THE FILLING OF EMPTY VESSELS – Charles Spurgeon
THE FILLING OF EMPTY VESSELS
“Even empty vessels; borrow not a few.” 2 Kings 4:3.
Introduction: The Widow’s Distress and God’s Provision
It is needful that we read the whole story: “Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the Prophets unto Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead. And you know that your servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for you? Tell me, what have you in the house? And she said, Your handmaid has not anything in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow vessels abroad of all your neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when you are come in, you shall shut the door upon you and upon your sons and shall pour out into all those vessels and you shall set aside that which is full.
“So she went from him and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her. And she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her sons, Bring me yet a vessel. And they said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stopped. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debt and live, you and your children on the rest.”
The best of men may die in poverty—here is the widow of a Prophet left in destitution. We must not hastily censure those who leave their families unprovided for—circumstances may have rendered it impossible for the breadwinner to do more than supply the pressing wants of the hour. Yet assuredly it is sad to see the widow of so worthy a man in such straits! A widow, and especially the widow of a Prophet of the Lord—our concern for her is tender. Her husband had been among the persecuted and having been, by oppression, deprived of all that he had, it came to pass that when he died he left his wife and children in distress—from which I gather that holy men may be in the worst of circumstances and yet it will be no proof that the Lord has forsaken them. We may not judge a person’s character by his position in life. Certainly, poverty is no sign of Divine Grace, for there are many who bring themselves to it by their own wickedness. But on the other hand, wealth is no sign of Divine favor—for many there are who will have their portion in this life only and have no inheritance in the life everlasting.
As a general rule, piety is more often found among the poor than among the rich—and in persecuting times it is almost of absolute necessity that a clean conscience should involve poverty. Let this encourage any here who are just now very low in circumstances. You are where Prophets and saints have been. God can lift you up and would do so if it were really for your good. Be more concerned to act like a Christian in your present condition than to escape from it. Remember, however poor you are, your Master was poorer and that whatever else you have not, you still have a share in His love. Seek to be rich in faith if you are poor in all besides. You can honor God much in your present condition. You can learn much in it, you can prove much the Divine faithfulness and you can exercise much sympathy towards others. Therefore be not impatient. Since other men both greater and better than you have trod this rough road, bow before the determination of God’s Providence and ask for Divine Grace to be patient under your affliction.
This sorrowing widow, when she found herself in great poverty and likely to lose her two sons, went to God in her trouble. She hastened to God’s Prophet, for that was the way in which broken hearts would then speak to God in special trials. And it was a way with which, as a Prophet’s widow, she was well acquainted. But now we have another Mediator, Jesus Christ the Righteous, and every Christian in trouble should take his burden to his God in Christ Jesus. We readily enough tell our friends and neighbors and it is natural we should, for the human mind wants sympathy. But faith would teach us that there is no sympathy equal to that of the Man Christ Jesus and there is no power to help equal to that of the heavenly Father. Let us, therefore, never forget to unload our burden at the foot of the Cross.
God’s Faithfulness in Times of Trouble
We should first tell our troubles to our best Friend. We should go to Jesus first, to Jesus with child-like reliance upon His power to help. The woman went to the Prophet. Let us go to our greater Prophet, even Jesus our Lord, without hesitation or delay. God was pleased to ordain by His servant a way of escape for the poor woman. The little oil that she had in the house was to be multiplied till there should be enough, when sold, to pay her debts with—from which I gather that if in our distress we take our trouble to God He will deliver us.
This woman is not a solitary instance—she is one of a great multitude for whom the Lord has worked graciously. It is the rule of God’s Providence that His children should cry to Him in the day of trouble and that He should be gracious to them and deliver them. Rest assured that the Lord, who daily provides for the millions of fish in the sea and the myriads of birds in the air, will not suffer His own children to perish for lack of the things of this life. He cares for a glowworm on a damp bank and for a fly in a lone wood and He will never neglect the children of His own house. “I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon me,” said one of old, and so may the most humble still say. Whether your trouble is about temporal things or spiritual things, if you leave that trouble with God—cry to Him in prayer, walk in His fear and trust in His name—sooner or later, in some way or other, He must make a way of escape for you. Other friends may fail you. But the Lord God never can. Other promises may turn out to be mere wind, but faithful is He that has promised this to you and He also will do it. In six troubles He will be with you and in seven there shall no evil touch you. You shall dwell in the land and verily you shall be fed. No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. How happy might we be if we really and practically believed this and acted upon it.
