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. (2 Kings 4:40)
Probably the bitter taste immediately revealed the fact that the food was poisonous. It may have been mixed in the pot with other herbs that were perfectly wholesome, but the gourds spread their poison through the entire pot. Sin is the poison of death. Its influence spreads. In a thousand different forms it is daily set before us to bring us suffering and woe. The only course of safety is to put away sin and error of every kind, wherever it may be found. Otherwise the result inevitably will be death.