Elisha was in Shunem when we last saw him, raising the Shunammite's son from the dead. Now he goes to Gilgal to meet with the school of prophets there. "Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region." (2 Kings 4:38a) This may be the seven-year famine mentioned later in Chapter 8.
Elisha and the men are hungry. But food is scarce and the most they can hope to make is a pot of herb stew. They end up with what is probably Colocynth (known as "wild cucumbers" or "wild gourds") in the stew. "While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, 'Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets.' One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were." (2 Kings 4:38b-39) You've probably heard the saying, "Desperate times call for desperate measures." The men don't know for certain what these gourds are but most gourds are edible even though not all gourds actually taste good enough to eat. The famine must already be quite severe if the men are reduced to trying unfamiliar plants.
If this is the gourd known as Colocynth then it looks like small watermelons. It is very seedy on the inside and the seeds can be rinsed of all pulp, roasted, and then eaten. The flowers and stems can be eaten as well. But eating the pulpy part of the fruit can produce an extreme laxative effect capable of causing death if eaten in large enough quantities. When the men taste the stew they know immediately that it is not safe to eat because the pulpy part of this gourd is bitter. "The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, 'Man of God, there is death in the pot!' And they could not eat it." (2 Kings 4:40)
Apparently there is nothing else on hand to eat. Not being able to consume the stew means the men will continue to go hungry. Elisha heals the stew. "Elisha said, 'Get some flour.' He put it into the pot and said, 'Serve it to the people to eat.' And there was nothing harmful in the pot." (2 Kings 4:41) The flour itself is not capable of rendering the stew safe to eat; the flour simply provides a visual focus for the miracle Elisha is performing, just like when he threw salt into a spring of bad water in Chapter 1. As he threw the salt into the water, the water was healed but not by the salt---by the power of God. Likewise, the stew is healed not by the flour but by the power of God.
A day or several days may go by before this next thing happens. In a time of famine this next event must have been especially welcome. "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 4:42a) This is a "firsfruits" offering and it is supposed to be brought to the priests at the Lord's house but this is the northern kingdom. Many in the northern kingdom still worship Baal following the reign of King Ahab. Many others still bring offerings to the sinful calf idols at Dan and Bethel by King Jeroboam. The man who brings the firstfruits offering is clearly faithful to the Lord and does not want to place the offering into the hands of the pagan priests serving at unauthorized altars. He feels that placing the offering into the hands of the Lord's chief prophet is as close as he can get to giving the offering to the Lord. Elisha graciously accepts it on behalf of the Lord and then instructs his servant to do something with it that sounds impossible. "'Give it to the people to eat,' Elisha said. 'How can I set this before a hundred men?' his servant asked." (2 Kings 4:42b-43a)
Elisha and his servant Gehazi are presumably still at Gilgal at this time and these two men, plus the other prophets and servants, number a hundred. The "loaves" of barley could more accurately be described as "rolls" of barley, similar to the loaves we find Jesus multiplying in the New Testament. These cannot be compared to the king-sized loaves of light bread we can purchase in our stores today. They are closer to the size of one of those square dinner rolls on the Golden Corral buffet or like a six-inch hoagie roll at the local deli. There's no way one hundred men could have one bite each, if that much, from twenty of these. But as we stated earlier this week, "Little is much if God is in it." If we remove God from the equation, then certainly Gehazi cannot divide this small amount of bread among one hundred men and have each man feel like his hunger has been satisfied. But with God in the equation, nothing is impossible! Not only will each man have enough to eat, but there will be leftovers. "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.' Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord." (2 Kings 4:43b-44)
It is not the Lord's intention for us to go through life running on empty. He will give us our daily bread and He will supply all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. (Matthew 6:11, Luke 11:3, Philippians 4:19) He will also supply our spiritual needs. "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31) "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him." (Psalm 28:7) The Lord will give us whatever we need to keep on going. If it's food we need, He will give us food. If it's spiritual strength we need, He will give us a boost in faith. We must look to Him as our power source. If we look to the things of this world to fulfill us, those things will fall short. If we look to our own human willpower, we will grow weary and run out of steam. But if we look to the Lord we will find a continual source of help and comfort. "Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame...The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them...Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him." (Psalm 34:5,7,8)
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