WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.919 Good morning. Today we are going to be reading from Two Kings. We're going to start in chapter 6 from verse 24. 00:00:10.040 --> 00:00:18.920 So, sometime later, Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:26.300 There was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey's head sold for 80 shekels of silver 00:00:26.300 --> 00:00:33.219 and a quarter cab of seed pods for five shekels. As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:39.500 a woman cried out to him, Help me, my lord, the king. The king replied, If the lord does not help you, 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:45.200 where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the wine press? Then he asked her, 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:51.079 What's the matter? She answered, This woman said to me, Give up your son so we may eat him today, 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:55.140 and tomorrow we'll eat my son. So we cooked my son and ate him. 00:00:55.140 --> 00:01:01.160 The next day I said to her, Give up your son so we may eat him. But she had hidden him. 00:01:01.740 --> 00:01:06.799 When the king heard the woman's words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, 00:01:06.900 --> 00:01:12.719 the people looked and they saw that underneath his robes he had sackcloth on his body. He said, 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:18.219 May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha, son of Shaphat, 00:01:18.219 --> 00:01:25.299 remains on his shoulders today. Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:30.859 with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, 00:01:31.500 --> 00:01:36.920 Don't you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:42.840 shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is it not the sound of his master's footsteps behind him? 00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:48.180 While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him. The king said, 00:01:48.600 --> 00:01:52.380 This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer? 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:59.700 Elisha replied, Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says. About this time tomorrow, 00:01:59.939 --> 00:02:05.400 a seer of the finest flour will sell for a shekel, and the two seers of barley for a shekel at the 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:11.520 gate of Samaria. The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man, Look, even if the Lord 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:15.960 should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen? You will see it in your own eyes, 00:02:16.060 --> 00:02:22.000 answered Elisha, but you will not eat any of it. Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:28.280 of the city gate. They said to each other, Why stay here until we die? If we say we'll go into the 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:34.780 city, the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the 00:02:34.780 --> 00:02:39.700 camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live. If they kill us, then we die. 00:02:39.699 --> 00:02:45.759 At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, 00:02:45.859 --> 00:02:50.780 no one was there. For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses 00:02:50.780 --> 00:02:55.859 and a great army, so that they said to one another, Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite 00:02:55.859 --> 00:03:01.259 and Egyptian kings to attack us. So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and 00:03:01.259 --> 00:03:07.339 horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives. The men who had leprosy 00:03:07.340 --> 00:03:13.099 reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank. They took silver, 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:18.819 gold and clothes and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some 00:03:18.819 --> 00:03:23.560 things from it and hid them also. Then they said to each other, What we're doing is not right. 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:28.300 This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment 00:03:28.300 --> 00:03:34.160 will overtake us. Let us go at once and report this to the royal palace. So they went and called 00:03:34.160 --> 00:03:38.960 out to the city gatekeepers and told them, We went into the Aramean camp and no one was there, 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:43.960 not a sign of anyone, only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were. 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:50.820 The gatekeepers shouted the news and it was reported within the palace. The king got up in the night 00:03:50.820 --> 00:03:56.160 and said to his officers, I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving, 00:03:56.159 --> 00:04:01.620 so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, They will surely come out, 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:08.319 and then we will take them alive and get into the city. One of his officers answered, Make some men 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:13.300 take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of all the Israelites 00:04:13.300 --> 00:04:21.920 left here. Yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:27.800 find out what has happened. So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:33.040 them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, Go and find out what has happened. 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:38.040 They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothes and 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:43.620 equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the messengers returned and 00:04:43.620 --> 00:04:49.800 reported to the king. Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. For a sea of the finest flour sold for a shekel, 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:56.160 of the finest flour sold for a shekel, and two seas of barley sold for a shekel, as the Lord had said. 00:04:56.420 --> 00:05:03.040 Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:10.340 him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:18.340 It happened as the man of God had said to the king, About this time tomorrow, a sea of the finest flour 00:05:18.339 --> 00:05:24.719 will sell for a shekel, and two seers of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria. 00:05:25.819 --> 00:05:32.339 The officer had said to the man of God, Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of heaven, 00:05:32.699 --> 00:05:39.739 could this happen? The man of God had replied, You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not 00:05:39.739 --> 00:05:45.879 eat any of it. And this is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:54.860 and he died. Let's pray. God and Father, we thank you for your word, and that it speaks to us, 00:05:55.259 --> 00:06:02.319 and we thank you for Wayne and what he will bring out from this passage and the work that he's put 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:07.740 into it. And we pray that each one of us will be challenged and encouraged, and will go away, 00:06:08.139 --> 00:06:14.159 having been blessed for hearing from your word. So we trust that to you, and we pray all these 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:22.140 things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, super to be with you. Thank you so much for the opportunity 00:06:22.140 --> 00:06:29.180 of being able to come and share with you, even though it's a bit different just now. It's great 00:06:29.180 --> 00:06:34.920 still to be here. It's a little bit different than when I'm normally here on a Sunday morning, 00:06:34.920 --> 00:06:42.640 but I have to see you by faith this morning or this evening, whatever this is. I've got to see 00:06:42.640 --> 00:06:48.240 you by faith. So we're operating by faith, even as we get into this here today. But just as we were 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:55.700 praying just a minute ago, God's word is not shackled. It's not bound. It's not restricted in 00:06:55.700 --> 00:07:00.280 any way because of all of this. And so we're praying that as we dive into the word just now, 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:08.279 that it's going to have a real super impact in all of our lives. Okay. My title for today is 00:07:08.279 --> 00:07:19.559 When God's Word Collides With Our World. Okay. So maybe you can have a sense of where I'm going with 00:07:19.559 --> 00:07:27.619 that. Okay. Is that giving your curiosity a little bit of a pinch? When God's word collides 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:33.579 with our world and our world is pretty wild just now. So I'm hoping that where we're going to go 00:07:33.579 --> 00:07:41.519 here in the, in the study today is, is going to really help us and stretch us. And the goal 00:07:41.519 --> 00:07:47.319 of what I want to try and do here is a transformational goal. So always want God's word to try and transform 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:53.199 us. So I want to try and lead us to some transformation today as we look at God's word. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:59.899 Okay. My text is from second Kings chapter six and seven. So if you have a Bible, turn it on or open 00:07:59.899 --> 00:08:08.219 it up to second Kings chapter six to begin with. Okay. Second Kings chapter six, first and second Kings, 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:14.519 the book of Kings chronicles, this whole area of scripture. These are some of my favorite books 00:08:14.519 --> 00:08:20.319 of the Bible, believe it or not, not because they're so full of godly people who are living 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:26.839 sold out lives for God. Um, on the contrary, really, because you couldn't have more of a mess 00:08:26.839 --> 00:08:34.299 in one sense than what you have with these people at this particular point in time in their history. 00:08:34.299 --> 00:08:39.960 In this particular point in time, in the redemptive story of God in the Bible, it's a first and second 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:48.819 Kings is pretty much of a mess. Um, and yet you also can't miss maybe more. So maybe more. So at a, 00:08:48.820 --> 00:08:58.920 at a time like this, um, then normally in our lives, strangely enough, you can't miss the hand of God, 00:08:58.920 --> 00:09:07.879 uh, in first and second Kings, you can't miss the hand of God. Can you, um, his voice, his work, 00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:18.799 his power, his, his, his, his sovereign control are everywhere. They're everywhere in, in, in, in, 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:24.200 in first and second Kings in this particular part of, um, the Bible in some of the wildest 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:31.559 circumstances probably that we ever read of in, in scripture. Uh, the time here, second Kings chapter 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:42.500 six, the time is about 850 BC and Israel, God's people, God's nation, God's chosen ones, as strange 00:09:42.500 --> 00:09:47.979 as that seems probably can't find a more dysfunctional group of people anywhere in the world, 00:09:47.979 --> 00:09:54.059 but, um, they're God's people. He's chosen them to work out his program for blessing to the nations. 