CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
2 Kings 7
Chapter 7 of 25
Chapter Overview
What happens in 2 Kings 7
Elisha predicts that the famine will end by the next day. Four men with skin diseases discover that the Syrian army has fled in panic, leaving behind all their food and supplies. The siege ends just as Elisha said it would.
Scripture
2 Kings 7
Elisha's Bold Prediction
Study note
In the middle of a devastating siege and famine, Elisha made an incredible prediction: by tomorrow food would be cheap and plentiful again in Samaria. An officer who served the king mocked this prediction, saying it was impossible even if God opened windows in the sky. Elisha told this officer he would see the food with his own eyes but would never get to eat any of it.
1 Elisha said, "Listen to what the Lord says! By this time tomorrow, a large bag of fine flour will sell for just one piece of silver. And two large bags of barley will sell for one piece of silver, right here at Samaria's gate." Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.
2 The king's personal officer scoffed, "Even if the Lord ripped open the sky and poured things down, that could never happen!" Elisha told him, "You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not get to eat any of it." Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
The Discovery of the Empty Camp
Study note
Four men with skin diseases were sitting at the city gate, starving. They decided they had nothing to lose by surrendering to the Syrians. When they reached the Syrian camp at twilight, they found it completely deserted. God had caused the Syrians to hear the sound of a massive army approaching -- chariots, horses, and soldiers. Thinking the Israelites had hired the Hittites and Egyptians to attack them, the Syrians had fled in terror, leaving everything behind.
3 Meanwhile, four men who had skin diseases were sitting outside the city gate. They said to each other, "Why should we sit here waiting to starve to death?" And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?
4 "Going into the city means starvation. Staying here means starvation. Our best chance is to walk over to the Syrian camp. If they let us live, great. If they kill us, we were going to die anyway." If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.
5 So as the sun was going down, they headed to the Syrian camp. When they got to the edge of it, not a single person was there. And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.
6 The Lord had made the Syrian army hear what sounded like a mighty force. They heard thundering chariots, galloping horses, and a big army coming. They said to each other, "Israel's king must have hired the Hittite and Egyptian armies to attack us!" For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.
7 Terrified, the Syrians had jumped up and run for their lives at dusk. They abandoned everything -- their tents, horses, donkeys, and the entire camp -- and fled. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.
8 When the four men reached the camp's edge, they ducked into one tent, ate and drank their fill, and hauled off silver, gold, and clothes to hide. They went back, entered another tent, and did the same thing. And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.
9 Then they stopped and said to each other, "What we are doing is wrong. Today is a day of wonderful news, and we are keeping it all to ourselves! If we wait until morning, we will be in trouble. Let us go tell the people at the palace right now." Then 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.
10 They went back and shouted to the city gatekeepers, "We went to the Syrian camp, and no one is there! Not a soul. The horses and donkeys are still tied up. The tents are standing just as they left them." So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.
11 The gatekeepers passed the news along until it reached inside the king's palace. And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house within.
The Famine Ends
Study note
When the king heard the news, he suspected a trap. He sent scouts who confirmed that the Syrians had indeed fled, leaving a trail of abandoned clothing and equipment all the way to the Jordan River. The people of Samaria rushed out and plundered the Syrian camp. Just as Elisha had predicted, food prices dropped dramatically. The officer who had doubted Elisha's prophecy was put in charge of the city gate, where the stampeding crowd trampled him to death. He saw the abundance but never got to eat it.
12 The king woke up in the middle of the night and told his officers, "I know what is going on. The Syrians know we are starving. They left their camp and hid in the fields, planning to capture us alive when we come out." And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.
13 One officer said, "Let us send a few men with some horses still alive. They will die here anyway. Let them scout and find the truth." And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.
14 They picked two chariot teams and sent them after the Syrian army. The king told them, "Go find out what truly happened." They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.
15 The scouts followed the Syrian army's trail all the way to the Jordan River. The whole road was covered with clothing and gear the Syrians had thrown aside in their panicked escape. The scouts hurried back to report to the king. And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.
16 Then the people of Samaria poured out and ransacked the Syrian camp. Just as the Lord had promised, a large bag of fine flour sold for just one piece of silver, and two bags of barley sold for one piece of silver. And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
17 The king had assigned his personal officer to manage the crowd at the gate, but the surging crowd trampled him to death right in the gateway. It happened exactly as Elisha had predicted when the king first came to him. And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.
18 Everything happened just as Elisha had told the king. He had said, "By this time tomorrow, two bags of barley will sell for one piece of silver. A bag of fine flour will also sell for one piece of silver at Samaria's gate." And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:
19 That officer had mocked Elisha, saying, "Even if the Lord opened windows in the sky, could this happen?" And Elisha had replied, "You will see it but never taste it." And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
20 That is exactly what happened. The crowd trampled him in the gateway, and he died. And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.
Key Themes
Themes in 2 Kings 7
God can reverse impossible situations overnightThe danger of cynicism and unbelief in the face of God's promisesUnlikely messengers can deliver the most important newsGood news is meant to be shared, not hoarded
Apply This Today
Living 2 Kings 7
The four men with leprosy realized they could not keep the good news of the empty camp to themselves. When God blesses us or delivers us, we have a responsibility to share that news with others. Hoarding grace while others suffer is never acceptable. The officer who scoffed at God's promise saw it come true but could not benefit from it, a warning against cynicism toward God's word.
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