2Kings chapter 7

 

Memory verse: 2Kings 7:19

 

Elisha had already been clearly established as the successor to Elijah as the main spiritual leader for the northern kingdom of Israel (2Kings 2). He had healed the waters of Jericho (2Kings 2:19-22). He prophesied the miracle at the battle of Moab (2Kings 3:15-27). He saw the miracle of the widow’s pot of oil (2Kings 4:1-7), and the raising from the dead of a lad who was born miraculously from a prophecy of his (2Kings 4:1-37). There was the healing of the pottage (2Kings 4:38-41), and the multiplying of food (2Kings 4:42-44). Then came the 2 miracles of leprosy (2Kings 5). There was the floating axe head (2Kings 6:1-7). There were the miracles of the word of knowledge and blindness against the Syrians (2Kings 6:1-23). After that, Syria besieged the capital Samaria until the famine was so bad that people were paying top dollar to eat a donkey’s head and dove’s dung (2Kings 6:24-30). It got so bad that the prophecy of Moses was fulfilled (Deuteronomy 28:55-57), and they began eating their own children (2Kings 6:26-29). King Jehoram the son of Ahab sent a messenger to have Elisha killed, but God showed it to him (2Kings 6:31-33). This is what led up to the event in 2Kings 7.

 

Day 1 – if the LORD would make windows in heaven

Verses 1-2

They had been paying 80 pieces of silver to make a meal out of a donkey’s head, and 5 to do the same with about 1.5 liters of dove’s dung. Now Elisha is telling them that within 24 hours “shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria”. One of the king’s closest leaders asked, “Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?” Elisha told him he would see it, but not eat it. Miracles are no problem for God. The problem is with our faith. “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:58).” “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead (Luke 16:31).” The doubter chose to reject the miracle by talking about how ridiculous it seemed to him that God would make windows in heaven. Yet that is exactlywhat God promised to do for the faithful. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it (Malachi 3:10).”

 

Day 2 – why sit we here until we die?

Verses 3-8

There were 4 lepers sitting just outside the wall of Samaria near the gate. They realized they could not go into the city because of their leprosy and the famine. Yet if they stayed where they were they were, they either going to die by the Syrians, the famine, or leprosy. They decided it would be better to surrender to the Syrians than to die. So many people are just outside the doors of the church just waiting to die. These men chose to make the only move they had rather than just sitting there dying. If the Syrians killed them, they were going to die anyway. At least they would have tried. It is better to try and not accomplish your original goal than to not try at all. We might be surprised what happens when we do something instead of nothing. These men went to the camp of the Syrian army to surrender or die, and they found it abandoned. God made the Syrians hear a noise which they thought was a mercenary army hired by Israel. They fled in the same twilight the lepers used to go to their camp. The Syrians had just barely left the camp when the lepers got there. Twilight only lasts for minutes. They left in such a hurry that they left all their stuff behind. The lepers ate and gathered silver, gold, and clothes.

 

Day 3 – we do not well

Verses 9-11

The lepers had discovered something great. They were enjoying it themselves. Then something happened to their conscience. They realized that keeping the treasure they found to themselves while others were suffering and did not know about the bounty so close to them was not right. They feared that something bad would happen to them if they did not tell others about it. So they went back to the gate of Samaria and told the porter who passed it along to the king’s household. When we find a relationship with God, it is like finding a great treasure in a field (Matthew 13:44-46). It is too good to keep to ourselves. It is good to feed our soul and get what we need like the lepers did; but once we are fed, we need to let others know about what we found. The old testament was not as evangelistic in nature as the new one. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ must be preached. Once our soul is filled, the only way to get more of God is to share what we have received. It is both a privilege and a responsibility (1Corinthians 9:16-17). We need not fear that we will run out of Him. He is inexhaustible. Just as the breath of life is in the nostrils of everyone, God can fill the entire population of the earth with the Holy Ghost simultaneously. We cannot give them the gift, but we can tell them about it.

 

Day 4 – go and see

Verses 12-15

King Jehoram did not believe the report and thought it was a trap. One of his servants asked him to send some with 5 horses to see. He sent some with 2 horses and told them to go and see. They found trail of stuff left behind by the Syrians as they were hurrying away. They followed the trail all the way to the Jordan River. They returned and told the king. Jehoram should have been excited to see how God was fulfilling the prophecy of Elisha. Instead, he continued in his unbelief, and needed visual proof. “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal (2Corinthians 4:18).” “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).” God does not expect what some call blind faith, but at some point we must put our trust in the God that has demonstrated His faithfulness over and over for millennia.

 

Day 5 – according to the word of the LORD

Verses 16-20

When the word of the messengers got out, there was a stampede to the campsite of the Syrians. The prophecy of Elisha was fulfilled. The king put the unbelieving lord in charge of the gate, where he was trampled to death. Thus it happened just like Elisha had said. He saw the miracle, but did not partake. God knows how to bring His word to pass. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it (Isaiah 55:11).” “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away (Matthew 24:35).” There are several meanings to the word heaven. It can mean the atmosphere around the earth (Genesis 1:8-9). It can mean outer space where the stars are (Genesis 1:14-17). It can mean the dwelling place of God (Isaiah 66:1). Paul spoke of the third heaven (2Corinthians 12:2). Most scholars believe he was talking about these 3 meanings of the word heaven. Jesus said heaven would pass away. This does not mean that the dwelling place of God will pass away. It means the current created order will change. The moon is about 240,000 miles from the earth. The sun is 93 million miles away. The sun is a star. The next closest star is Alpha Centauri, which is actually 2 stars. It is 4 light years from earth. That means you have to travel 186,000 miles per second for 4 years to get there. It is estimated that there are 100 billion stars in our galaxy the Milky Way; and that there are 100 billion galaxies in the universe. That is impossible to comprehend. Yet Jesus said it is easier for all of that to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail (Luke 16:17). He also said until heaven and earth pass, not one jot or tittle of the law would fail until all is fulfilled (Matthew 5:18). The Greek word for jot is iota. It means the smallest Hebrew letter, or the smallest possible portion. The Greek word for tittle is keraia. This means the tiny accent lines and points in Hebrew letters. Not one tiny mark in one letter of one word of the law would be left unfulfilled. This was just talking about the Old Testament, which was superseded by the New Testament (2Corinthians 3:7-11). How much more sure is the covenant Jesus secured for us with His own blood (2Peter 1:19, Hebrews 8-10)?