The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 48

Ibey were nen~eous and pemicious. "The sons of the prophets," ~nys M~ttl1cw Henry, "it would seem, were better skilled in divinity than philosophy, and read their Dibles more than their herbals." What they put into the pot tended to produce d<>11th rather then to strengthen life. Every day men are afflicted through the gross ignornnce of themRelves and othel'B. Through ignorance men are everywhere putting "death in the pot," in a materuil sense. The cook, the doctor, the brewer, the distiller, how much death do they bring into the "pot" of human life I Through ignorance, too, men are everywhere putting "death in the pot" in a. spiritual sense. Calvinistic dogmas, unauthorized priestly a.ssumptions, etc., how much death do they bring into the spiritual "pot" of life I Man's ignora.nce of God and his claims on the soul, its nature, its lnws, and the necessary conditions of true spiritual progress, is the minister of death. III. Here is the ministry of HUMAN KINDNESS, "And there ea.me a man from Baal- shalisha, nnd brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of 1,read, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof." Whoever this man was (for no description is given of him save the pla.ce of his residence), he was a Heaven-inspired philan- thropist. Mercy, the highest attribute of heaven, was in him, and he left his home and came forth to minister to the needs of his suffering race. Thank God for that kindness which has survived the Fall, and still lives in human· hearts. The most precious ministry on earth is this: it feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, heals the diseased, wipes away the tears of human sorrow; it is, indeed, Christ in human 11.esh. For he was then in the world, though the world knew it not. IV. Here is the ministry of SUPERNATURAL POWER. Supernatural power through Elisha comes to the relief of these sufferers. The supernatural was manifested in two ways. 1. In counteracting the death-tendency of what was in the pot. "But he sa.id, Then bring meal. And he ca.st it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may ea.t. And there was no harm in the pot." A supernatural power is required to counteract the pernicious in life. If the Almighty allowed evil to take its course freely and fully, death would run riot and reduce the whole race to extinction. The supernatural was manifested •also: 2. In increasing the supplies of life. Elisha comm.anded his servant to distribute amongst his starving pupils the provisions which the man that came from Baal-shalisha had brought. To this the servant replied, " What, should I set this before a hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the Lo1d, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the Lord.." As the pot of oil increased in the pouring, so the provisions increased in the ea.ting. It has been said of old of God, that he will abundantly bless the "provisions of his people, and satisfy the poor with bread." It ia true that moral goodness, truth, and justice, skill, prudence, and diligence, have a tendency to increase everywhere the provisions of human life, and they are doing so every day, But in this case there seems to be the exertion of a power transcending the human, However this may be, that which we call the supernatural is nothing more than the natural. As Nature herself is immea.surably beyond our comprehension, transcends our conceptions, for us to speak of the supernatural implies the arrogation of an intelligence which we do not possess.-D. T. Vers. 1-7.-The mirades of Eli6ha: the pot of oil. The next few chapters relate a number of the miracles of Elisha-all of them works of mercy. I. THE WIDOW'S TBOUBLE. The slory told in tbe~e verses is one of sore distress, n is a story : 1. Of bereavement. A poor woman, widow of one of "the sons of the prophets," cried to Elisha, "Thy servant my h11sban~ is dead:'' We learn _from this that the prophetic co=unities were not monastic. Marriage was p"rm1tted, and members of the fraternity bad houses and families of their own. But this poor woman's husband had recently died. She had to face the difficultieo and fight the battles of life alone. We are in presence of one of the minor tragedies of life -little thought of, bees.use not uncommon. 2. Of debt. Her husband harl been pious-" Thou knowest that thy serYant did fear the Lor_d "-but his aff~iru had been left in confusion at his dea.th, or, having no means of subsistence, the family had sunk into dependence on a creditor since his decease. A man may be good, and yet imprudent. On tbe otber h,nd, misfort11t1es may overtake the best-intentioned, aud  on. 1v, 1-44.) THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KING~ 85