[2KG:6:24-33]; [2KG:7:1-20]; [2KG:8:1-15].
Lesson 316 - Senior
Memory Verse
"Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling" (Psalm 91:9, 10).
Cross References
I The Distress of Samaria
1. Ben-hadad, king of Syria, besieges Samaria and reduces the city to great distress, [2KG:6:24-25]. 2. A woman tells her pitiful story to the king, who blames conditions on Elisha, and vows to destroy him, [2KG:6:26-31]; [LEV:26:25-29]; [DEU:28:53] 3. The Lord reveals the plot to Elisha, who foretells relief from the famine, [2KG:6:32-33]; [2KG:7:1-2].II The Decision and Action of Four Lepers
1. Four lepers, perishing with hunger, find the Syrians' camp deserted, [2KG:7:3-5]. 2. The Lord causes the Syrians to hear the noise of a great host of chariots. They flee, leaving their camp and horses behind, [2KG:7:6-8]; [2KG:19:7]; [PRO:28:1]. 3. The lepers partake of the spoils and say one to another: "This day is a day of good tidings, . . . come, that we may go and tell the king's household," [2KG:7:9-11]. 4. Elisha's prophecy comes true, [2KG:7:12-20].III A Conversation Between the King and Gehazi
1. The sojourning of the Shunammite woman for seven years is related, [2KG:8:1-2]. 2. While the king converses with Gehazi about Elisha, the Shunammite returns and solicits the king for her land, [2KG:8:1-6].IV The Death of Ben-hadad
1. Ben-hadad is sick and sends Hazael to Elisha, [2KG:8:7-9]. 2. Elisha predicts Ben-hadad's death and Hazael kills the king, [2KG:8:10-15].Notes
Famines
Famines are many times sent by God because of sin and disobedience. This famine in Samaria was a direct result of Ahab's sin. Ahab had married Jezebel, an idolatrous Phoenician woman. We read: "There was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up" [1KG:21:25]). In his last days, Ahab humbled himself before the Lord; and because of this the Lord did not let the evil that was pronounced against Ahab come to pass in his days but brought it to pass in his son's day. Our lesson opens with Jehoram, the son of Ahab, reigning in Samaria, and Ben-hadad, king of Syria, besieging the city.Distress in the City
The famine was very great in the city. The people were in sore distress. Women were eating their own children, a curse that Moses said would come upon them if they disobeyed the Lord [DEU:28:51-53]). Many people seem to think they can go on in their own ways, disobeying God's commands, and still escape punishment. But we find God's judgments always follow sin. The Word of God states: "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" [GAL:6:7]). The seed of disobedience produces a terrific harvest. The people of Samaria were finding it out. The king of Israel wanted to lay the blame on Elisha for the awful conditions in the city. The natural man likes to lay the blame for his sins and wrongdoings on someone else. He tries to shield himself and say the other fellow is guilty. God knows the heart. He can look right down and say, "Thou art the man." The king planned to take Elisha's life. The Lord revealed it to Elisha and he escaped the plot. "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations" [2PE:2:9]). He always cares for His own. Nothing can come to one of God's people but what He allows. The godly man has the promise upon which he can depend, "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper."Elisha
Elisha had followed up the work of Elijah, with schools for the young prophets at Samaria, Dothan, Bethel, Jericho, Shunem, and Carmel. Elisha was possibly teaching in Samaria when the city was besieged. The Lord had performed many miracles by the hand of Elisha, and now another mighty miracle was soon to take place. The Lord remembers His own and never forsakes them, even in the time of famine. No doubt in this school of the prophets were men who loved righteousness. They, together with Elisha, were the "salt" of Samaria. Another promise that is given to the godly is, "They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied" [PS:37:19]).Unbelief
When Elisha sent word to the king that "to morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, . . . in the gate of Samaria," the official on whose hand the king leaned, scoffed at the idea. He questioned: "Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?" His unbelief kept him from partaking of the bounty that the rest of the city soon enjoyed. Unbelief in one's heart will always keep him from enjoying God's blessings. This official had been appointed to keep the gate in Samaria; and, in the mad rush of the people who were going to and from the camp of the Syrians to get food, he was knocked down, trodden upon, and killed. Some might say it was an accident, but it was a fulfilment of God's word. The Lord has His own way of bringing things to pass. Faith will put God's promises into effect. Unbelief will keep a person out of the Kingdom of God.Good Tidings
