And there came a man from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of corn in his sack. And he said, Give to the people that they may eat.
A man walks up to Elisha with the first and best of his harvest — an offering that belonged to God. What he brought was small, where he brought it from was a town named after an idol, and what Elisha did with it turned a private gift into a meal for a hundred men.
Under the law the first and best of the harvest belonged to the priests. But Israel's worship was in ruins, and no proper priest was left to take it. Where the man came from matters too.
The first fruits were properly the portion of the priests (Num. 18:8-12), but everything was in disorder in Israel. Aaron's sons were in exile, and Jeroboam's priests served instead at his idol altars. So the first fruits went to the man of God, as the Lord's true representative in the land. Notice that the offering came "from Baal-shalisha." From the place where Baal lived, where Satan reigned, something was brought to God. It will be the same in the coming age of Christ's reign. This poor world, where Satan's throne now is, will yet yield its true offering to God.
The two items in the sack are not random. One writer takes each of them as a picture of Christ, and tells us who the hungry men were.
A new supply of food, fuller than the one before it, is brought to the sons of the prophets gathered around Elisha at Gilgal. First there are twenty loaves of barley, a poor food. As in the dream of the Midianite (Judges 7), it stands for Christ in His humiliation. Then there are ears of grain, firstfruits gathered in the land of Canaan. These are a picture of Christ in resurrection — the grain Israel had tasted long before in that same place, after crossing the Jordan… He will feed His poor with bread, as He did during His stay on earth.
The gift came to Elisha himself, yet his first words send it straight past him to the crowd. One writer contrasts this with Elijah, who once asked a poor widow to feed him first.
It was gracious and unselfish. When someone brought the prophet twenty loaves of barley and full ears of grain in the husks, he says again, "Give to the men, that they may eat." We remember the striking difference in the case of Elijah, who tested the faith of the poor widow by asking first for himself… But here, in a way typical of Elisha's ministry, what is sent to him he gives to others… God holds nothing back. The grace of God, when once it begins to flow, breaks over all boundaries.
The servant looks at the loaves, counts the men, and objects. Elisha does not argue the numbers. He repeats the order.
The prophet's servant cannot understand how twenty loaves can meet the need of one hundred men. But again Elisha's word is, "Give to the men, that they may eat." He says, in effect: if you will only give in line with the word of the Lord, you will find there is enough to meet the need of the people, and some left over. Nature raises questions and says, How can this be? It is told not to reason, but to obey.
One writer takes the firstfruits as a picture of the praise we bring the Lord, and follows what happens to the giver.
Whatever we bring to the Lord in the way of worship and praise He gives back to us in richest blessing, which abounds to many. If we give Him what is truly His due — the overflow of glad and worshipping hearts — our souls will certainly be fed and nourished. The very praise that honours Him will build us up. It must be so. The men who sat before Elisha were fed with the very firstfruits the giver had brought to him.
Jesus fed a crowd in much the same way, and the two miracles stand close together. The difference is in how each man spoke.
Elisha feeds the people "according to the word of the Lord;" Jesus by His own word. Elisha says, "Thus says the Lord, they shall eat, and shall leave some;" but Jesus says, "Make the men sit down." The glories are different. Jesus was "the word," according to whom Elisha fed the people. Elisha carried the name of the Lord with him, but Jesus was Himself the Lord.
- Brought. One man gave God His portion, and he brought it out of Baal-shalisha, the place named for an idol. Even Satan's ground yields an offering to God.
- Barley. The poor man's grain pictures Christ in His humiliation. The fresh ears of Canaan's harvest picture Christ risen.
- Passed on. Elisha kept none of the gift for himself; grace that begins to flow "breaks over all boundaries."
- Obeyed. Elisha answered the servant's objection with a repeated command, not an explanation. Obey the word instead of reasoning about it.
- Left over. What you give God comes back multiplied — feeding the giver, and a hundred others besides.
