#102: More Than 100 Times Better
Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.” But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?” He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’ ” So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.
II Kings 4:42-44 NKJV
“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds…” (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Depending on whether or not Elisha’s dividing of the Jordan River (2:14) and the raising of the Shunammite’s son (4:36) were public in nature, the text today is Elisha’s 4th, 5th, or 6th public miracle since taking up the mantle of Elijah. It is last in the series of miracles demonstrating to all Israel and especially the sons of the prophets that Elisha was God’s called prophet to succeed Elijah. Even with all these great miracles a greater than Elisha would come and it was to that greater prophet, God the Son Himself, that Elisha’s ministry and miracles pointed.
Very few righteous lived in Israel in the days of Elisha, but the Lord preserved His remnant in the country. One man in particular whom we will meet in glory continued to honor the Lord by giving his first-fruits to those prophets given to full-time ministry of the Word. In this case, the first-fruits were twenty loaves of bread and some newly ripened grains.
Elisha received this gift and did not hoard it but told his servant to give it to the people that numbered one hundred men. Twenty loaves of bread and a little grain was little to feed so many men. The servant questioned the wisdom of this plan, and Elisha revealed that the Lord would feed them all and there would be some leftover. The Lord had not forgotten His people but continued to speak to them and reveal His power through His prophet.
Elisha fed 100 people with 20 loaves and a little grain. And yet, a greater than Elisha has come!*
In Matthew 14, Jesus was in the desert teaching a crowd that likely exceeded 10,000 people. The crowd grew hungry. The disciples wanted to send them to the towns to buy food but Jesus told them to sit and then He blessed the food they had (five loaves and two fish). The people ate and were filled and there were leftovers. Surely the greatest Prophet was in Israel that day for He fed more than 100 times the number that Elisha fed and He did it with less food.
Yes, Jesus is the greatest prophet that ever lived. But His value is infinitely more than 100 times that of Elisha. For unlike Elisha who could but point people to the Lord, Jesus Christ the prophet is the Lord Himself. Elisha told people of their need for a Savior and repentance for their sins; Jesus told them the same and showed them that He Himself was that Savior. Elisha left Israel because he died as all mere men do; Jesus died but rose again the third day and still lives and is with us always even until the end of the age.
The Lord used the bread and grain miraculously to feed 100 men by the hand of Elisha and certainly many believed and were sanctified through that miracle. But God tells you, a greater than Elisha is here! Believe in Him!
*Matthew 12:40-42.
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