Do Something Different

2 Kings 7:1-20 Do something different.

Introduction

The Syrians were in the middle of a war with Israel and they had come to the city of Samaria to lay siege to it. It wasn’t long before all the resources within the city were running out and the people were beginning to starve. The desperation was so great that people were pushed to cannibalism just to stay alive. God’s man, the prophet, at the time was Elisha. He also was within the city sitting in his house with the elders. The king blamed God and Elisha for what was happening and had sent someone to detain Elisha so that he could cut his head off. Before the messenger got to the door Elisha had told the elders that he was on his way with the king in hot pursuit. Instead of detaining Elisha the elders detained the messenger until the king arrived. The king’s response to this situation was to grow impatient with God he said,

"Surely this calamity is from the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer". This is where we are going to pick up the scene.

Read 2 Kings 7:1-20

First thing we are going to look at is the fact that when God speaks into a situation there are those that accept it and those that despise it.

The King.

The king was looking for God to do something waiting for God to do something, but when he heard that people were beginning to eat their children he became angry and frustrated with God. To hear God speak into he situation was enough to stop his angry intent to behead Elisha. His patience was renewed.

It has to be one of the most comforting things that when everything around you is going bad a word from God brings calm.

The King’s man.

For the kings right hand man, the one who the king leans on for guidance and wisdom, and the one who probably at this time was giving strength and counsel to the King. But this kind of man is not the right man to have at your side when you are waiting for God because he is the one who doesn’t believe and the one who despises the word when it does come.

Disbelief of the promises of God cuts men off from the blessings of their fulfilment.

Despisers miss out - Joshua and Caleb inherited and those that despised died out.

If God says it will happen tomorrow it will happen and I want to be there.

When God speaks it is specific and without mistake. He creates something out of nothing. Eg Genesis "God said let there be…" and there was.

The Lepers

4 leprous men were unaware that God had spoken to the king. Because of their condition, sick, diseased, with leprosy they were rejected, humiliated and an embarrassment. They were permitted under normal conditions to neither go in side the city nor be with normal healthy people. They had to keep to their own out of the way.

For what Elisha said to happen a miracle was needed. You would expect the miracle to come from Elisha that he would stand in the central place in the city and prophecy and pray, calling out to God for deliverance but that wasn’t the way it was coming. We wait for the names and famous people to bring the deliverance and the revival but just maybe the deliverance will come through the lepers.

Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity of magnifying his own power; his time to appear for his people is when their strength is gone. He does not do this through a name or a famous person. He does what he does despite who we are.

Do you consider yourself better than a leper? Spurgeon said that he was nothing more than one beggar showing another beggar where to get bread. I think today that God is looking for a handful of beggars or lepers to go into the enemy camp and bring back the spoils.

God wants to perform a miracle here and now but who will rise up and go into the camp to see it.

The Lepers reasoning

What are we doing here? Are we not like the lepers sitting outside the city gates reasoning together. Despised by society. Thought neurotic and weak by many. Isolated due to our belief. Even the other churches in the town don’t really bother with us. But God is going to do a miracle a new thing this year. Do you want that? Do you want things to change?

God says come let us reason together.

Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.