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Did you know that there is an account in the Old Testament similar to those in Matthew 14 and Matthew 15 where we can read about Jesus Christ feeding the 5,000 and 4,000 respectively with provisions so scarce all would deem impossible? That's right! Why have I not really paid attention to this before? It is such an amazing and marvellous experience to notice more from the Bible each year as we read through the 66 books contained therein in order to mature in our transformation. No wonder many have said it's like finding rare treasure amongst precious pearls. When first picking up the Bible after God obtained my full attention after decades of shunning religion and all things associated with it, the book seemed huge and unfamiliar. Being rusty and rather self-conscious all I could comfortably find was Genesis, the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as well as Revelation — the beginning, the end, and the "guts" of Jesus' life when he lived on Earth. That was it. Now my favourite edition, the New King James Version (NKJV) is like a familiar, comfortable, well-worn armchair beckoning me to relax and stay awhile free from the stressors of the world. Does it seem like your Bible is becoming smaller to you? Does it give you increasing excitement moreso now than ever before? Not sure why it is that this year out of any previous year while reading through the text, things are becoming more alive, with deeper and richer connections made, as well as the ability to see more spiritually is noticeably occurring. The only logical deduction that currently makes sense is that God is giving more as He sees the responding joy and consistent investment we willingly make due to the deep desire within our hearts while cultivating and nurturing our relationship with Him, to give Him the highest priority more than anything else in this life (Matthew 6:33). Luke 12:48 also comes to mind.
To get to the crux or heart of the matter concerned regarding the title of this article we need to go way back in time when God's prophet Elisha lived — you know the one who came after Elijah and who was bold enough to ask for double blessings as it is written in 2 Kings 2:9 "And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, 'Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?' Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me." Would we have even thought of such a thing to request? In any event, where we will go today in scripture is just a couple of chapters over in 2 Kings 4:42-44 which says "Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, 'Give it to the people, that they may eat.' But his servant said, "What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?" He said again, 'Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the Lord: "They shall eat and have some left over."' So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord." In my NKJV this part of scripture comes under the heading of "Elisha feeds One Hundred Men.'' Noticeably we understand that the ratio used here is 100:20 or down to the lowest count of 5:1, meaning for every group of 5 people they would have only one loaf of barley bread to satiate their hunger between them. Try sharing that amongst 5 very hungry people — not much more than a mouthful each. For me that would be like trying to share one chocolate chip cookie with 5 starving children. Impossible and awkward, an assault on my pride in wanting to feed and nurture others, but found woefully short. However, we know that where God is at work, nobody needs to go hungry and there is always a great abundance, even an over-abundance in order to feed all who hunger, for our God is God Almighty, the only God of turning impossibilities into the possible as written in Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37, and Luke 18:27.
This is yet another astounding example in the trilogy mentioned of miraculously multiplying simple food, willingly given even in hard times such as famine in order to feed the hungry. In this account we are reminded that God can do the impossible; He can work with small numbers to ensure there is plenty for everyone, and that with God, there are no limits. Over and over again it is reinforced in all three accounts that there were leftovers, therefore nobody was left wanting. Though God did a wonderful work through Elisha in Old Testament times, it was just a preview of a much greater work God would do in and through the lasting bread from heaven, Jesus Christ. While these multiple accounts readily focus on the physical sustenance required in order to support physical life, the greater and more exciting meaning behind the illustration is connected to spiritual feeding via our Saviour — our Lifeline. Do we trust Him to give the increase when dearth such as famine is in the land, when all looks hopeless and lost? For most of us, if not all, famine is thankfully not something we have experienced to date and hopefully not so in the near future. In the meantime we delve deeply into our Bibles daily to take careful note and pay close attention to Christ's example knowing that we need not look any further than right in front of us where Christ is always there, our Helper, our Shelter, our Provider, our Rock and Comforter, our Sustenance (Psalm 145:18, Psalm 62:1-2, Psalm 46:1, 7, 11, and Psalm 111:5). The only question left unanswered now is the one of what will we find next inside the Bible that may have escaped our attention? How exciting it is to be one of Christ's disciples!