In the seventh message of Elisha: God’s Double Agent, Pastor Jeff Anders preaches Elisha’s ninth miracle: the multiplying of the loaves in 2 Kings 4. Twenty small barley loaves fed a hundred men with food left over, a picture of the same Lord who later fed thousands in Matthew 14 and 15. He is able to meet every need we have, and He Himself is what we need.
Recap: God’s Double Agent
Elisha wore Elijah’s mantle, a symbol of God’s power and call, and he received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. He followed the man of God everywhere and allowed no distance between them. If he hadn’t, he would have missed the power, the ministry, and the miracles God had for him. If you get away from the people of God, the men of God, and the Word of God, you’ll never be what God wants you to be.
- Elijah had about eight miracles and Elisha about sixteen. So far:
- The dividing of the Jordan and the healing of Jericho’s waters (2 Kings 2).
- The cursing of the mocking youths.
- The defeat of the rebelling Moabites (2 Kings 3).
- The widow’s oil (2 Kings 4:1–7).
- The barren Shunammite conceiving a son, and that son raised from the dead.
- This morning, the purifying of the poisoned stew (2 Kings 4:38).
Miracle Nine: The Multiplying of the Loaves
A man from Baal-shalisha brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits: twenty loaves of barley and full ears of corn (2 Kings 4:42). Worship in the northern kingdom had become so corrupt that some who truly knew God would not bring their firstfruits to that system. Instead they found the real men of God, the sons of the prophets, and helped sustain them.
- The servant asked how he could set that before a hundred men (2 Kings 4:43). These were small loaves, not nearly enough.
- Elisha said to give it to the people, because the Lord had said they would eat and have some left.
- They ate and left some, according to the word of the Lord (2 Kings 4:44).
The God Who Provides
This miracle shows that the God of the Bible is able to provide everything we need. He is sovereign and providential, and He owns everything.
- Elijah learned it when the ravens fed him by the brook Cherith.
- He learned it at the widow of Zarephath’s house, where the meal and the oil never ran out.
- He learned it under the juniper tree, where God had cakes baking on the fire when he woke.
- Whatever the need, spiritual, relational, financial, or emotional, we can come boldly to His throne of grace for help in time of need. In fact, He is everything we need. If you have Him, you have everything. If you don’t, you have nothing.
The Same Lord Feeds the Five Thousand
The Lord who multiplied the bread in 2 Kings 4 multiplied the bread in the New Testament. He is the One who took on human flesh, was born in Bethlehem, died on the cross, and rose the third day.
Moved with Compassion
After John the Baptist was killed, Jesus took His disciples apart to a desert place, but a great multitude followed. He was moved with compassion toward them and healed their sick (Matthew 14:14), as He had been doing miracle after miracle (Matthew 8–9).
You Feed Them
- At evening, the disciples told Jesus to send the multitude away to the villages to buy food (Matthew 14:15). Jesus said they didn’t need to leave; the disciples should feed them.
- That is a lesson for our prayer life. Instead of telling God what He ought to do, get yielded and let the Holy Spirit teach you how to pray (Romans 8). Sometimes His answer is no, and He’s getting ready to show you what He wants you to do.
- All they had was five loaves and two fish (Matthew 14:17). Often God puts His people in situations that require more than they have, so that they must have Him to get through.
Bring It to Jesus
- Jesus asked them to bring what little they had to Him. That’s the answer: surrender everything to Him, and stop holding back.
- Full surrender is the beginning point of experiencing the power of God. We can’t get there ourselves; it takes a work of God, and sometimes He lets circumstances, difficulties, and failures back us into a corner.
- Peter boasted he would never deny the Lord. Jesus told him Satan desired to sift him, but He had prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. After denying Him three times, Peter went out and wept bitterly. That was a man getting surrendered.
They Did All Eat
Jesus had the multitude sit down on the grass, looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to give to the people (Matthew 14:19). They all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets of fragments (Matthew 14:20). About five thousand men ate, besides women and children. If those leftover fish could talk, they’d tell us our Lord is able to provide everything we need.
He Is What We Need
- Spiritual needs: He closed the gap between us and God.
- Emotional needs: As He lives in us and we draw near to Him, the fruit of the Spirit grows: love, joy, peace, gentleness. He is our peace and the source of our joy. Nobody loves like Jesus, who died for our sin.
- Physical needs: He opens the door for a job and income, and He meets our other physical needs as we follow His direction.
- Relational needs: Paul shows that Jesus is our peace, making Jew and Gentile one body (Ephesians 2). Put away bitterness and anger, be kind and tenderhearted, and forgive one another as God for Christ’s sake forgave you (Ephesians 4:31–32). He forgave us by grace, and the Christ who lives in us can help us forgive.
He Did It Again: The Four Thousand
- Jesus left the area of Tyre and Sidon, came to the Sea of Galilee, and went up into a mountain (Matthew 15:29), in the Gentile region of Decapolis.
- Great multitudes laid the lame, blind, dumb, and maimed at His feet, and He healed them. The multitude wondered and glorified the God of Israel (Matthew 15:31).
- Jesus had compassion because they had been with Him three days without food, and He wouldn’t send them away fasting lest they faint (Matthew 15:32).
- The disciples doubted again where they would find enough bread, even after seeing the five thousand fed. The answer was standing right there with them.
- With seven loaves and a few fish, He gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples for the multitude (Matthew 15:36). They all ate and were filled, with seven large baskets left over. Four thousand men ate, besides women and children (Matthew 15:38). This showed He supplies what Gentiles need as well as Jews.
Take-Homes
- Allow no distance between you and God’s people, God’s men, and God’s Word.
- God is able to provide everything you need. Nothing is too hard or impossible for Him.
- He doesn’t just provide what you need. He is who you need. He is the answer to your spiritual, emotional, physical, and relational needs.
- Pray yielded. Let the Holy Spirit teach you how to pray instead of telling God what to do.
- Bring what little you have to Jesus and surrender it all. He’ll give back more than you need, with baskets left over.
- Remember how God provided in the past. The same God can meet your need today.
- Forgive as Christ forgave you, and let Him heal your relationships.