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.scripturalnuggets.org ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org , ]]>
(To access the entire “Lessons From Elisha” mini-series, please click here.)