2 Kings 8:1-3 Famine

 “Then Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the Lord has called for a famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.” So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years. It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land.”

‭‭II Kings‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life: 2 Kings 4describes Elisha’s previous dealings with this woman. She and her husband were godly, generous people who helped the prophet. Through Elisha’s prayer they were blessed with a son, who was also brought miraculously back to life.

b. She went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years: On the advice of the prophet, the woman and her family left Israel because of a coming famine. In the land of the Philistines, they were spared the worst of the famine.

c. She went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land: Upon leaving Israel and going to the land of the Philistines, the woman forfeited her claim to her ancestral lands. She made this appeal so she would not be a loser for listening to God’s prophet and for saving her family from famine. (Guzik)

Famine 

We read about famine in the Bible but in my lifetime I have never experienced it. There have been lean years though of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while scrimping and saving trying to make ends meet.

There is coming a time in the future during the end times when the world will suffer judgment and famine will be worldwide as foretold in the book of Revelations. I’m glad I won’t be here for it! 

As the saying goes, meet you here, meet you there or meet you in the air!

Have you experienced famine?

Blessings 

“When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV

2 Kings 7:17-20 God’s Blessings!

 “Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.” Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, “Now look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.” II Kings‬ ‭7‬:‭17‬-‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. The king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate: Perhaps the king did this to rebuke his officer. The man would have to personally supervise the people responding to the provision he said could never come, because he could not understand how God could bring the supply despite the siege.

b. For the people trampled him in the gate, and he died: The prediction regarding the officer proved just as true as the prediction regarding the prices of food in the markets of Samaria. Because of his unbelief, he saw others enjoy God’s blessings but he did not. (Guzik)

God’s Blessings!

Just as the officer saw others enjoy God’s blessings but he didn’t, there are those that walk among us who don’t believe how God can bring supply let alone anything else. They reject Him and His mercy! 

I am in awe to the blessings of God in my life and at times ask, why me Lord? 

When we pray, we thank Him daily for the provision of food and His blessings with our home.

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” Psalms‬ ‭100‬:‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Thanksgiving and praise to the Lord should be celebrated daily, do you agree?

Blessings 

Kings 7:16 According to the Word of the Lord!

 “Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.” ‭‭II Kings‬ ‭7‬:‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians: When the good news that started with the report of the lepers was found to be true, there was no stopping the people. Because they knew their need, they were happy to receive God’s provision to meet that need.

i. The king’s officer “derided the possibility of the prophet’s prediction; and no doubt had plenty of adherents. But the leper’s report swept away all his words to the winds. They had known, tasted, and handled.” (Meyer)

b. According to the word of the LORD: Through Elisha, God announced the exact prices in the Samaritan markets, and the prophecy was proven to be precisely true. (Guzik)

According to the Word of the Lord!

That is a powerful statement and God is true to His word unlike man!

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” ‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.” ‭‭I Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Do you believe the Word of the Lord?

Blessings 

2 Kings 7:10-15 See!

 “So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, “We went to the Syrian camp, and surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound—only horses and donkeys tied, and the tents intact.” And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king’s household inside. So the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.’ ” And one of his servants answered and said, “Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; or indeed, I say, they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed; so let us send them and see.” Therefore they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying, “Go and see.” And they went after them to the Jordan; and indeed all the road was full of garments and weapons which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the king.”

‭‭II Kings‬ ‭7‬:‭10‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. They went and called to the gatekeepers of the city: Since the lepers were not welcome in the city, they could only communicate with the gatekeepers. There were many people they could not speak to, but they were faithful to speak to the ones they could speak to.

b. And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it: The good news from the lepers was communicated in the simplest way possible. It went from one person to another, until the news reached the king himself.

c. So let us send them and see: This was the sensible reaction to the good news that started with the report of the lepers. The report might be true or it might not be; it only made sense to test it and see. (Guzik)

See!

I am reminded of another example in the Bible about Jesus’s resurrection and seeing!

“He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Do you have faith without seeing that Jesus rose from the dead?

Blessings 

2 Kings 7:8-9 Share the Good News!

 “And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it. Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”” ‭‭II Kings‬ ‭7‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. They went into one tent and ate and drank: Of course they did. After the long period of famine, this was the answer to every hope and prayer they had.

b. And went and hid it: They knew that their discovery of the camp could not remain secret forever. They hid some of the valuables so they could profit by them even when the camp was discovered by others.

c. We are not doing right… come, let us go and tell: The lepers rightly enjoyed the miracle God provided. But they also realized that the gift gave them a responsibility to share it with others. They understood that to remain silent and to selfishly enjoy their blessings would be sin. They had a responsibility to share the good news.

i. “If the only result of our religion is the comfort of our poor little souls, if the beginning and the end of piety is contained within one’s self, why, it is a strange thing to be in connection with the unselfish Jesus, and to be the fruit of his gracious Spirit. Surely, Jesus did not come to save us that we might live unto ourselves. He came to save us from selfishness.” (Spurgeon)

ii. Yet, they enjoyed the feast first before they told others about it. We cannot properly share the good news of Jesus Christ unless we ourselves are enjoying it. (Guzik)

Share the Good News!