00:09:54.059 --> 00:10:03.299 Um, they are nowhere near where they should be spiritually, um, at this point in time. In fact, 00:10:03.879 --> 00:10:11.119 in fact, you could say it's an absolute spiritual disaster to be honest. Um, they have no concern 00:10:11.119 --> 00:10:21.319 for God, uh, no desire to be obedient, no respect for God's word. They're, they're wandering further 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:31.140 and further away from the truth. And yet God continues to speak and he continues to love 00:10:31.140 --> 00:10:39.620 and he continues to rescue because that's the way it goes. Um, right the way back when God chose 00:10:39.620 --> 00:10:46.600 Abraham, this idol worshiping pagan man from Ur of the Chaldees, um, he didn't choose him because of 00:10:46.600 --> 00:10:52.580 who Abraham was. The whole deal doesn't work because of who Abraham was. This, this salvation 00:10:52.580 --> 00:10:57.259 program doesn't work because of who we are. It works because of who God is. Is that not fair? 00:10:57.940 --> 00:11:03.120 It works because of who God is. And so God continues to speak. He continues to love. He continues in his 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:09.759 faithfulness. He continues to rescue his people wayward though they may be. And so we're going to look at 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:19.960 two chapters today. Okay. Chapter six and seven with two main events, both of which reveal two really 00:11:19.960 --> 00:11:28.720 significant truths. Okay. Did you get that? Okay. Two lessons. So two chapters with two main events, 00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:34.159 both of which reveal two really significant truths. And I'm going to give them to you up front. Okay. 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:38.860 So I'll give you the punchline first. Give them to you up front. Two significant truths. One, 00:11:40.039 --> 00:11:49.620 how God delights to deliver his people from trouble. I'm going to try and couch this and apply this to 00:11:49.620 --> 00:11:54.860 where we are right now in, in, in our own circumstances, which is not going to be hard to 00:11:54.860 --> 00:12:01.100 do. Okay. Um, how God delights to deliver his people from trouble. That's number one. The second 00:12:01.100 --> 00:12:10.680 significant truth is how crazy it is. In fact, seemingly sometimes how downright foolish it is 00:12:10.680 --> 00:12:21.340 to doubt God's word, even when what he's saying seems to be the most ridiculous thing that you've 00:12:21.340 --> 00:12:27.560 ever heard in light of your circumstances. Um, okay. I'll explain that as we go. Okay. So two scenes, 00:12:27.559 --> 00:12:36.639 scene number one, scene number one is how God delivers his people here by gathering the Syrian army to 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:45.359 Samaria. Okay. You got that? How God delivers his people here by gathering the Syrian army to Samaria. 00:12:45.639 --> 00:12:54.319 All right. Pick it up with me in verse eight, second Kings chapter six, verse eight. Now the king of Aram, 00:12:54.320 --> 00:13:04.160 that's Syria was at war with Israel. And after conferring with his officers, he said, I will set up my camp 00:13:04.160 --> 00:13:15.200 in such and such a place, but the man of God, and this is Elisha in this instance, the man of God, 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:24.140 Elisha sent word to the king of Israel. That's Jehoram. And he said, beware passing that place. 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:31.720 Because the Arameans are going down there. So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:39.480 the man of God. Time and again, Elisha warned the king so that he was on his guard in such places. 00:13:40.580 --> 00:13:48.480 Now this enraged the king of Aram. And he summoned his officers and demanded of them, 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:57.600 tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel. None of us, my lord, the king said one of 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:04.800 his officers, but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel tells the king of Israel, the very words 00:14:04.800 --> 00:14:11.659 that you speak in your bedroom, right? I'm talking about an invasion of privacy, right? Tells the king 00:14:11.659 --> 00:14:15.180 of Israel what you're seeing in your bed. Could have picked any room of the house, picked the bedroom. 00:14:15.179 --> 00:14:22.519 Interesting, right? But can you see it? Can you see it? All right. The Arameans here are plotting, 00:14:22.659 --> 00:14:28.500 they're planning, they're setting up their military strategy miles away, miles away from the eyes of 00:14:28.500 --> 00:14:35.899 the enemy. Nobody knows what's going on. It's called the element of what? Surprise, right? The element of 00:14:35.899 --> 00:14:44.019 surprise. The only trouble is here's the king of Israel being told by Elisha, who's being told by God, 00:14:44.019 --> 00:14:53.720 who is in the Aramean war room, listening to their strategy. All that the Arameans are planning. 00:14:54.279 --> 00:15:01.639 And the king of the Arameans flips, doesn't he? He flips. Verse 13 says, he says, all right, go and 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:08.720 find out where this Elijah is, where this Elisha is, so I can send men and capture him, right? 