2 Kings 7:3-7 NIV 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? 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.” 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, 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!” 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.
Observation
This is one of my favorite stories in the entire Bible! It ranks right up there with other miracles like the parting of the Red Sea, David and Goliath and Balaam’s talking donkey, but, additionally, this one speaks to me personally.
Previously in this story, Ben-Hadad, king of Aram (Syria), has surrounded and besieged the city of Samaria, capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, for an extended length of time until there is a great famine in the city. The situation inside the city is desperate and the famine so great that the people have resorted to cannibalism. The king of Israel (Joram, son of Ahab and Jezebel) bemoans his fate as all God’s fault. Joram sends men to murder Elisha, God’s prophet and thorn in Joram’s side, saying, “This trouble is directly from God! And what’s next? I’m fed up with God!” (2 Kings 6:33 MSG). Elisha makes the “impossible” prediction that by tomorrow, at the same time of day, the siege will be ended, the city will be saved and food will be plentiful. Needless to say, they don’t believe him!
Enter our four starving lepers. Leprosy is a progressive, degenerative disease that presents with white patches on the skin but also impacts the nervous system. If untreated, it results in the loss of body parts (fingers, toes, nose, skin, feet and so on). As with most lepers, these four are isolated from the general population, considered contagious and incurable, better-off-dead; lepers were outcasts and valueless to this society, the lowest of the low. They are aware that they face death no matter which choice they make – stay put, go into the city, or surrender to the enemy. As these outcasts say, “Why stay here until we die?” Let’s do something!
So, here is the picture I see. These four sick, starving, scrawny, ragged, pitiable men struggle to their feet, take up their crutches, and hobble, stumble, painstakingly making their way in the gathering dusk toward the enemy camp in the hope of getting one last meal before they die (“If they receive us we’ll live, if they kill us we’ll die. We’ve got nothing to lose.”). Now, the miracle!
While I am sure their stumbling, staggering, shuffling progress was not silent, God struck fear in the hearts of the Aramean army by multiplying and magnifying these small noises into the sound of two fierce armies (Hittite and Egyptian) coming to attack Aram’s mighty army! In a panic, the entire Aramean army “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.” Only God could do such a thing!
Impact on Me
So, why is this story so special to me? Why does it impact me every time I return to 2 Kings 7 as powerfully as it does? Why do I come here when I need a dose of hope? Why has this story changed the way I face circumstances that seem impossible to overcome?
Here are four people with no qualifications, skills, authority, influence, training, strength – really nothing to offer, considered valueless and discarded – who, in God’s hands were used to save an entire city. Their vision was very small, very limited, but hope got them up and moving to accomplish it. They are the most unlikely heroes in the whole of the Bible.
Whenever I am tempted to give up or pass on an opportunity for God to use me, I am reminded of these four. It is not my qualifications, skills, authority, influence, training or strength that God needs to accomplish His will and purpose. If He can save a city with these four, He can take my hope, my trust in Him and my obedience to magnify my small effort to make the enemy flee in terror. This story always reminds me to step out of my possibility box and into His infinite possibilities.
Prayer
Lord, You are the Almighty, Holy, All-Powerful, only True God. I ask that You make me an instrument in the Redeemer’s hand, so that my small dose of hope, faith, and obedience can be magnified by You into salvation, redemption, restoration for many and glory for You. Help me to get out of my possibility box and live in Your infinite possibilities. Remind me that You will effectively use whatever I bring to the table, but You need nothing more than my faith, willingness and obedience to accomplish Your will and purpose. I pray this all in the name of Jesus.
Pressing On In His Footsteps 