2 Kings 4 (Part 4) Bible Study (Elisha Purifies the Deadly Stew) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Do you have a copy of God's word in your hand? Make it a habit to bring your Bible to church, and I am an advocate for a physical copy of God's word. Do not be surprised if eventually in history, this Bible will be recognized as a hate book as it has been in many parts of the world. And if everything becomes digitized, that means most things are gonna be under the control of those who do not view the Bible the way you do. So carry physical copies of God's word in your hand at home.

It's it's much more difficult for that to be seized by those who consider this Bible to be antagonistic and hateful. So you have a copy of God's word. There's nothing sinful about an iPad or an iPhone, but whatever format you have, let's come together now to second Kings chapter four. Second Kings chapter four beginning in verse 38, and we will read to the end of this chapter. This is the final study of this chapter, but it is certainly not the conclusion of Elisha's miraculous ministry.

Second Kings chapter four beginning in verse 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. One of them went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine and gathered from it in his lap full of wild gourds and came and cut them up into the pot of stew, not knowing what they were. And they poured out some for the men to eat.

But while they were eating of the stew, they cried out, oh, man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat it. 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 is no harm in the pot.

A man came from Baal Shalisha, bringing the man of God bread bread of the first fruits, 20 loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, give to the men that they may eat. But his servant said, how can I set this before a 100 men? So he repeated, give them to the men that they may eat. For thus says the Lord, they shall eat and have some left.

So he set it before them and they ate and had some left according to the word of the Lord. Lord, we ask that you help us in this study. Thank you for your presence. Lord, we trust that this word is your voice, and it has the force and the power to infuse the graces that we need to be who you called us to be. So, Lord, we pray for a mind that understands, a heart that will burn, and lives that will conform to the things that we will explore together by your help.

We thank you for this provision of spiritual food, and we eat of it trusting that it will nourish and strengthen us for your glory. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen and amen. The fact that these two miracles, miracles of provision took place in a place called Gilgal should stop us in our tracks. Why?

Because we wanna develop the ability to study reflectively, to look back and to compare and to think and to meditate. And if we have been doing that in this short series of Elisha's life, then we would recognize something in Gilgal being mentioned here. What you will notice is that between second Kings chapter two and second Kings chapter four, Elisha performed significant miracles in the very same locations that Elisha and Elijah traveled past and through before Elijah was transported into heaven. Do you remember second Kings chapter two, how this pair journeyed to that destination? If you wanna see it for yourself, go to chapter two and look at verse one.

You'll realize and you'll be reminded that Elijah and Elisha began from Gilgal. And in verse two, we're told that they went from Gilgal to where? Anybody remember? What does it say in your bibles? Bethel.

And after they traveled to Bethel, we're told that they went where in verse four? The reason why I'm asking is because I want you to be engaged. Good. Jericho. And then from Jericho in verse seven, we read that they arrived at their final place, which was where?

The Jordan. Very good. Now recall and retrace the steps of Elisha's miracles right after Elijah ascended into heaven. What happened at the Jordan? The river split in two, did it not?

And after the Jordan, he went where? To cure the waters? Jericho. After Jericho, what happened? There was a miracle of judgment that was proclaimed against a large group of young boys, and it took place where?

Bethel. And now we come to our study in second Kings chapter four, and we are about to see what God is going to work in and through Elisha in a place called Gilgal. So these series of supernatural events took place in the reverse order of the original journey that Elijah and Elisha shared. Is that significant? Yes.

It is significant. Why is it important to recognize that? I believe because the Lord miraculously moving in these places was his way of validating Elisha's ministry in the very same areas where Elijah once had influence. And so this would, first of all, strengthen Elisha in the beginnings of his ministry, but it would also encourage the people of God, namely the sons of the prophets who were located and studying in these precise places to see how God demonstrated this important truth that his work continues even though his men pass on. God's work and his program advances with or without his men.

If his men pass on into glory faithfully or if some of those ministers were disqualified due to unfaithfulness, God's work goes on. And that's the overarching lesson by that simple observation. But we have been learning these past few weeks that with each of these miracles, there is a message. There are other truths that we draw from them. And that is certainly the case with these final miracles in this chapter.

And so I want us now to closely examine what we can take from these two brief accounts and trust that the Lord will speak to us as he always does. But listen, the, the way that we're going to properly interpret and apply what we just read together is by acknowledging a very crucial ingredient and detail that is brought to our attention in the very first sentence of what we read. Look back at verse 38 and Elisha came again to Gilgal when there was a famine in the land. If you read too quickly, you'll miss so much of the depth of what we will discover with these miracles. This condition sets the stage for these interventions from God to carry meaning and greater impact and understanding of who he is and what he asks of us.

