8. The Service of Elisha to Men

The Service of Elisha to Men

"And the men of [Jericho] said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters: there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake." (2 Kings 2:19-22)

We said earlier that Jericho is a type of the world, and so it is, but it was also a cursed city. In Joshua’s day when it was raised to the ground Joshua said "Cursed be the man before he Lord, who riseth up and buildeth this city, Jericho; he shall lay the foundation of it in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it" (Joshua 6:26), and there came the time when a man rebuilt the city of Jericho and he lost his firstborn and his youngest (1 Kings 16:34); the curse of Joshua was fulfilled. This is why we say that Jericho is a type of the world under the curse, having nothing for God, being a place of death and barrenness. Yet here is the man of God in this place, and the inhabitants came to him and said ’There is something wrong with the water. The situation is good, we are in a fine place, but the water is bad’. Now we cannot possibly say, if we are applying this to ourselves, that we can make the world a better place to live in; that is not the call of the Christian. So occupation with politics or reformation or anything of that kind of thing in relation to men of the world is a waste of time for a Christian. He knows the world is doomed, going on to judgment and he cannot make the world a better place to live in; but what he can do is to preach the gospel, what he can do is to live Christ, and in the measure in which people’s consciences are affected and they are brought to God, in that measure the world is certainly made a better place, but we can never alter the fixed character of this world because it is doomed, it is judged, and one day the judgment will be exacted on it. So what does this represent? There is a hymn that we sometimes sing which I feel is applicable here:

"The river of Thy grace,
Through righteousness supplied,
Flows o’er the barren place
Where Jesus died."

Perhaps that is not the exact quotation, but it is near enough. How wonderful to see this flowing water that is available for all for blessing and fruitfulness in the midst of a cursed scene. I believe that in the first application it would be our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who overcame the evil, the One who brought in life and blessing, the One who was indeed the Sent One of God to bring all this in for the blessing of those concerned. It did not change the character of Jericho, but oh, the blessing that it brought into the world (I mean, in figure). The Lord Jesus Christ coming into the world, dying on the cross, rising from the dead and then giving people the opportunity to get saved has never altered the character of the world; but what a difference it has made! We would not be here tonight if it had not been for those streams of living water flowing into our souls. We would not be refreshed in our spirits apart from that stream of living water. That, I believe, would be the primary application.

Secondly, I believe it would refer to ourselves. Thinking of the details, what was the use of trying to heal the waters at the place where they were running because up from the source was coming a bubbling of water all the time that was contaminated in some way? It was no good putting the salt into the stream. It was the source that had to be corrected. That is very true of ourselves. Reformation is no good, we have to get to the source of things to get right with God, and once done, new creation comes in, and because new creation is there there is the power and preservative against evil, i.e. the salt, and what a difference that makes to the stream of water. We can think of ourselves in this sense. Scripture would suggest that this is an application. The Lord Jesus, at the end of the great day of the feast, stood up and said "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water...... this spoke he of the Spirit" (John 7:37-39). So a believer is looked upon as a person through whom and in whom living waters are flowing out to those who are in need. So we can think of ourselves being set right, our sins are gone, we are a new creation in Christ, having nothing contaminated about us whatsoever, and the salt that is in us is the preservative against evil. It is this that produces this living stream in this world. Thank God for the testimony of real believers in this world. The Lord Jesus said "Ye are the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13), a preservative against the spread of corruption. 2 Thessalonians tells us the "he who now letteth (or, hinders) will let until he be taken out of the way" (2 Thessalonians 2:7), that is the Holy Spirit, we believe. There is "what withholdeth" (2 Thessalonians 2:6), that is, we believe, the church of God. The church of God in the world today is the great barrier against the inroads of evil. Evil and corruption are rapidly spreading, but think of what it would be without the influence of the people of God! What an awful scene! You might say ’Well, my testimony is very weak’. We all feel this, but thank God, we in no way support the corruption, the wickedness and vile things that are in this world; we keep clear of these things, we try to support what is pure and holy and good, and we endeavour in the power of the Spirit to be a blessing to those who are around. From that moment onwards, although the character of Jericho was unchanged, in the midst of Jericho there was a constant stream of living, pure water. Thank God, as far as the testimony of the church is concerned, this will be maintained until the very end. I do not mind if you disagree with that application, but at least be occupied with something that is worthwhile. I am perfectly sure that what I have been saying, as it applies to ourselves, is the truth. If you think of any other application then I will be very glad to hear it.