7 Elisha replied, “Hear the WORD OF THE LORD. THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SAYS: About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.” 2 Kings 7
We saw earlier this week that Elisha had DECLARED THE WORD OF THE LORD. There was no equivocation, no doubt in the WORD FROM THE LORD, in God’s mind it was already done. God’s Word may not always come through with such clarity, but when it does manifest we should take careful note. It’s not just what the Word declares but the authority behind what’s being spoken.
2 The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?”
“You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it!” 2 Kings 7
It was ironic, a whole city was to be set free from siege and famine, but life for the many would also bring death to the careless attendant of the king. This man looked at the situation with his natural eyes and didn’t believe the word of God’s deliverance and spoke out of turn.
3 What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written:
‘So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge.’ Romans 3:4, Psalm 51:4, David’s great psalm of contrition after Bathsheba.
Many such situations could easily occur at the present time when people in positions of influence contradict the word of the Lord, ‘to again set the captives free’.
17 Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. 2 Kings 7
It was the same king who had leant on the officer’s arm for support who ordered him to control the crowd in the gate of the city – where he died. There are times when people simply will not be controlled by those in authority e.g. the rejoicing at the end of World War 2. I believe that we will see such scenes repeated in the future when people rejoice in freedom from their misery. The God who decreed delivery for the city of Samaria has decreed freedom for the nations of this earth again and despite all opposition to the contrary, His decree will surely come to pass. We must be careful to embrace seismic shifts in society and not remain stuck in the past, truly ‘life and death are in the power of the tongue’.
May the Lord bless and keep us today. Immanuel, God is with us.