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Famine in Samaria · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? Then
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  Speaker 1: she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son,
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  Speaker 1: that we may eat him today, and we will eat
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  Speaker 1: my son tomorrow. 2 Kings 6.28 Heavenly Father, when difficult
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  Speaker 1: moments arise, keep my heart and my mind steadfast on you.
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  Speaker 1: I will not lose focus on what is important, but
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  Speaker 1: instead I will keep my heart and my thoughts steadfast
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  Speaker 1: centered on you and your word. I will not allow
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  Speaker 1: the drought of this world to cause me to compromise
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  Speaker 1: my beliefs and devour the promise that you have given me.
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  Speaker 1: I will not allow emotion from challenges to cause me
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  Speaker 1: to harm others in my life simply because I'm upset
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  Speaker 1: or I don't have the answers I desire. Instead, open
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  Speaker 1: my life up and bless me with supernatural abundance and provision.
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  Speaker 1: like you did for the lepers in 2 Kings 6.24-7.20.
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  Speaker 1: As you do, give me the access to tell others
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  Speaker 1: where your blessings are flowing, so that they too may
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  Speaker 1: be free from seasons of lack and despair. In Jesus' name.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.
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  Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible
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  Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by Bibleinayear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Famine in Samaria. In our last story, we saw Elisha
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  Speaker 2: avoid the wrath of the armies of Aram. The Lord
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  Speaker 2: confused them. and lured them into a trap by blinding
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  Speaker 2: them to the identity of Elisha. He led them into
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  Speaker 2: the capital of Israel, where they were at the mercy
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  Speaker 2: of the king's army. However, instead of killing them, they
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  Speaker 2: showed mercy. As a result, Aram and Israel lived at
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  Speaker 2: peace with one another. Now we hear about one of
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  Speaker 2: the darkest stories in Israel's history, a story of a
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  Speaker 2: famine so harsh that people were forced into the greatest
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  Speaker 2: sin anyone could commit. Yet even in this, moments of
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  Speaker 2: redemption are awaiting Israel. Inspired by the book of 2 Kings.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
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  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
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  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, There are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 3: Word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
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  Speaker 3: So visit JackGraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's JackGraham.org. In the last reading, we heard how God
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  Speaker 3: blinded the soldiers of Aram who had surrounded Elisha the prophet.
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  Speaker 3: Elisha had seen God's army, his angel army there to
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  Speaker 3: protect him, and had not wavered in his faith despite
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  Speaker 3: the enemy at his doorstep. We then saw how God
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  Speaker 3: worked through Elisha to bring peace between Israel and Aram,
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  Speaker 3: As the Israelis showed mercy and kindness to the enemy
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  Speaker 3: and did not kill even when doing so would have
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  Speaker 3: been very easy and within their rights. Today we'll turn
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  Speaker 3: to an event that's truly hard to understand. A famine
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  Speaker 3: so intense and a people so desperate that they turn
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  Speaker 3: to unspeakable acts and commit grievous sin in a desperate
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  Speaker 3: attempt to stay alive. So let's listen now to this
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  Speaker 3: reading from God's Word.
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  Speaker 2: Israel enjoyed a brief moment of peace and prosperity. Conflict
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  Speaker 2: with the Arameans had ceased, and all seemed well. However,
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  Speaker 2: evil lurked in the darkness beyond the borders of Israel. Ben-Hadad,
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  Speaker 2: the king of Syria, had planned a deadly insurgence on Samaria,
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  Speaker 2: the capital of Israel. The shining jewel of a once
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  Speaker 2: prosperous nation crumbled under the boot of Syria's vast armies.
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  Speaker 2: Women were taken as prostitutes and slaves, men were murdered
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  Speaker 2: on the battlefield, and children were left without homes. Even worse,
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  Speaker 2: the armies of Syria made its home less than a
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  Speaker 2: hundred miles away to raid Israel again and again. As
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  Speaker 2: a result, Samaria fell into a famine unlike any in
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  Speaker 2: its history. Samaria wept like a broken and dying orphan.
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  Speaker 2: Hunger lingered like a dull blade lodged in someone's stomach.
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  Speaker 2: Even the king himself walked the city streets with pain
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  Speaker 2: and hunger. Food became so scarce that a donkey's head
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  Speaker 2: sold for over 80 shekels of silver. Dove's dung was
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  Speaker 2: sold as food for five shekels. The children of Israel
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  Speaker 2: were driven to madness, too hungry and thirsty to think
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  Speaker 2: rationally or selflessly. With the hunger came chaos. One morning,
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  Speaker 2: the king was walking among the city near the border wall.
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  Speaker 2: His lungs filled up with dust and his lips were
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  Speaker 2: parched from lack of water. He looked at his people.