There was a famine in the land, and it's very likely that this famine is the same one that's described in second Kings chapter eight verse one. So look at second Kings chapter eight verse one. We read this in part last in last week's study, but let's be reminded. In second Kings eight one, now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, arise and depart with your household and sojourn wherever you can for the Lord has called for a famine and it will come upon the land for how long? Seven years.

That's a long time. A few key points to take away from this. Number one, we are told the duration of this famine. And it was, as you said, seven years. When Elisha was the chief prophet in Israel, there was also a famine that Israel experienced.

How long was that famine? A little over three years. James tells us three years and six months. So we have here another famine with Elijah's successor and it was double the time of the famine under Elisha's ministry. Secondly, we're told who is responsible for this famine.

What did Elisha say? He said, for the Lord has called for a famine. Famines were not a regular occurrence nor were they normal events in the life of Israel under the old covenant. Why is that? Because the law of Moses tells us that the presence of a famine is a manifestation of God's judgment against his people for their unrepented idolatry.

And if you need a proof text, which you should have, turn to the book of Deuteronomy and notice what is told in verse 11 or chapter 11 rather in verse 16. It makes it explicitly clear. This is one of the clearest warnings about famines in the Bible, especially for those who are under the old covenant. Deuteronomy 11 verse 16. Notice what Moses says before the people even entered into the land of promise.

Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them. Then 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 land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you. So whenever there was a famine, it was chastisement from heaven. And it was a way in which God caused the people to experience discomfort so that they would repent and turn to him and be restored to his perfect and good will for them. So stepping back now and connecting these insights, understanding Elijah's ministry and the famine under his ministry and during his ministry now, Elisha's ministry and the seven year famine.

What can we take away from this concerning the people of Israel? A very disheartening truth. That despite the triumphant, miraculous, massive miracle that took place on Mount Carmel, that brought victory to the name of the true God and conquered Baalism, the people did not truly repent. They didn't truly repent. It was momentary.

It was undeniable. It was moving. It was impressive, but it did not produce what God is after. Lasting repentance. And because they did not truly repent from their sins after such an incredible demonstration of his grace, the Lord will discipline them further.

And how would he do that? He's going to now bring another famine that will last last twice as long. Twice as long. And this is an important lesson for us. You see, to revisit sins that we have vowed to never entertain invites greater discipline from our loving father.

The Lord God loves us too much to keep us in our sin and to keep us in a state where we don't learn from our past sins. And this is especially true for the sins that he has disciplined us about. You know, there are some people who deceive themselves in potentially entertaining things that they have done before, thinking that they are able to survive the consequences of sin that they faced before. That wasn't so bad. I mean, it was a little bit embarrassing.

It it hurt me a bit. It it caused me to forfeit the trust of some people that I love, but here I am, it's not so bad. Maybe I can do it again. Maybe I can try harder, try better. Maybe I can I can be successful this time around?

It's amazing what our minds are capable of thinking when it comes to sin. And what I wanna tell you, remind you is that this is an example that if you truly belong to the Lord, he will not treat you so indifferently. He won't. So they rebelled. Time went on.

They didn't learn. They only increased in their apostasy. So the Lord said, okay, you didn't learn with three and a half years, let me bring seven years. And let's see if this will change you now. So the Lord is very calculating in how he deals with us as his children.

And he loves us too much to leave us alone or to not change things in order to change you. However, that's not the only thing that we've learned from this famine. Let's go back to our text, our main text. And I want you to see that in verse 38, we are reminded that there is a remnant alive during this destitute time. How do we know that?

Because we read here that the sons of the prophets were sitting before him being Elisha. We talked enough about the sons of the prophet to know who these group of people are. They are prophets in training. They are ministers in training. And the fact that they are sitting before Elisha tells us what?

Well, to sit before somebody is a consistent posture in the Bible that denotes the humble reception of instruction. So though there is a national drought, you have the sons of the prophets in Gilgal doing what? School is still in session. They are humbly and with eagerness, wanting to receive wisdom and insight and knowledge concerning who their God is. And Elisha was faithful and loving enough to provide it.

And so as there is hunger going on, we see that there is a spiritual feast taking place at the same time. And the posture of the sons of the prophets reminds us of a truth that you and I know by heart. It's found in a statement that the Lord gave to his people Israel before they entered their promised land and Jesus echoed it in the early stages of his ministry. Man cannot survive on bread alone, but what? By every word that comes from the mouth of God.

