2 KINGS 7
Read 2 Kings 6:24 to 7:20
The war between Aram and Israel had restarted – this is ‘some time later’ than the previous skirmishes in which the King of Israel showed great mercy towards the enemy. This may now be a new king of Aram who did not experience that grace. The situation is that the Arameans have laid siege to Samaria, the capital city of the northern kingdom of God’s people. And the situation is getting desperate. Food supplies have run so low that there is rampant inflation reminiscent of Germany under the Weimar republic between the wars. People are so desperate that they were turning to cannibalism (6:28). One incident proved the final straw for the king of Israel; two women had a reciprocal arrangement to consume their children, and one reneged on the agreement. The king of Israel was fed up with waiting on the Lord and wanted to take out his displeasure on the Lord’s representative, Elisha and have him killed.
When the king’s servant went for the prophet, Elisha locked the door. The servant shouted through the door at him but Elisha said that the next day prices would be back to normal – in effect, everything will be OK; the Lord has it all in hand. And, of course, he had. The Lord deceived the Arameans into thinking that a great army was coming upon them and they fled in disarray (7:6) abandoning their camp. The king was doubtful, thinking that this was a ruse by the enemy to draw him out of the city; he did not trust the Lord or his servant Elisha. But the Lord was faithful and true and once again he had delivered his people.
We might be concerned that God let his people reach the depths of degradation, to the extent that they were so desperate for food that they resorted to cannibalism. We can never know the mind of God or the reasons for his actions, but it is clear that sometimes he allows his people to plumb the lowest depths of existence before he raises them up. However desperate the situation of the church, we can have the confidence that God will not abandon his people, that he will deliver them. Salvation is costly; look what it cost the Lord, the death of his only son.
One final note is the fate of the king’s messenger. When Elisha said that the Lord would deliver Israel; that things would soon return to normal, the messenger did not believe (7:2). And Elisha pronounced the Lord’s judgement upon him for his lack of faith. In 7:19 that officer had been reassigned to gate duty when news got out that there was food available in the abandoned Aramean camp and he was crushed to death in the rush. God’s word is to be taken seriously. However unlikely it may seem to the human mind, God speaks the truth and if we deny God’s word, if we disbelieve God’s word, then we lay ourselves open to his judgement.