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  Speaker 2: The pain of seeing them die slowly was greater than
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  Speaker 2: the hunger pains in his stomach. To make matters worse,
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  Speaker 2: there was no way to defend against Syrian attack since
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  Speaker 2: his soldiers were starved. He would have cried, but his
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  Speaker 2: body was devoid of water. He could not spare a
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  Speaker 2: single tear. The king leaned against the wall and surveyed
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  Speaker 2: his broken kingdom. As he was stumbling through the city,
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  Speaker 2: he heard a shout. Help, my lord! The king turned
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  Speaker 2: to see a woman. The woman looked as if she
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  Speaker 2: was once very beautiful. However, hunger took away her color.
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  Speaker 2: Her once dark and healthy hair was thin and gray.
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  Speaker 2: Her eyes reflected great pain and sorrow. She was, in
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  Speaker 2: many ways, a perfect image of the state of Israel.
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  Speaker 2: The king shook his head in despair. How could I
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  Speaker 2: help you? If the Lord has not helped us, how
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  Speaker 2: on earth could I possibly aid you? The king's voice
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  Speaker 2: choked up. He felt helpless. His people needed him, and
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  Speaker 2: he could do nothing but despair alongside them. He looked
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  Speaker 2: up at her. She looked completely broken. Her thin frame
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  Speaker 2: was trembling in its place. Her frail face looked up
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  Speaker 2: at the king with longing and helplessness. The king sighed.
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  Speaker 2: What is your need? he asked. We ate him, she said.
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  Speaker 2: There was a pause for a moment. The king's heart
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  Speaker 2: grew heavier as she watched the woman crumble with grief.
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  Speaker 2: My neighbor and I agreed to eat our sons, our babies.
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  Speaker 2: The words seemed almost like a cruel joke, but the
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  Speaker 2: woman spoke with complete seriousness. We agreed to eat my
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  Speaker 2: son yesterday and her son today. So we boiled my
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  Speaker 2: child and ate him. and now the woman and her
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  Speaker 2: boy are nowhere to be found. The darkness of her
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  Speaker 2: words shrouded the king in sorrow. Righteous anger welled up
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  Speaker 2: inside him. His fist pressed against the wall, and he
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  Speaker 2: tore his clothes. He did not blame the woman for
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  Speaker 2: what she did, nor did he blame the other woman
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  Speaker 2: for leaving with her son to save him. The king
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  Speaker 2: blamed only one man for all this suffering. He blamed
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  Speaker 2: the man of God. He blamed Elisha. May God put
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  Speaker 2: me to death if I do not have Elisha's head
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  Speaker 2: falling from his shoulders by the end of the day.
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  Speaker 2: So the king sent out his commander to Elisha to
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  Speaker 2: lure him in so he might be murdered. Elisha sat
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  Speaker 2: in his home surrounded by the elders of Israel. The
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  Speaker 2: men were standing beside a fire. No food, no wine,
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  Speaker 2: no water. Before the commander approached the house, Elisha spoke
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  Speaker 2: to the elders quietly. The king has dispatched a murderer
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  Speaker 2: to slay me. When he comes, shut the door and
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  Speaker 2: hold it against him. His master will not be far behind.
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  Speaker 2: As he was speaking, a knocking was heard from the
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  Speaker 2: front of the house. The king's commander was behind the door,
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  Speaker 2: doing his best to seem harmless and well-intentioned. He heard
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  Speaker 2: no response from the house, so he knocked again. Nothing.
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  Speaker 2: After waiting for a long while, he tried to enter
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  Speaker 2: the home to no avail. The commander was angry now
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  Speaker 2: and yelled through the door, This plague is from the Lord.
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  Speaker 2: Why should I wait on him any longer for help?
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  Speaker 2: His outburst confirmed Elisha's theory. People blamed God and him
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  Speaker 2: for their troubles. In reality, it was the Syrians. But
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  Speaker 2: any time discomfort or pain was experienced, people believed it
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  Speaker 2: must have been the spiteful playing of an angry God.
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  Speaker 2: Elisha approached the door and spoke calmly through it. Hear
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  Speaker 2: the word of God. Tomorrow at about this time, flour, barley,
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  Speaker 2: and gold will flow through the gate of Samaria.
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  Speaker 3: Ha!
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  Speaker 2: The captain explained. Has the Lord finally made windows in
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  Speaker 2: heaven to see our plight and send favors? he asked.
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  Speaker 2: His words were spiteful and filled with cynicism. Hear me,
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  Speaker 2: Elisha said again. You shall see it all with your
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  Speaker 2: own eyes, but you will taste none of it yourself.
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  Speaker 2: With those words, the commander left, filled with doubt, frustrated.