You know what that truth doesn't teach? That food is unnecessary to life. That's not what the Lord is saying by sharing that. What he is saying though instead is that you cannot know the fullness of life if your life is merely about materialism and provision and prosperity. You can only unlock what Jesus calls the abundant life when you know how to position yourself with constant nourishment of his word.

You and I know many people who make their life about living by bread alone And such individuals, unfortunately, no matter what they possess, no matter what they enjoy, will never tap into all that God wants to grant them. Unless they are willing to believe what this word has to offer and engage with it to the degree that they experience it. So people often ask, like, how how do I get myself to be consistently and uninterruptedly devoted to the bible? How how do I get there? How do I stay there?

And my answer is always the same. It never changes. Here it is. I'm convinced that I can't truly live without it. I'm convinced of that.

It's not a matter about what I feel, it's about what I know. I'm convinced of that truth that I am the most alive when I am the most invested in his word. And you know what it's like. Have you ever been through a season where you've distanced yourself from the word? You feel how you shrivel up inside.

Do you not? Temptation becomes stronger. Worldliness becomes more alluring. Your flesh flares up with greater strength and tenacity. There is something powerful about the word, every word that comes from God.

So people say, how do

you do it? I'll tell you how

I do it. I can't survive without it.

Because the Bible tells me if

I just live by bread, saving up for bread, accumulating more bread, finding different ingredients for bread, if that's what my life is about, then I will not truly be alive. I'm I'm existing but I'm not living. And with that, I have never ever ever watched somebody who lived by bread alone and was attracted to their way of life. Have you? Ever.

Ever. In fact, such people come off as lifeless to me. Lifeless. The vanity that they are devoted to, the emptiness. While those who feast on the word of the Lord, I'll tell you they are radiant.

Are they not? They are energized by and satisfied with what God has provided us, his eternal word. And before we move on, there's something else that we need to address from verse 38. Though you have this remnant that is showing us the preciousness of God's word as they sit at the feet of a man who represented God's word, you learn that they were still somewhat impacted by this famine. Right?

How do I know that? Look at the menu of what's there at the seminary in Gilgal. What does Elisha instruct? Set on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets. This is not a gourmet meal.

This is not a banquet. And if you're not convinced of that because, well, it's a large pot, look at the ingredients. Look at the scarce resources in verse 39. One of the sons of the prophet had to go out into the field and try to find somebody to throw in there to make it a little bit more meaty. So what I'm trying to tell you here, what I'm trying to bring your attention to is that these faithful men of God, these people who represented the the small remnant in Israel, were not completely exempt from the sufferings around them.

And I was thinking about this and and and I thought like, Lord, you you could have preserved this remnant the way you did with Israel and Egypt. You set up a whole city and you protected it. It was called Goshen while everything crazy was going on around them. Why is that the not why is that not the case here? Why are the cupboards a little bit emptier?

What's going on? And here's the lesson, a lesson that you know very well that the Lord will sometimes allow even his most faithful to taste a little bit of the sufferings of this world for sanctifying purposes. He will permit that. He will allow that from time to time. Yet, at the same time, we could take comfort in the fact that he will never abandon us in such a condition.

He will never allow us to drift away in such circumstances. He will always be near and close enough to provide and to move on your behalf because he is good and he promised to be by us. And that's what we see with this miracle. So Elisha tells his servant, remember, look what he says, he said to his servant, it's very likely that his servant was who? What's his name?

Such as the letter g? Gehazi. It's very likely that he's addressing Gehazi and he's telling Gehazi, Gehazi, I want you to prepare something for these students. So as Gehazi is preparing to do that, you have one of the sons of the prophets who takes it upon himself to help. He's not asked to help.

They're going to be served, but he says, you know what? I wanna I wanna do this. And we see a wonderful heart in this man. Right? Verse 39.

One of them went out into the field to gather herbs. So as he's making this initiative, as he's trying to aid, he goes out and we read here that he finds a wild vine and gathered from it in his lap full of wild gourds. What are wild gourds? A family of vegetables that are like cucumbers and squashes, those kind of vegetables that perhaps helps with the imagination of the story. And it explains why he got so excited because he just fills his shirt with it and he wobbles back to the site and he is excited about this discovery and he doesn't wait to cut them up and to throw them into the soup.

And everything looks well until you read the ominous final words of that verse. Look at the last few words of verse 39, not knowing what they were. And unfortunately, as you and I read, these are harmful vegetables and they will end up poisoning the source of food that these men are ready to eat. And I believe that there are a few lessons to draw from this. There are some practical lessons and there are some spiritual ones, and I want us to consider both.

On the functional side, it's important to take something from this concerning those who are devoted to studying God's word. Here it is. The pursuit of spiritual knowledge should not cause us to overlook our pursuit of gaining practical wisdom. You have some good hearted Christians who might have a passion for theology or might even have their vocation in the ministry, but they excuse themselves to be neglectful of real life skills and general knowledge of this world. It's actually common.

So again, you have these good hearted believers who justify ignorance in matters of this life that hinder them in many ways. And they justify it because like the sons of the prophets, they are serious students of God's word or they are very seriously dedicated to the service of the Lord. And so what happens? They, they become disabled in other crucial areas of life. They, they don't know how to manage their finances.

They don't have social skills. They don't have social skills in the church and they certainly don't have social skills outside engaging with the world. They don't know how to plan for the future. They don't know how to discern a fraud or a scam. They don't know how to accomplish basic life skills.

Why? All under the pretense of spirituality. Because you have over the years sheltered yourself from real life world, and then you struggle in the world. And this is, again, far too common, and I assure you that if you are somebody who is like that, you will eventually hurt yourself, you will eventually harm others, so you must quickly learn that being spiritual does not mean God calls you to be ignorant of your dealings with the affairs of society and of life itself. On the spiritual side, what we can take from this, from the student at Gilgal, is that you cannot make judgments by mere appearance.

So he saw these vegetables and he thought they looked good, and without much investigation, he just took them and he threw them and he ate them with a 100 other men, and they put themselves in great peril. So here's a spiritual application. Just because a minister looks good. Just because a ministry sounds good does not mean that you should, without filtration, digest everything that they have to offer, or even put it in your mouth to begin with. If you're not careful, the trap that this man fell into physically is a trap that many have ensnared themselves with spiritually.

They've allowed themselves to be caught up in things, to invest in things, expose themselves to things that put them in great danger. You know, Paul told us in second Corinthians 11 that the servants of Satan masquerade themselves as servants of righteousness. False teachers. You know what that means? That means that there are many false teachers out there that come off as genuine, That seem to be holy.

That will claim that they align themselves with the truth. When in fact, they are agents of the devil. Why should have this man, when he stumbled upon this wild vine, at least at least been suspicious? Any idea? There was nothing else, meaning what we read in second Kings eight one.

The Lord called for a famine. That at least should have caused him to stop and think, where is this coming from? What is this all about? But because he let his guard down, he wasn't mindful of the word of the Lord in that moment, he introduced himself and others into something that was harmful. And it's no different to how many people react and expose themselves to spiritual, spiritually dangerous food.

I I recently read a comment from a man who was writing on a video, on an unfortunate video of a minister who was recently exposed for being verbally and physically abusive toward his family, and his adult children are now exposing him out in the public. And to many people, it wasn't a surprise because this individual, when he preached from the pulpit, came off very, very aggressive, very demeaning, ugly, harsh. He he preached verses. He actually preached books from the Bible, but when he would when he would teach it, it was woven with, crude language and harshness in his tone and condemnation. But what moved me about this comment was that this man admitted that he had followed this minister's, preaching for years.

And throughout the years, he discovered, based on what people said around him, the closest people, namely his family, he was becoming angrier. He was becoming more critical. He was becoming more arrogant. And by the grace of God, it was illuminated to him that the connection between his behavior was what he was connected to in terms of his spiritual diet. And he separated himself from it, and it changed him.

To think that you and I can just eat anything that's presented to us, that's offered to us, that's popular, that's known, is as silly as believing that you can put any kind of food in your mouth and not expect it to affect you. So we are called to be careful. To not be mindless, not be careless, to be discerning, to be slow, to be brains. If the apostle Paul had some of his audience take his word and compare it to the scriptures, how much more everybody else that's running around with a microphone and an Instagram page? So we read this, and we are supposed to also learn something else about it.

It's so important to see it in this way as well. What if you have been somebody who throughout the years have exposed yourself to spiritual junk? What happens if you have not been careful with what you eat? If that is something that you are aware of about yourself, the next two verses give us the exemplary solution. What happens?

Verse 40, and they poured out some for the men to eat, but while they were eating of the stew, they cried out, oh, man of God, there is death in the pot. How do they figure that out? We're not told. I wonder if some people started getting sick. I wonder if some who knew of the vegetation tasted it and they said, woah, woah, woah, woah, this is this is not good.

