2 Kings 7: 1 – 20
Mr. Doubtfire
7 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.” 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.
Madame Doubtfire, known as Alias Madame Doubtfire in the United States, is a 1987 English novel, written by Anne Fine for teenage and young adult audiences. The novel centers around a family with divorced parents. In November 1993, six years after its publication, the novel was adapted into Mrs. Doubtfire, a film starring Robin Williams and Sally Field
Daniel and Miranda Hillard are separated and Miranda, a successful businesswoman, severely limits the amount of time Daniel, an impractical, out-of-work actor, can spend with their three children Lydia, Christopher and Natalie.
When Miranda decides to hire a nanny, however, Daniel disguises himself as a woman and gets the job. The two eldest children immediately know who "Madame Doubtfire" is, but the youngest and Miranda are fooled. Daniel uses his disguise to spend time with his children. Miranda comments that the house has never been run better.
After Miranda discovers Daniel's secret — and after one more terrible fight — both parents admit to mistakes and decide for Daniel to see his children more often.
Many people of all ages love this book and its film Mrs. Doubtfire. I think that's because it deals so honestly with a very real family in a very difficult situation. It doesn't try to hide the problems of separation and divorce. It faces up to the ugly emotions that can so easily surface when the happy and settled life everyone in the family had hoped for hits the rocks. But the comedy keeps the topic bearable, and the story ends with a sense that things can, and will, get better for everyone. It's a message so many people have needed.
In our last study the chapter ends with the king of Israel blaming God’s prophet Elisha for the siege of the Syrian army against the city of Samaria and their attempt to starve out the inhabitants.
In the kings anger he had sent a hit man to kill Elisha but the Lord God Yahweh warned his servant. Elisha stopped the assassin from getting into his house. The king followed this hit man to make sure Elisha was killed. However, when he got to Elisha’s house he found out that Elisha was okay and argued with him that the siege and ultimate famine was all God’s fault. Elisha then pronounces the mercy and grace of Yahweh will step in and rectify the whole situation which or course seemed unlikely. We will see today that a male version of ‘doubt’ will speak up and deny the miraculous possibility from every occurring. The chapter ends with a sense that things can, and will, get better for everyone when our Great and Holy El Shaddai gets involved. It's a message so many people like Israel and us need to be reminded.
7 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.”
In front of the leaders of Israel our Holy God Yahweh’s prophet Elisha declares that He Is personally going to rectify the situation and provide so much food the next day that food will be so plenteous that everything will be dirt cheap. The king’s right-hand considered this remark to be ridiculous, and exclaimed, “Look, if YHWH should make windows in heaven, might this thing be?” In other words, in his view, even YHWH could not achieve this. For where would He obtain all the supplies from?
That comment would explain the severity of Elisha’s reply that although he would see such provision, he himself would not partake of it, an indication of his soon-coming death.
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.”
The story then highlights with four skin-diseased men who were really unwelcome anywhere due to their disease. While not totally excluded from the city (they were not lepers and therefore would have been subject to certain death from the enemy if caught) they were expected to remain outside the gate (with the right to enter when necessary) where they were no doubt even worse provided for than everyone else, probably only receiving occasional ‘food’ from relatives who were themselves starving. It may well be that they were stirred into action precisely because their supplies had literally dried up. Thus, they were left with a choice between going into the starving city to see what they could forage, knowing how unwelcome they would be, or approaching the enemy camp and pleading for help because of their condition. Neither alternative appeared much better than the other, but at least an approach to the enemy would solve their problem in one way or another once and for all. Things had got that desperate.
Now I am going to suggest something to you that you might enjoy. I believe that these un-named men can be identified. I believe our Precious Holy Spirit has given us a clue from chapter 5 when He states to Elisha’s servant Gehazi, “7 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever. And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.” Please notice Elisha’s words of ‘and on your descendants’ (children). I believe that the four men are Gehazi and his three sons. They will ultimately be the messengers of God to tell the fearful citizens of Samaria of all the available food.
To add to this fantastic claim, I am going to add an even more boldly statement. I believe because of their loyalty and concern for others that our Lord healed them of their skin disease. Look at this verse in chapter 8, “Then Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the LORD has called for a famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land. 4 Then the king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me, please, all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him.
Many scholars try to claim that this chapter is out of order. Pardon me. I do not believe our Precious Holy Spirit allowed this chapter to be out of order. He put it here on purpose. Please notice that Gehazi is not serving Elisha but the king now. The king would not allow someone with a horrible skin disease to be working closely with him. Our Merciful God had to heal him and his 4 sons. If you think this is hard to agree with just take into consideration what our Great God did here in this chapter to end the food shortage. If Gehazi was the leader of the 4 men who faithfully told the people of Samaria about all the food and goodies in the Syrian camp than the king would definitely bring him into his service as an advisor since he worked for the prophet Elisha.
