You’ll know from church potlucks that soup is good for sharing. If you make a big pot, everyone can dip in and enjoy.
This was probably the kind of meal that Elisha and the sons of the prophets enjoyed together many times. As they worshiped and studied, they enjoyed fellowship at a meal. In 2 Kings, Elisha and the sons of the prophets are sitting together and they are hungry, for there is a famine in the land.
The sons of the prophets were groups of the faithful in Israel in a time of godlessness.
They still wanted to learn from the prophets of the Lord and hold onto God’s truth.
We read that they’re “sitting before Elisha” (2 Kgs 4:38). That probably means they’re receiving instruction. Just picture a kindergarten classroom, with the teacher at the front on her stool, and all the children sitting on the floor. Without desks and chairs, this was a good way for the sons of the prophets to listen to Elisha: on the ground in front of him.
The prophet’s school is in session. But every teacher knows that it’s hard to keep the students focused if they missed breakfast and their stomachs are rumbling. And if you get hungry enough, it’s hard to think about anything besides getting some food into your belly.
Elisha probably realizes this, for as he delivers his lesson, he tells his servant, “Set on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets” (v. 38). Maybe Elisha had some food of his own or he knew where to get some. At any rate, to feed a crowd is going to take some doing.
While the stew is being prepared, we learn that one of the men “went out into the field to gather herbs” (v. 39). Maybe the stew looked a bit thin, and he was searching for something to make it go further, or he was looking to spice it up. But pickings are slim—if you scrounge around in a time of famine, you’re not likely to get much.
But then the man finds “a wild vine, and he gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew” (v. 39). We don’t know for sure what this was, but apparently there are small melons that grow in the wild in Israel, things like wild cucumbers, or yellow-coloured melons that are called the “apple of Sodom.” Which is not really a promising name! They say that people used some of these wild melons as a laxative. And when they’re eaten in large quantities, they can even be fatal.
Adding the gourds to the pot, the man did “not know what they were” (v. 39), and neither did anyone else. The men were hungry, and maybe that made them careless. They were determined to have a good meal!
So dinner is served: “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!” (v. 40). Everyone suddenly realizes that the “soup of the day” is very bad. Maybe they gagged, or choked, or they felt their insides begin to churn. It’s clear that this meal is unpalatable, if not lethal.
Some have wondered if it’s an exaggeration: “Death in the pot”? And did they expect Elisha to do something about it? Was this really the concern for a holy man of God? The important point is at the end of verse 40: “And they could not eat it.” If your Dad barbeques the burgers that were supposed to be dinner, and burns them so badly they’re inedible, it’s a waste, but it’s not a crisis—there’s surely more food in the freezer or pantry. But for Elisha and the sons of the prophets, a spoiled stew is terrible. There’s a famine, so if all this food is ruined, it’s a big loss. Now what are they going to eat? If there was no stew, there was nothing else.
The good news is that we’re allowed to pray for the small gifts we need.
The Lord Jesus teaches us to pray each day for our daily bread. In a way, it’s hard to think of something more ordinary and routine than the things we eat each day: morning cereal, salad at lunch time, burgers on the grill. But we still need to ask for our daily bread, because it’s absolutely required if we’re going to serve God well.
So the men rightly involve the prophet, and he uses his God-given power to salvage the stew. Elisha takes some flour, puts it in the pot, and says, “Pour some out for the men, that they may eat” (v. 41). Notice the great confidence of the prophet: ‘Mix it in and let them eat.’ He has no doubt that God can salvage this stew. And God is able: after adding in the flour, “there was no harm in the pot” (v. 41).
In 2 Kings 4, God salvaged the stew. Now, we know that God doesn’t always do this for his children. There is sometimes a pressing need that isn’t met in the way we hoped. Sometimes God’s children do lose everything. Sometimes we run utterly stuck. God doesn’t protect us from all trouble, but He does say that He knows what we need, even before we ask him. He’s a Father who loves us dearly in Christ.
That’s the spirit in which God wants us to live:
trusting him,
holding onto every word that comes from his mouth,
believing his promise because you know He does not lie.
Don’t stew about tomorrow, don’t worry about next year, but hold onto God’s word for today—his promise in Christ that He is with you and will never forsake you.
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