The four lepers were hungry men. They could not hope to get any food from the city. If they stayed outside the city walls, they would perish. If they went to the camp of the Syrians, the Syrians might have mercy on them and spare them alive. They had a decision to make, and they might have felt that they would take a chance. There is no chance for a sinner so long as he remains in sin. He can but perish. But when the sinner decides to come to Jesus, there is hope. In the parable we see that when the prodigal son was perishing with hunger, he came to himself and realised there was plenty and to spare in his father's house. He decided to arise and go home. He put his choice into action. These lepers did the same thing. We do not know if the Lord amplified the noise of their footsteps as they went down the highway; but we do know that the Syrians heard the noise of a great host coming. They became panic-stricken and fled, leaving their tents and supplies behind. When the lepers entered the camp they found an abundance of food and raiment. For a while they feasted, and then they realised there was an abundance of food in the abandoned camp for all the city of Samaria. They said one to another: "We do not well; this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household."Telling the Story
To be starving and then suddenly come into the midst of plenty was enough to make it a day of good tidings to those lepers. It is also a day of good tidings when a sinner steps out of the thraldom of sin into the glorious liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In a spiritual sense, he steps from want to plenty, from darkness to light, from bondage to liberty. The very word Gospel means good news or glad tidings. Right away the lepers wanted to tell the king's household. The news they had was too good to keep; they wanted to share it with others. When we are saved we find something so wonderful we want to tell others about it too, for there is an abundance of this wonderful salvation."Tell it again! Tell it again! Salvation's story repeat o'er and o'er, Till none can say of the children of men, 'Nobody ever has told me before!'"
Confirmation of the Truth
Elisha's prophecy and the miraculous way in which the Lord provided food must have softened the king's heart. We find the king conversing with Gehazi and wanting to know all the great things that Elisha had done. Some think Gehazi was one of the four lepers who went to the camp of the Syrians. Evidently Gehazi was not holding any resentment in his heart against Elisha for the curse Elisha had pronounced against him when his covetous heart reached out for a gift from Naaman. We find Gehazi very enthusiastic in his telling the king about the miracles Elisha had wrought. As he was telling about the young man who had been raised from the dead -" at that very moment -" the Lord sent the Shunammite woman to the king. She had come to the king to beg for the recovery of her land which she had lost during the seven years of famine. She had gone to the land of the Philistines, at the word of Elisha, to escape the suffering during the famine. When Gehazi saw her he cried out, "My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life." When the Lord wants to confirm a truth, He has His own way of doing it. It may be that the Lord wanted to soften the king's heart so that he would be willing to grant the woman her land again. Many a converted criminal's testimony of salvation has softened an officer's heart and caused him to grant freedom to the man.The Death of Ben-hadad
In the closing scene of our lesson we find Elisha going to Damascus, the capital of Syria. Ben-hadad was sick, and he sent Hazael, possibly the highest officer in his cabinet, to Elisha that Ben-hadad might know whether he would recover from his sickness. As this man stood before Elisha, the Lord revealed to Elisha that Hazael would be king over Syria. Elisha also saw the awful atrocities this man would commit against the Children of Israel. Elisha wept. Hazael began the evil deeds prophesied of him by going back to the king and smothering him with a thick cloth, taking over the kingdom of Syria. We see here the terrible end of Ben-hadad, who had fought many battles against the Children of Israel. God had said, "Cursed is he that curseth thee" (Number 24:9).