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once again produced corn, wheat, etc., the fields around Jericho supplied food for destitute people. Only this recovery didn’t result from prolonged government intervention, but rather the supernat ural hand of God. A man once tore down an old, dilapidated building that had stood on his property for generations. After he worked the ground, sunshine and rain came down, bringing on flowers unlike any others in his neighborhood.The explanation was simple: a gar den that once stood on that spot had lain for years without mois ture, light, and warmth.Yet, when the sun and rain came, it sprang to life and beauty. So many people have seeds of faith, hope, love, and truth lying dormant in their hearts, embedded there by sin and unbelief. It’s only when the restorative power of the Holy Spirit is given access that positive change begins to take place. As you ponder these words, dig along with me beyond the surface of this brief account in the life of Elisha. Figuratively speak ing, the bad water and barren land represent the life of a person without a relationship with Christ. Just like Jericho was under a curse, mankind fell under a curse once Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Go back a couple of pages and note the word new in bold print.Why a new bowl? One source, pointing to a passage from Ezekiel, suggested that it signifies the New Covenant God had pre pared for his people at the time. As Scripture says, “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land.Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:24-26).

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