Army Of Ben-Hadad And The Four Lepers
May 23 2006
Army Of Ben-Hadad And The Four Lepers - Verse of the Day :
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?"
-2 Kings 7:3
Daily Bible Reading Plan
Morning : 1 Corinthians 10
Evening : 2 Kings 7-8
Army Of Ben-Hadad And The Four Lepers
King Ben-Hadad of Syria besieged Samaria in the midst of a severe famine. So desperate was Samaria's plight that people ate
almost anything in order to survive. Donkey's heads and dove's dung were sold for exorbitant prices (2 Kin. 6:24-25).
It was a dire time. But in 2 Kings 7:1, the word of the Lord came to Elisha saying, "By tomorrow, the famine will be over. Grain will be plentiful again!" Unfortunately, the officer of Israel scoffed at that prophecy.
Meanwhile, there were four lepers sitting by the city gates. "Why sit here until we die?" They asked each other. "We will starve if we stay here and we will starve if we go back into the city; so we might as well go out and surrender to the
Syrian army. If they let us live, so much the better; but if they kill us, we would have died anyway" (7:3-4).
God is never moved by our needs. God moves when we turn our faith loose. Those four lepers decided not to be passive and started to do something about their condition. They chose to take responsibility of their own lives and step out in faith.
May 23 - Army Of Ben-Hadad And The Four Lepers - Christian Daily Devotions
That evening, as the four lepers walked toward the army of Ben-Hadad the Syrian, God amplified the sounds of their footsteps.
Though there were only four dying, weak and starving leprous men, the entire army of Ben-Hadad heard the sounds of loud
galloping of horses and speeding chariots.
Thinking that it was a great army that was approaching their camp, they shouted, "The king of Israel has hired the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us!" So they were afraid and left hurriedly into the night, abandoning their horses, tents, donkeys
and whatever they had (7:5-7).
When the lepers arrived at the camp of Ben-Hadad, they were shocked to find that the camp was totally abandoned. There was an
abundance of food, drink, gold, silver and clothing for their picking.
These four lepers speaks of sinners everywhere who are living their life without a hope and a future. Satan seems like a
powerful and invincible enemy. But when we decide to step out in faith and put our trust in God for our salvation, the Devil will flee and we will enter into the abundant life God has prepared for us.
However, as the four lepers were enjoying the spoils of war, their conscience began to prick them. How could they gorge
themselves with food while the residents of Samaria were starving to death (7:9)? Hence they decided to spread the good news of salvation to the Samaritans and bring them out of death into life.
Friends, like the lepers, we should not "remain silent" when this is "a day of good news." We must share the gospel to those
who are starving spiritually, living their lives without hope and introduce them to Jesus and the abundant life He has
promised to those who love him!
May 23 - Army Of Ben-Hadad And The Four Lepers - Christian Daily Devotions
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