Where do we go from Here?

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2 Kings 7:1–9 (NKJV)

1 Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord: ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’”

2 So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”

3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die?

4 If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.”

5 And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there.

6 For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so, they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!”

7 Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact—their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives.

8 And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.

9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.

Dedication:

I would like to dedicate this revision to Pastor R. Stuart Jones on his 4th anniversary at the 5thstreet Baptist church in Lynchburg VA.

Introduction:

In preparing for this sermon, I considered doing what seminarians call topical teaching, topical teaching is when you think of an idea or thought that God places in your heart and you go to the scripture to find a text to match or explain your subject.

‌Now when it comes to topical teaching, we must be careful because what we normally do is eisegesis of the text instead of exegete the text. All eisegesis means is reading what I see into the text and reading into the text your own beliefs, instead of pulling from the text what the Holy Spirit has deposited into the text.

‌As quiet as it is kept if you know what you are doing, you can make the bible say just about anything what you want it to say!

‌It was said that a pastor at the request of a concerned wifeconfronted the drunken husband about his drinking problem, the husband arrogantly told the pastor that what he was doing was in the bible.

‌1 Timothy 5:23 (NKJV)

‌23No longer drink only water but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.

‌Matthew 26:27 (KJV 1900)

‌27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

‌

All I am saying is that many times when we approach the text, we don’t come empty handed; we bring baggage to the text. We come to the text with our own preconceived ideas. Things that we have picked up from other folk, stuff we heard from songs, things that we got from unbiblical literature sometimes we bring all of that baggage to the text.

So, then we have to be careful with topical preaching.

‌

Then there is textual preaching. Textual teaching is when you teach what you see in the text right before you. But even in textual teaching you still must be very careful because you can still error.

There are a total of 783,137 words in our English bible; but the original text was written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic languages that were translated into our King James and modern languages.

‌In the Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic languages there are 12,000 different words in the bible! But in our English translation there are only 6,000 different words which mean that when that bible was translated from the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic languages the translators had to duplicate some words to put 12,000 into 6,000.

‌This means that you will see some words that are spelled the same way but have different meanings!

‌Matthew 28:18 (KJV 1900)

‌18And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

‌The Greek word is exousia which means authority…

‌Acts 1:8 (KJV 1900)

‌8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

‌Here the Greek word is dunamis from which we get our word dynamiteit means potential for functioning, might and or strength.

‌Ephesians 6:10 (KJV 1900)

‌10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

‌Here the Greek word is Kratous which is demonstrated power, spelled the same way but has a different meaning.

‌These are some of the areas that you have to be careful with in textualteaching!

Then there is what is called expository preaching that deals with interpretation which means you find out what the bible is saying.

Then you deal with investigation, you find out what it means, and then you deal with application which means you find out how you fit into the text.

‌Because whenever you read the bible, it is like standing in front of a mirror, now when you stand in front of a mirror you don’t see your neighbor; you see the person standing in front of the mirror!

‌

It is here that I want to stress that every word is important, every comma is important, every question mark is important, every semi colon is important.

For instance, whenever you see a comma, it means rest.

‌2 Corinthians 4:8 (KJV 1900)

‌8We are troubled on every side,

‌Which suggest when God allows trouble to come, He will let you rest before more trouble can come.

‌Again, the text says we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; whenever you see a semi colon a semi colon is used in place of a comma it means an even longer period of rest.

Which suggest that God is monitoring you in the midst of your troubles, and He knows when and how to give you a break so that you won’t break in the middle of your season of trouble.

That’s why…

‌1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV 1900)

‌13There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

‌

Now whenever you see a question mark only you can answer that.

‌Psalm 116:12 (KJV 1900)

‌12 What shall I render unto the Lord For all his benefits toward me?

‌Now can’t nobody answer that but you, because don’t nobody know what God as done for you, but you!

‌

Next, when you study the bible, seek out the verbs in the text because the verbs is where the action is.

‌Genesis 3:6 (KJV 1900)

‌6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she tookof the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

‌In this passage there are four verbs in this text.

‌And when the woman saw… that’s verb number one.

‌That the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took, verb number 2 she did eat… that’s verb number three. And she gave…that’s verb number four.

A look became a lust, a desire became a decision a choice became a chain, and a sinner became a seducer.

So, you see, that’s why verbs are so important.

‌

Scholars also say that you should always seek out the subject of the text because when you seek out the subject of the text you will find out what the writer had in mind when he wrote the text.

‌And whenever you find a sentence with no subject you become the subject!

‌Ephesians 5:18 (KJV 1900)

‌18And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

‌And since there is no subject in there who should be filled? You should be filled!

‌But we should also watch the conjunctions in the text. The conjunctions in the text are like the cement in a brick wall, when we see the brick wall we notice the bricks, but we pay no attention to the cement that’s in-between. But it is the cement in between the bricks that keeps the wall in order! It is the conjunctions in the text that keeps the sentence flowing and in order.

‌You see there are different kinds of conjunctions; there is what is called a contrast conjunction. Which means the sentence is going on way and you come to the contrast conjunction it will send you another way.