Christian don’t miss this! “They understood that to remain silent and to selfishly enjoy their blessings would be sin. They had a responsibility to share the good news.” (Guzik)

“And He (Jesus) said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Are you remaining silent or are you sharing the good news of the gospel?

Blessings 

2 Kings 7:6-7 God Did It!

 “For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!” Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact—their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives.” ‭‭II Kings‬ ‭7‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. For the LORD had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots… the noise of a great army: Israel was powerless against this besieging army, but God wasn’t powerless. He attacked the Syrian army simply by causing them to hear the noise of an army.

i. Perhaps God did this by putting the noise into the air; perhaps He simply created the perception of the noise in the minds of the Syrian soldiers. However God did it, it happened.

ii. The same God who struck one Syrian army so they could not see what was there now struck another Syrian army so that they heard things that were not there.

b. And left the camp intact: Everything was left behind, leaving the unlikely lepers to spoil the camp. As a result, the siege for Samaria was over – even though no one in the city knew it or enjoyed it.

i. “Everybody who went to bed that night felt that he was still in that horrible den where grim death seemed actually present in the skeleton forms of the hunger-bitten. They were as free as the harts of the wilderness had they known it: but their ignorance held them in vile durance [imprisonment].” (Spurgeon) (Guzik)

God Did It!

After retiring we decided to move and I had travelled back to my birth state to look at homes for sale. The trip was a bust after making an offer on a home and the seller and I couldn’t come to terms, so I walked away and drove back home. About a week later I received a phone call from my realtor telling me that the seller was willing to negotiate. We came to terms and purchased the property. We had planned on listing our home for sale and moving the following spring. It sold in 56 hours! God did it! He said move now! Friends from church purchased it, we didn’t know that they were looking and they didn’t know we were selling. It’s amazing how God works!

Has God done something in your life that you can say, God did it?

Blessings 

2 Kings 7:3-5 Children of Grief!

 “Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.” And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there.” ‭‭II Kings‬ ‭7‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Now there were four leprous men: These men stayed at the entrance of the gatebecause they were not welcome in the city. Their leprous condition made them outcasts and untouchables.

i. “If you were to take out of the Scriptures all the stories that have to do with poor, afflicted men and women, what a very small book the Bible would become, especially if together with the stories you removed all the psalms of the sorrowful, all the promises for the distressed, and all the passages which belong to the children of grief! This Book, indeed, for the most part is made up of the annals of the poor and despised.” (Spurgeon)

ii. Unfounded Jewish traditions say these four were actually Gehazi and his three sons. Gehazi was afflicted with leprosy because of his greed toward Naaman (2 Kings 5:27).

b. Why are we sitting here until we die: Their logic was perfect. They would soon die from the famine if they stayed by the city. If any food became available, they would certainly be the last to receive it. So they decided that their chances were better if they surrendered to the Syrians.

i. “Now you perceive that there are just two courses open to you; you can sit still, but then you know that you must perish; or you can go to Christ, and your fear is that you will perish then. Yet you can but die if you go to him, and he rejects you; whereas, if you do not go to him, you must surely perish.” (Spurgeon)

c. When they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there: This huge army surrounded the city of Samaria for many months, and the camp was the home and supply center for thousands of men. When the lepers came upon it that morning, they discovered an empty army camp – fully supplied, but empty of men.

i. The words to the outskirts of the Syrian camp imply that they came not only to the edge of the camp, but that they walked around to the furthermost part of the Syrian camp, the part away from the city. They came to the camp as someone from afar would approach, not as someone from Syria. They figured that this was their best chance, coming as if they were not from the besieged city and to the least fortified positions of the camp.

ii. This approach of the lepers to the camp “… may provide the occasion for the miracle itself; perhaps the Lord had in some way magnified the stumbling footsteps of the men as they made their way around the camp’s opposite end.” (Patterson and Austel)

(Guzik)

Children of Grief!

The Bible, “This Book, indeed, for the most part is made up of the annals of the poor and despised.” (Spurgeon)

I’ve always liked this acronym, B.I.B.L.E. stands for: “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth”.

Spurgeon’s commentary hits the nail on the head and the Bible shows us that people just like us find grace and mercy with a loving God. 

“Within its pages, the Bible contains stories of faith and devotion, as well as accounts of struggles and triumphs. It offers lessons on love, forgiveness, compassion, and justice, urging individuals to live righteous and fulfilling lives. The Bible also provides a roadmap for salvation, showing believers the path to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.” https://biblewisdomhub.org/basic-instructions-before-leaving-earth-bible/

There are several people in the Bible that stand out to me, Job when his wife tells him to curse God and die. David when his faith gives him the courage to take on a giant. Elisha when the youths yell at him, go up you bald head! The ministry of Jesus and His compassion and mercy!

Who can you relate to in the Bible?

Blessings