Sermon Tone Analysis

Elijah and Elisha 17.

Proceeding with our looking at the prophets Elijah and Elisha; can we please turn to 2 Kings 4? [P] Recall that Jesus said that John the Baptist was Elijah; that makes Elisha, who follows after him, a picture of Jesus: “Elisha” = God saves; “Jesus” = יהוה saves.

I was talking to Robin after the last message and I pointed out that the passage before us today, has been recently dealt with in this fellowship, by both Haydn and Joe Goatley.

Robin maintained that there was no harm in repetition; that it is an essential part of teaching.

So, with that endorsement from an elder, I thought that I would repeat the message I gave last time I spoke from 2 Kings 3, but this time to do so from chapter 4. So, let’s review that last message from 2 Kings 3: [P] you recall that the armies of three nations combined to attack Moab; they went via the barren country south of the Dead Sea and ran out of water they were dying of thirst [P] – they had a vital need, they were desperate!

So, in their crisis they came to Elisha [P] – they sought God; often, it is in a crisis, that we turn to God.

God told them to dig trenches [P] – preparation for God’s supernatural supply; there was something that they had to do before God would act.

Faith requires us to act.

And act יהוה did!

Supernaturally, without rain, יהוה filled the trenches with water [P] – God’s abundant supply of the Holy Spirit.

We saw from Scripture that water is a picture of the Holy Spirit poured out.

[P] And, of course, the result was: life.

The Spirit gives life!

Now let’s read 2 Kings 4:1-7 – notice, it is exactly the same!

[2 Kings 4:1–7 Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, (she came to Elisha – sought God) [P] (although I don’t think she had that smile on her face) “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared יהוה; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”

(it was a crisis situation) Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you?

Tell me, what do you have in the house?”

And she said, [P] “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” (like the feeding of the 5,000 God uses what we have and make available to Him) Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbours, even empty vessels; do not get a few.

[P] (there was something she had to do in preparation) “And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full.”

[P] So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured.

(God supernaturally supplied – the oil just kept flowing – an abundant supply) When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”

And he said to her, “There is not one vessel more.”

And the oil stopped.

Then she came and told the man of God.

And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, [P] and you and your sons can live on the rest.”]

Do you see how it is exactly the same?

[P] The widow was in a desperate situation.

Her husband feared יהוה yet was destitute, he couldn’t even provide for his family – it can happen, devoted to the LORD, fear and serve him, yet life doesn’t go well.

Serving יהוה is no guarantee of an easy prosperous life.

He died, leaving his wife in debt (as are we all, we have a debt of sin that we cannot pay).

She had no husband to earn, no social security, all she had was her two sons.

They were her only security for the future and they were going to be taken from her to cover her debt [P].

It was a crisis situation.

Just as our intolerable burden of sin places us in.

So, what did she do (v.1):

“she cried out to Elisha” [P].

In our crisis, our desperate need, we come to God, seek Him.

Elisha was going to use what she had; he gave her instructions to collect “many vessels” (v.3): “empty vessels, do not get a few” – you cannot fill ones that already have something in them.

[P] She had to do something, to prepare for what God was supernaturally going to do, provide.

They were in a desperate situation – only God could supply their need.

But, they needed to do their part, an act of faith before God acted and did His part.

He provided oil.

[P] She poured out the oil that she had, and it just kept coming!

A miracle! God acted!

Hallelujah!

An abundant supply.

It only stopped when the vessels stopped being presented.

What did Elisha say in (v.7)?: “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”

The debt was paid, the result was life!

[P] The outpouring of the Spirit gave life!

Do you see that it is exactly the same message as in the previous chapter?!

Last time, I showed from Scripture that “water” spoke of the Holy Spirit.

Oil is more commonly associated as a symbol of the Holy Spirit; [P] but, it is a little harder to demonstrate that from Scripture.

The association comes through using oil to anoint.

Kings, prophets and priests were all anointed with oil.

This was the Divine commissioning for the office to which He called them.

And יהוה equipped them for the task He had for them by imbuing them with His Spirit.

We see this in the first king of Israel, whom Samuel anointed: [1 Samuel 10:1 Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him and said, “Has not יהוה anointed you a ruler over His inheritance?]

He then gave him various instructions and down in verse: [1 Samuel 10:6 “Then the Spirit of יהוה will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man.]

That is what the Holy Spirit does: he changes you into another man.

I am weak, timid, shy, fleshly, selfish – but the Spirit gives: boldness, power, love, self-control.

[Acts 4:31 they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.]

[2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.]

It was the same with the subsequent king, David, the head of the Messianic line: [1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of יהוה came mightily upon David from that day forward.]

Speaking prophetically of Jesus, who was the Anointed, the Messiah: [Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord יהוה is upon me, because יהוה has anointed Me ....].

So, oil pictures the anointing with the Holy Spirit to carry out the task that יהוה has ordained for us.

Are we all O.K. with that?

Oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit?

Good, because that was the tricky part.

The rest is straight-forward from Scripture; although, I am afraid that I may tread on some doctrinal corns!

Elisha instructed the widow to get vessels – let’s talk a little about vessels, containers.

The widow was told to get “empty vessels” (v.3) [P].

Now, I want you to follow a bit of advanced logic.

See this jar?

I can bring it, but no oil can be put into it; why?

Because it is full of pickles!

You can only put oil in a container that is empty!

Sometimes we bring our jar full of pickles to God and ask Him to bless our pickles!

Not that He does not care about our problems and deliver us from them – but we must come to Him empty, not full of our own schemes and ideas.

Now, I want to be very clear here: I am not talking about emptying your mind, as you do in Eastern meditation – that is to open yourself up to the demonic realm.

But, we come to Jesus empty – the hymn put it: “Nothing in myself I bring, but simply to the cross I cling” Not full of self, proud in what we have done and are – we needs die! [John 12:24–25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

“He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.]

Not clinging to what we have and are; but come empty.

The empty are submitted – they just present themselves to God for Him to do with them as He chooses, not for Him to be the force to carry out their own agenda.

Then there is the question: [P] how many vessels was she to bring?

It doesn’t give a number but she was told to “not bring a few” (v.3).

Now, another piece of logic: if you don’t bring a jar, [P] you won’t get any oil.

Tragic though it is, there are those who want nothing of the Spirit of God.

You recall the parable of the sower, some seed fell on the path and the birds ate it – that was those who were spiritually out-to-it.

Some people want nothing of God.

They want to live their own life, their own way, pursue their own dreams, ambitions and plans.

They never present an empty vessel and so they never receive the Holy Spirit.

[P] How about one jar?

There are one pot Christians; their reasoning goes like this: I received the Holy Spirit when I believed, I am filled with the Holy Spirit already, He doesn’t leave, I don’t need to be filled again.

So only one pot gets filled.

Their logic sounds reasonable; but the Scripture never says that you get filled with the Holy Spirit only once – it is human reasoning, not what the Bible says.

Then there are those who receive the Holy Spirit when they are saved, then speak of an experience of being baptised in the Spirit, a second experience [P] – two pot Christians.

This is what the Pentecostals and Charismatics hold to.

The Pentecostals arrogantly used to say “we have it all!” because they been filled with the Holy Spirit in a second experience.

How many pots are we to bring?