2nd Kings Chapter Seven

Verses 1 & 2 was included in the previous class study.

2Ki 7:1  And Elisha said, Hear the Word of Jehovah: So says Jehovah, About this time tomorrow a measure of fine flour will be at a shekel, and two measures of barley at a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. 

2Ki 7:2  And the third officer on whose hand the king leaned replied to the man of God, and said, Behold, if Jehovah would make windows in the heavens, this thing might be. And he said, Behold, you shall see with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it. 

2Ki 7:3  And four men, lepers, were at the gate entrance. And they said to one another, Why should we sit here until we die? 

2Ki 7:4  If we say, We shall go into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. If we sit here, then we shall die. Therefore now, come and we will fall into the camp of Syria. If they keep us alive, we shall live. And if they kill us, then we die. 

2Ki 7:5  And they rose up in the twilight to go to the Syrian camp. And they came to the edge of the Syrian camp. And, behold, there was not a man there! 

2Ki 7:6  For the Lord had caused the Syrian army to hear a sound of chariots, and a sound of horses, and a sound of a great army. And they said to one another, Behold, the king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites against us, and the kings of Egypt, to come against us. 

2Ki 7:7  And they rose up and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, and the camp as it was. And they fled for their life. 

2Ki 7:8  And these lepers came to the edge of the camp, and came into one tent, and ate and drank, and took up from there silver and gold and garments, and went and hid them. And they returned and went into another tent, and took from there, and went and hid them. 

2Ki 7:9  And they said to one another, We are not doing right this day. It is a day of good news, and we are keeping silent. And if we wait until the morning light, then punishment will find us. And now come and we will go and tell the house of the king. 

2Ki 7:10  And they came in and called to the gatekeeper of the city, and spoke for themselves, saying, We have come to the camp of Syria. And, behold, there is not a man there, nor voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were. 

2Ki 7:11  And he called the gatekeepers, and they told the house of the king inside. 

2Ki 7:12  And the king rose up by night and said to his servants, Let me show you now that which the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are famished, and they have gone out from the camp to hide in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, then we will catch them alive and we shall come into the city. 

2Ki 7:13  And one of his servants answered and said, Let men take now five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city. Behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel who have been left in it. Behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel who have perished. And we will send and see. 

2Ki 7:14  And they took two chariots with horses, and the king sent after the Syrian army, saying, Go and see. 

2Ki 7:15  And they went after them to the Jordan. And, behold, all the way was full of garments and vessels that the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king. 

2Ki 7:16  And the people went out and plundered the Syrian camp. And it happened, a measure of fine flour sold at a shekel, and two measures of barley at a shekel, according to the Word of Jehovah. 

2Ki 7:17  And the king appointed the third officer over the gate, he on whose hand he leaned. And the people trod him down in the gate, and he died, as the man of God spoke, which he spoke when the king came down to him. 

2Ki 7:18  And it happened according to the saying of the man of God to the king, saying, Two measures of barley at a shekel, and a measure of fine flour at a shekel; this shall be at this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria. 

2Ki 7:19  And the third officer had answered the man of God, and said, And behold, if Jehovah should make windows in the heavens, it shall be according to this word. And he said, Behold, you shall see with your eyes, but you shall not eat from there. 

2Ki 7:20  And it happened to him in this way; yea, the people trampled him in the gate, and he died. 

Verses 3-11 Summary: Syria's siege drives four lepers to put their lives into the hands of the Syrian army. When they get to the camp it is empty so they start plundering the goods. They decide they need to tell the king, so they do.

3. What lesson can we learn from verse nine and the reaction of the lepers to the bounty they have found? There was a natural reaction to their good fortune. They took the chance and were rewarded. The abundance overwhelmed the wisdom of sharing this with the authorities. It took a little bit, but they eventually came around to agree to tell the king. It was however the understanding that what they were doing was selfish, and thus unjust. They had not considered their fellow citizens. There would be a cost of the injustice of enjoying plunder while others are starving.
True, it was not their first action. And maybe they just did it to avoid the penalty of sin. But we should also consider who these men were in their society. As lepers, they were unclean and destined to a painful life outcome.They were outcasts, relegated away from normal societal living. They could have very easily been bitter. Taking the goods and running off would have been another avenue of action (though not very smart), but instead, they looked to do the right thing.   

Verses 12-20 Summary: Israel's king fears that he Syrian army is setting a trap. He is convinced to send a delegation to check on the lepers' story. On the way, they find clothes and others goods left on the roadside by the fleeing army. The king is informed and the people take the plunder left behind by the Syrians. The king's third officer is put in charge of the gate. He is trampled by the people. Elisha's prophecy of "Two measures of barley at a shekel, and a measure of fine flour at a shekel" came to pass, as did the death of he king's third officer.

NOTE: Deuteronomy 13 and 18 give specific instructions for prophets and how the people are to discern whether or not a prophet is legitimate. If a prophet attempts to turn people to any other god, he is not a prophet and was to be executed. If a prophet prophecies something that does not come to pass, he is illegitimate.