And his attendant said, How shall I set this before a hundred men? And he said, Give the people that they may eat; for thus saith Jehovah They shall eat, and shall have to spare.
In a famine, a stranger's gift of twenty barley loaves reaches Elisha, and a hundred hungry men sit in front of him. His servant counts the loaves and objects, but Elisha answers with a promise from the Lord.
The loaves were a gift handed to Elisha himself, not to the crowd.
In this time of famine, a man comes from Baal-shalisha. He brings twenty loaves of barley and full ears of grain in a sack, as a gift of firstfruits to the man of God. At once Elisha says, "Give to the people, that they may eat." Freely he had received and freely he gives. He does not keep for his own use what had been freely given to him. In giving, the gift increases. It meets not only his own need, but the needs of one hundred men — and more than meets them.
Commentators note the contrast with Elijah, who asked the poor widow to feed him first.
We remember the remarkable difference in the case of Elijah, who tested the faith of the poor widow by asking first for himself. He knew the power that would meet her need, but still he tested her severely. But in this case, he gives to others what is sent to him. That is completely typical of Elisha's ministry... There is no stinting with God.
The servant asks, "How can I set this before a hundred men?" That is plain arithmetic. Elisha does not argue with it; he repeats the command.
The servant of the prophet cannot understand how twenty loaves can meet the need of one hundred men. But again Elisha's word is, "Give the people that they may eat." He says, in effect: only give in line with the word of the Lord, and you will find there is enough to meet the need of the people, with some to spare. Nature raises questions and says, How can this be? It is told not to reason but only to obey, and all will be well.
The loaves were an offering, and where they ended up says something about the state of the nation.
The firstfruits were properly the portion of the priests (Num. 18:8-12), but everything was in disorder in Israel. Aaron's sons were in exile, and Jeroboam's priests served instead at his idolatrous altars. So the firstfruits went to the man of God, as Jehovah's true representative in the land. Notice that the offering came "from Baal-shalisha." Out of the place of Baal's home, where Satan reigned, a gift came to God.
One writer names the men who were fed, and sees the two foods as pictures of Christ.
A new supply of food, more complete than the one before, comes to the sons of the prophets gathered around Elisha at Gilgal. First of all there are twenty loaves of barley, a poor food. They represent... Christ in His humiliation. Then come ears of grain, firstfruits gathered in the land of Canaan. These are a picture of Christ in resurrection — the grain Israel had tasted long before in the same place, after crossing the Jordan.
Food was left over here — and again later, when Jesus fed a crowd.
With twenty barley loaves and some ears of grain, the prophet feeds a hundred men, to the amazement of his servant. Later Jesus fed five thousand with five barley loaves and two small fish, to the amazement of His disciples. Fragments were left after both meals, so that we might know the abundance of our Father's house, and that there is "bread enough, and to spare."... We are not limited either in Himself or in His resources.
Compare how Elisha speaks with how Jesus speaks.
There is a difference, however, between these two miracles of Elisha and of Jesus. It is not only in their size, but in their manner and bearing. Elisha feeds the people "according to the word of the Lord"; Jesus by His own word. Elisha says, "Thus says the Lord, they shall eat, and shall leave some"; but Jesus says, "Make the men sit down." The glories are different. Jesus was "the word," according to whom Elisha fed the people.
One writer draws a practical line from the man's offering to what believers bring God today.
Whatever we bring to the Lord in worship and praise, He gives back to us in richest blessing. That blessing overflows to many... The servant did not think much of these firstfruits; they would make a poor meal, he thought, for a crowd of hungry men. And it is a common thing, sadly, to think little of what is due to the Lord.
- Given — the loaves reached Elisha as firstfruits, because Israel's priesthood lay in ruins. They came out of the town named for Baal.
- Given away — Elisha keeps nothing back. Elijah had tested the widow by asking for himself first; Elisha gives away all he receives.
- Questioned — the servant counts and objects. Elisha never answers the sum; the call is to obey, not to reason.
