Poison Stew

A big bowl of stew is a comforting food when you’re hungry on a cold day.
It’s a great meal to share…unless you put poisonous ingredients in it! If
you like strange stories, today’s reading is one of the strangest ones in
the Bible. During a famine, a hungry guy finds gourds and throws them in a
pot of stew at a meeting of prophets. Unfortunately, the gourds weren’t
safe to eat, and the people panicked—eating this stew would kill them! But
Elisha, God’s prophet and messenger, threw some flour in the pot, and just
like that, the stew was safe to eat again. On the outside, this story could
be seen as a dinner disaster and a warning about food safety. However,
there’s more to it than that. This story reminds us that God brings life
out of death. He provided nourishment in a famine. When the food was
inedible, God, through Elisha, miraculously made it safe to eat so the
prophets could live. We can also see glimpses of the gospel—the good news
about Jesus—in this story. The world is like the stew. God made everything
good, but when humanity rejected God—choosing to disobey His one command by
eating the fruit from the forbidden tree—our sin brought death into the
world (Genesis 3). Ever since then, we continue to sin, and we search for
satisfaction in things that look good, like the gourds, but in the end,
these things lead to death. We try to save ourselves through our own
self-reliance and self-righteousness, but we can only find life in God. The
good news is, God loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to give us
eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus calls Himself “the bread of life” (John
6:35)—and bread is made with flour, which is what Elisha threw in the stew.
Jesus willingly died so we could live with Him forever, and in His
resurrection, He defeated the power of sin and death. Jesus is alive, and
He can bring healing and hope even in the parts of your life that seem the
most poisoned by sin. Jesus’s life satisfies us and, like a good meal,
strengthens us to follow God. Sharing Jesus’s life is a lot better than
sharing a bowl of poisoned stew! • Abby Ciona • Where have you seen the
poisoning effects of sin—either in the world or in your own life? • Though
we live in a world poisoned by sin, Jesus has promised to return and renew
His creation. Until that day, He promises to be with us no matter what.
Where do you need Jesus’s healing and renewal today? Consider taking a
moment to talk to Him about this. • If you want to dig deeper, read Exodus
15:22-27 and John 2:1-12. How are these accounts similar? Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live,
even after dying.” John 11:25 (NLT)

Read Verses:

2Kgs:4:38-2Kgs:4:41; 1 Corinthians 15:20-1 Corinthians 15:22; Ephesians 2:1-Ephesians 2:10; John 11:25