2 Kings 7:1 says, Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. When things looked their worse, Elisha said that things were going to be good once more tomorrow. Sometimes, when things seem to be their worse, all we have to do is hang on in faith for just a little longer. One way or the other, they will get better if we remain faithful to God. Verse two adds, Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. A man with the king questioned Elisha about God's ability to do this. He was basically saying it was impossible that God could do this, and Elisha said that he would see ir for himself but wouldn't eat of the bread himself. One day, people will see the truth of salvation, but those who have declared it an impossibility and refused to put their faith in Jesus Christ will never benefit from it. Verse three continues, And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? Four lepers at the gate asked why they should just sit there begging until they died. They were out of hope. Too many people today live without hope because they refuse to put their faith in God. Verse four states, If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die. They said that whatever they did while staying in Isarel was going to lead to their death, so they decided to go to Syria where they would either be fed or killed. They had decided they had rather die elsewhere instead of continuing to wait on God to provide for their needs. Some people today who profess to be Christians still turn to the world for answers when things get tough instead of putting their faith in God no matter what. We as followers of Christ should never be guilty of doing this. Verse five adds, And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. These lepers got up in the twilight and went to the camp of the Syrians, but there no one was there. They were not going to find help outside of God's help, and neither will we today spiritually, even if we decide to go looking. Verse six continues, For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. The Syrians had been routed, not by the army of Israel but by God Himself causing them to hear noises that made them think that the people of Israel had hired other armies to help them. It was God they should have feared when they were attacking His people and not other people of the world. God does not need armies to bring about His will, but He still works through the obedience of His people to do so most of the time. Verse seven concludes, Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. The noises that the Syrians herd led to their fleeing and leaving everything behind, including their tents, horses and asses. One day, when the trumpet of the Lord sounds, everyone is going to leave everything behind and face Him either alone or through their faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing we possess will be of any value to us to bring about our salvation. Verse eight says, And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it. When the lepers found the camp abandoned, instead of returning to tell the other people of Samaria, they began to look only for their own profit. They ate and drank and then began to take silver, gold and raiment and hide it. Too many people are still self-centered today, looking more for what will profit themselves than for the good of others in need. Verse nines adds, Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household. At least they realized that what they were doing was wrong and decided to go and tell the king's household. If we are attempting to keep God's blessings only for ourselves when others are suffering, then we need to realize how wrong this is and began to look at what is best for others as well. Verse ten continues, So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were. They went to the king's porter to share the good news with him. As lepers, they had limits on what they could do, and we may have limits on what we can do today, but that does not exempt us from sharing the gospel with those whom we can. Verse eleven concludes, And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house within. The porters then shared the good news with those within the king's house. This is the way the gospel needs to be shared today. We as a follower of Christ share with another person, who then shares with someone else, and we repeat the action. We can only reach the world one person at a time. Even if several people come to Christ at the same time, they still have to come individually.
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