For instance…

‌Romans 6:23 (NKJV)

‌23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

‌The but in this passage sends you another way.

‌Jonah 1:1–4 (NKJV)

‌1Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

‌2“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

‌3But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

‌4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.

‌You see that when your but is heading in one direction; God will send another but to send you another way!

‌And is a conjunction but it is a connecting conjunction, it connects what is just happen to what is about to happen.

‌John 14:16 (NKJV)

‌16And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

‌Now all three of the God Heads are in

John 14:16 ‌

And I, that’s the son…

‌Will pray the Father, that’s the Father…

‌He will give you another Helper, that’s the Holy Ghost…

‌It is the son who prays, it is the Father to whom he prays and the Holy Ghost for whom He prays. What He is saying is that if you love me, you can have all three.

‌But there is a connection conjunction there; and what this connection conjunction is doing is connecting the promise with the principle. Most of us want to lay claim to the promises of God, while violating the principles!

‌If you don’t apply the principles of God, you won’t experience the promises of God. The principle is in verse 15…

‌John 14:15 (NKJV)

‌15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

‌Now if you abide by 15 then 16 is a sure win.

‌

If is a conjunction but it is a conditioning conjunction, which means it is based upon how you respond…

‌John 14:14 (NKJV)

‌14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

‌I like this passage because is suggest that God handles prayer differentlyfrom anything else! What do you mean preacher?

‌When He got ready to birth Israel He sent Abraham, when He got ready to lead Israel He sent Moses, when He got ready to march Israel He sent Joshua, when He needed a champion for Israel He sent Sampson, when He wanted wisdom for Israel He sent Solomon, when He wanted a singer for Israel He sent David, when He wanted patience He sent Job, when He wanted vision He sent Isaiah, when He wanted a weeper He sent Jeremiah, when He wanted a prayer He sent John, and when He wanted to shepherd 5th street He sent R. Stuart Jones, but John 14:14 says that when He gets ready to answer our prayers he don’t send nobody,

He shows up himself!

Won’t God show up! Say Amen!

Body:

2 Kings 7:3 (NKJV)

3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die?

How did we get here?

In the case of the nation of Israel and her king Joram in their attempt to be politically correct and wanting to be like the other nations they strayed away from the LORD their God. Consequently, God in order to bring them back to Himself sent more and more severe situations to get their attention and bring them to repentance.

This brings me to the first take away in the text. You only have to fear your enemies when you step outside of the will of God! (6:24–31).

In order to discipline His children Israel God raised up a Samarian warlord by the name of Ben-Hadad II. After sending raiding parties to defeat Israel didn’t he mobilized his entire army and besieged Samaria.

Since no one could leave or enter the capital, a great famine resulted. It was so severe that one donkey’s head, one of the least nourishing and most repulsive parts of this animal, unclean to the Israelites, became a highly valued commodity selling for 80 shekels (ca. two pounds) of silver. Approximately a half pint of seed pods, normally considered animal fodder, cost 5 shekels (ca. two ounces) of silver.

God had promised that such conditions would discipline His people if they turned from Him (Lev. 26:29; Deut. 28:53, 57).

2 Kings 6:26–31 (NKJV)

26 Then, as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”

27 And he said, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?”

28 Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’

29 So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.”

30 Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes; and as he passed by on the wall, the people looked, and there underneath he had sackcloth on his body.

31 Then he said, “God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today!”

Rather than dealing with the real cause of God’s discipline, his own apostasy, Joram blamed Elisha who had perhaps only explained the reason for Israel’s condition. In oath (May God deal with me, be it ever so severely; cf. 1 Kings 2:23; 20:10) the king swore to put the prophet to death that very day (cf. Elijah’s experience, 1 Kings 19:2).

(2) The prophecies of deliverance (6:32–7:2).

6:32. The elders who were sitting with Elisha in his house (cf. 5:9) were the officials of the land. Perhaps they were meeting with the prophet to discuss what should be done. Warned by God, Elisha announced that the king was sending someone to have him beheaded.

Joram did not realize that Elisha was the solution to his problems rather than their source. The prophet’s instruction to the elders to bar the dooragainst the executioner was evidently intended to postpone any violence until Joram himself would arrive.

(Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?)

The instruction would also give Elisha opportunity to announce God’s message of imminent deliverance.

6:33. When Joram did arrive he asked Elisha why he should wait … any longerfor God to act. Apparently, Elisha had told Joram that God had said he should not surrender to Ben-Hadad but should wait for divine deliverance.

In the midst of hopelessness and despair, there is the message of God, a message of hope and deliverance. No matter how helpless we may feel or how hopeless a situation may seem, there is always hope. There is hope in God and in His power to deliver us. Just as the Northern Kingdom of Israel was facing war, so war and conflict may face us. Starvation may confront us. Bankruptcy, financial difficulties, broken relationships, divorce, a severe accident or disease, or even death itself may stare us in the face. But there is always the message of God’s Holy Word, the message of hope. There is hope in God and His power to deliver us. Listen to what God’s Holy Word says about the message of His hope and deliverance.[1]

7:1–2. Elisha then announced a prophecy. Within 24 hours the siege would be over and there would be plenty to eat. A seah (ca. seven quarts) of flourwould sell for a shekel (about two-fifths of an ounce) and two seahs(ca. 13–14 quarts) of barley (for cattle to eat) would sell for the same price (cf. v. 16) at the gate of the city where business of this sort was normally transacted. These prices were not unusually low but compared with what the people had been paying during the famine (cf. 6:25) they were great bargains.[2]

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Ro. 5:6).