- Multiplied — the gift grows as it is given away, because God holds nothing back.
- Left over — fragments remain, so we know there is bread enough and to spare. Later Jesus fed thousands by His own word.
And he set [it] before them, and they ate and left [thereof], according to the word of Jehovah.
During a famine, a man brings twenty barley loaves to Elisha, and Elisha tells his servant to set them before a hundred hungry men. This closing line credits the meal not to the prophet but to the word of the LORD.
The servant had done the arithmetic and could not make it work. Elisha never answered the objection. He only repeated the command. One commentator sets that beside the Lord's reply to a question from Judas.
So, in the day of the Lord, the natural reasoning of the human mind in Judas can ask "How is it?" when faced with communications that go beyond all human thought. That reasoning receives no explanation to satisfy human reason. It receives the Lord's words instead: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word." That would lead to experiencing things beyond human explanation. Judas would rather reason so that he can understand, but he is told to obey so that he can experience. In the same way Elisha meets the "how" of the amazed and reasoning servant. He must act on the word of the Lord, and he will experience the blessing of the Lord, even if he cannot explain the power and grace of the Lord.
The food did not just barely stretch. The leftovers say something about the God who supplied them.
There is no stinting with God. But it is not only among the distressed, the mourning, the needy, the dying or the dead of God's people. The grace of God, once it begins to flow, breaks over all boundaries.
The loaves came to Elisha as a personal gift while food was scarce.
In this time of famine, a man comes from Baal-shalisha with twenty loaves of barley and full ears of grain in a sack, as a gift of firstfruits to the man of God. At once Elisha says, "Give to the people, that they may eat." Freely he had received and freely he gives. He does not keep for his own use what had been freely given to him. In giving, the gift increases, so that not only is his own need met, but the needs of one hundred men are met, and more than met.
Another writer applies the same pattern to what we bring God in praise. He also sees how often people think little of what is due to the Lord.
Whatever we bring to the Lord in the way of worship and praise, He gives back to us in richest blessing, which overflows to many. If we give Him what is surely His due — the overflow of glad and worshipping hearts — our souls will most surely be fed and nourished. Our very praise which honours Him will build us up. It must be so, just as the men who sat before Elisha were fed with the firstfruits that had been presented to him. The servant did not think much of these firstfruits; they would make a poor meal, he thought, for a crowd of hungry men. And it is a common thing, sadly, to think little of what is due to the Lord.
Barley was the cheap grain; the ears of new grain were the first of the harvest. One commentator reads the two together as a picture of Christ.
First of all there are twenty loaves of barley, a poor food. As in the dream of the Midianite (Judges 7), they represent Christ in His humiliation. Then come ears of grain, firstfruits gathered in the land of Canaan, a type of Christ in resurrection... The thought no longer occurs to them to add their own labour to this food, for it is complete. They "had some left, according to the word of the LORD," just like the five thousand men in Jesus' time. What would they lack from now on?
Commentators link this scene with Jesus feeding the five thousand. One of them fixes on the difference in how each man spoke.
Elisha feeds the people "according to the word of the LORD"; Jesus by His own word. Elisha says, "Thus says the LORD, they shall eat and have some left"; but Jesus says, "Have the people sit down." The glories are therefore different. Jesus was "the Word," according to whom Elisha fed the people. Elisha carried the name of the Lord with him. But Jesus was Himself the Lord. He carried and exercised the rights and authority of His own name.
- Word. The food multiplied "according to the word of the LORD" — the promise came first, the meal followed.
- Obey. Elisha answered the servant's "how?" with the same command, not an explanation. He had to act on the word to experience the blessing.
- Give. Elisha gave away what he had received, and the gift grew in the giving.
- Spare. The leftovers show there is no stinting with God. Grace, once it starts to flow, breaks over all boundaries.
- Christ. The barley and the fresh ears picture Christ in humiliation and in resurrection. His own word later fed five thousand.