«　WEEK 3　DAY 2　»

　　2 Kings 4:40-41 And they poured out the stew for the men to eat. And while they were eating some of the stew, they cried out and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot. And they were not able to eat it. And he said, Then bring some flour. And he threw it into the pot and said, Pour it out for the people that they may eat. And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

　　Elisha also resurrected the dead from death (2 Kings 4:18-37; cf. Heb. 11:35; Luke 7:11-17; John 11:41-44; Rom. 4:17b). The Lord Jesus has resurrected millions of persons, including us (John 5:25). Calling things not being as being and giving life to the dead are not merely miracles. They are grace resulting in life unto the reigning in life as kings.

　　When the disciples of Elisha were short of food, they cooked a stew with poisonous gourds. Elisha nullified the poison of the wild gourds with flour (2 Kings 4:38-41). In principle, the Lord Jesus did the same thing for His disciples. He warned them, saying, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matt. 16:6-12), and He healed the disciples with Himself as the fine flour. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Kings, p. 87)

　　Many of the teachings in today’s Christianity are “poisonous gourds.” Some Christian books are good, but many are not pure. We have recommended certain writings by Andrew Murray... and others. We have especially recommended Andrew Murray’s masterpiece The Spirit of Christ, as well as God’s Plan of Redemption by Mary E. McDonough and Life on the Highest Plane by Ruth Paxson. Among us we also have the ministry of Brother Nee. Brother Nee’s ministry was rejected by the Western missionaries in his youth, but today his ministry is known by seeking Christians throughout the world. By the Lord’s mercy and grace, in the last seventy years nearly all the crucial, important revelations of the Bible have been covered in Watchman Nee’s ministry and my ministry. I would urge you to pay attention to these pure and healthy things and not waste your time collecting “poisonous gourds.”

　　In 2 Kings 5 Elisha healed a case of leprosy (Luke 4:27). The Lord Jesus did the same thing in His ministry (Matt. 11:5; 8:1-4; Luke 17:11-19). In 2 Kings 6:1-7 Elisha floated with a wooden stick an axe head that had fallen into the waters. This signifies Christ recovering with His cross, in resurrection, the power of sinners that had fallen into the death water. As sinners, we lost our “axe head,” our power, but Christ has recovered this lost power in resurrection with the “wooden stick” of His cross.

　　By all of the foregoing we can see that Elisha was a very accurate type of Christ. Elisha changed the age in type, and the Lord Jesus did the same thing in fulfillment. Today we are in the changed age, the age of the fulfillment of God’s New Testament economy. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Kings, pp. 87-88)

　　In Luke 7:11-17 we see the Man-Savior showing pity to the weeping mother by raising up her dead son... This situation was very sad... First she had lost her husband, and now she had lost her only son. The Savior’s compassion was also unique in His loving sympathy. He volunteered, in His tender mercy, His power of resurrection to raise the widow’s son from death, without being asked to do so. This indicates His unique commission, coming to save lost sinners (19:10), and shows the high standard of His morality, as a Man-Savior, in saving sinners.

　　Luke 7:13-15 says, “When the Lord saw her, He was moved with compassion for her and said to her, Do not weep. And He came near and touched the bier, and those carrying it stood still. And He said, Young man, to you I say, Arise. And the dead man sat up and began to speak. And He gave him to his mother.” Here we see the Man-Savior’s compassion in speaking to the widow and in touching the bier... Then the Lord commanded the dead son of the widow to arise. (Life-study of Luke, pp. 137-138)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Luke, msg. 16