Deliverance in a Day

Read 2 Kings 6:24-7:20 first…

This is a very interesting passage.

At the time, Elisha is the sitting prophet in Israel. Samaria is under siege by the king of Aram and is in great famine. Women are boiling their children and eating them...and of course, the king blames the prophet of God. He and his royal officer visit the prophet to threaten him in person.

When they get there, however, Elisha prophesies:

'Then Elisha said, "Listen to the word of the Lord; thus says the Lord, 'Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gates of Samaria.'" [2 Kings 7:1]

The royal officer who accompanies the king is typically negative…'Behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" In other words, there's no way!

Elisha replies "Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it." Notice he didn’t pray about it, or fast, or seek the Lord. He’d just said it, and believed that what he said would happen.

So, the scene is set. Famine, siege, hopelessness, doubt and unbelief. This situation is completely desperate, from a natural point of view. How can it be turned around in a day? Impossible! But not for the man of God...

Kind of reminds me of the Red Sea deliverance of Moses and the Hebrew slaves coming out of Egypt—surrounded on all sides, completely overpowered and trapped…hmmm.

Unlikely Saviors
Cut to four lepers, sitting at the gate, outcast from society. They know if they do nothing, they'll die along with the residents of the city. So, they decide to go to the camp of the enemy—if they're killed, it's the same as if they did nothing. But if they're shown mercy, they will be saved. A sort of nothing-ventured-nothing-gained scenario.

So they decide to take the risk, and approach the enemy's camp. To their surprise, it's empty, with abundant food and riches abandoned for the taking.

I love the explanation in 2 Kings 7:6,7...

'For the Lord had caused the army of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, "Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us."

Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life.'

An impossible situation and a implausible solution! At first, the lepers ate their fill and hid some of the treasure for themselves. Then they realized that what they were doing was wrong, and went to inform the king of the good fortune that lay waiting for plunder.

The king, fearing it might be a trap, sends soldiers to check it out. When it turned out to be legit, the people plundered the camp. Thus it was so, the very next day, as Elisha prophesied!

But the story is not finished! Not only did Elisha's prophesies re: the end of the famine come true, so did his prophecies re: the royal official! The king appointed him keeper of the gate, and the people trampled him in their rush to plunder the enemy's camp! He saw it, alright, but never ate of it!

The Moral of the Story
There are several things we can learn from this story.

First, the prophecy of a man or woman of God will come to pass, no matter how unlikely it may seem. Since, as Christians who are full of the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son [ref John 14] it would seem that this would apply to us as well. In Mark 11 and Matthew 17, Jesus tells us plainly to speak to the physical world it and it will obey us. Elisha's prophesying over the natural realm is a great example of this.

And don’t forget…Jesus Himself said that the least one in the kingdom of God would be greater than the greatest one born of a woman, John the Baptist! [Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28] Why? Because we are born again, of the living and enduring Word of God…one Spirit with the Lord! [1 Peter 1:23; 1 Corinthians 6:17]

But what's really instructive about this story is God's MO [modus operandi, or way of doing things]. From the natural, the situation looked hopeless and unsolvable. But the man of God gave the word, and it was up to God to perform it.

And He used society's outcasts—four lepers—to bring the prophecy to pass! He made some scary noises to drive off the enemy and led these plucky outcasts to discover the empty camp. The city was saved in a day—from hopelessness to joy in 24 hours! A seemingly impossible accomplishment, brought about in some very non-traditional, non-predictable ways.

The point? He backed Elisha's word...impossible, implausible, no-way-this-was-going-to-happen word.

Think about the Red Sea incident in Exodus 14. The Israelites couldn't see any way out. And if they could've imagined some miraculous deliverance, I'm betting splitting the Red Sea so they could pass on dry land wouldn't have even occurred to them! Not to mention the subsequent obliteration of the Egyptian army...

And the night before the Passover, God instructed them to ask of the Egyptians silver, gold and other possessions. '...thus they plundered the Egyptians.' [Exodus 12:36] Poor slaves one day, rich and delivered the next!

Not only delivered, but rich and healed [Psalm 105:37], and their enemies wiped out forever! [Exodus 14:27,28]

Don't Worry About the How
Keep an open mind. Maybe the check won't come in the mail, or in any other expected, 'normal' way. Maybe He'll get it to you via a raven or fish. [1 Kings 17:6; Matthew 17:27]

Use your faith—believe that His Word and yours will come to pass—and don't worry about the 'hows.'

It might not be how you think it will be, but He watches over His Word to perform it. [Jeremiah 1:12] And, according to Mark 11 and Matthew 17, He backs our words as well. Decree a thing, and it will be established for you. [Job 22:28]

Hallelujah!