Left Behind 1/17/2006
2 Kings 7:3-9
Many people have read the series of books, “Left behind” where it is the stories and the events for those left here on earth after the rapture. Now I’ve never started reading the series, I’ve heard they are pretty addicting.
And we all have heard the motto, “No child left behind” where the principle is that all children should be given the same opportunity to get an education.
And we have all watched the movies where the hero’s where they have the have the same theory that we are not leaving anyone behind. Everyone survives.
And that will be our topic today.
If you are here this morning and you have already entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ then and you have reserved your spot in eternity in Heaven then you should not want anyone else left behind as well.
So this morning we will look at a story in the Old Testament that shares this same theme. Before we look at our text let me give you a little background here. The kingdom that David had past down to his son, Solomon, was called Israel. Now Solomon was the king who had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Of course that lead to Solomon’s downfall, but out of that he had two sons who were bad. So the kingdom split after Solomon’s death into two separate kingdoms; the Northern Kingdom known as Israel and the Southern Kingdom known as Judah. Today’s story comes from the Northern Kingdom Israel.
The army of the Syrians had surrounded Israel so therefore all import and all exporting had been cut off. No food could come in and after awhile the food supply had dwindled into a serious famine. So the Kingdom of Israel could not go out to get some food. So they could not flight, they could fight. Without God’s blessing they were greatly out matched by the Syrians. No flight, no fight, so their only choice was fright and to stay in the protection within the walls of the city. And that is where we pick up our text.
Read verses 3-4
So we find these four lepers sitting outside the city gates. Now leprosy was very contagious so these men were outcast. They sit down and began to discus their options. They could sit there outside the gates and eventually starve to death. Or they could go inside the city but they would still starve to death. Or they could go to the Syrian army and maybe they would have pity on them and give them something to eat, or they could take them as prisoners and give them something to eat. Or they would kill them, but they were going to die anyway. So they chose the latter of the choices and to try their luck with the Syrian army.
But upon their arrival they had a big surprise. (Read verses 5-8)
God had preformed a miracle. He had done the impossible. He turned on the sounds effects and made the Syrian Army think that the King of Israel had hired all these other armies to fight with them and God caused them to hear these armies coming so they basically ran for their lives, leaving behind everything but the cloths on their back.
So when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp they couldn’t believe their eyes. Instead of finding an army the found the mother load. All the food they could eat, brand new wardrobes, and all the money they could want. They went from leprosy to luxury.
I can just see them stuffing their faces. Trying on the different cloths. Throwing the money up in the air and doing a little happy dance. So the begin to go into other tents and then they were hiding the spoils then going to another tent and hide the spoils they got from there. They were like a bunch of chipmunks stuffing their jaws and then burry their treasure. But then something happened.
Read verses 9-10
While they were having all this fun this little matter came up. What are we going to do about all the people who they left behind within the walls of the city? The ones who they left starving. The ones who probably showed them very little concern while they sat outside of the gate. They didn’t know this news. As far as they knew they were still surrounded by Syrian army.
And if you are here this morning and are a Christian having entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ then think about this. Go back to the time you accepted Jesus as your own personal Savior. Go back to the time when you made that discovery. A time where you were able to enjoy the riches of God’s grace. A time where you where able to experience God’s forgiveness. You were able to enjoy the blessings of His eternal life and have a personal relationship with Him.
Remember the time someone shared with you that you have a purpose in life and that God sent His son to die on the cross for your sins, and that He now reigns in Heaven and is preparing a place for us to spend eternity. Do you remember that time?
But the problem is that so many of us are so happy in what we found in God that we forget about those left behind.
So this morning I want to share with you three questions that you must face and they are the same questions that these lepers faced as well. First…
Am I aware of those left behind?
In order to fully understand just how bad it was in the city, you have to go back to chapter 6:24
Now you think you have it bad…donkey head burgers where going for $50.00 a piece and if you wanted it loaded you could add dove manure. But then it got worse. They began to practice Cannibalism. (Read 6:26-29)
Now as a parent, I can see us getting boiling mad at our kids but it is hard for me to pathname boiling and eating your own child. But food was so scarce that this woman says, “Let’s eat your son today and then we will eat my son tomorrow.
Now I am not trying to downplay world hunger. I know that over half of the world went to bed hungry last night. But I am convinced that there is a famine greater than a famine for food. It is the famine that the Prophet Amos talks about in Amos 8:11 “Behold the days are coming, says the Lord GOD, That I will send a famine in the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of a hearing the words of the LORD.””
What people need more than food or water is to hear from the Lord. That is what the people needed then and that is what we need now. Do you know why that is true?
With the knowledge we have now, we could make sure that everyone in the world would have food on their table and cloths in their closet. We sure that everyone had what was needed to shelter their families. But that would not solve the problems. You see the problem is not so much the physical in this world. Because if we provided all that I stated the physical would be taken care of. But the problem we have a spiritual. Because if we provided food, clothing, and shelter for everyone today, tomorrow there would still be murders. There would still be stealing. There would still be rape. There would still be people abusing our children. Our problems are not physical in nature they are spiritual. And today there is a famine in the land. And people need to hear the words of God.
Even the King of Israel realized that. Look in 6:26-27a. This lady went to the most powerful person in the Nation and asked for help and he said if the Lord does not help you, I can’t help you.
Think about their situation. Money could not help them because there was very little if any food to buy. Education could not help them. The more they learned the more desperate their situation became. What they needed was to hear a word from God.
Are you aware of the people that you come in contact with who need to hear from God? The people that you work with, the ones who you speak to in the morning as you walk by them. Are you aware of the people, your neighbors you drove by and the houses you drove by on your way to church? Are you aware of the people you play golf with or the ones whose kids are on the same team as your own? Are you aware of those who will be left behind?
Then not only are you aware of them, but then…
Do you care about those left behind?
What good does it do if you know about those who will be left behind if you don’t care about them? Have you ever heard those words from your kids? “I don’t care”. It makes it tough to get them to do their homework if they have that attitude. And as a father when my sons tell me that, I respond with, “I do care and that is why you have to do it”. And that is the way it is with our heavenly Father as well. He cares for those who are left behind.
Those lepers were having the time of their lives. They were living like Kings. They were stuffing their faces. Trying on cloths. Stuffing their pockets with money. And back in the city they were still eating donkey burgers and dove dung. They were having a feast while the others were having a famine.
But when you think about it. Every piece of cloths that they tried on; every ring that went on their finger; every piece of food they stuffed their face with; it all had been provided by the grace of God. They didn’t have to do one thing to earn it. They never fought the first battle. They never paid for the first piece of bread. It was all by the grace of God. They enjoyed everything because God gave it to them.
And the same thing happens to us when we accept Jesus as our personal Savior. When we accept Jesus we strike gold. We experience His grace and forgiveness. He gives us the Living bread so that we never have to hunger. He told the woman at the well, “I’ll give you water and you will never thirst again”.
These lepers began to think. We have more food than we could ever eat. More cloths than we can ever wear. More money than we could ever spend. So they had to answer the question. Do we care about those left behind? And that leads me to my last question.
Will I share with those left behind?
The lepers said in verse 9, “We are not doing right.” We can’t keep this to ourselves. Imagine if you are the parent of a baby and you are living within the walls of that city. And you little baby is starving and dies in your arms. And then you find out about these lepers who found these riches and yet did not tell you so that you could have saved your baby. How would you feel about those lepers?
Now imagine if you are those lepers and coming back to town you see a man bending over his wife trying to give her comfort as she weeps over the grave of that baby. And you discover that the baby had died from starvation and you had everything that was needed to save that baby but you didn’t share it in time for them to save that baby. How would you feel?
Now if you are a Christian you probably have already figured out where I am going with this. You are sitting on not just good news but the best news that anyone can share. It is the difference between someone spending an eternity in heaven or in hell. The lepers said if we wait till morning we will be punished. And as Christians we not only have a responsibility we have an accountability to share with those who don’t know about the abundance of riches that Christ has to offer.
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
So do you know of others who don’t know Christ? Those who will be left behind. Do you care for them and what happens to them? If you answered yes and I’m sure that all of us did, then are you going to share with them the good news of Jesus Christ?
Let’s pray