This is the deadly stuff. However it occurred, they cry out to the man of God. And why is that important? Because the man of God at this time was a representative. He was God's conduit of the word of God.

He symbolized the word of God. Do you remember what Jehoshaphat said in second Kings three twelve when they were stranded in the desert and somebody mentioned, Hey, Elisha's not too far from you. He said, let's go to him for the word of the Lord is with him. So these sons of the prophets knew where to go. They went to the man who had the word of the Lord, trusting that he would have the solution to their trouble, and they were right.

What does Elijah do? He said in verse 41, bring flour, and they threw it into the pot and said, pour out some for the men and that they may eat, and there was no harm in the pot. Talk about an act of faith on the part of the sons of the prophet. Imagine realizing that there's poison in it and all your teacher does is take flour, throw it in there, says it's okay, now you can eat. Would you be hesitant to take another bite?

Well, again, they trusted the word of the Lord ultimately. They didn't trust in the flower. They didn't trust necessarily in Elisha, but in whom Elisha represented and spoke on behalf of. What's the solution here? The word of the Lord.

And the word of the Lord from Elisha's mouth is no more powerful than the written word of God that you have opened in your hands right now. I love that verse in Ephesians five twenty six where we are told about Christ's love for the church, that he has sanctified her by cleansing her how? Through the washing of what? The word. That's how he sanctifies his bride.

The cleansing, the washing of the word. Jesus said in John seventeen seventeen, sanctify them by the truth. Your word is the truth. Have you again, grown up in a church setting or probably a different faith altogether and your mind is still clouded, it's difficult to grasp certain things. You don't have the joy that the Bible promises.

You don't have the security that the Bible promises. You don't have the confidence that the Bible promises. Are you somebody, besides doctrinally, are you somebody that has a mind fogged by filthy thoughts, By self sabotaging ideas? If so, the solution is the same. The nourishing and the cleansing power of the word of God.

And and you know that, and I've talked to people who say, I know that, but I can't seem to escape. I can't seem to to get over these false notions of who God is, of what he's done for me, or these immoral dark ideas. Why can't I overcome them? And I I think this is a helpful picture. Have you ever taken a cup filled to the brim with a different substance, maybe even a dirty cup, brought it to a running faucet and allowed it to sit under there?

Have you ever seen a cup filled with such substance the moment it is touched with one drop of that clean water transform and become completely clear itself? If so, I wanna know what kind of water supply you get because I've never seen it. You know what does happen? As you keep that water positioned patiently under that running faucet, over time, it goes from dark to less dark, comes clear until it shares the same substance of that clean source. K.

You're engaging with the word of God. Let me add this. Give the word time to work, to cleanse your conscience, to cleanse your subconscious. So I know you might be visited by dreams that you don't want. Give the word time to clean you up.

Be patient with the word. You know, Timothy was told to be patient in the preaching of God's word. So as much as it is possible for a truth in a sermon or in your own personal reading to change you and to shift you, that's possible just like Elijah's one time word over that stew. More common than that is the faithful commitment to your exposure to God's word and it healing you and restoring you over time. It has cleansing power, trust in it.

Trust that it can do something in you right away and trust that as you invest in it for the rest of your life, it will change you day by day. Now, here's what's interesting. The sons of the prophets were not the only remnant in Israel at this time. Look at verse 42. We read, a man came from Baal Shalishah bringing the man of God bread of the first fruits, 20 loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack.

And Elisha said, give to the men that they may eat. But his servant said, how can I set this before a 100 men? So he repeated, give them to the men that they may eat. For thus says the Lord, they shall eat and have some left. I told you not too long ago that whenever you and I come across a town or the name of a region in our Bibles to trust that it's been included there, to invite you to explore it further because if you are faithful in that, it can most definitely enrich your understanding of God's word.

See, listen. Much of what people desire, depth in the knowledge of scripture, requires the discipline to dig. You will never plummet the depths of scripture if your engagement with the word of God is you version verse of the day. You're not. The Bible was not meant to be read and studied like a fortune cookie.

So when you come to a a text like this, here's what here's what happened to me. I'm reading this earlier today and I find a man came from Baal Shalisha and I think, I I know of some place in the Old Testament, notable names that are repeated. I don't remember ever reading about a place called Baal Shalisha. So I just thought, is there another place where Baal Shalisha is referenced? And I discovered there is not one place where Baal Shalisha is mentioned.