The Testing of Faith
Yet the Lord allowed His handmaid to be very sorely pressed. She could not secure delay nor make any fair terms with the hard creditor. He was already in the house and he would be satisfied with nothing less than both her sons. She was so reduced that she had nothing in the house but a single pot of oil—what could she do? She had hoped for deliverance but now the night of utter misery was coming on and she saw no light. Beloved, it has been the same with many of the Lord’s tried ones and it may be the same with you. The Lord does not promise to rescue us in our time, nor to save us from waiting. Rather does He see it to be right to try our faith and patience for our good and for His own glory. Therefore, I say to you whose turn seems to come last—be strong to wait and do not dishonor the Lord by unbelief. Waiting in faith is a high form of worship which in some respects excels the adoration of the shining ones above. But the way in which this woman was delivered was one which proved and exercised and strengthened her faith. She had to go and borrow empty vessels from her neighbors. That was a strange proceeding, empty oil jars would seem to be useless lumber in her house. Her neighbors, also, might make remarks upon her singular conduct. She had to shut the door, that no curious eyes might watch her and she had then, with full confidence in God, to take her one pot of oil and go on pouring out from it into the empty vessels till they were all filled.
Unbelief might have said to her, “That is a wild proceeding! How can you fill these vessels out of that one little jar? There is but very little oil to begin with, and certainly that cannot be enough to fill all these borrowed jars. The Prophet has mocked you. He is exposing you to the jests and jeers of all your neighbors.” But her faith, when exercised, was equal to the emergency. She did what she was commanded to do—she did it in faith. And the result answered the end. God takes care to deliver His servants in ways that exercise their faith. He would not have them be little in faith, for faith is the wealth of the heavenly life. He desires that the trial of faith should be carried on till faith grows strong and comes to full assurance. The sycamore fig never ripens into sweetness unless it is bruised, and the same is true of faith. Expect, O tried Believer, that God will bring you through, but do not expect Him to bring you through in the way that human reason would suggest, for that would provide no development for faith. Be not laying tracks for God—“He plants His footsteps in the sea, Provide no chariots for the Eternal One—He rides upon the storm.” God has a way of His own. He does His wonders as He pleases. Be content often to stand still and see the salvation of God. Be ready to obey Him and that will be far more in accordance with your position as a finite creature than the vain attempt to map out a course for your Creator. Keep to the obeying and rest assured He will not be behind with the providing.
Spiritual Lessons for the Believer
These are the general lessons which we learn from the history. Now I intend to take the narrative and especially the two or three words I have culled out of it and use it for instructive purposes as the Holy Spirit shall help me. First, in reference to the Divine Grace that is in Christ Jesus. Secondly, in reference to the Mercy Seat. and thirdly, in reference to the Holy Spirit.
I. Grace in Christ Jesus
Let me show you this. The woman was to get together empty vessels—these were to be set in her room. All these empty vessels were filled. As long as there were any empty vessels left, the oil kept flowing in till they were all filled to the brim. When they were all filled she asked for one more but there was not another empty one. And then the oil stopped, but not till then. We will use this as an emblem of spiritual things and this one verse shall interpret our symbol—“Dear dying Lamb, Your precious blood Shall never lose its power, Till all the ransomed Church of God Be saved to sin no more.”
As long as there is one of God’s people unsaved, as long as there is a seeking, repenting sinner, yet unpardoned, there will be found to be merit in the Savior still to flow out—till every vessel that needs to be filled with mercy shall be filled and that to the very brim.
II. Answers to Prayer
My conviction is, Brethren, that we do not pray enough. I do not, by this remark, measure our prayers by time but I mean that we do not ask enough of God. We are not straitened in Him but we are often straitened in ourselves. The Prophet’s advice to the woman was, “Borrow empty vessels”—notice the next word—“borrow not a few.” It was needful, thus to urge her to large things. Covetous men need restraining but in asking of the Lord, our hearts need enlarging.
III. The Work of the Holy Spirit
There was a time in certain Churches when, if there were a few converted to God, say thirty or forty at a time, the older friends would hold up their hands, not in astonishment exactly but in utter unbelief. For they thought some undue influence or improper excitement must have been present to bring out such a crowd. I recollect having to deal with those who would say, “We had one Baptism in ten years under the solid doctrinal teaching of our former pastor. We had a sound Divine and we were sound ourselves (and sound asleep, too)! But see what a hurry we are now in! There have been twenty persons professing to be converted in one month!” The good Brethren have added, “We hope you will be very cautious. Don’t receive them too fast. There is a deal of excitement abroad and we must be judicious and watchful, for when the excitement passes away a terrible reaction may set in!”
