2Ki 4:38-44 “For thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.”

[Study Aired September 8, 2022]

2Ki 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. 
2Ki 4:39  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.
2Ki 4:40  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.
2Ki 4:41  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.
2Ki 4:42  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. 
2Ki 4:43  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.
2Ki 4:44  So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.

This last section of the fourth chapter of 2 Kings looks at another parable that helps us understand how God provides for all our physical and spiritual needs which are met through Christ (Php 4:19). The primary lesson is that the physical provision is not to become an idol of our hearts but rather a reminder that God knows what we need, and the natural provision reveals the spiritual (Rom 1:20). That spiritual provision makes it possible for us to grow in faith and in appreciation of how He miraculously provides all we need through what each joint supplies in love via the body of Christ, until we all come in the unity of the faith via that blessed increase that comes through the vine by way of the Father (Eph 4:16, 1Co 3:6). Christ works through the branches giving us the power to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, and Christ is directed by our Father who gives that increase through the body both to will and to do of His, the Father’s, good pleasure which is to give us the kingdom (Php 2:12-13, Luk 12:32).

Php 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase [spiritual provision].

Luk 12:32  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

These verses below help us understand what God’s spiritual provision is all about. With them in mind we can look at the last few verses of this section of Kings and be reminded of how God worked with a longsuffering spirit with the prophets of old who represent the patience and faith of the saints being accomplished in God’s workmanship which we are today (Psa 132:15-16, Jer 15:11, Jer 15:20-21, Zep 3:13, Zec 8:12, Eph 2:7, Php 4:6-7, Heb 13:20-21)

Psa 132:15  I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. 
Psa 132:16  I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

Jer 15:20  And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD. 
Jer 15:21  And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

Zep 3:12  I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. 
Zep 3:13  The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Zec 8:12  For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Php 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 
Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  

Heb 13:20  Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 
Heb 13:21  Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

2Ki 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.

Gigal^H1537 is defined by BDB as “a wheel, rolling” and that wheel represents the “wheel in the middle of a wheel” within the body of Christ found in (Eze 1:16-17, Joh 14:20) where God is showing us how we are connected as a many-membered body through Christ (1Co 12:12, Col 1:27) experiencing in this life how all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose because of that middle wheel, our hope of glory within (Rom 8:28.

H1537 gilgâl ghil-gawl’    BDB: Gilgal = “a wheel, rolling”

The same as H1536 (with the article as a properly noun); Gilgal, the name of three places in Palestine: – Gilgal. See also H1019. Total KJV occurrences: 41

Eze 1:16  The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 
Eze 1:17  When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. 

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

1Co 12:12  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

Again it is at that day (Joh 14:20) through Elisha, who typifies Christ, that we learn of this relationship granted to the “sons of the prophets” who typify the elect of God (Jas 5:10, Rev 14:12). What it is that God gives those sons is described as being given through the servant who is given instruction on how to serve the rest, just as we are learning how to serve one another in the body of Christ.

Jas 5:10  Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Elisha’s servant is told, “Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.” This food is needed because there is “a dearth in the land” meaning that our life goes through periods of spiritual dearth, but God is faithful to those who are called according to His purpose of election to bring Christ to us and to feed us with spiritual food that is convenient for us and given in due season. Christ is the faithful and true witness within us (Rev 3:14) who makes that provision through the church (Eph 3:10-11) and so the proverb reads, “Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die.” Christ will not deny Himself, His own body which we are, and will be victorious through the church (Mat 16:18) that He is blessing by answering this prayer, “Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me.” (Mat 24:45-46, Pro 30:7-9, 2Ti 2:13)

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Mat 24:45  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? [Joh 21:15-17]
Mat 24:46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Joh 21:15  So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
Joh 21:16  He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Joh 21:17  He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Pro 30:7  Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: 
Pro 30:8  Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: [Joh 21:15-17]
Pro 30:9  Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

2Ti 2:13  If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

2Ki 4:39  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.

