2 Kings 7:1-20
1 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.
2 Then a lorda 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.
3 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?
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
10 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.
11 And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house within.
12 And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they 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.
13 And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are leftb in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.
14 They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.
15 And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.
16 And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
17 And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.
18 And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:
19 And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
20 And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.
2 Kings 7:3. Four leprous men. This is frequently called by the rabbins the Egyptian disease, and the law required that they should dwell alone.
2 Kings 7:6. The kings of the Hittites. Those of Philistia, Tyre, and the Isles, as well as the Egyptians. The greatest victories which God has accorded to his church, have been effected without carnal weapons. Prayer in extremities is more efficacious than the sword. The Lord showed his righteousness in the sight of the heathen.
2 Kings 7:19. Windows in heaven. The LXX, “cataracts in heaven,” pouring down corn as a cataract, a broken falling stream, pours down water from the superior river. Scoffing at revelation, clear in its characters, and hallowed in its operations, has often proved a sin unto death. When the Lord opened the windows of heaven in the days of Noah, the scoffers at the ark were presently washed from all the adjacent hills.
REFLECTIONS.
This chapter opens with a bright morning on Samaria, after a dark night, which seemed to portend destruction. It realizes the ancient proverb, that man's extremity is sometimes God's opportunity. The people were dying for want of food; and now the good prophet comforts them with a promise of plenty, and in one day. The courtly infidel mocked, and God in return mocked at his cries, when the people trode upon him in the gate, as Elisha had foretold. Now the good man prayed; and the moment it was dark, the Lord caused the Syrians to hear a most terrific rumbling of chariots and horses driving furiously, and just entering their camp for carnage. Terror fell upon them, and so precipitate was their retreat that they left their immense stores of provisions, spoil, and cattle behind. This host came rather with plenty to relieve, than to besiege the capital of Israel. But of all the extraordinary circumstances in this siege, the case of the four lepers is the most remarkable. Sorely pinched with hunger, and feeling the approach of death, they wisely agreed to trust the remains of an expiring life in the enemy's hands. Let the leprous sinner reason in like manner with his own heart. If I remain in my sins, shut out from God and his people, and sentenced by the law, I shall die. But why do I fear to come to the Saviour? Surely he will show me more kindness than these lepers could possibly expect from the Syrian host. In the days of his flesh he was the lepers' best friend; he touched and cleansed them. Surely it is more honourable, if I must perish, to die at his feet, than to perish clinging to my money, my pleasures, and the fond hopes of life, embittered by many afflictions. I will therefore, and without delay, cast my soul on his mercy. If he save me alive, I shall live with him in glory: if he spurn me, I can but die.
The unexpected and great deliverances which the Lord granted to his church and people, may at all times encourage us to expect help and salvation in one way or other from his arm; and he is still the God of the whole earth. An affecting instance of the divine care over the protestants of Ireland occurred at the time when the French attempted to land in Bantry Bay, which had it been effected, would in all probability have rendered the whole country a scene of blood, the invaders having twenty two sail of the line full of troops; but by a northern tempest they were driven out to sea. Yea, the Lord did more for Ireland by the prayer of faith, than by the force of arms. Let Zion rejoice, even in the worst of times, for the Lord God omnipotent is her sure defence.