In today's passage, there were two accounts of where God used food to show His sovereignty and provision for the life of Elisha and the other prophets. In the first account, God shows His power by turning what seemed to be a life threating feast to a miraculous meal, but the miracles didn't stop there. The second account involved loaves of bread, a hungry crowd, and God's provision for that need. Sound familiar? Today we turn to the late Biblical Scholar and Authour Warren Wiersbe for his thoughts on the second miracle in today's passage.
"There were one hundred hungry men in the group, and through the gifts, the man brought were honored by the Lord, they couldn't feed all of the men adequately. The situation parallels that of Christ and the disciples (Matt. 14:13–21; 15:29–33, and parallels in the Gospels). Gehazi's question "How can I set this before a hundred men?" (v. 43, NIV) sounds like Andrew's question about the five loaves and two fish, {"How far will they go among so many?" (John 6:9, NIV)}.
But Elisha knew that the Lord had this difficult situation well under His control. He commanded his servant to set out the bread and grain, and when Gehazi obeyed, there was not only plenty of food for everybody, but there was food left over. The Word of the Lord had announced and accomplished the impossible.
When our Lord fed the five thousand, He used the miracle as a backdrop for preaching a strong salvation message about the Bread of Life (John 6:25ff). Elisha didn't preach a sermon, but the miracle assures us that God knows our needs and meets them as we trust Him. Today we have freezers and supermarkets to supply us with food, and there are food banks to help those who are poor. But in Elisha's time, people prepared and consumed their food a day at a time. That's why Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matt. 6:11)...Out of the riches of His grace, the Lord meets our every need."
What riches and blessings has God already given you today? How can you praise and honor God with your firstfruits? Who can you share God's provisions with today?
Wiersbe, W. W. (2002). Be distinct (pp. 33–34). Colorado Springs, CO: Victor.
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