2 Kings 4:38 - 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.
2 Kings 4:39 - 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.
2 Kings 4:40 - 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.
The text above is talking about cooking, of course, and the problem of having something in the pot that wasn’t what they supposed it to be. They thought it was a type of vegetable, but it wasn’t - it was very bitter to the taste.
This is a good metaphor for our relationships. In each of our interactions with others, be it in a family unit, with coworkers, our school peers, or our church family, all of us always contribute something to the mix.
Most, if not all, of us have had relatives or friends who always had something negative to say, no matter what was being discussed. No matter how beautiful a day could be, they found a way to make things dreary. In other words, they were contributing “wild vines” to the mix.
Which brings us to our text, “O thou man of God, there is death in the pot!” It behooves us all to consider our hearts on a daily basis. Yes, even those deepest parts of our hearts, that no one has seen, and maybe even we don’t look there very often, because maybe we know it needs cleaning, but maybe we don’t want to deal with it.
If we don’t heed the advice of the Apostle Paul, in I Corinthians 15:31, and “die daily”, we will find things in our pots that are at best unpleasant, and at worst, could cost us our spiritual lives.
The “die daily” Paul is talking about is our carnality, our self will-daily repentance and prayer always has been, and always will be, necessary to keep our selves in check, and under submission to God.
Being careful to heed the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
What we think on determines what we contribute to those we interact with. The writer in Proverbs says it this way: Death and life are in the power of the tongue…
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Calvin Odom