Thought from today’s Bible reading from 2 Kings 5-8.
“Now it came about after this, that Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria. There was a great famine in Samaria; and behold, they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver” (2 Kings 6:24-25)
Times were desperate in Samaria. With the city under siege, food was scarce, prices were high, and people had even started resorting to cannibalism in order to survive (2 Kings 6:26-29). Elisha prophesied that conditions would soon change.
“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 gate of Samaria.”‘ The royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, ‘Behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?’ Then he said, ‘Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it’” (2 Kings 7:1-2).
Elisha did not specify how, but he clearly implied that God was going to do something to end the siege and relieve the city (2 Kings 7:5-7). Not only would the siege be ended, but the camp of the Arameans would be abandoned, full of provisions that could be immediately taken and used by the people. The royal officer who mocked Elisha’s prediction would see it come to pass, but he would not enjoy it.
“So the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. Then 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. Now the king appointed the royal officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate; but the people trampled on him at the gate, and he died just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him” (2 Kings 7:16-17).
Notice three brief points from this account:
- Blessings come from God. The miserable situation in Samaria was directly tied to the siege. God, through His power, ended the siege.
- We must have faith in God. The officer mocked the idea that God could bless the people as Elisha prophesied. He was punished for his lack of faith.
- Civil government is to be “a minister of God… for good” (Romans 13:4), which does not include regulating and restricting one from enjoying the good blessings which God has given. This is exactly what the officer at the gate was doing: regulating and restricting the flow of people from obtaining the blessings God had richly given them which they desperately needed.
Trust in God and do not try to stand in the way of others receiving His abundant blessings.
Tomorrow’s reading: 2 Kings 9-11
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
