Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.” And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’ So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

II Kings 2:19-22 NKJV

Last Saturday my family and I went to a store and in the parking lot we saw two women and four children holding signs. One said, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Another sign read, “For the wages of sin is death…” (Rom 6:23a). That was the spiritual situation in Jericho more than 2,500 years ago, as it is in the world today. Death. Can that which is dead ever be made alive? Can poisonous water become good water? Can dry bones live? Naturally speaking, the answer is no.

When this question was posed to the prophet Ezekiel he did not answer based on his knowledge of nature but answered based on his knowledge of God who created and sustains all nature: “O Lord God, you know.”* After Ezekiel prophesied to the bones and the Lord who freely works above nature (supernaturally) gave them life, the Lord said, “ I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live…”**

The situation around Jericho was poisonous water and a dead land. The same spiritual situation is around us. But the Lord provides a remedy through two means: 1) His Word; and 2) His Spirit.

“Thus says the Lord: “I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness” (2:20). As Ezekiel would do in the valley some years later, Elisha did at Jericho. He proclaimed the Word of the Lord, the source of truth . This is the same work the faithful minister conducts each Lord’s Day worship service: proclaiming the Word of the Lord. He casts in the salt.*** By God’s Word the message will go out.

By God’s Spirit, the message is effectual and takes root in the souls of sinners. “So the water remains healed to this day” (2:22). The water at Jericho was never poisonous again. Those who have Christ as their Lord and Savior have the living water and will never thirst again. We who have been given this water must bring forth fruit for the King who gave us life abundantly.

The world is looking for a remedy for the sin and seeming madness around us in the form of viruses, violence, and vengeance. What is the remedy for this barren situation?

The third sign held by the ladies in the parking lot last Saturday completed Rom 6:23, “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” There was a deadly situation in Jericho as there is around us today, but there was and is a remedy. It is the gospel: eternal life and salvation in, by, and through Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus died in our place and for our sins that we might not die but have everlasting life. To those who are being saved, this gospel of Jesus Christ is a sweet smelling aroma for what could be sweeter than Jesus who saves? Repent and believe in Him!

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*Ezekiel 37:3

**Ezekiel 37:14

***See II Kings 2:20 and Matthew 5:13

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