LESSONS FROM ELISHA, PART 4
Healed Waters
There are MANY
lessons that we can learn from the prophet Elisha. This is
the fourth in a series, appearing in the next few Saturday
editions of The Nugget, focusing on the life of this great
prophet.
"The men of the city said to Elisha, 'Look, our lord,
this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is
bad and the land is unproductive.' 'Bring me a new bowl,' he
said, 'and put salt in it.' So they brought it to him. Then
he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it,
saying, 'This is what the LORD says: "I have healed this
water. Never again will it cause death or make the land
unproductive."' And the water has remained wholesome to this
day, according to the word Elisha had spoken." (2 Kings
19-22).
A tiny story, taking up only 4 little verses. A totally
insignificant part of Elisha's life.
Or is it?
Elisha was asked to "heal" the waters. To do so, he asked
for a new bowl and some salt.
Now, you may ask, how can "salt" in a "new bowl" heal water?
It is a well-known fact that salt contains anti-bacterial,
anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties. Hot salt water soaks
have been used for years to clear infection. Even tropical
fish enthusiasts often put small doses of salt into their
fresh water aquariums to help sick fish. With this in mind,
it would be understandable that salt might be a possible
cure for "bad" waters. But what about a bowl? What
difference did it make what kind of a container the salt
arrived in? And who cared if it was a new one or an old one?
Is it possible that the "bad" water, the new bowl and the
salt could have deeper, symbolic meanings?
The symbols "old" and "new" are used by Jesus in Matt
9:16-17: "No one sews a patch of UNSHRUNK cloth on an OLD
garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment,
making the tear worse. Neither do men pour NEW wine into OLD
wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will
run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour NEW
wine into NEW wineskins, and both are preserved."
In this parable, Jesus is referring to the old and new
covenants. Is it possible that this tiny story may be a
symbol of the same thing?
Let's look. Elisha comes to the town and is told that the
water is "bad". This would imply that there was water there
before, but it was "bad" water, and as a result, the land
was "unproductive".
Before Jesus, the people had the law. But it was impossible
to keep, no matter how hard they tried (Acts 15:10). The
works of the law were "unproductive", leading to death.
Elisha asked for a NEW bowl and some SALT. He then threw the
salt from the new bowl into the spring and from that day on,
the water became productive and healthy. Living water!
When Jesus came to this Earth, He brought about, through His
sacrifice on the cross, the NEW Covenant -- Salvation by
Grace. Through the New Covenant, the law lost its power to
bring about death. Instead, it became a sweet tool to show
us the road to sanctification.
Abstract?
Maybe.
Nonetheless, this little, seemingly insignificant story
about Elisha is really a picture of the New Covenant --
Salvation by Grace!
Won't you accept His grace today, my friends?
See next Saturday's edition of The Nugget for Elisha, Part
5.
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart,
Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets (
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org ,