2 Kings 4:42
And there came a man from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat. And there came a man from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.
The setting is a famine, when the need for food was acute, and in Samaria that scarcity pressed hard upon God's people. In that time a man came from Baal-shalisha bringing to the man of God a firstfruits offering of twenty loaves of barley with full ears of grain in the husk. Elisha ordered the food to be given to the people to eat, but his servitor objected that so little could not be set before one hundred men. Elisha repeated the command with the promise that they would eat and leave food over, and they ate and left food remaining according to the word of the Lord.
By divine power working through the loaves and grain in the hands of human agents, the small supply was multiplied so that one hundred men, the sons of the prophets, ate and food remained. What in human hands falls far short of need becomes in the Lord's hands more than sufficient, and Jesus Himself presided over this provision. It is Christ condescending in compassion to work a miracle to satisfy hunger and relieve human need.
The bringer himself shows that God has men of opportunity, even men not united with His people in truth and who do not acknowledge the truth, whom He moves to favor and supply His people. He still works again and again to supply human need, though not always in so marked and visible a way. Therefore clearer spiritual discernment is called for to recognize God's merciful compassionate dealing, and study of His wonderful working to gain rich experience. When He gives a work to do, His command is to be obeyed in faith without questioning its reasonableness, without delaying over doubts about the means, and without judging the probable result by human estimates of insufficiency.
The man's bringing of the firstfruits of his harvest, as one moved by God to give, stands as a model for the church. Such bringing expresses a benevolent spirit worked by the Holy Spirit and brings blessing. It requires neither great wealth nor education.