II Kings 4:38 “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. 42 And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat. 43 And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. 44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.”
Elisha performed two miracles here. We see how the Lord provided and does provide for his people. The sons of the prophets were like Bible College students today. They underwent training with the prophets. As we all do, they encountered problems and had to rely on the provisions of the Lord.
There was a great famine in the land. Their planting didn’t yield fruits and vegetables. It was a time of great need. Elisha saw this situation. Let’s look at how God provided.
God provided according to his word. Verse 44 says they ate “according to the word of the LORD.” Aren’t you thankful we have the written word of God? The Bible was given for God to reveal himself to us. It reveals the plan of salvation, but it is also full of promises regarding our needs. They are provided according to his word.
God provided in answer to prayer. Elijah, the predecessor of Elisha, earnestly prayed to God. There was a contest between the prophets of Baal and the prophet of God. They prayed and prayed, even cut themselves. Baal couldn’t answer them; he was not the true God. Elijah prayed a simple prayer, and the fire from heaven came down. No doubt Elijah taught these sons of the prophets to pray. In their minds they already trusted God. The Bible says many times we have not because we ask not. When we pray, God provides in answer to those prayers.
God provided miraculously. He told the people to get the pot ready for the pottage. The men gathered herbs and wild vines. “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.” The young man was obviously not familiar with herbs and mistakenly picked poisonous ones. The people quickly realized they couldn’t eat the pottage. Elisha told them “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.” God used the people in the performance of the miracle. He allowed the men to eat poisonous herbs, yet they lived.
God provides unexpectedly. “And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people that they may eat.” No one knew this man was coming, but he came. The Lord is good to us. Jesus said “my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Sometimes God allows us to know and experience trouble so that we can experience and know his grace. The provision of man is not sufficient, but God is sufficient. The meal was distributed to the people, and there were leftovers just as Elisha said. The miracles of God aren’t always so big, but all his provisions are miracles!
The greatest provision God ever gave was himself. When Abraham took Isaac upon the mountain to offer him as a sacrifice, Isaac saw the wood and the fire. He asked his father where the lamb for the offering was. Abraham said “God will provide himself an offering.” And he did. Before Jesus began his public ministry, he went to be baptized. When John the Baptist saw him, he said “behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.”
Are you saved? If not, your greatest need is not money. It’s not your health. Your greatest need is the Lord. Salvation is freely provided. Put your faith in Jesus. We have a God who provides.
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We were privileged to have Bro. George Salvador, Philippino missionary to the Philippines, with us today. He brought the message. Bro. George is studying here in America so that he can go back home and continue to build churches for the Lord. He was raised in a Roman Catholic village and taught the practices of the religion in school. He thought that his works and obeying the teachings would get him to heaven.
He didn’t know about the Lord. There was a Baptist Church two miles from his village. That’s a long way to them because they don’t own cars. A neighbor had a tricycle, and he’d take about 10 kids to Sunday school with him. To them, a tricycle is something like our motorcycle with a side car. He packed the kids in it. George loved Sunday school. He had never heard a story about a Bible character until then. After some time, the man couldn’t take him anymore. Later, at the age of 11, he was saved in another Baptist Church. His family is saved. He has already established one church. The Lord provided funds for another church to be started, and while he was home at Christmas they began the work. It should be finished in March. He hopes to soon raise funds to purchase land for a third church.
George will graduate in May and return to the Philippines. His desire is to build 10 churches for the Lord in his lifetime. Pray for him and his wife as they and their two young children work for the Lord.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 