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:16.259 Right? I'll show him who's who. I'll show him who's who. Peeking into my bedroom, right? I'll show 00:15:16.259 --> 00:15:22.100 him who's who. And the report came back, he's in Dothan. That's about 10 miles north of Samaria, 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:27.399 which is the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel, right? Now hang on to that, okay? Because 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:31.940 you're going to see the significance of that in just a minute, okay? He's in Dothan, just 00:15:31.940 --> 00:15:38.220 north of Samaria, capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel. So the king of Arameans sends 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:46.180 his horses, we're told, and his chariots, and a strong military force. Verse 14, a strong, okay, 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:53.660 this is significant, right? A strong military force. Verse 14, some translations say a great army. 00:15:53.659 --> 00:16:03.139 All right? Now think about that for a minute, right? A great army for one guy. For one guy. This 00:16:03.139 --> 00:16:10.919 is incredible. This is incredible. And they go by night, and they surround the city. What an awesome 00:16:10.919 --> 00:16:19.379 sight this must have been. A great army for one guy. Surround the city. And then first thing in the 00:16:19.379 --> 00:16:26.419 morning, we're told, verse 15, first thing in the morning, we're told, out comes poor Gehazi. Now 00:16:26.419 --> 00:16:32.919 that's Elisha's servant, Gehazi. And out comes poor Gehazi, first thing in the morning. He's probably 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:39.600 still in his pajamas. I don't know. And he's going out for a stretch, whatever. And he looks up, right? 00:16:39.700 --> 00:16:47.960 And what? He looks up, and they are surrounded by Arameans as far as the eye can see. So end of verse 15, 00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:55.139 he cries out, oh no, my lord. That's Elisha, my lord. He called him my lord. Oh no, my lord. 00:16:55.340 --> 00:17:06.220 What are we going to do? And the implication is that Elisha's now joined his servant on the veranda 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:14.600 or whatever with a totally different response. Look at it in verse 16. Oh lord, what are we going to do? 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:23.679 Elisha's, a totally different response. Surrounded by an army of Arameans who hate his guts. And he 00:17:23.679 --> 00:17:30.719 says, don't be afraid. Because those who are with us are more than those who are with them. 00:17:31.579 --> 00:17:37.500 Okay? Now hang on to that. Because you can almost see poor Gehazi. Think about it. Right? Elisha comes 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:43.460 out. Don't worry. Don't worry. Arameans everywhere. Don't worry. Don't worry. Those who are with us 00:17:43.460 --> 00:17:48.240 don't even have to worry. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And poor Gehazi. 00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:52.240 You can see him. He's clearing the sleep out of his eyes. He's trying to see what on earth 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:58.500 is this guy talking about. What did he have for breakfast? I don't know. Because all I can see is 00:17:58.500 --> 00:18:04.519 Arameans. Right? All I can see is Arameans. Now mark this. Because the two points I gave you up 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:08.940 front were what? Remember? Two points I gave you up front was one, God delights to deliver his people 00:18:08.940 --> 00:18:15.359 from trouble. Two, don't doubt God's word. Coming here through his prophet. Don't doubt God's word. 00:18:15.579 --> 00:18:19.839 Even if what he's saying seems to be the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard in light of 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:27.319 your circumstances. Okay? Which must be exactly what Gehazi is thinking right now. Okay? But then 00:18:27.319 --> 00:18:33.259 right at that moment, right at that moment when Gehazi's eyes fall into pieces, Elisha prays. Verse 17. 00:18:33.659 --> 00:18:40.419 He prays. And he asks God to open his servant's eyes. And he does. And he looks. And he sees. 00:18:41.879 --> 00:18:48.359 And the hills are full of horses, it says. And chariots of fire all around them. 00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:54.679 Maybe different. But maybe the same as what Paul tells us to do in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. I don't 00:18:54.679 --> 00:19:00.019 know if you remember that. 2 Corinthians 4, 18. When Paul says, so we fix our eyes. Remember this? 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:08.199 So we fix our eyes. Not on what is seen. But on what is unseen. Since what is seen is temporary. What 00:19:08.199 --> 00:19:13.740 is unseen is eternal. I love it. I love it. I just wish that I could do it more. I love it. Okay? Let's 00:19:13.740 --> 00:19:20.440 keep following the story. Verse 18. The army attacks. Verse 18. The army attacks. And Elisha 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:28.500 prays for God now to close their eyes. Open Gehazi's eyes. Close their eyes. Strike them with blindness. 00:19:29.339 --> 00:19:36.259 Lord. He prays. Which God does. Play on opening and closing eyes there. But what a crazy sight, 00:19:36.259 --> 00:19:43.740 isn't it? What a crazy sight. This entire blind army. Okay? Just think of it. Right? Now you've got 00:19:43.740 --> 00:19:51.879 this great army. Blind army. What a crazy sight. This entire blind army looking for Elisha. 00:19:52.940 --> 00:19:58.240 And so he says, they're looking for Elisha. Where is Elisha? They're blind. They can't see 00:19:58.240 --> 00:20:04.099 anything. And so Elisha says to them, come on guys. I'll take you to find the guy you're looking for. 00:20:04.099 --> 00:20:08.000 All right? So the blind army, they don't know who Elisha is. Elisha comes up to see who you're 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:12.439 looking for. Elisha. I'll take you to him. All right? Don't ever tell me God doesn't have a sense 00:20:12.439 --> 00:20:16.439 of humor. All right? Don't ever tell me he doesn't have a sense of humor. I'll take you to the guy 00:20:16.439 --> 00:20:24.199 that you're looking for. Elisha then leads this massive blind Aramean army. Where does he lead them? 00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:33.799 Smack into the middle of Samaria. The capital of Israel. Okay? Tire. Great. Blind. 