But there is a place where Shalisha is mentioned. And only in one other place. So turn with me to first Samuel chapter nine, and I want you to see this reference. This is the only place where you'll find this name, Shalisha. And you'll discover that it's not a town, it's actually a district.

It's a region. First Samuel nine four. If you are one to take notes in your Bible, I would, as a reminder, maybe write this reference, first Samuel nine four by second Samuel four forty two so that you would never forget it. Look what it says here. And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them.

And they passed through the land of Shalim, but they were not there. They passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them. This is talking about Saul when he went to go find his father's donkeys. Notice, that's where Shalishah is mentioned. Only there.

So we study first Samuel and we've probably passed through that, didn't consider Shalishah. Now we come to second Kings and we see that, okay, Baal Shalishah is mentioned. Now if Baal Shalishah this is where we find some insight. If Baal Shalishah is the same region as Shalishah in first Samuel nine, then we discover yet another heartbreaking realization of the decline of Israel's fidelity to the Lord. Why?

Because Shalishah over time was renamed. Shalishah was renamed from the days of Samuel the prophet to Elisha the prophet in a way that honored false deities. Shalishah was confirmed to mean thrice. So it's very likely that Baal Shalishah means thrice great Lord. And it's very possible that this was a worship center to false demonic deities.

So it's come to the point now where you have Israel renaming designated places to honor false gods. And that might discourage us until you realize that a man came from Baal Shalisha to do what? To help the remnant. To help the ministers of God who remained in Israel. Now there's a keyword I'm gonna ask you what it is in this man's introduction that should cause us to dig even deeper.

What word stands out to you about his offering? Very good. He didn't just bring food. He didn't just bring supplies. We're told that he brought the first fruits of his bread.

Now first fruits should cause you to think, why is it that this man not only brought his supplies, but the first of whatever harvest he was able to gather during this famine? And you realize that there are many, many, many instructions and laws in the Old Testament that ask for the first fruits from the people of Israel. And here's one of them. Deuteronomy chapter 18. Let's turn there to see what possibly this man was observing in terms of his obedience to God's word.

The first fruits. He came with the first fruits. Look what we're told here about the first fruits of the common people of Israel, and one of the responsibilities with it. Deuteronomy 18 verse three. Are you there with me?

And this shall be the priest due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep, they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. Pause. So whenever they went to the house of God and they were to bring an offering to the Lord, there was a portion of that animal sacrifice that was designated to the Levitical priest. That was their way of being compensated by the Lord through the offerings of God's people, but it didn't stop there. Verse four.

The first fruits, not the leftovers, the first fruits of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. For the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for all time. So every Israelite, whenever that season came, they were to take the first fruits, set it apart, go to the house of God, give it as an offering, but also give some of their crop to the priest themselves. And I believe that's what this man is doing here, but here's what's interesting. He gave it to Elisha.

Who's he supposed to give it to? So why isn't he giving it to the priests? Do you guys remember what happened after the kingdom split into two? What happened to the Levites and the priests who lived in the northern part under the reign of Jeroboam? They moved where?

To the Southern Kingdom, to the Kingdom Of Judah. Why did they move to the Kingdom Of Judah? Because that's where the temple resided, and they were not gonna buy into this false worship in Dan and in Bethel. They even if they had to pack their bags, even though it was inconvenient, they made their way towards Jerusalem so that they can honor God the way he called them to be honored. And so it's very possible that this man with great challenges could not find his way to Jerusalem and he could not find any priests left in Israel.

And if there were any priests, they were very likely corrupt. They were very likely compromised and he believed that they weren't worthy of his aid, of his donation of his offering. And so listen, what you find here with this man from Baal Shali Shah is that he is, he is seeking to try to obey what God asked of him to the best of his ability. And what he he sought to do is to find Elisha who was a faithful minister and to give that portion of his first fruits to him and the sons of the prophets. So many people in the Bible are not named and yet move me deeply.

This man included. If there was anybody who had an excuse not to obey the law, particularly this law, it was this man. Why? Two factors. One, no priest around.

Most of the leaders are compromised. Two, when did he give the first fruits? What happened in verse 38 that's gonna that sets the stage for how these miracles take place? There was a famine. There was a famine.

Imagine what you could have told yourself to soothe your conscious. Okay. Look, the kingdom split in two. I, I don't think the law of Moses foresaw this. I think this is just something that happened and, you know, I can't really do anything.

