2 Kings 7:1-20
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.”
The Syrians Flee
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.” 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.” 11 And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king’s household inside.
12 So the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have 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 And one of his servants answered and said, “Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; or indeed, I say, they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed; so let us send them and see.” 14 Therefore they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying, “Go and see.” 15 And they went after them to the Jordan; and indeed all the road was full of garments and weapons which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the king. 16 Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
17 Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. 18 So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.”
19 Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, “Now look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?”
And he had said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” 20 And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.
As the king was about to have Elisha’s head, the prophet pronounced the word of God to deliver the people from famine and free them from the attack that surrounded them and cut off the food. The king had acknowledged that the calamity was from the LORD (2 Kings 6:33) but was not going to wait to end the messenger anyway, when Elisha loudly spoke of the LORD bringing such an abundance of food the next day to the doorstep of Samaria. An officer of the king mocked the word by asking, “the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” This man would indeed see it, but not eat of it due to his doubt of God’s word and ability to do (2 Kings 7:19, 20) as He said. The Almighty would indeed make windows in heaven open to shower such provision on earth to meet the needs of His people. Why then would we not trust His word for our daily promise of provision (Matthew 6:31-32, 33-34, Philippians 4:19) today? He is the same omnipotent and caring God (Hebrews 1:12-13, 13:8, John 8:58) yesterday, today, and forever! Just as the LORD caused the enemy at the gates of Samaria to fear and flee by the apparent sound of chariots like those of fire (2 Kings 6:17) seen by Elisha before (Ephesians 3:10, 6:12), so He is still able to move our enemies to keep us safe in tribulations for His work and provide us more than we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20-21) we need do victory and sustenance of our daily bread. He is indeed able to make windows of heaven open (Malachi 3:10) to us to meet and exceed our needs and expectations of grace. Yes, we who choose to believe and trust His word will eat of these and not die (John 6:57-58) as the officer of the king in this account because we have believed in the Son of God (John 6:69, 16:27, 20:31) and His goodness towards us as promised. Believe and taste to see (Psalm 34:8, 1 Peter 2:3) how how good the Lord is who makes and opens windows of grace and provision from heaven!
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