2 Kings 4:40
So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.
The account belongs to a school of the prophets where workers were trained. The eaters were the sons of the prophets at Gilgal during a famine. Someone had gathered unfamiliar wild gourds and shredded them into the pot, which made the pottage poisonous. As the men ate they recognized the food was deadly, cried out that there was death in the pot, and could not continue eating.
Meal put into the pot made the food harmless so it could be eaten. The poisoned stew pictures harmful spiritual food given in meetings, while the meal pictures the grace of God that must replace the deadly element so the flock can be fed nourishing teaching.