empty vessels

Filling Empty Vessels

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Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” (2 Kings 4:3-4)

This was the word from the prophet Elisha to a widow who was so poor and in debt that she and her son were about to be sold into slavery for the money they owed.

In the kind of faith that desperation brings, she asked all her neighbors for whatever container she could borrow from them. Gathering the containers together in her home, she took the last small remaining bottle of oil and began to pour it into the assembled vessels. The prophet would not do this for her; she had to step out in faith herself.

empty vessels

I’m sure her heart beat fast as she began to pour. The oil flowed out of the small battle and into one of the borrowed containers, and it kept on flowing. By a miracle, through the promise of God, the laws of physics were temporarily suspended and a small bottle of oil filled many larger containers.

The widow gathered the vessels in faith, and the measure of the miracle was determined by the measure of her faith in gathering. In this case, the only limit was the limit of what she made available to God. When one container was filled she set it aside and went on to the next empty vessel, until they were all filled.

The oil miraculously flowed as long as the vessels were gathered, assembled, and ready. When the people of God are gathered in faith, assembled in order, and ready to receive, they will see God work among them.

One more thing to consider: all those borrowed vessels also had to be emptybefore they could be filled with oil. We can be too full of ourselves, too strong in ourselves, for God to really do His work in. Charles Spurgeon said, “A full Christ is for empty sinners, and for empty sinners only… It is not our emptiness, but our fullness which can hinder the outgoings of free grace.”

God can work miracles through our emptiness – as long as faith is ready to receive His filling. His strength is perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 4

Digging Ditches

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And he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’” (2 Kings 3:16)

This was an unusual word from God in an unusual situation. The armies of Israel, Judah, and Edom were stuck in the hot desert and dying of thirst. The three kings went to the prophet Elisha and asked for a word from God. This was the start of God’s answer: “Go dig many ditches in the desert.”

That was strange advice to soldiers dying of thirst in the desert. It seemed that all the hot, hard, seemingly useless work of digging in the desert would make the problem worse. But God gave more than this command. God also promised they would conquer their enemy (2 Kings 3:17-19).

It happened just as God said it would. They dug ditches, a flash flood wept across the desert, the water was saved in the ditches, and they were saved from thirst. Then their enemies saw the light reflected off the water and for some reason they thought it was blood of the three armies fighting each other. Thinking the battle was over, the Moabites walked right into the camp of the three kings and the Moabites were destroyed.

The armies of the three kings were delivered from death in the desert. They won a miraculous victory over their enemy. All because they obeyed the strange command to dig ditches in the desert.

Serving God and His people is sometimes a lot like digging ditches.

Like digging ditches, Christian service is often hard work.
Like digging ditches, Christian service must be guided by God’s revelation.
Like digging ditches, Christian service might seem crazy to some people.
Like digging ditches, Christian service is done in faith.
Like digging ditches, Christian service is blessed beyond expectation.
Like digging ditches, Christian service needs God’s miracle to do any good.
Like digging ditches, Christian service often feels like work without reward.

If living for God and serving His people seems as dry and meaningless as digging a ditch, don’t despair. Keep aligned with God’s word, and see what great things God will do.

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 3

Washing Hands

Ein grosser Titel

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Josaphat aber sprach: Ist kein Prophet des HERRN hier, dass wir durch ihn den HERRN um Rat fragen könnten? Da antwortete einer von den Knechten des Königs von Israel und sprach: Hier ist Elisa, der Sohn Saphats, der dem Elia Wasser auf die Hände goss! (2. Könige 3,11)

Washing Hands

Drei Könige hatten sich im Krieg gegen die Moabiter zusammengetan. Als die Herrscher von Israel, Juda und Edom die öde Wüste durchquerten um einen Überraschungsangriff auf Moab zu starten, ging ihnen das Wasser für die Soldaten und ihre Tiere aus.

Zwei der drei Könige hielten nichts von Jahwe, dem Gott Israels. Der moabitische und der iraelitische König ehrte den HERRN nicht. Doch Josaphat, der König von Juda, ehrte den HERRN zumindest etwas. Mit dem Tod vor Augen in der Wüste schlug Josaphat den anderen Königen vor, einen Prophet des HERRN zu suchen. Er war weise genug um zu wissen, dass sie Hilfe brauchten, und zwar von dem wahren, lebendigen Gott, dem HERRN.

Die Antwort auf Josaphats Frage kam von einem der Knechte des Königs von Israel. Seine Antwort war in etwa: „Ja, in der Nähe gibt es einen Propheten des HERRN. Sein Name ist Elisa, der Sohn Saphats, und er ist derjenige, der dem Elia Wasser auf die Hände goss.

Ich bin fasziniert von dem Satz: der dem Elia Wasser auf die Hände goss. Der Gedanke dahinter ist, dass lange bevor Elisa als großer und mächtiger Prophet bekannt war, diente er Elia auf einfache und demütige Weise.

Ich vermute, es gab wirklich Zeiten, in denen Elisa Elia beim Händewaschen half. Vielleicht wenn es Essen gab und Elia seine Hände säubern musste. Der jüngere Prophet hielt den Krug mit Wasser und schüttete es über die Hände seines Mentors. Das passierte wahrscheinlich wirklich, doch es war auch ein Ausdruck, der die demütige und einfache Weise beschrieb, wie Elisa seinem geistlichen Vater diente.

In diesem Fall war Elisa nicht bekannt für seine großen Worte, die er sprach und für die großen Taten, die Gott durch ihn wirkte. Er war bekannt für seinen demütigen Dienst. Sacharja 4,10 stellt die Frage: „Wer ist es, der den Tag geringer Anfänge verachtet?“Elisa war es auf jeden Fall nicht. Bevor Jesus je diese Worte aussprach, kannte Elisa eine wundervolle Wahrheit, nämlich dass der Größte in Gottes Reich der Diener von allen ist (Markus 9,35).

Ich hab das Gefühl, dass, wenn wir Elisa im Himmel treffen werden, er sich lächelnd so vorstellen wird: „Ich bin der, der dem Elia Wasser über die Hände goss.“ Wenn wir für irgendetwas bekannt sein wollen, dann ist es wunderbar, wenn wir für unseren einfachen und demütigen Dienst im Namen Jesu bekannt sind.