00:20:34.099 --> 00:20:42.939 Aramean army. Smack into the middle of the enemy's capital city. And then praise. Okay, Lord. Now 00:20:42.939 --> 00:20:50.039 open their eyes. Somebody's got to make a movie of this. Don't they? Somebody's got to make it. Now 00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:53.879 open their eyes. I don't know if you've ever seen that program Extreme House Makeover. Have you ever 00:20:53.879 --> 00:20:58.279 seen that? Right? And they fix up somebody's house while they're gone. And they tell them the people 00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:02.019 to close their eyes. And they bring them into the house. And they stand them in one of the beautiful 00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:05.700 rooms that they've renovated. And they say, okay, now open your eyes. Right? And they open their 00:21:05.700 --> 00:21:10.220 eyes. Oh my goodness. Brand new house. Except these guys are now smack in the middle of the enemy's 00:21:10.220 --> 00:21:16.960 camp. Okay? And but then another twist. Look at this. Then another twist. Don't tell me God doesn't 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:22.960 have a sense of humor. Don't tell me that God is not a gracious God. Even to his enemies. Even to his 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:27.180 enemies. Another twist here. Because instead of killing them, they're right smack in the middle 00:21:27.180 --> 00:21:32.500 of the enemy's capital city. But instead of killing them, verse 22. Instead of killing them, 00:21:32.600 --> 00:21:40.380 Elisha says, you know what? Let's show them the grace of God instead. And they do. They do. And 00:21:40.380 --> 00:21:47.680 they feed them. And they water them. And they send them home. And you know what? These, this particular 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:54.000 army, as far as we can tell, never bothers Israel again. They never bother Israel again, at least for 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:59.200 this particular period of time. Okay? Lessons. Let's come back to them. Lessons. Right? I've 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:06.140 given to you already. Lessons. God delights to deliver his people from trouble. He always 00:22:06.140 --> 00:22:11.359 does. He always is a theme of the Bible. It's a theme of the Bible. And here it is again. 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:19.519 God delights to deliver his people from trouble. Sometimes. Sometimes. In the most unexpected 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:27.180 of ways. Isn't it? Just think of what, you could make a movie of this. You could, man. It'd be 00:22:27.180 --> 00:22:33.379 stunning. It'd be stunning. If I could have those gifts and creativity, I would do it. Sometimes the 00:22:33.379 --> 00:22:41.299 most unexpected of ways. Second lesson, trust God's word. Don't doubt God's word. Even if what God is 00:22:41.299 --> 00:22:45.740 saying seems to be the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard in light of your circumstances. 00:22:45.740 --> 00:22:55.259 Right? Greater are those who are with us. Are you kidding me? Where? Where? But God's word was saying, 00:22:56.000 --> 00:23:04.240 relax. Don't fear. Because great. Gehazi could see none of that. And yet God's word was true. 00:23:04.900 --> 00:23:11.400 Listen, what a crazy time we're living in. Isn't it? What a crazy time we're living in. And maybe what 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:19.080 God's saying in his word about him having everything under control during all of this craziness with 00:23:19.080 --> 00:23:22.740 COVID and everything else. What he's saying about, that's all right. I've got it all. Maybe that seems 00:23:22.740 --> 00:23:30.540 ridiculous to you. Or the way this is affecting your life or your finances or your family or your health 00:23:30.540 --> 00:23:38.700 just seems to be so ridiculous. Don't doubt God's word. If you're his, you're precious to him. 00:23:38.700 --> 00:23:46.140 If you're not his, you're precious to him. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son 00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:50.279 that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Don't doubt God's word. 00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:57.940 Don't doubt his word. Okay? So that's scene one. God delivering his people by gathering the Syrian army 00:23:57.940 --> 00:24:07.299 to Samaria. Okay? Now scene two. Beginning in verse 24. God delivers his people by scattering 00:24:07.299 --> 00:24:15.200 the Syrian army from Samaria. It'll be a different Syrian army as you'll see, but scattering the Syrian 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:21.940 army from Samaria. So don't box God in because he can do it either way. All right? He can do it either 00:24:21.940 --> 00:24:28.580 way. And I won't read this all through, but the gist of this next bit beginning in verse 24 is that 00:24:28.580 --> 00:24:36.740 eventually the Arameans do return and they besiege Samaria. Um, and, and, and they besiege Samaria. 00:24:36.900 --> 00:24:46.680 This is on top of a really, uh, terrible famine that's already in the land until verse 25. 00:24:46.680 --> 00:25:00.640 We're told a donkey's head, such a bad famine until a donkey's head is sold for 80 shekels of silver. 