There's no clear instructions of what should I do at this point. And on top of that, there's a famine, very, very scarce resources. I, I can't, I can't do this at this point. I'll do it at another time. He didn't wanna honor God another time.

He wanted to honor God now. And so he thinks, okay, what can I do? Elisha is here. The sons of the prophets are here. I I can I can express my devotion to the Lord in this way and trust that God will be pleased with it?

You know, this man serves as a rebuke for all of us who make excuses for our disobedience. Because let me put it this way. Worship, true worship boils down to this. If you really wanna honor God, you're gonna do all that you can to honor God. It just comes down to that.

You know, Paul, when he wanted to visit the Thessalonians, it came to the point that he he tried over and over again until he learned and he let the people know in Thessalonica, Satan hindered me. It took Satan himself, not his minions, not his hordes of demons. It took Satan himself to stop Paul from going and being with the brethren in Thessalonica. If Satan stops you and you have no control over the matter, k, that's a legitimate reason. And this man shows us here that God is worthy.

God is worthy to bulldoze over every excuse so that he would be recognized and honored. He's inspiring. And I praise God for this church. I praise God for this church. Here's a very small example.

Our circumstances here in our location are not the best. We don't have parking. We don't have the most convenient service time on a Sunday. And yet people come because they wanna come and worship God, they wanna honor God. And that moves me every single time because in these past years, I've never heard one peep from one person about the difficulty of these circumstances, which in reality, in comparison to what our brethren are suffering in the world, is not a problem.

Right? There are believers in China who walk miles to get to a service. And we see that with this man, and he's not the only inspiring person in this brief report. Elisha. Elisha shines yet again with his Christ like character in what way?

This man from Baal Shalishah bringing him the bread of his first fruits? And how does Elisha respond at the end of verse forty forty two? And Elisha said, give to the men that they may eat. How tempting it would have been to say thank you and just you know, stuff it in your pocket and have Gehazi hide a little bit more. The first thing, the reaction of this man of God is, what about these students?

Listen. That's what true leadership looks like. To aspire to be a leader and to occupy any position of leadership means that you are devoted and have been gifted to take care of those who are under your leadership. You don't pursue any position of leadership so that you can be served. If you have that desire, it's because you are eager to be a blessing to those who would benefit from how God has empowered you to be a leader.

And that's what Elisha is demonstrating here. He he immediately, as a reflex, says, what about them? How can we take care of them? And the response is common. We've seen it in the New Testament on more than one occasion.

But his servant said, how can I set this before a 100 men? So we know that there are a 100 students in Gilgal. And he only had what? 20. 20 loaves of barley.

And he says, this isn't gonna happen. And Elisha repeats, set it before them. They're gonna eat. And he honors that word and a miracle takes place. And not only that there's leftover does this miracle sound familiar by the way?

It should if you read the gospels. But before I get there, let me say this. This multiplication, this wonderful intervention from heaven would not have been possible had that man from Baal Shalisha Lishah not obeyed god. Do you realize that? What if this man stayed home?

What if this man thought to himself, yeah. This first first thing is not gonna work. There's division. There's a drought. It's it's it's pointless.

What if he had done that? He doesn't do that. He goes out to the best of his ability. He provides what he is able to provide, and I am certain that he didn't think I'm gonna bring this to Elijah and he's gonna do something and it's gonna multiply and feed everybody else. Never underestimate what your obedience can do, especially your obedience in trying in difficult times, especially when excuses run through your mind.

I hesitate to share testimony, personal testimony sometimes. I hesitate because my my desire anytime I get up on this pulpit is for every eye and every ear to be targeted towards the Lord and to be placed on the Lord himself. But from time to time, I hope it encourages you. I remember one time when I was first saved. Didn't have a car, the first church that I was attending faithfully was a bigger church and the only way to get there was through commute.

I had to take more than one bus. And I don't know what it was. I was trying to think even today, what was it that made me late for church that day? But I was late for church that day. And I remember, though I can't remember the reason, wrestling of whether or not I should go to church.

And we're commanded to be with the people of God. Right? So whatever was there, I swatted away, I put my big boy clothes on, and I made my way to church. And as I got there, I arrived obviously late, the service already started, But I'm walking towards the entrance, and I'm as I'm walking towards the entrance, there's somebody a few feet away from the entrance, a young man who's leaning against the wall of the church and smoking. And he caught my attention because I I've been there long enough to recognize the young people there and, and who consistently goes.

