2 Kings 7

In this chapter, the prophet Elisha predicts the end of the severe famine in Samaria. The city is under siege by the Arameans, and food has become scarce. Elisha promises that within a day, there will be an abundance of food. The chapter shows how God's miraculous intervention delivers the city in an unexpected way, fulfilling Elisha's prophecy.

2 Kings 7:1-5 (NKJV)
1 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.

Elisha declares that God will end the famine within 24 hours, and food prices will dramatically drop. The officer of the king doubts the prophecy, sarcastically questioning if even God could perform such a miracle. Elisha warns him that he will see it but not partake in it. Meanwhile, four lepers, who are outcasts due to their disease, realize they have nothing to lose and decide to go to the Syrian camp to surrender. To their shock, the camp is deserted.

2 Kings 7:6-7 (NKJV)
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.

The Syrian army fled because God made them hear the sound of a massive approaching army. They mistakenly assumed that Israel had allied with other nations to attack them. In their panic, they left everything behind, including their tents and animals, leaving the camp intact and abandoned.

2 Kings 7:8-9 (NKJV)
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 lepers found abundant supplies in the camp and began to take valuables for themselves. However, they soon felt guilty for not sharing this life-saving discovery with others. Realizing that keeping the news to themselves was wrong, they decided to report it to the king’s household.

2 Kings 7:10-11 (NKJV)
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.

The lepers informed the gatekeepers about the deserted Syrian camp. The gatekeepers, in turn, relayed the message to the king’s household, alerting the city about the Syrians' departure.

2 Kings 7:12-13 (NKJV)
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.”

The king was skeptical of the news, suspecting that the Syrians had set a trap to lure the Israelites out of the city. One of his servants, however, proposed sending a small group of men to investigate, reasoning that there was little to lose since the people in the city were already starving and desperate.

2 Kings 7:14-16 (NKJV)
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.

The scouts confirmed that the Syrian army had fled in haste, leaving behind their belongings. The people of Samaria went out and plundered the abandoned camp, fulfilling Elisha’s prophecy that food would become abundant and affordable in a single day.

2 Kings 7:17-18 (NKJV)
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.”

As prophesied, the officer who had doubted Elisha’s words was trampled to death by the crowds rushing to the Syrian camp. The fulfillment of both the abundance of food and the officer’s death came to pass exactly as Elisha had predicted.

2 Kings 7:19-20 (NKJV)
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.

The chapter concludes with the fulfillment of Elisha's prophecy regarding the officer. His doubt led to his downfall, as he witnessed the miraculous provision but did not live to benefit from it. This serves as a reminder of the consequences of unbelief in God's promises.