00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:06.920 That is a massive amount of money. That is a massive amount of money. And I'm not quite sure 00:25:06.920 --> 00:25:11.500 what you can do with a donkey's head. I don't imagine you get much meat off it. Donkey head super. I don't 00:25:11.500 --> 00:25:16.519 know. Um, but it's a massive amount of money. So the famine is so bad. A donkey's head's being sold for 80, 00:25:16.680 --> 00:25:24.600 shekels of silver and a quarter of a cob. That's about a pint of seen pods. Some translations say 00:25:24.600 --> 00:25:30.279 probably better translation would be doves dung. Okay. I think some translations are trying to make 00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:40.160 this sound really nice. Okay. A quarter of a cob, a pint of doves dung is being sold for five shekels. 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:46.060 Okay. The point of all that is that this famine is unbelievably horrendous, terrible, terrible famine. 00:25:46.680 --> 00:25:51.799 And then in verses 26 to 30, so still a little story here, won't read it all through, but you've got 00:25:51.799 --> 00:25:58.900 two mothers here asking for the king's judgment because they agreed that they would, they would 00:25:58.900 --> 00:26:04.759 eat one of their dead babies first and then the other. Okay. It's how bad the famine is. And this 00:26:04.759 --> 00:26:10.560 is in scripture. So God's trying to show us something of, of what the circumstances are, because he's 00:26:10.560 --> 00:26:14.580 going to prove a point here in just a minute. So they're going to eat one of the dead babies first, 00:26:14.579 --> 00:26:19.139 and then another two mothers come for the king's judges judgment because the second mom is not 00:26:19.139 --> 00:26:23.599 sharing her dead baby with the first one. So the first one shared her dead babies. I know this sounds 00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:29.980 awful, but this is, it's in the Bible. Okay. So the first mother shared her dead baby with as food 00:26:29.980 --> 00:26:35.019 with the other one, but then the other mother didn't do the same for her. If that doesn't give 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:41.059 you some indication of how horrible the situation was, nothing will. And the king is just losing it by 00:26:41.059 --> 00:26:45.000 this point. He's losing it. This is the king of Israel. He's losing it. He's losing it. And he 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:50.839 tears his clothes and he puts sackcloth on his body and he just wants to strangle Elisha. So in 00:26:50.839 --> 00:26:55.720 the first scene, you got the king of the Arameans wants to strangle Elisha. Now you got the king of 00:26:55.720 --> 00:27:01.159 Israel wants to, everybody wants to strangle Elisha. And he's just God's man. He's just, you ever feel 00:27:01.159 --> 00:27:06.179 like that is one of God's people. He's just doing what God is telling him to do. Okay. So everybody 00:27:06.180 --> 00:27:11.880 wants to strangle Elisha. Now he just wants to, to, to strangle a guy because somehow he thinks 00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:16.120 Elisha is to blame for all of this, probably because Elisha has been condemning the nation 00:27:16.120 --> 00:27:22.799 for its disobedience. Um, and the King says in verse 31, look at this says in verse 31, 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:29.180 may God deal with me, be it ever so severely. If the head of Elisha remains on his shoulders today, 00:27:29.180 --> 00:27:35.880 right? I'd say he's, he's angry, he's angry, but guess what? Here's Elisha again, verse 32. 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:40.020 Here's Elisha again. And he's just sitting with the elders in his house is the picture here. 00:27:40.140 --> 00:27:45.260 Doesn't say they're relaxing, but the picture is not one of mad desperation. He's just sitting 00:27:45.260 --> 00:27:50.660 with the elders in his house. One commentator says that Elisha lived in the calm sense of God's 00:27:50.660 --> 00:27:57.400 immediate presence. And this was the secret of his power. Really good. Really good. Um, but whatever 00:27:57.400 --> 00:28:02.660 the case, whatever the case, um, he says at the beginning of chapter seven, Elisha says the beginning 00:28:02.660 --> 00:28:07.640 of chapter seven, hear the word of the Lord. Now remember, he just told us how desperately, 00:28:08.360 --> 00:28:15.580 um, just how, how desperately horrendous the famine was all over the land, all over the land. 00:28:15.579 --> 00:28:21.539 All right. Um, and then Elisha says, beginning of chapter seven, hear the word of the Lord. 00:28:21.619 --> 00:28:28.879 This is what the Lord says about this time tomorrow, tomorrow, the famines all over the land. 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:36.780 This time tomorrow, he says, a sea of flower will sell for a shackle and two seas of barley for a 00:28:36.780 --> 00:28:44.660 shackle at the gate of Samaria. In other words, by tomorrow, this whole situation is going to be 00:28:44.660 --> 00:28:52.360 reversed. And you're going to have the finest flower and barley selling for a pittance compared 00:28:52.359 --> 00:28:59.099 to what you were paying for the donkey's head and the pigeon poop. All right. You got that? That's 00:28:59.099 --> 00:29:07.199 what a ridiculously absurd thing to say on Elisha's part. That would be like us saying tomorrow that 00:29:07.199 --> 00:29:13.740 you're going to wake up and this whole COVID thing is just going to be a dream. Okay. You're 00:29:13.740 --> 00:29:19.679 going to wake up and everything all over the world is going to be back to normal. Okay. So there's a way 00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:23.840 to kind of relate to what's, that's kind of like what, what he's saying here. And you would just say 00:29:23.840 --> 00:29:28.940 that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. It is the most ridiculous. And yet he's saying, 00:29:28.980 --> 00:29:35.019 this is the word of the Lord. How could this ever be? How could this ever be? Sound familiar? 