One good old lady I know of used to say sarcastically that she hoped the Church would take care that the back door was easy to open, for she was quite sure that if so many came in at the front, there would be a good number who would soon have to be turned out at the back. I am half afraid that she hoped it would be so to justify her criticisms. When there were only two or three in a year, our friends ascribed the work to the Holy Spirit—anything little was of the Holy Spirit. But if the number of converts rose to thirty or forty and especially if it came to three hundred, that was mere excitement. When the minister had to ransack the congregation to find a few who could be drawn into the Church to make his work look decent—that was the Holy Spirit—but when converts came pouring in by hundreds, oh, then everyone was frightened lest it should be fleshly excitement!
Dear Brethren, is not this absurd? Do not these people act on the very reverse principle of the Prophet’s widow? They say, “Bring very few vessels, vessels very few. Suppose some of them should not be filled! There is oil enough for one or two—do not bring more—for fear of failure in such cases. If we see the oil filling hundreds of vessels, then we say it cannot be oil, it must be some vile imitation of it. We cannot expect it can all be good oil if so many vessels are filled with it.”
The fact is, there are some who do not believe the Holy Spirit to be great—nor even to be good. They have an idea that He is not God after all. For if they believed Him to be God, surely they would expect Him to do great things in this world and they would look to see another Pentecost, in which thousands would cry out, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
Instead of thinking that the period of revival through which we may have passed was anything in its greatness beyond what the Holy Spirit was likely to do, I believe, Brethren, it was insignificant compared with what the Holy Spirit is able and willing to accomplish! If we should live to see a genuine revival of the best kind, we should see greater things than these. I hope that when the Holy Spirit comes with power and works with His Truth—as He will when we fully believe in Him and obey Him—we shall then hear sermons preached which shall be the means of conversion of a whole Tabernacle full at once. I hope to hear that in every Chapel—in every place of worship in London—the Word of God has had free course and has been glorified. I hope to hear of places crowded first with one congregation and then with another which had been waiting to come in. I hope that thousands will be in hot haste to find the Savior. Why not?
You are settling down to think that this congregation is very great and very wonderful. And so indeed it is. Where else will you see these thousands constantly assembled? I trust the day will come when hundreds of houses like this shall be crowded from floor to ceiling and the cry shall be heard from tens of thousands, “Come over and help us and tell us what the blood of Christ can do for us.” God grant this not in England only. We must not fancy that the heathen are to be converted at the slow pace they have been. The population of heathendom has increased at a far greater rate than the number of converts to Christianity. When the increase does come, it will come in a different style from this—in a Godlike way. Shall a nation be born at once? Perhaps it shall be so. Why not?
The Spirit of God is not straitened. And when faith comes back to the Church and she brings her many empty vessels, then the Spirit of God that is in her shall graciously multiply His Divine work and all the empty nations shall be filled. England, the United States, France, Prussia, Russia, Italy, Spain, India, China, Arabia shall all be filled to the brim with the outpouring of God’s eternal Spirit and myriads shall be saved by the precious blood of Jesus!
I would encourage my Brother and Sister workers here to look for great things and go to work vigorously because they have an omnipotent God behind them. Brethren, push forward, undeterred by discouragement. You do not know, my dear Sister, what you can do. But make a bold attempt. Your tiny spark may set a county on a blaze. My dear young Brother, you do not know what you can accomplish. Put it to the test in all earnestness and you will be surprised at yourself. The Lord can make use of poor nothings to achieve glorious purposes. It is not your strength, it is His strength that is to do the work. That strength can lay hold of but what shall turn out to be Divine strength.
Have faith in God. Believe Him to be true and omnipotent and we shall see greater things than these. Alas, we fail because we do not believe! If the Son of Man comes shall He find faith on the earth? I fear He would discover, but here and there, a grain of mustard seed. May He grant to many of us that heroic faith which, believing in God, thinks nothing of difficulties and does not believe in impossibilities but does right and preaches the Truth of God and expects God to bless it above what we can ask or even think. May God bless you and may the first part of my subject be last in your recollection. If you are empty vessels, come to Christ and be filled. May He fill you with His Grace tonight for His mercy sake! Amen and Amen.