gourd, maybe a wild doctrine or a strange teaching which you haven't heard or seen anywhere else. Then you partake of it and find that there was poison in the stew. You might even lose your spiritual appetite.
In the above passage of scripture, Elisha shows us how to deal with wild gourds in the stew!
The fear of poisoning and death did not shake Elisha's peace. He did not anxiously seek to remove the poisonous substance; rather, he simply instructed the men to add flour.
What is the significance of flour? It is the staple ingredient in bread; and in this case, represents the Bread of Life—God's Word. Later, Jesus would call Himself the Bread of Life.
When we encounter a bad taste in our spiritual meal, or have a damaging experience with one who claims to be a prophet, let's go to the Word of God and become like the Bereans in Acts 17:11. They examined the Scriptures daily to see what the Word of God said about the new doctrine of experience.
God bless you as you enjoy feasting upon the wholesome and healthy Word of God.
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