Read 2 Kings 7
7 Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”
2 The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?”
“You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it!”
The Siege Lifted
3 Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”
5 At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there, 6 for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!” 7 So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.
8 The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.
9 Then they said to each other, “What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.”
10 So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, “We went into the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were.” 11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.
12 The king got up in the night and said to his officers, “I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, ‘They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.’”
13 One of his officers answered, “Have some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of all the Israelites left here—yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to find out what happened.”
14 So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, “Go and find out what has happened.” 15 They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the messengers returned and reported to the king. 16 Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of the finest flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, as the Lord had said.
17 Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. 18 It happened as the man of God had said to the king: “About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”
19 The officer had said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” The man of God had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!” 20 And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.
Go Deeper
In 2 Kings 6, we read how dire the situation became in Samaria (capital of Israel) due to the siege of the Aramean army. The King of Israel exclaims, “… Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?” Chapter 7 opens with God’s reply through Elisha and ends with the realization of this prophecy.
Elisha prophecies a miraculous end to the famine overnight! There was no earthly way for this result: food was in high demand with gravely minimal supply, and the Aramean army was well entrenched to ensure it stayed that way. An officer helping the King of Israel voiced his (and probably others’) doubt.
[The officer said], “You expect us to believe that? Trapdoors opening in the sky and food tumbling out?”
“You’ll watch it with your own eyes,” [Elisha] said, “but you will not eat so much as a mouthful!” (The Message)
The rest of this chapter describes how God used circumstances to do precisely what He said He would do. At the end of the chapter, we find this officer at the gate to command the city’s security. When there was news that food was available and it was safe outside the city, the crowd surged through the gate, trampling the officer and fulfilling the fatal prophecy.
While the officer’s logic told him the prophecy was impossible, Isaiah 55: 8-9 tells us:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
As we look around at circumstances in this broken world, we may not see a way for things to be better. This may be as practical as finances simply not adding up to the bills to be paid, or it may be as overwhelming as the division and hate sweeping our country. We can’t see any way for the current situation to change…but God can.
Our limited perspective does not bind him, and when we doubt God’s power, our unbelief can have real consequences. At best we miss out on what He is doing in the world, and at worst it can cause great harm to others and ourselves. When we surrender over our unbelief to the Holy Spirit, it is amazing the ways that God shows up in our lives.
Questions
- How has unbelief impacted your relationship with God? What are some consequences from doubting God?
- Have you ever experienced a situation that seemed hopeless, yet God worked it out? If so, thank Him and share this example with your community. If not, ask your Life Group if any of them have experienced this as well.
- What current situation seems beyond an earthly solution? Pray for God’s ways to be higher than your ways and for the faith to accept His Truth.
Watch This
Leave a Comment Below
Join the Team
Interested in writing for the Bible Reading Plan? Email [email protected].
4 responses to “2 Kings 7”
1 “a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”
As an investment person, I find it interesting that the price of food is used for a prophecy! Elisha is saying that things are going to get better very quickly and as an indicator of that flour and barley prices will drop dramatically to dirt cheap levels. Kind of how today we look to gas prices, egg prices, etc. as a gauge of how bad (or good) things are!
BUT GOD, He is always in our midst, working out for our good IF we let Him. God is going to keep His covenants. Jesus has promised to come again, but in these last days, people are questioning that promise. But this is fulfilling 2 Peter 3. BUT GOD vs 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
“Elijah and John the Baptist both prepared the way for their successors to minister, for without conviction there is no true conversion.” Weirsbe
God wants us to know and see from these writings that He is always in our midst. But also there are consequences for actions, good or bad. He wants us completely and without any other “god” “idol” or pleasures in our heads, before anything, we should want Him. Time and time again we will see how He will bless and give good gifts to those that are following Him and there are not so good gifts for those who do not follow Him.
God thank You that I put my trust in You and You alone. Thank You for helping me get rid of, destroying, and coming against any thing that is not of You. James 2:19 says You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! I want nothing to hold me from serving and loving You, God. Let my yes, mean yes, for Your glory and honor. God thank You for leading my path in the minutes of this day. God, let my words be seasoned with Your salt and light. Let me hear from You with shema hearing, by obedience. God let all my actions be glorifing and showing You even more clearly to others. God thank You for today, these minutes of this day, that You are high and lifted up in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Someone in our life group was asking about prophecy. This is prophecy in 2 kings 7:1, 2…
tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekels, and two measures of barley for a shekels, in the gate of Samaria… 2b,
and he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
Did God give Elisha all the details that follow about the lepers, the Syrians hearing an army approaching, etc? No! But God spoke, which was enough for Elisha to believe it would happen.
Do we believe when God speaks?
Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you,…
2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (look it up).
SAVE A SEAT!!!
Christ’s words in John 16:9 reveal the indictment of humanity, “The world’s sin is unbelief in me.” The king’s officer openly expressed his doubt and ultimately lost his life, yet the 4 men who had leprosy risked their lives and ushered in God’s miraculous provision for the people. If I’m honest my tendency can be like doubting Thomas when I view circumstances in the natural world. Only with the power of the Homy Spirit can I remain confident in the hope of Christ.