2 Kings 7

CHAPTER 7THEME: Elisha’s promise of plenty is fulfilledChapter 7 continues the narrative of chapter 6. Holding Elisha responsible for the siege, the king of Israel sends an executioner to slay him. However, God forewarns Elisha and gives him the good news that the famine will end on the following day.

2 Kings 7:1

A measure of fine flour actually means about four pecks, which would be about a bushel. One shekel would probably be worth about sixty-five cents. That means the inflation would be over. They would be having a real discount sale on flour. How could such a thing come to pass? How could food be brought into the city when the Syrian host was camped outside the walls allowing no one in or out? Apparently the king believed Elisha’s audacious prophecy because he spared his life at this time. However, his right-hand man scoffed at the idea.

2 Kings 7:2

This prediction was literally fulfilled the next day. Now the scene shifts to a pathetic group of hopeless men outside the city gates.

2 Kings 7:3

Because they were lepers, they were excluded from society and were dependent upon relatives or friends bringing them food. Now that everyone inside the city was starving, of course, there was no surplus for them. As we have said, leprosy is a type of sin. The application for us is that before we came to Christ we were in a predicament equally as desperate. We were like the lepers, sitting among the dead, having no hope and without God in the world. The lepers, realizing they had nothing to lose, decided to throw themselves upon the mercy of the enemy. When they reached the camp of the Syrians, they found it deserted. What had happened to that great hostprobably a hundred thousand or more?

2 Kings 7:6

The sound of an approaching army had put them in panic. The Syrians did not march in an orderly way. When they took off, it was every man for himself. They were traveling at night and they were traveling fast.

2 Kings 7:8

In that day, the army carried with it all the food they would need. This was a long campaignthey were besieging Samaria, the city there on the hill. In their scramble to get away, they had left everything, all the supplies they had. After the Syrian army had fled, the lepers went into the camp and gorged themselves on gourmet food for as long as they could eat. Then they found and hid more gold and silver than they would ever need.

2 Kings 7:9

Now the excitement is over, and they begin to come to themselves. “Here we are gorging ourselves when the people in the city are starving. We’ve got to go tell them the good news!” There is a great spiritual lesson for us here. At this moment you and I are enjoying the Word of God. Today is a day of good tidings, and we sit here and enjoy it. What about getting the Word out to others? What are you doing to share the Word of God with those who are starving spiritually? You ought to be busy getting the Word of God out to needy hearts.

One man told me, “I can’t speak, I can’t teach, I can’t sing, I can’t do much of anything except make money.” Believe me, God has given him a talent for making money. He simply cannot lose money. Everything he touches turns to gold. I believe his ability is a gift from God, and he certainly is using it to get the Word of God out. God expects each of us to use the talents He has given us to publish the good tidings which are the Word of God. We must not hold our peace in this desperate hour! After the lepers told the king the good news, the children of Israel went into the abandoned Syrian camp and found enough food to feed an army of several thousand. There was an abundance of food. The supermarkets in Samaria had a big sale; you could buy food cheap. You did not have to buy animal heads for food anymore. You could buy filet mignon instead! The prophecy of Elisha was literally fulfilled.