Introduction
When Elisha was in Gilgal the land was going through a famine, 2 Kings 4:38.
‘A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain.’ 2 Kings 4:42
It appears that sometime later they are still going through the same famine. Because we read of 100 men who were hungry and needed feeding.
We read of an unnamed man who came from Baal Shalishah. The name Baal is usually associated with the Canaanite god, but it can also be associated with the Lord.
The name Shalishah means third and is usually associated with the idea of multiplicity because, in Hebrew, the number three was the smallest number which set forth the idea of multiplicity.
In other words, Baal Shalishah could mean the Lord who multiplies, which is very significant in terms of what is about to happen. This unmanned man was obviously a follower of God because of what he gave.
Notice that he gave twenty loaves of barley bread from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. We’re not talking about the kind of bread we buy in our shops today; these would be very small flatbreads. In other words, he brought 20 small flat barley breads and some corn.
Normally the firstfruits were to be given to the Lord and the priests, Leviticus 23:20 but there is a famine happening right now and this man brought some food for Elisha and the other prophets.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following, ‘This account furnishes fresh evidence that the godly men of Israel did not regard the religion introduced by Jeroboam as legitimate, but sought and found the true religion in the schools of the sons of the prophets.’
In terms of scale, this isn’t a huge amount, but in terms of heart, this man gave all he had. He understood that if he honours God with the firstfruits, God in turn would continue to bless him, Proverbs 3:9-10.
He was helping God’s people, but this man had no idea that God was going to bless the little gift he offered to feed the multitude, Hebrews 6:10.
‘Give it to the people to eat,’ Elisha said. ‘How can I set this before a hundred men?’ his servant asked.’ 2 Kings 4:42
When Elisha tells the man to give it to the people, it’s not surprising that he thought this was a crazy suggestion because 20 small loaves of bread wouldn’t be enough to feed 100 men.
Didn’t the disciples think the same thing when Jesus was about to feed the 5000?Matthew 14:15-17.
Didn’t the disciples think the same thing when Jesus was about to feed the 4000? Matthew 15:33-34.
Didn’t they stop and think, ‘I’m sure we’ve read somewhere in the Torah about Elisha doing something similar.’
‘But Elisha answered, ‘Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’ 2 Kings 4:42-43
Notice that Elisha tells him to do it anyway despite the man’s doubts and then adds that it was the Lord who says, ‘they will eat and have some left over’.
When Jesus fed the five thousand men not including women and children with five loaves of bread and two fish, by the time they were finished they had 12 small baskets of leftovers, Matthew 14:20.
When He fed the 4000 men not including women and children with seven loaves of bread and a few fish, by the time they were finished they had seven large baskets of leftovers, Matthew 15:37.
‘Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.’ 2 Kings 4:44
The Lord said it would happen and it did, they all ate until they were full and they had some left over. The miracle recorded here was shown in the fact that one hundred men could be fed with such a small amount of food.
The purpose of the miracle was to once again prove to all the people that Elisha was God’s true prophet and that God was working through him.
The miracle recorded here was shown in the fact that one hundred men could be fed with such a small amount of food. This miracle and the first miracle recorded in this chapter, 2 Kings 4:1-7, are similar to the feeding of the four thousand, Matthew 15:32-39 / Mark 8:1-9, and the feeding of the five thousand, Matthew 14:13-21 / Mark 6:31-44 / Luke 9:12-17 / John 6:1-14, as done by Jesus.
They are also similar in nature to what Elijah did when he fed the widow of Zarephath and her son, 1 Kings 17:10-16.
Applications
1. God can meet your needs.
God met the hunger needs of the 100 prophets but let me ask you, do you believe that God cares enough about you to meet your needs?
God doesn’t meet all your greeds but all your needs and it does that on a daily basis, Philippians 4:19. Now if He meets all our needs, is there anything we lack? No, He meets all our needs not just some.
Isn’t that what Jesus was trying to teach us concerning our daily bread? Matthew 6:11. The petition for ‘daily bread’ isn’t for milk and honey, the symbols of luxury, but for bread that will be sufficient for this day. And, as long as it is today, we don’t need tomorrow’s bread.
A woman who prepared meals for hungry farm workers during the harvest season would watch them consume every bit of food on the table. Then she’d say, ‘good. I fixed just the right amount.’
God works that way with us, He doesn’t give us as much as we want, but He gives us as much as we need. When you stop and see how He blesses us every day with our daily essentials, like food and water and clothes, maybe then we can see that He does give us the right amount Matthew 6:31.
Our God fed millions in the wilderness with manna every day for 40 years. He caused ravens to feed Elijah by the brook. He filled Peter’s net with fish.
God is well aware of our basic needs and if he can feed the 100, the 5000 and the 4000, He can certainly take care of our daily bread.
2. God will bless your gift.
The unknown man brought what most people would consider a small gift of bread and corn and God blessed it abundantly.
Winston Churchill once said, ‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.’
You have no idea how much God can bless a person whose feeling sick when you go and visit them. You have no idea how much God can bless a person whose feeling low when you send them a text message.
You have no idea how much God can bless a person who has lost someone close to them and you send them a bunch of flowers and a rad telling them you are praying for them.
God doesn’t ask us to give what we don’t have, but He does ask us to give what we do have, no matter how small it may seem, Matthew 10:42.
Never underestimate what God can do with what you think is small.
3. Believe that God will do the impossible.
Even though this unnamed man had no idea what God was capable of doing, Elisha had no doubts about what God could do.
We all know about Humpty Dumpty, who was a big egg-shaped creature with a painted face and skinny arms and legs, perched happily on a wall. We all know that he fell and broke into countless pieces. And we all know that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again.
What a hopeless, helpless situation he found himself in. It appears that everyone tried to put him together, but nobody thought about asking the king.
Before I became a Christian, my life was in pieces, and I had no reason to carry on living. I was in a hopeless, helpless situation because of the circumstances I found myself in. But one lady encouraged me to study the Bible and speak to God about it, and a few weeks later I became a Christian.
Jesus put my life back together again and my life has never been the same since.
If you are not a Christian this morning and your life is in pieces, then let me encourage you to go to the King and ask Him to help you, Matthew 19:24-26.
Because only King Jesus can put your life back together again and give you a reason to live. Only King Jesus can do what you can’t do for yourself, only King Jesus can do the impossible.
