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The king of Israel soon followed
the messenger to Elisha's house; but he did not come now to hurt the
prophet. Joram was in despair, for he thought that he and his people
must soon all perish with hunger. But God can send help in the
greatest troubles, and He was now going to send help to Israel. So
Elisha, at God's command, said to the king, "Hear what God says;
to-morrow, flour and barley shall be sold in plenty in
Samaria." This was good news for Joram and his people, but they
did not all believe what Elisha said. There was a lord with the
king, a nobleman of Israel, and the king leaned upon his arm as he stood
by Elisha. This lord did not believe that there should be plenty of
food in Samaria next day. He thought such a thing was too wonderful
even for God to do; and he answered Elisha very disrespectfully, and said,
"No, this cannot be; I will not believe it;" he forgot that
everything is possible with God. Then Elisha turned to the
unbelieving nobleman, and said, "Thou shalt see the food to-morrow
with thine eyes, but thou shalt not eat of it." The nobleman
did not care for what Elisha said; but God remembered his sin, and soon
punished him for it. And God remembered also His promise to give
plenty of food next day to the poor hungry people in Samaria. That
night He put fear into the hearts of the Syrians, so that they thought
they heard a noise of horses, and chariots, and a great army. There
was nothing to make them afraid; all was still; but God could fill them
with fear, when no earthly enemy was near to hurt them. So they said
one to another, "The king of Israel is coming against us, and all his
soldiers, and the king of Egypt is coming too, and many more kings, and
very great armies with them; what shall we do?" Then they all
arose, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, and gold
and silver, and garments, and food; and escaped for their lives. The
Israelites knew nothing of this: they were all in the city, sad, and
full of trouble; not thinking how wonderfully God was going to deliver
them. By the gate of the
city, sat four lepers. They were not allowed to be with other men;
they were obliged to keep by themselves, without friends or neighbors to
comfort them. These lepers were very hungry; they had had no food
for a long time; and now, they felt so weak and ill, that they thought
they must soon die. But God had food to give these poor men, when
all their hopes were gone. They said one to another, "Why do we
stay here? We must die soon. If we stay here, we must
die. Let us go to the Syrians' camp; perhaps they may save us; or if
they kill us, we need not care; for it is better to die by the sword, than
to perish with hunger; let us go." So they arose, and went to
the Syrians' camp. It was God that made them wish to go.
Why? Because he had provided food for them there. When the
lepers came to the camp, they saw no man; they went into a tent, but no
soldiers were in it. Food was there in plenty; and the poor hungry
lepers ate and drank, and then they looked round, and saw gold, and
silver, and garments in the tent, as the Syrians left them. The men
took all these things and hid them; an then they went to another tent, and
found more; and they ate and drank there too, and took the gold and
silver, and hid them. Then the lepers said one to another, "We
must not be selfish, and keep all to ourselves, while the poor people in
the city are starving. Let us go and tell the good news to the
king's servants." So they went to the man who kept the gates of
the city, and told him what they had seen; and the man told the king's
servants, and the servants told the king. It was still night:
but the king rose directly he heard the news, and called him servants, and
commanded them to go with horses, and seek the Syrians. He thought,
perhaps, they might be secretly hidden somewhere; but no; the servants
went as far as Jordan, and could not find them. The Syrians had
escaped to their own country; and the road was covered with vessels and
garments which they had thrown away in their haste. Then the servant
returned, and told the king that the Syrians were really gone. So
the people of Samaria went without fear to the Syrians' tents, and took
away all that was in them; and food was sold in plenty in Samaria that
day, as Elisha had foretold. But
where was the unbelieving lord? The king commanded him to stand at
the gate, and keep it. Multitudes of people passed by, carrying food
in plenty; and this lord saw that God had power to do what He promised,
and that Elisha had spoken truth. But the great plenty in Samaria
did no good to that unbelieving nobleman. He did not live to enjoy
it. The crowds of people pressed upon him, and threw him down; and
he fell, and was trodden under foot, and died, as Elisha had said.
What a sad thing unbelief is! Though people may not believe God, nor
care for what he says now, they will be obliged to believe and care
in another world. They will know then, that all God says is
truth. All His promises to the righteous will come true, and all His
threatenings to the wicked.
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