2 Kings 4:38-41 – Be careful what truth we receive

As Elijah’s successor, Elisha would move around the region to exhort and encourage the trainee prophets. Second Kings 4:38-41 describe how Elisha made a pot of poisonous stew edible during his visit to the prophetic school in Gilgal.   

Verse 38 tells us that there was a famine in the land. The prophets there were sitting before him, and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” Because of the famine, they would go out to the field to gather herbs to cook for the meal. One of the prophets collected some wild gourds mistakenly, not knowing that they were poisonous. He then had them sliced and cooked together in the pot of stew.

As the stew was distributed and they were eating it, they exclaimed to Elisha, saying, “O man of God, there is death in the pot.” In other words, the stew distributed to them was poisonous and they were unable to eat it. Elisha quickly asked for some flour which he then added to the stew and restored it. So they had the restored stew dished out and ate them.

What lessons can we apply from this short passage? The first lesson is from the wild gourds that one of the trainee prophets picked from the field. We can liken the wild gourds as wrong teachings that can contaminate, disrupt, and poison the sound doctrines of the Word that we have received. We must be careful with the teachings we receive, be sure that they are not distorted, impure principles that are gleaned from the world. The second lesson: one way to correct wrong teachings that had been taught is to replace them with sound doctrines derived from the Word of God. Only learn and apply the Word of God!