Behold, you will see it with your own eyes

2 Kings 7:1-20 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible (link on links page)

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.’” ² 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.”

Four Lepers Relate Arameans’ Flight

³ Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die? ⁴ If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we will live; and if they kill us, we will but die.” ⁵ They arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans; when they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Arameans, behold, there was no one there. ⁶ For the Lord had caused the army of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.” ⁷ Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life. ⁸ When these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they entered one tent and ate and drank, and carried from there silver and gold and clothes, and went and hid them; and they returned and entered another tent and carried from there also, and went and hid them.

⁹ Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent; if we wait until morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come, let us go and tell the king’s household.” ¹⁰ So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and they told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Arameans, and behold, there was no one there, nor the voice of man, only the horses tied and the donkeys tied, and the tents just as they were.” ¹¹ The gatekeepers called and told it within the king’s household. ¹² Then the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “I will now tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone from the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and get into the city.’” ¹³ One of his servants said, “Please, let some men take five of the horses which remain, which are left in the city. Behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who are left in it; behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who have already perished, so let us send and see.” ¹⁴ They took therefore two chariots with horses, and the king sent after the army of the Arameans, saying, “Go and see.”

The Promise Fulfilled

¹⁵ They went after them to the Jordan, and behold, all the way was full of clothes and equipment which the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. Then the messengers returned and told the king.

¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ It happened just 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, will be sold tomorrow about this time at the gate of Samaria.” ¹⁹ Then the royal officer answered the man of God and said, “Now behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it.” ²⁰ And so it happened to him, for the people trampled on him at the gate and he died.

In today's text we see what we see many times in scripture, God fighting and winning a battle for His people. Many times we see the nation of Israel being victorious over a larger and stronger enemy. The deliverance from Egypt comes to mind, where we read in Exodus 14:23-25:

Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. ²⁴ At the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. ²⁵ He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.” 

Another time is when God caused the walls of Jericho to fall leading to Israels victory over that city. Another example is in 2 Samuel 5:24 when David is leading Israel against the Philistines.

"It shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for then the LORD will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines."

Over and over we see times in scripture when God fights for and delivers victory for His people. What can we learn from today's text about God fighting for us and giving us victory over our enemy? 

Our text begins: 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.’”      There is a confidence and faith which we have when we hear the word of the Lord. Elisha heard the Lord by the Spirit, and he declared what the Lord said about the situation. When we face difficult circumstances in our lives we need to seek to hear the word of the Lord. There are times that when we are in crisis we cry out to God, we pray and we seek His deliverance and that is good and right for us to do. But we also need to take time in our prayer and devotion to listen for His word. He may want to speak to encourage us, or to give us a vision for the future, as He did for Elisha here. God may want to speak to let us know His strategy for the battle. If we only speak and don't take time to listen we can miss the victory God has for us. If we are not hearing His voice we can go to His written word to hear what He says about our circumstances. His promises are recorded to increase our faith.  

The next thing we see in the text is the response of the officer.       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?”      We need to hold fast to what God has spoken. Others around us may continue to see the circumstances based on the physical evidence. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says: for we walk by faith, not by sight--   and Romans 10:17 says: So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.     Others will doubt and even question or ridicule our declaration of faith. If we have heard from God we can hold fast to what He has said.

Let's look at one more thing we can see from today's text, it continues: Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die? ⁴ If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we will live; and if they kill us, we will but die.”        Sometimes God's deliverance is seen by those who are desperate, those who have no other alternative. Often in scripture we see times when the nation of Israel would go out in pride or in their own strength and be defeated by the enemy. God wants us to trust Him, not to rely on our own strength. Look at the example of Gideon in Judges 7:2-8        

² The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me.’ ³ Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’” So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained. ⁴ Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there..... ⁶ Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. ⁷ The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands

One of the greatest hindrances in the church today, particularly the  church in America, is the wealth of resources that are available, along with all the knowledge and technology we have. There is a tendency to rely on our own resources and abilities because there is so much available. There is a tendency to trust in the knowledge of men, in the areas of provision and health. It seems as though very often we only turn to God when we are desperate, when we like these leprous men realize there  is no way out in the natural realm. We seek God's hand of deliverance when we are finished with man's answers. When there is no more resources available, when the doctors have said there is nothing else they can do, then we finally look to God.

God is not offended by our actions. He simply waits for us to trust Him. It is okay to seek the counsel and help of people. It is God after all who has given men wisdom and knowledge. We just need to seek the counsel of God from the beginning, recognizing that without Him we are desperate and hopeless.

The royal officer saw the deliverance of God but did not personally experience it. God wants us to trust Him, to believe what He has said. God wants to fight for us and deliver us from our enemy.  He wants us to see and experience His deliverance.

My prayer for you today, as you face your battles is from the psalmist, Psalm 27 :

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
² When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
³ Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident.