Sermon # 28 - Share The Good News Series

We read in 2 Kings 6:24-25, “And it happened after this that Ben-Hadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria;” (NKJV)

The city of Samaria was under siege by Ben-Hadad the king of Syria, and no one could enter or exit that city. As a result the famine in that city was so severe that people living there were challenged with untold hardships. There were also four men inflicted with leprosy who lived outside this city, as they were forbidden to enter the city. Usually those inside the city would hand out food to these men, but since those inside the city were in dire straits, they were unable to help these men, which left them in a pathetic situation.

The plight of the four men with leprosy

We read in 2 Kings 7:3, “Now there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?” (ERV)

These four men who had leprosy discussed with each other the futility of their wait outside the city gate as they knew that help was not forthcoming.

Whenever we are faced with huge problems in our lives, we should expect great deliverances from the Lord. Abraham and Sarah were old, and had come to a stage where bearing a child was an impossibility. It was at this time that God graciously gave them a son. The problem that they encountered was colossal, but the answer was also astounding. We read about Goliath the Philistine champion who was a gigantic problem to the Israelite army, but the Lord strengthened David who won a victory over Goliath. As the people of Israel confronted the towering and formidable walls of Jericho which was a hindrance to their progress, the Lord brought the walls crumbling down, so that the Israelites could proceed to procure the Promised Land. When the people of Israel stood before the Red Sea it seemed they had no way out, but the Lord parted the sea, and made a way through the sea, so they Israelites could move on to safety. Those who encountered small problems had small victories, and those who came across huge problems experienced mighty victories.

If you are in such a situation where you think that the problem you are facing is too huge to handle, be sure that what seems an enormous problem to you, is nothing at all to the Lord. God will help you triumph over all of these difficulties with ease, if you trust Him.

The risk the four men undertook

This is what the four men with leprosy decided to do. We read in 2 Kings 7:4, “It's no use going into the city, because we would starve to death in there; but if we stay here, we'll die also. So let's go to the Syrian camp; the worst they can do is kill us, but maybe they will spare our lives.”(GNB)

They realized that if they went into the city of Samaria there was severe famine, and hence there was no way they could find any food. Outside was the Syrian camp which posed a dangerous situation, but these men thought they would rather die at the hands of the Syrians, instead of dying of hunger. There was still a probability that the Syrians would have mercy on them, and give them some food to eat.

When people come to a cross-road in their lives, and are overwhelmed with difficulties, often times many go into some sort of depression. If we want to avoid these, we must do whatever is in our ability to do, just as these four men did, in the incident mentioned above. Remember there is nothing that comes into our lives that the Lord can’t handle, and if we call out to Him, He will answer us, and bring speedy deliverance.

The astounding find

This is what the four men who had leprosy found when they went into the Syrian camp.

It is recorded in 2 Kings 7:5, “So, as it began to get dark, they went to the Syrian camp, but when they reached it, no one was there.”(GNB)

As it grew dark they stealthily entered into the Syrian camp to find that the entire camp was totally deserted, and no one was there.

The sound the Syrians heard

This is what happened at that camp as recorded in 2 Kings 7:6-7, “The Lord had made the Syrians hear what sounded like the advance of a large army with horses and chariots, and the Syrians thought that the king of Israel had hired Hittite and Egyptian kings and their armies to attack them. So that evening the Syrians had fled for their lives, abandoning their tents, horses, and donkeys, and leaving the camp just as it was.” (GNB)