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Co. 12:9).

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Ep. 6:16).[3]

‌2 Kings 7:1–10 (NKJV)

3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die?

Lets Go forward!

5 And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there.

6 For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!”

7 Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact—their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives.

10 So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, “We went to the Syrian camp, and surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound—only horses and donkeys tied, and the tents intact.”

Duty: the good news of God’s wonderful deliverance was shared by the four lepers. This is a clear picture of sharing the good news of the gospel with the masses who are starving spiritually. Note how the drama painted by Scripture emphasizes the importance of missions. Those who are starving, hungering, and thirsting for life must be fed spiritually. Only God can feed their souls and give them life—abundant life—both now and eternally. For this reason, the good news of God’s deliverance must be proclaimed to the starving masses.[4]

a. The lepers did not wait until morning to rush back to the famished people with the news, for the news of God’s deliverance was too important to wait for daybreak. Rushing back in the middle of the night, they shouted out the good news to the gatekeepers (vv. 10–11). Afterward the chain of sharingwas launched: the lepers to the gatekeepers, the gatekeepers to the people and royal officials, and the royal officials to the king. All of the starving people heard the good news that food was available. The Syrians had broken their siege and left their camp intact, including all the food and plunder.

b. But note the response of King Joram: he questioned and doubted the good news. He suspected a strategic plot by the Syrian army, an attempt to lure him and his people out of the city in order to capture them (v. 12).

c. In consultation with his cabinet officials, King Joram accepted the advice of an officer to verify the incredible news. Several spies were to be sent out to determine exactly where the Syrians were (vv. 13–15). Reconnaissance was critically needed before the king could risk letting the starving populace flood out of the city gates to gather the food and plunder from the Syrian camp. Approving the suggestion, King Joram had two chariots prepared and then sent several scouts out to locate the Syrians (v. 14). The scouting party followed the Syrians as far as the Jordan River, which was about 25 miles from the capital Samaria. All along the road and everywhere they looked, they found equipment and clothing scattered by the Syrians as they fled in panic (v. 15). Returning to Samaria, the spies gave their report verifying the good news.

d. Upon hearing the good news, the people rushed out to secure food and to claim the plunder. This is a clear picture of people hearing the good news of God’s deliverance and rushing to lay claim to His wonderful salvation (v. 16).

e. Note that the Word of God was fulfilled exactly as predicted by Elisha:

⇒ the cost of food was lowered: five quarts of flour was sold that day for one-half an ounce of silver.

⇒ ten quarts of barley grain were sold for one-half an ounce of silver.

In addition, the king’s chief official was killed at the city gate where he had been stationed to control the traffic (v. 17). Obviously, he was somehow knocked down in the mad rush and trampled to death. He died just as Elisha had predicted (vv. 3, 18). Because he had ridiculed and spoken sarcastically about God’s promise of deliverance, he was condemned to die (v. 19). And this is exactly what happened to him. God’s Word was fulfilled exactly as predicted by God’s prophet (v. 20).

Thought 1. Russell Dilday has an excellent application to this point that is well worth quoting in its entirety:

To have any great gift—wealth, education, freedom—and not share it is evil. Using such gifts only for selfish purposes without regard for the needs of others is a serious sin. Never is that more true than with the gift of salvation. Do we think we are important enough that we are the ultimate end of God’s mercy? Do we dare assume that God loved us enough that He sent Jesus to die for our sins alone? No, He saves us and empowers us so that we can become channels through which His blessings may flow to others.

Paul wrote, “[God] comforts us … that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:4). We are to become links in His great chain of transmission, passing on our experience with the Lord to others.

As witnesses, we should also remember it is the message, not the messenger, that is important. God does not always choose great people to be His messengers. The Samaritan lepers were weak and unlikely instruments for God. They could only tell what they had seen and tasted, but that was enough. Just because you consider yourself ordinary and inadequate doesn’t mean you are therefore excused from the responsibility of personal witnessing. God never requires His witnesses to be walking encyclopedias of theological knowledge, or champion debaters, or persuasive salesmen. He only expects us to be faithful conveyers of the message, the good news.

No matter how weak or untalented you consider yourself to be, this passage reminds you, it is a sin to remain silent.

“For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Ac. 4:20).

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Ti. 2:2).

[1] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (2003). 2 Kings (pp. 61–62). Leadership Ministries Worldwide. [2] Constable, T. L. (1985). 2 Kings. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 550–551). Victor Books. [3] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (2003). 2 Kings (p. 62). Leadership Ministries Worldwide. [4] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (2003). 2 Kings (p. 64). Leadership Ministries Worldwide.

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