19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth : but the water is nought, and the ground barren. 20 And he said, bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. 21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters ; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. 22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.

QUESTIONS : What questions do you have about this text ?

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2 KINGS 2

REAL OBJECTS

SPIRITUAL MEANINGS

water

ground

new cruse

salt

spring

* nought

* barren

9 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth : but the water is nought, and the ground barren. 20 And he said, bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. 21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters ; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. 22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.

QUESTIONS : What questions do you have about this text ?

1 Why was the water * nought ?

2 What was the source of the water ?

What was the result of having water that was * nought ?

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4 What was the result of putting salt in the water ?

5 Why was the salt cast into the “spring” of the waters instead of just into the waters ?

6 What did the salt represent spiritually ?

7 What did the “water” that was * nought represent Spiritually ?

8 What did the “new cruse” represent Spiritually ?

9 Why was it necessary to put the salt into a “new cruse” in order to heal the waters ?

10 What did the “barren” ground represent Spiritually ?

11 What did the “spring” of (bad water) represent Spiritually ?

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GOOD GROUND = GOOD HEART

Luke 8 : 15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.

STONY GROUND (ROCK) = HARD HEART

Luke 8 : 13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy ; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away

Matthew 13 : 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy received it, 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while : for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word by and by he is offended.

Ezekiel 36 : 26 “A NEW HEART also will I give you, a NEW SPIRIT will I put within you : and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you an HEART OF FLESH” (soft heart).

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2 KINGS 2

SPIRITUAL MEANING

People (Rev. 17 : 15)

The heart of a person

(Luke 8 : 15, Matt 13 : 23, Mark 4 : 20)

# 6746 – tall container

(“new”) Vessel

converted person (bottle)

God’s Law, God’s Character, God’s people

(pure) person guided by

the Lord

(corrupt) person fallen into sin

# 7451 – bad, evil, wicked,

# 7921 Miscarry, childless

lose children

people who are evil

or wicked

The heart of a person

not producing fruit

or converts, children

water

ground

new cruse

salt

spring

* nought

* barren

water that was * nought

“barren” ground

REAL OBJECT

QUESTIONS : What questions do you have about this text ?

1 Why was the water * nought ? (* evil, bad, wicked)

Because there was no salt in the water

No LAW among the people.

No one to represent God’s CHARACTER

2 What was the source of the water ?

A spring producing bad water (Corrupt Spring)

A RIGHTEOUS man who has

FALLEN into SIN (Prov.25 : 26)

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3. What was the result of having water what was * nought ?

Barren ground and death

(People not producing “FRUIT” or CONVERTS

and LOST SOULS)

4 What was the result of putting salt in the water ?

Water that was healed :

no death (NO LOST SOULS)

Fruitful ground (CONVERTED PEOPLE)

5 Why was the salt cast into the “spring” of the waters instead of just into the waters ?

Because the source of the problem was the spring.

It would have continued to spoil the rest of the water.

6 What did the salt represent spiritually ?

GOD’S CHARACTER, GOD’S LAW, GOD’S PEOPLE.

7 What did the “water” that was * nought represent Spiritually ?

EVIL OR WICKED PEOPLE

8 What did the “new cruse” represent Spiritually ?

A CONVERTED PERSON WHOSE HEART WAS MADE “NEW” BY THE LORD

9 Why was it necessary to put the salt into a “new cruse” in order to heal the waters ?

God’s LAW (salt) can only be kept

by a CONVERTED PERSON (“NEW” CRUSE)

(See OLD and NEW Wine Bottles study).

10 What did the “barren” ground represent Spiritually ?

A person with an unconverted heart not producing any of the Christian Virtues or making any Converts)

11 What did the “spring” of (bad water) represent Spiritually ?

A person who once kept God’s Law (RIGHTEOUS)

but who had fallen into sin.

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PARAPHRASE :

“The Spring of Water healed by Salt”

The leaders of God’s people were not obeying GOD’S LAW of 10 Commandments.

They were setting a bad example for the rest of God’s people, who then followed their leaders example !

The result of this was that the unconverted people around them were remaining unconverted !!

Instead of being led to give their heart to the Lord by observing the lives of God’s people, as they obeyed God’s Law and represented Him in Character, instead, they could see no difference between the way they were living and the way Gods’ people were living !

When the leadership of God’s people began to keep God’s Law and to be guided by Him, then God’s people began to follow their leaders example and to also keep God’s Law.

As the unconverted people around them began to observe how God’s people were “loving their neighbors as themselves”, they began to notice the difference and began to ask questions. In a short time the Holy Spirit had given them “new hearts” and they too began to keep God’s Law and to “love their neighbors as themselves”.

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By William T. Barrett