So I knew that he was a visitor, so I was already late, but I thought I just wanna ask who this guy is at least. And so I introduced myself and he was kind enough to introduce himself and we got talking and he told me that he was visiting. Told me that he was going to church that day because his mom made him go to church. And so we talked a little bit and at that point, I began to share, just a brief version of my testimony. I said, look, the service is still going on.

Would you like to go and sit together? And I usually don't sit where he ends up sitting. I usually sit close to the front, but I said, would you like to sit together? And he said, sure. So we go and we sneak in a little bit and sat in a specific row and I didn't know who we came with, I didn't know who his mother was, but as the service ended, we get up and I shook his hand again, said it was nice meeting you.

And his mom was on the other side and she introduced herself and we got talking. And very quickly, she opened up and she told me that she had a brain tumor. And she recently discovered it. And she was terrified. And so in that moment, I was talking to her and I was talking to the son at the same time, but my attention was mainly on her.

And I just shared about how I met her son and, as she was opening her heart, I said, is it okay if we can pray together? Can we pray for you right now? And she welcomed that. So we prayed. And we got connected online from time to time.

That mother would message me and she would tell me to continue to pray for her son, and she was so excited that we were able to meet. And she would send encouraging messages from, time to time, and she was a blessing to me in many ways. I remember leaving church that day, and I thought to myself, what if I stayed home? What if I just stayed home? I don't know where she is.

I don't know where her son is. Don't let excuses to your obedience sabotage potential testimonies. This man came with 20 loaves and he fed a 100 men. Jesus multiplied food, did he not? It's hard to read a story like this and not think about the Lord Jesus.

And as much as there are resounding similarities, there are notable differences. Look back again here at verse 42. A man came from Bala Shali Shali, bringing the man of God bread of the first fruits, 20 loaves of barley. 20 loaves of barley. 20 loaves that multiplied and fed a 100 men.

Did Jesus have more or less food to work with? Less. Now, what about the people that he had to feed? We read here that there was a 100 that Elisha had to take care of. How much for Jesus?

Well, two separate occasions, $14,000, $15,000. And we're just talking about the men. We're not including the women or the children. We're talking about in the thousands. And yet, when you come to the gospels with this background in mind because you read through your Old Testament, you realize something about Jesus.

He's greater than all the prophets. Effortlessly able to feed the multitudes with even less than what Elisha had. And not only is he greater in every way, but when you connect the new with the old and you realize that Jesus didn't just appear on the scene out of nowhere, He always existed. He was the source of every powerful miracle and every act of supernatural provision. That's who Jesus is.

This man obeyed God's word and God did a miracle through it. A little boy came up to Jesus selflessly, and God honored his selflessness and did a miracle with it. Do not think so small of your small obedience. Do not think so little of what consistent consecration can do for the glory of God. Do not think that every time we gather, every time we do something in the name of the Lord, whatever ministry you're a part of, that is just another day.

Sunday school teachers, those are not just a few kids stuffed in a classroom. God can multiply that in ways that you can imagine. Hospitality team that feeds us every week, Don't think so little of that food. You have no idea how that can bless somebody in a time of need, or you have no idea how that food was the means by which somebody stayed and received the fellowship and the counsel that would change the trajectory of their life. Bible study leader, there's 10 people that show up.

There's a famous minister who was invited last second to preach at a youth crusade. And when he preached it, the gospel, only one person responded to that message. And that one person was Warren Wiersbe, who became the pastor, at least one of the pastors at Moody Church, and wrote many commentaries. One person responded out of hundreds of people and that person became a man of God. These stories have been preserved for us to encourage us, to strengthen us to believe that the God of miracles here is still the God of miracles today.

Amen? Let's thank him for his goodness. We're moved by these testimonies, and we trust that you have intended to keep them in your eternal word so that throughout the ages, your people would hear what you have to say for their own lives. And we've heard your voice today, oh god. Help us be like this man from Baal Shalisha.

We recognize that we live in a city that glorifies death, that dishonors the sanctity of marriage, that is growing in greater corruption. Regardless, help us honor you the way we can honor you. To bless you the way you deserve to be blessed despite obstacles or hindrances. So Lord, may there be no excuses culturally, may there be no excuses personally that would rob us of the potential of being a source of blessing. We thank you again for everything that's been shared.

We pray that they would resonate and that they would marinate our hearts. That these things would bleed into our lives and be lived out as a sweet smelling fragrance unto you. We worship you and we give you thanks again. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Let's worship the God who can multiply and do miracles. Shall we? Praise team, can you help us as you have so wonderfully helped us before this Bible study began? And let's sing with all our hearts, all our minds as we close this service together.