Death In the Pot

In 2 Kings 4:38-41 we read about an episode of Elisha’s life that contains many lessons that are applicable to the time in which we live. There was a dearth in the land – a famine. There was a lack of ANYTHING to eat – not just a lack of GOOD things to eat. When there is a famine people just try to survive on what they can get – anywhere. People just eat what is available – not what they know to be good for them or pleasant to the taste.

The sons of the prophets were eating out of this pot because of necessity – there was nothing else available for them. Pottage is simply broth but they desired something more solid so someone went and gathered wild gourds – just ANYTHING to give the food some substance. They weren’t satisfied with what the man of God provided for them and they went out and found something else to add to it. However, their hunger and desire for something real led them to poison and death.

There is a dearth in our land now – not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.

And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. - Amos 8:12

There is a lack of hearing of the Word of God – the kind of hearing of the good Word of God that feeds and nourishes souls, heals broken hearts and lives, gives spiritual health and strength, and brings people to a real relationship with a real God. There is an abundance of wild stuff growing everywhere. People are getting by on what they can find and many are perishing in the process. Because of the famine there aren’t many men of God who have anything but broth to give to the people of God. You can’t give what you don’t have yourself. There are many good men of God in our day who are simply empty-handed because they haven’t been fed themselves. They have lived in spiritual poverty and dearth all their spiritual lives because no one has had anything to give them.

There are also times when God sends the dearth and there is simply a time when there is nothing to be had. (Amos 8:11) There are seasons in the life and there are seasons in the church. There are times of harvest and times of abundance. There are times when it seems you can’t carry home all you get at church. Then there are times of winter when everything is barren and cold and spiritual nourishment is scarce. Just like the sons of the prophets that Elisha fed with the pottage, people in our day are desperate for something real. So they are out looking for anything to add substance to their life. They are swallowing things that are harmful and deadly. Many are going after things that just grow wild and do not come from the Word of God or through a true messenger of God who has been cultivated and prepared by God. Food that is really good for you doesn’t generally just grow wild. Spiritual sustenance doesn’t come from wild things either, but from long preparation and a work of God in someone’s life.

There is death in the pot. The spiritual hunger and void is driving people to search out and swallow things that are poison to their lives and souls. The lightness and shallowness of the preaching, teaching, singing, and worship in most churches is causing many to go to places where there is excitement – even if it is excitement about something besides Christ and the salvation He has provided. The puny and pitiful music of most churches is causing many to go to places where the music has some excitement and thunder – even though it is poison to their soul. The miserable fellowship or lack of it in most churches is causing people to go to places where they have all kinds of ways of being with other people – even if the fellowship isn’t based on God at all and is likely to lead to immorality. The confusing and contradictory doctrines taught in almost all churches now are causing thinking people to look elsewhere for something that is at least consistent and logical. In so doing many are trapped in some kind of cult or philosophy of man that is contrary to the Word of God. The lack of a real message of deliverance from sin is causing many to seek a religion that will at least distract their minds from their misery. It may smell good to you while its cooking but you will find there is death in the pot when you swallow it down.

Some go to the extreme in looseness and embrace anything and everything as “Christian” as long as that is what it professes to be. All the lines are blurred and there are no absolutes anymore. No holiness – no separation – no morals – no character – no discernment between clean and unclean. No difference made between the holy and the unholy, between righteousness and wickedness.

Others go to the extreme in the opposite direction, adopting all kinds of strict rules for everything in their life. Their spirituality degenerates into a life of rules and standards that they come to believe is the evidence of being a Christian. Their compliance with rules becomes their assurance of salvation and their basis for condemning others while commending themselves. In both of these types of Christianity there is death in the pot, because the Christ who gives us deliverance and assurance is left out.

What should we do? Well, there IS spiritual help available, although it is scarce and hard to find. So be listening and looking for it! When we find something that is true to the Word of God and approved by the Spirit of God we should share it with others who are hungry. When you find a good message that God has put his “Amen” to, pass it around! Make copies of it and give it to people who will listen. If you find a church where the Word of God is preached in truth and in power – support it with your attendance, your tithe, and your help. Tell others about it and help people to get to a place where they can get help for themselves and for their families. Good people help each other during a famine – and God’s people certainly should, also.

For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink … – Matt. 25:35

Mike Miller
Sunday, March 22, 2009