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.
When they arrived at the enemy camp it was to discover that it had been abandoned. And the reason was because YHWH had caused the Aramaeans to hear the sound of the approach of chariots, horses and armored troops, with the result that they had panicked and fled thinking that they were about to be attacked from the south by the Egyptians, and from the north by the Hittites, by mercenaries who had been hired in order to raise the siege. It may well be that the long siege, and stories about what Elisha had done in the past, had already set their nerves on edge as they wondered what would happen next, with the result that the noise that they heard, which may have been the wind whistling through the mountains, became the final straw.
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.”
The result was that when the skin-diseased men came to the edge of the camp they were able to enter the first two tents that they came to, eat and drink enough to satisfy their hunger and thirst, and then pile up silver, and gold and expensive clothing, carrying it off and burying it, thus ensuring for themselves a prosperous future.
After that, their initial heady period over, they began to think more carefully about the situation, and recognized that they should really be reporting this back to the famine-stricken city. They recognized that if they should be found there when morning came without having done so, they would be called on to account for why they had not immediately reported the situation back to the king’s household, for it was a situation that would be good tidings to all in the stricken city.
Please take a look again at verse 8, …and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.” Another clue I believe our Wonderful teacher God give us that these guys were Gehazi and his sons chapter 5 also reveals, “24 When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored (hid) them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed. 25 Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?”
When the four men stopped and thought about the past sin of hiding the talents and clothing from Naaman the Syrian they did not want to made the same sinful choice.
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.”
The four men returned to the city and informed the gatekeeper on the gate of the city about the situation, explaining to him (and through him to the authorities - ‘them’) that they had been to the camp of the Syrians and had found it abandoned. The tents were still there, there were horses and asses still tied up, but there was no voice to be heard, or person to be seen. All appeared to have vanished.
11 And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king’s household inside.
The gateman then in turn hurriedly called the watch on duty and reported what had been told to him, and they sent an urgent message to the king’s household. The news was too important to keep until morning.
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.’
The news was amazing that they felt it wise to wake the king himself, and he arose in the night and suggested to his courtiers whom he had hurriedly gathered together that this may well be a ruse, by which the enemy hoped to be able to lure them out of the city. The idea was that the Syrians would be hiding in the surrounding countryside, and as soon as the townsfolk entered their camp they would swoop down on them, capture them alive, and then take possession of 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.”
One of his advisers then suggested that in that case what they should do was take five of the few horses which were left (most had perished and/or been eaten) and check out weather this announcement was phony or not.
14 Therefore they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying, “Go and see.”
The suggestion seemed a good one to the king, and he immediately dispatched two chariots, along with their horses and charioteers, to check on the Syrian camp.
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.
The Israelite chariots took the road to the Jordan, over which the army would have passed if it had fled, and all along the road they found signs of the retreat of a panic-stricken army, with clothing and equipment strewn everywhere, cast away by the Syrians in their desperate flight. Having reached the Jordan, the messengers, now totally satisfied that the Syrians really had fled, then returned and reported their findings to 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.
Hearing this joyful news the people of the city ran out and plunder the camp, with the result that there was sufficient fine flour and barley for all, the excess being sold at normal prices that day in accordance with the word of YHWH which had been made known to Elisha.
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.
In order to facilitate and organize as best as he could the streaming of the people out of the city in their desperate search after food and spoils, the king then appointed his right-hand man (who doubted even Yahweh could not supply enough food) to have charge of the gate. But this turned out to be unfortunate for him, because in seeking to control the surging, maddened crowds he himself was knocked over and trampled underfoot, dying as ‘the man of God’ had said.
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.”
Also fulfilled was the prophecy about the sale of food at normal prices, instead of the exorbitant prices which had been exacted during the siege. Supply and demand had returned to normal, with enough available for all, and all during a day.
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.”
The opening verse of this subsection (verse 2) is now repeated, its fulfilment having been demonstrated in verse 17. All this repetition brings out that the whole purpose of the narrative is to bring out YHWH’s great deliverance, and the fulfilment of the Word that He had given Elisha. All had happened for the glory of YHWH.
20 And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.
The passage closes with the reminder that, just as Elisha had prophesied, the king’s right-hand man died, the lesson being that it was not wise to mock the word of YHWH. The whole passage brings out that YHWH is always able to defend His people under any circumstances, even though He might often wait until the last moment to do so, in order that we might learn the lesson that He wants to teach us. Thank You, our Great and Wonderful Teacher.