00:29:35.940 --> 00:29:40.720 Greater are those who are with us than those who are with them. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding 00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:47.340 them? What are you going to believe? What are you going to believe? In fact, God even sets the stage 00:29:47.339 --> 00:29:53.119 for that question. This is so ridiculous. This seems so ridiculous. I mean, what Elisha is saying 00:29:53.119 --> 00:29:59.099 so ridiculous. He sets the stage for this question by planting an Israeli soldier in earshot of Elisha 00:29:59.099 --> 00:30:04.059 when he makes this prediction. All right. Who essentially says, you're crazy. He tells Elisha, 00:30:04.139 --> 00:30:09.919 you're crazy. You're crazy, Elisha. And Elisha says, you're going to see this tomorrow, but you're not 00:30:09.919 --> 00:30:13.339 going to eat it. You're going to see it tomorrow, but you're not going to eat it. And the guy probably 00:30:13.339 --> 00:30:17.419 just thought, right, right. Show me this tomorrow, right? You're going to see it, but you're not 00:30:17.419 --> 00:30:22.740 going to eat it. And then the scene shifts bizarrely in verse three, the scene shifts to four lepers. 00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:28.659 It's just an incredible shift. It comes out of left field, really. Shifts to four lepers who are 00:30:28.659 --> 00:30:34.539 saying, this whole thing is crazy. This is crazy. We are defecting to the Arameans. We're getting out 00:30:34.539 --> 00:30:39.319 of here. This famine is so bad. We're going to defect to the, at least they have food. We're going to 00:30:39.319 --> 00:30:44.500 defect to the Arameans, or at least we might have a chance. And off they go to the Aramean camp. 00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:50.679 So they head out of the city. Remember, the Arameans are besieging Samaria. So they're around 00:30:50.679 --> 00:30:56.599 the city. So they head out of Samaria to the Aramean camp. And, but guess what they find? 00:30:58.379 --> 00:31:04.039 Guess what they find? Verse five. Guess what they find? They find that the entire army 00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:10.099 has run off. They've just run 00:31:10.099 --> 00:31:13.359 off. The lot of them. The lot of them. 00:31:14.159 --> 00:31:15.980 Leaving everything behind. 00:31:16.899 --> 00:31:19.000 Okay. The whole, some, the whole 00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:22.000 Aramean army. The whole 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:26.019 Aramean army has run off. You don't do that. Armies don't 00:31:26.019 --> 00:31:29.599 run off. They don't run off. But they have. 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:32.200 Leaving every, because who's in control here? 00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:39.920 Who's in control here? Right? And they've left everything behind, we're told. Food, clothes, 00:31:40.580 --> 00:31:48.279 weapons, you name it. You name it. Listen, how on earth is God going to fulfill Elisha's prophecy 00:31:48.279 --> 00:31:53.580 by this time tomorrow? We'll have food. How's he going to do it? 00:31:54.680 --> 00:32:00.519 Right? Are you following? You're following where we're going. Okay. And so the lepers come back. 00:32:00.519 --> 00:32:02.279 All right. Believe it or not, it's the lepers 00:32:02.279 --> 00:32:04.180 in this story, and that's maybe another story. 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:06.440 It's the lepers in this story who are the bearers 00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:08.200 of the good news. Really 00:32:08.200 --> 00:32:10.400 interesting. And they tell the 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:11.700 king what they found. Verse 10. 00:32:12.319 --> 00:32:14.379 They tell the king what they found. And he 00:32:14.379 --> 00:32:15.940 goes and he checks it out, and it's true. 00:32:16.759 --> 00:32:17.420 It's true. 00:32:18.839 --> 00:32:20.379 And by the next day, guess 00:32:20.379 --> 00:32:22.240 what? By the next day, 00:32:22.359 --> 00:32:24.000 a sea of the finest flour 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:25.440 is selling for a shekel. 00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:29.620 Remember, the donkey's head was 80 shekels, right? 00:32:30.279 --> 00:32:34.000 And two seas of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria. 00:32:34.900 --> 00:32:37.960 And you know what happens to the soldier who doubted the word of God? 00:32:38.759 --> 00:32:40.720 And this is a serious lesson to learn, isn't it? 00:32:40.720 --> 00:32:41.759 About doubting God's word. 00:32:42.200 --> 00:32:44.600 What happens to the soldier who doubted God's word? 00:32:45.019 --> 00:32:45.759 He saw it. 00:32:46.820 --> 00:32:47.820 He saw it happen. 00:32:48.279 --> 00:32:49.740 He saw a sea of the finest flour 00:32:49.740 --> 00:32:50.539 selling for a shekel. 00:32:50.620 --> 00:32:51.180 He saw it happen. 00:32:51.180 --> 00:32:53.539 The food came into the city from the Aramean army 00:32:53.539 --> 00:32:54.600 that just split. 00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:56.900 And he saw it. 00:32:57.220 --> 00:32:58.000 The soldier did. 00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:00.900 But then everybody was so famished 00:33:00.900 --> 00:33:04.060 and so crazy 00:33:04.060 --> 00:33:05.100 because of the famine. 00:33:05.720 --> 00:33:07.279 When they ran to get the food, 00:33:07.360 --> 00:33:08.700 they trampled the guy to death 00:33:08.700 --> 00:33:09.820 in the gate 00:33:09.820 --> 00:33:13.519 when the famished people stormed out of the city 00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:15.120 to get the food. 00:33:15.600 --> 00:33:16.480 Listen, does God 00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:18.460 know how 00:33:18.460 --> 00:33:21.140 to deliver his people? 