Poison in the Pot

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (I John 4:1).  

A curious story in the Old Testament helps me to better understand the toxic condition in much of the church today. Until recently, I skimmed over this story as if it were a piece of historical trivia. But now it has become a primary text in helping me to address the dysfunctionality in the contemporary church. The story is a sort of metaphor that teaches spiritual truths of vital importance.   

38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal when there was a famine in the land. And as the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his servant, “Set on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39 One of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew, not knowing what they were. 40 And they poured out some for the men to eat. But while they were eating of the stew, they cried out, “O man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. 41 He said, “Then bring flour.” And he threw it into the pot and said, “Pour some out for the men, that they may eat.” And there was no harm in the pot. (II Kings 4:38-41).   

In the Old Testament, the term “sons of the prophets” (v. 38) refers to members of a prophetic order that are being trained for ministry. In other words, this passage is talking about an early form of theological education, what today we might call a Bible School, or seminary. Here, we have one particular incident involving a group of prophets-in-training associated with Elisha.   

The point of the story, oddly enough, seems to be that even in a place devoted to Bible study and preparation for ministry, poison sometimes gets in the pot! What can this possibly mean? As I reflect on this passage, several life-changing truths capture my attention.   

Theological education is a matter of life and death.

The meal being prepared is not for gastronomical delight or fraternal fellowship. There is famine in the land. They are eating so that they can stay alive! Because these students are learning to feed themselves, we can assume they will use these same methods to feed others as well. Therefore, when poison gets in the pot, we have a catastrophe of major proportions! A meal that held the promise of life is now the messenger of death. Although all education is important, those who are preparing for gospel ministry need to understand that their work means the difference between life and death, truth and error, light and darkness, heaven and hell.   

Good intentions are not enough.

The young man who goes out into the field to gather herbs is only trying to help. He wants to be useful in assisting the great prophet in his work for the Lord. However, in spite of his good intentions, he puts poison in the pot and endangers the lives of everyone in the community! I’ve never met anyone who went to seminary so that they could learn how to spread disease and death throughout the land. No. Only those with the noblest intentions and aspirations sign up to be pastors and teachers in the church. They want to learn how to serve God, speak truth, and help people. And yet, tragically, many do more harm than good. They mix up a stew to serve to their people that brings spiritual sickness and death, rather than health and life. This is spiritual malpractice of the first order. Yes, it’s true: sometimes well-meaning pastors who attended well-meaning seminaries cause more damage to the church than the devil himself!   

Ignorance is deadly.

The seminarian who gathered the wild herbs may have been knowledgeable in homiletics and systematic theology, but he was woefully incompetent in discerning which plants were healthy and which ones were poison! And what is most frightening of all is that he did not know what he did not know! God expresses the reality this way: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos. 4:6). We may find it comical today when a pastor is ignorant about technology, music, or finance. But a pastor who cannot tell the difference between good and evil, the holy and the common, what is clean and what is unclean is no laughing matter (see Lev. 10:10; Ezek. 22:26; Heb. 5:14). Such a person should either resign or be fired.   

Be careful what you eat.

The seminarians in this story do what most people do when they come to church: they eat what is put before them, that is, they accept as true whatever the pastor says. They assume that the recipe has been properly followed and the cook knows what he is doing. This story teaches us that, when it comes to our own spiritual nourishment, we need to be discerning of the voices we heed and the books that we read. Those who are careless and naïve may ingest something toxic! I admire those Bereans who refused to eat what was put before them until they had examined the recipe. They “searched the Scriptures day after day to check up on Paul and Silas, to see if they were really teaching the truth” (Ac. 17:11 NLT).   

There is a simple antidote to toxic theology.

The good news is that Elisha easily fixes the problem. He throws some flour in the pot that neutralizes the poison. The hungry students are now able to eat a nutritious meal in confidence and peace. Bon appétit. Yes, poison in the pot is as serious for us today as it was in the days of Elisha. But be of good cheer. The solution is simple. Alexander Solzhenitsyn said it well: “One word of truth outweighs the world.”   

28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. 29 Is not my word like fire,… and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? (Jer. 23:28-29).