CHAPTER XII.

AN INTERRUPTED MEAL.

"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. 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. 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. 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."-2 KINGS iv. 38-41.

Once more has a

TIMES and scenes have sadly changed. terrible drought withered the land, and famine and misery have swept over the people. Elisha is no longer at Mount Carmel, nor the Shunammite in her great, hospitable house. The famine has driven her from Shunem (compare chap. viii. 1, 2); and the famine has determined Elisha once more to seek out the sons of the prophets at Gilgal. In their company our narrative finds him, this time engaged in his favourite occupation of instructing them in the word and in the ways of the Lord. As the text expresseth it with pictorial brevity, "the sons of the prophets were sitting before him." But why the marvellous interposition recorded in the narrative above quoted; and why, when it had taken place, was it chronicled for all ages in the history of the kingdom of God?

Why? That it may be remembered in all time coming that God takes special charge of His servants, and that even imminent death can be turned aside at His bidding. This,

indeed, is a truth which may be gathered from many other portions of Scripture. Not so some of the other lessons of this narrative. To begin-let us mark what the event would teach the sons of the prophets. As prophet of the Lord, Elisha had been instructing them in the Word of God, and now they had undeniable evidence that his mission, and therefore his message were of God. Death from poisonous food while "sitting before" Elisha would have been a practical contradiction of his teaching. Again, making wider application of it, this history means that death is not "in the pot." Nor yet is life "in the pot." It is as God sends the one or the other. There are who sneer at the prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread," when garner and storehouse are full. what matters the outward provision? Bread is only really such if it feed and nourish the body. What though a home be furnished with all luxury, and provided with every delicacy, if disease and death have taken up their abode in it, or sorrow poison every spring of comfort! We know that the sun shines most brightly even on the darkest and most clouded day. What of that? We know it, and yet we all say, The sun shines not this day. clouds intervene to hide its brightness. has, but as God gives.

But

It does not shine to us, for
It is not as man

Yet another and a kindred lesson, and that of the highest application, may be learned from this history. Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word which proceedeth from the mouth of the Lord. Thus the temporal and the spiritual as we term them-are distinguished, and yet conjoined. And under the New Testament this, as every other eternal truth, was embodied and set forth in a visible form (which visible setting forth of the eternal constitutes the idea of a miracle), when the Son of God became Incarnate and appeared upon earth. Lastly, the event points forward

to the miraculous feeding of the multitude by the Lord Jesus, many centuries afterwards. It also points forward to that night on the Lake of Galilee, when the sleeping Master was wakened by the cry, "Master, carest Thou not that we perish?" and His command hushed the storm into a calm. And these many centuries afterwards, when the frail bark of the Church seems again tossed by the storm, we also say to ourselves, There cannot be shipwreck when the Master is in the vessel; and even if our meal is disturbed by the cry that poison has been mixed with our provision, there is not "death in the pot " while the Master presides at the board.

The presence of Elisha in the land preserved it not from the horrors of famine, nor did his company save the sons of the prophets from want. God's people are not preserved from the common evils of this world. They are sustained and helped in them. And famine was no light affliction in those days. We know something of its horrors in our own land, but what must they have been among a people which entirely depended upon agriculture, and at a time when the means of supply could not be obtained, as at present, from other and more favoured countries? But why did Elisha, under such circumstances, join the sons of the prophets at Gilgal? So far as appears from the sacred narrative, he had not been there since the removal of Elijah. Then spiritual dearth seemed threatening, now outward dearth prevailed. In both cases it was to appear that the "Lord God of Elijah" was still there, and in both cases was faith to prevail. Yes, to Gilgal he would go, to the poor and desolate sons of the prophets. In the time of famine he would not go to the rich; he would share the poverty of the poor. In days of prosperity he was the guest of "the great house;" in times of adversity we find him the companion of the sons of the prophets. For the shepherd must seek the weak of his

flock, and tend them in the hours of danger. It is good for us to go to the house of mourning, not in order to make the heart sad, but to learn spiritual lessons. Some are afraid to witness sorrow, to hear of death, even to meet a funeral procession, as if by passing over to the other side they could for ever avert the lengthening shadow that is creeping over them. Why not rather think of all this as a reality, and prepare for it while there is time? But why should Christians be afraid of death? The grave may be lonely, dark, and cold; but it is not our dwelling-place. That is in the bright mansions above, and with Christ. As one has aptly said, "Christians may be afraid of dying," for nature shrinks from dissolution; "they cannot be afraid of death," for it is "swallowed up in victory." Assuredly, He Who has given grace for living, will also give it for dying. This also is one of the cares of "to-morrow," with which we ought not to burden ourselves.

There is another and a very precious comfort in such times of general danger and affliction, as that when Elisha arrived in Gilgal. Affliction brings God's people together and unites them. In the first ages of Christianity, when persecution prevailed, there was but one Church. As the visible Church grew in prosperity and worldly greatness; and, as worldly ideas made their appearance, the Church became disunited and divided, and so it has ever since remained. Not that we are really divided, for we all hold "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." But we have come so to hold our peculiar views on secondary points, which it is right for us to hold, that we hold them in a wrong manner-holding them, rather than anything else. Thus we hold out points of repulsion, and not of attraction, to our fellow-Christians. It is otherwise in days of trial and persecution. When the storm bursts over the mountains, and lightning leaps from crag to crag, the

scattered flock gathers in the covering hollow, closely, head to head, and sheltering each the other. Then those which have strayed farthest, often come in soonest to their own fold! It is, indeed, most consoling, while watching the storm as it gathers in our days, and looking forward to the fast coming troubles of the last days, to be assured that we may then expect a larger union of all who really belong to the fold of Christ. In presence of common danger, and under common need, we shall no longer clamour, I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, or I am of Cephas, but all cleave closer to Christ, and rejoice in our new-found union. These will be both separating and uniting times-separating all true Christians from all incongruous and worldly elements, and uniting them among themselves; and no other separation or union is worth seeking. Meantime, we may, each in his own sphere, labour towards it. If any man preach Christ crucified, we own and welcome him as a brother; if otherwise, we neither recognise nor acknowledge him, under whatever name or by whatever outward authority he come.

But while Elisha was ministering to the souls of his hearers, he was not forgetful of their temporal wants. Not that he burdened himself with them; he knew that "the Lord would provide," and he acted in the spirit which alone befitted such conviction. He was content, however humble the provision might be. For, if while looking up for His supply, we were dainty of taste, and not ready to take with gratitude what His hand proffers, our faith would be presumption. But Elisha and his companions, knowing "both how to be abased and how to abound," were satisfied with the meanest fare. Some of us may have to lay our account with reverses and changes. The difficulty lies in the manner in which we submit to them-in other words: in knowing how to be abased and how to abound. To accept it all