00:33:22.120 --> 00:33:22.640 Right? 00:33:23.380 --> 00:33:25.480 Does God know how to deliver his people? 00:33:25.740 --> 00:33:27.759 In the wildest of ways, doesn't he? 00:33:28.360 --> 00:33:29.759 In the wildest of ways. 00:33:29.860 --> 00:33:30.940 The wildest of ways. 00:33:31.180 --> 00:33:33.720 Who could have ever written a story like this? 00:33:33.860 --> 00:33:35.120 In the wildest of ways. 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:36.680 It's crazy. 00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:38.660 But how amazing it is 00:33:38.660 --> 00:33:39.640 that he loves us 00:33:39.640 --> 00:33:41.600 and he cares for us 00:33:41.600 --> 00:33:43.779 and he provides for us 00:33:43.779 --> 00:33:45.820 and he delivers us. 00:33:47.220 --> 00:33:47.700 Lessons. 00:33:47.920 --> 00:33:48.400 Remember them? 00:33:48.500 --> 00:33:49.000 Last time. 00:33:49.180 --> 00:33:49.640 Lessons. 00:33:49.640 --> 00:33:50.680 Number one, 00:33:50.759 --> 00:33:52.860 God delights in delivering his people from trouble. 00:33:53.580 --> 00:33:55.800 God delights in delivering his people from trouble. 00:33:55.920 --> 00:33:58.400 Sometimes in the most unexpected ways. 00:33:59.020 --> 00:34:00.360 What an incredible... 00:34:00.360 --> 00:34:01.580 This is real stuff. 00:34:01.660 --> 00:34:02.060 This happened. 00:34:02.140 --> 00:34:02.740 This is history. 00:34:03.700 --> 00:34:05.080 The most unexpected ways. 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.980 Second lesson. 00:34:07.259 --> 00:34:11.960 Don't ever doubt God's word. 00:34:11.960 --> 00:34:12.019 God. 00:34:13.519 --> 00:34:17.659 Even if it seems to be the most ridiculous thing 00:34:17.659 --> 00:34:20.539 you've ever heard 00:34:20.539 --> 00:34:23.039 in light of your circumstances. 00:34:24.139 --> 00:34:26.280 A seah of the finest flower 00:34:26.280 --> 00:34:27.300 for a shekel. 00:34:28.900 --> 00:34:29.000 Right? 00:34:29.740 --> 00:34:31.139 The more who are with us 00:34:31.139 --> 00:34:31.900 than who are with them. 00:34:31.960 --> 00:34:32.760 Are you kidding me? 00:34:33.300 --> 00:34:34.519 Don't ever doubt God. 00:34:34.519 --> 00:34:36.220 Even if it seems what he's saying 00:34:36.220 --> 00:34:37.340 in your circumstances. 00:34:37.559 --> 00:34:38.619 Sometimes we open the Bible 00:34:38.619 --> 00:34:38.880 and say, 00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:39.559 Oh, sure, God. 00:34:39.639 --> 00:34:40.039 Yeah, really. 00:34:40.400 --> 00:34:41.279 Maybe for other people, 00:34:41.380 --> 00:34:41.839 but not for me. 00:34:41.900 --> 00:34:43.659 Don't ever doubt God's word. 00:34:44.659 --> 00:34:45.960 So is God going to deliver his people 00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:46.500 through COVID? 00:34:47.339 --> 00:34:47.739 Right? 00:34:48.359 --> 00:34:49.639 Is God going to deliver his people 00:34:49.639 --> 00:34:50.279 through COVID? 00:34:50.460 --> 00:34:51.239 What do you think? 00:34:52.659 --> 00:34:53.619 What do you think? 00:34:55.119 --> 00:34:56.639 Is God going to deliver you 00:34:56.639 --> 00:34:57.900 through your storm? 00:34:59.059 --> 00:35:00.259 Whatever it might be. 00:35:01.960 --> 00:35:03.039 Whatever it might be. 00:35:03.839 --> 00:35:04.739 What do you think? 00:35:04.739 --> 00:35:05.059 Listen. 00:35:05.059 --> 00:35:07.400 Has not God delivered you 00:35:07.400 --> 00:35:08.519 from your greatest storm? 00:35:09.679 --> 00:35:10.940 Has not God delivered 00:35:10.940 --> 00:35:13.460 our world from its greatest storm? 00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:14.679 The sin storm? 00:35:15.799 --> 00:35:17.259 Has not God delivered us 00:35:17.259 --> 00:35:18.519 from our greatest storm? 00:35:19.799 --> 00:35:22.980 And is God's word true and sure 00:35:22.980 --> 00:35:25.480 even when it seems ridiculous to you 00:35:25.480 --> 00:35:26.639 that God is going to forgive you 00:35:26.639 --> 00:35:27.679 all of your sin? 00:35:28.719 --> 00:35:29.539 All of it? 00:35:29.619 --> 00:35:30.139 Are you kidding? 00:35:30.139 --> 00:35:30.359 Listen. 00:35:32.199 --> 00:35:32.679 Listen. 00:35:33.480 --> 00:35:34.819 When God's word 00:35:34.819 --> 00:35:37.039 collides 00:35:37.039 --> 00:35:39.960 with your world, 00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:42.339 believe it. 00:35:44.299 --> 00:35:45.079 Believe it. 00:35:47.619 --> 00:35:49.099 Well, thank you so much, Wayne. 00:35:49.779 --> 00:35:51.159 Folks, here's what we've been doing 00:35:51.159 --> 00:35:52.839 over the last number of weeks 00:35:52.839 --> 00:35:54.879 as we've sought to slow down 00:35:54.879 --> 00:35:57.679 and respond to God's word. 00:35:57.679 --> 00:35:59.199 We've just been doing this slot 00:35:59.199 --> 00:36:00.839 called A Minute to Think. 00:36:01.460 --> 00:36:02.759 Just put a couple of questions 00:36:02.759 --> 00:36:04.659 on the screen for us to chew over 00:36:04.659 --> 00:36:06.379 and maybe to carry on with us 00:36:06.379 --> 00:36:07.639 through the rest of this day 00:36:07.639 --> 00:36:09.839 and through the rest of this week as well 00:36:09.839 --> 00:36:11.679 to help us think about 00:36:11.679 --> 00:36:12.379 how we're going to put 00:36:12.379 --> 00:36:14.679 what we've heard into action. 00:36:15.399 --> 00:36:16.699 So here's A Minute to Think then 00:36:16.699 --> 00:36:18.440 and here's a couple of questions 00:36:18.440 --> 00:36:20.159 for you to think about. 00:36:22.940 --> 00:36:24.879 So how does the trustworthiness 00:36:24.880 --> 00:36:27.380 of God's word encourage you? 00:36:27.380 --> 00:36:27.640 Thank you. 00:36:27.640 --> 00:36:28.380 Thank you. 00:36:28.380 --> 00:36:28.579 Thank you.