This verse reminds us in the early stages of our walk what it is that we gather as the elect of God who have been ordained to be a kind of first fruits from the foundation of the world. We gather herbs in “the field” which represents the world, and we find a wild vine which represents the church in the wilderness that we come out of to become part of the true vine into which we’re grafted (Joh 15:5). The wild gourds^H6498 [wild vine] are a symbol of faith that is untried (or food that is uncooked) and not yet been “shred” in a seething pot, symbols of the fiery trials and judgments brought into our lives (1Pe 4:12) to refine us (Zec 13:9).

H6498   paqqû‛âh   pak-koo-aw’

From the same as H6497; the wild cucumber (from splitting open to shed its seeds): – gourd.

Total KJV occurrences: 1

H6497  peqa‛   peh’-kah

From an unused root meaning to burst; only used as an architectural term of an ornament similar to H6498, a semi-globe: – knop.

Total KJV occurrences: 3:  1Ki_6:18, 1Ki_7:24 (2)

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 

Zec 13:9  And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

Mat 13:32  Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

The knowledge is indeed Christ’s while yet still in Babylon, symbolized by the herbs and the wild gourds and wild vine, still wild and not yet prepared, like John the Baptist who was preparing the way for Christ with wild honey and locust (Isa 40:3, Mat 3:1-3). All of these food types are instructive for the new Christian, and it will be in the proper preparation and enduring through the process of maturing over time that we will be able to be strengthened with these foods to then partake of the stronger meat spoken of in Hebrews 5 (Heb 5:13-14, Joh 8:31-32).

Mat 3:1  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 
Mat 3:2  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 
Mat 3:3  For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 

Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 
Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. 

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

2Ki 4:40  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.
2Ki 4:41  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.

Until we’re granted to bring the meal^H7058 that represents our presenting our life to God as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1-2), the word of God, which is represented by the food within the pot, will not be able to be digested and taken in to nourish our new man and destroy our old man. We can only “pour out for the people” after we are strengthened through Christ to present our lives a living sacrifice, which is our reasonable service to God (Rom 12:1).

H7058  qemach keh’-makh  From an unused root probably meaning to grind; flour: – flour, meal. Total KJV occurrences: 14

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

This action of bringing meal to the “great pot” is typical of what happens when we “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom” (Luk 6:38). We can’t see clearly how all these ingredients put into the pot are going to work together for the good, but God calls us to trust Him through our trials and much tribulation through which He will deliver us, which will result in our seeing all men “give into your bosom” (Rom 8:28-31, 2Ti 1:9, Jas 1:12).

Luk 6:38  Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 
Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 
Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Jas 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

2Ki 4:42  And there came a man from Baalshalisha^H1190, 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.

There came a man from “Baalshalisha^H1190“, which is interpreted “thrice-great lord”, who brought two gifts which represent the word of God that is given to us in due season and nourishes us that we may eat (Jas 1:17-18, Joh 6:51, 1Co 10:16). Notice that the food, which represents the word of God, comes from a pagan culture in “Baalshalisha”^H1190 because in God’s eyes we are gentiles and pagan when we have God’s gold, and silver and precious jewels, which are symbols of His word, wrapped around the idol of our hearts and claim ourselves to be spiritual Jews when we are not (Eze 14:3, Rev 3:9). It takes our coming out of “Baalshalisha”^H1190 and being dragged to Christ, who is typified by Elisha (Joh 6:44), to have that word purified in our lives so those idols are destroyed.

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 
Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Joh 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? 

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

H1190  BDB Definition: Baal-shalisha = “thrice-great lord”

1) a place in Ephraim near Gilgal
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H1168 and H8031

God’s provision is being described for the elect now with these physical food sources that represent Christ and His Christ and the word of God that sustains us. What is our communion but the body and blood of Christ (1Co 10:16), and we receive this nourishment through the church where “the man of God” (Eph 3:10) is provided with “bread of the firstfruits” (Jas 1:18),”twenty loaves of barley“, which represents the witness of Christ’s undefiled truth we are blessed to be nourished with via the true bread of life who was broken for us. Elisha tells the servant to “Give unto the people, that they may eat” as Christ does for us (Exo 9:31, Isa 53:4, Luk 22:19, Mar 14:22).

Exo 9:31  And the flax and the barley was smitten [Isa 42:3]: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. 

Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Luk 22:19  And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

Mar 14:22  And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

Christ’s body, which is the church, is represented by the “full ears of corn in the husks thereof” that are sustained through Christ and blessed to mature to that point so that they can be used to nourish the nations one day with God’s judgments, his words in the earth that will bring healing (Gen 27:37, Psa 107:20).

Gen 27:37  And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

Psa 107:20  He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

I’ve taken this excerpt from Mike’s Revelation Series –  Revelation 1:5 – Part 2 – which explains that when we die daily and reckon ourselves buried into Christ’s baptism, we in turn become as that first holy seed (1Jn 4:17) that died and fell into the ground and brought forth much fruit, Jesus Christ (Joh 12:24, Rom 5:17). The first fruits are not just a kind of first fruits. We are also those who have become a holy seed through Jesus Christ Who will be used to populate the world with truth and be given the power through God’s holy spirit to judge the nations in the great white throne judgment so that they can be purified and made one with the body of Christ and our head Jesus Christ.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Rom 5:17  For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

*** Excerpt: 

So we are actually told to “reckon ourselves” both dead with Christ, and yet living “in newness of life” in Christ. But are we actually counted as firstfruits from the dead, as Christ is?

Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

The wave sheaf of barley, at the days of unleavened bread, immediately after the Passover, was the first of the firstfruits. However, fifty days later was another festival which was called Pentecost. Pentecost was also called “the feast of firstfruits,” because we, the church which was established on Pentecost, was to be “a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”

Rev 14:4  These [144,000] are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Lev 23:10  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
Lev 23:11  And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

“The sheaf of the firstfruits” at Passover, is Christ Himself. The feast of firstfruits, fifty days later, at Pentecost, typifies Christ’s Christ, the church.

Lev 23:15  And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
Lev 23:16  Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
Lev 23:17  Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; [they are] the firstfruits unto the LORD.

Exo 34:18  The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.

Exo 34:22  And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks [Pentecost], of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.
Exo 34:23  Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. [Pentecost is called “the feast of firstfruits”.]

“Thrice [three times] in the year…” are the feast of unleavened bread [passover], the feast of weeks [Pentecost], and the feast of ingathering [tabernacles] at the year’s end. These three seasons typify the three seasons of God’s judgments and His harvest of mankind. They are the first, the barley harvest in the spring, which typifies Christ, the first of the firstfruits; the second, the wheat harvest in the summer, the judgment which is on the house of God; and third, the grape harvest in the fall, when all men are raised up from among the dead and are judged and cleansed in the white throne judgment, lake of fire.

Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

So while our Head certainly does have the preeminence in all things, we are still “as he is… the first begotten of the dead and the firstfruits of them that slept.

*** End Quote

2Ki 4:43  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.
2Ki 4:44  So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.

Our time of need is now in these marred clay vessels of flesh witnessed by “an hundred men” – ten representing the flesh (10×10). The servant provided spiritual meat in due season and “set it before them” and they did eat, because it was all done “according to the word of the LORD“. Elisha’s servant lacks the faith and is typical of us saying ‘Lord help me in my unbelief’, and Elisha, who typifies our Lord, helps his servant accomplish what seems impossible to his flesh:

2Ki 4:43 He asked: »How am I to feed a hundred hungry men with this?« Elisha replied: »Give it to them to eat, because Jehovah says that they will eat and still have some left over.« [Mat 14:20]
2Ki 4:44 So the servant set the food before them. Just as Jehovah said, they ate and had some left over. (NSB – New Simplified Bible version)

It is when things are done “according to the word of the LORD” that we will be properly nourished, not thinking above what is written (1Co 4:6), and believing that there is safety in a multitude of counselors (Pro 11:14, Pro 24:6). It takes becoming like children (Mat 18:3) in order to receive the word of God in due season, and God is humbling our old man for that express purpose of overcoming all the sins of the world within us so that we can fulfill the will of God in this life as His servitors to one another (1Jn 2:16-17, Gal 6:2).

1Co 4:6  And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

Pro 11:14  Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. 

Pro 24:6  For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 

We are called to “give the people, that they may eat“, meaning we are called to ‘feed my lambs, and feed my sheep’, and are assured of God that if we seek Him with all our hearts and minds and souls (Mat 22:37-40) that this promise of provision of His word which nourishes us will always be supplied, “for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.“

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 
Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.