|
Elisha now went to Gilgal.
There was a famine in the land, and many of the poor people were suffering
from hunger. Elisha called the sons of the prophets, and they all
sat before him, while he taught them the things of God. These good
men did not care for their bodies so much as they cared for their souls;
they liked to hear Elisha talk better than to enjoy all the good things in
the world. But Elisha knew that they needed food; so he told his
servant to put the great pot upon the fire, and to make pottage for the
sons of the prophets. One of them went into the fields to gather
herbs for the pottage; and he found there some wild gourds, and gathered a
great many, and brought them home, and threw them into the pot. When
the pottage was ready, Elisha poured it out, and gave them all dome to
eat. It was a very poor dinner, but the sons of the prophets were
not discontented; they made no complaints; they took what was given them,
and began to eat. But when they tasted the pottage, they found that
poison was there; and they cried to Elisha, "There is poison in the
pot; we shall die if we eat it." The wild gourds were
poisonous, but the man who gathered them did not know this. Elisha
told them not to fear, but to bring him some meal. Then he threw the
meal into the pottage; and the pottage became good and wholesome, and the
prophets ate it without fear. It was not the meal alone that made
the pottage wholesome. It was God who took away the poison, and
preserved His servants from sickness and death. Elisha
had a kind friend who sent him food; twenty loaves, and some corn to make
bread. But Elisha did not want to keep all for himself. He
thought first about the poor men who were with him, and said to his
servant, "Give the people some food to eat." But the
servant said, "There are a hundred men here, and there is very little
food; not enough for so many." Then Elisha told the servant
again, to make it ready for the people, and said, "God has told me
that there shall be more than enough for all." So the servant
called the people, and set the food before them. They all ate, and
had enough; and when they had finished, some was left still. God's
power had multiplied the food, that His hungry people might have enough to
strengthen and refresh them. God took care of the sons of the
prophets. They loved Him, and tried to serve Him, and trusted in Him
for all things; and He did not let them want. In the time of famine
He did not leave them to die of hunger; He gave them food in a very
wonderful way. And God
takes care of his people now. He does not multiply their food by a
miracle, because He does not choose to work miracles now; but He can
preserve His people without them. Sometimes, kind friends visit the
poor when they are in trouble, and give them food. But who sends the
friends with the food? God; all comes from Him. His people
know this and they thank Him for it first, and then they thank the kind
earthly friend who brought it.
|