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  Speaker 2: and hunger meanwhile at the edge of the gate of
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  Speaker 2: samaria there were four lepers resting in the shade of
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  Speaker 2: the mighty wall not only were their bodies outwardly wasting
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  Speaker 2: away from their disease but their inward parts were being
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  Speaker 2: consumed by hunger Lepers were not allowed in the city
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  Speaker 2: for fear of the disease spreading, so they were doomed
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  Speaker 2: to rot outside the gates. One of them looked to
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  Speaker 2: the distance beyond Israel. Pillars of smoke could be seen
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  Speaker 2: where the Syrian camp was. Why are we just sitting
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  Speaker 2: here until our inevitable deaths, he said. If we stay,
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  Speaker 2: we die of hunger. If you go into the city,
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  Speaker 2: we die of hunger or stoning. He sighed and looked
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  Speaker 2: back at the horizon. But if we go to the
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  Speaker 2: Syrian camp, Maybe they will have pity on us and
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  Speaker 2: give us food, or they will just kill us and
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  Speaker 2: we'll die, leaving us no worse off than we were before.
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  Speaker 2: The plan seemed rational, so the four lepers limped their
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  Speaker 2: way towards the Syrian camp. It was twilight, and darkness
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  Speaker 2: had just began to cover the empty skies. The lepers
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  Speaker 2: drew closer to the camp, expecting bonfires and torches to
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  Speaker 2: illuminate the path, Instead, all they saw was darkness. Coals
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  Speaker 2: were burning off the last of their heat in pits. Food, weapons,
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  Speaker 2: and supplies were thrown around as if they had been
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  Speaker 2: dropped in a hurry. The camp itself was completely empty
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  Speaker 2: of any Syrians. As it turned out, earlier that day
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  Speaker 2: the Lord had sent a confusing wind to rush through
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  Speaker 2: the canyons beyond the Syrian camp. Thundrous noises burst through
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  Speaker 2: the valley beside them, giving the illusion of a great
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  Speaker 2: army approaching. Out of fear of ambush, the Syrians left
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  Speaker 2: in a hurry, leaving all their plunders, horses, food, and
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  Speaker 2: tents behind. The lepers could barely contain their excitement. They
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  Speaker 2: immediately filled their bellies with food, wine, and water. They
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  Speaker 2: ransacked the camp for all valuables, gold, silver, and flour.
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  Speaker 2: All of a sudden, these four forgotten lepers were the
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  Speaker 2: richest men in Israel. They took the mules and packed
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  Speaker 2: them with flour, barley, gold, and water. Then they hid
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  Speaker 2: them for themselves. As they were unpacking the mules, a
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  Speaker 2: gentle nudge of God's Spirit came upon them. All of
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  Speaker 2: the sudden their eyes were opened to what they were doing.
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  Speaker 2: This isn't right, they said. We ought to share this
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  Speaker 2: good news with the king, so all can enjoy this blessing.
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  Speaker 2: It was still dark, but the lepers wasted no time.
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  Speaker 2: They ran towards the gatekeeper and told him everything. He
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  Speaker 2: ran to the king and woke him up. When the
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  Speaker 2: king heard of this, he leapt to his feet in excitement. However,
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  Speaker 2: a rush of skepticism followed.' How do we know this
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  Speaker 2: isn't a trap?' he asked himself. So the king sent
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  Speaker 2: two horsemen to scout the area and make sure the
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  Speaker 2: Syrians had truly left. On their travels they saw remnants
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  Speaker 2: of Syrian clothing, weapons, and jewelry, proof that they had
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  Speaker 2: left in haste. So all the people were given permission
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  Speaker 2: to storm the Syrian camp and finally find food. Silently
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  Speaker 2: and subtly, the Lord provided for the needs of his people.
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  Speaker 2: The people were ravenous and rejoiced in the taste of
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  Speaker 2: fresh food for the first time in months. They returned
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  Speaker 2: to Samaria with the spoils. The crowd was so large
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  Speaker 2: that they posed danger to the city gates. So the
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  Speaker 2: king appointed his commander to oversee the gates. He stood
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  Speaker 2: at attention and watched the tidal wave of people approaching
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  Speaker 2: with flour and barley. The commander's heart sank as he
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  Speaker 2: remembered the words of Elisha. Hear the word of God.
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  Speaker 2: Tomorrow at about this time, flour, barley, and gold will
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  Speaker 2: flow through the gate of Samaria. The words echoed in
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  Speaker 2: his mind as he watched the people approach with more flour, barley,
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  Speaker 2: and gold than he had seen in his life. But
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  Speaker 2: then he remembered what Elisha said afterwards. You shall see
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  Speaker 2: it all with your own eyes, but you will taste
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  Speaker 2: none of it yourself. As those words resonated in his memory,
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  Speaker 2: the sea of people crashed upon the city gates. The
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  Speaker 2: commander did his best to stop them, but he was
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  Speaker 2: knocked over and trampled to death.
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  Speaker 3: As we open today's scripture, the peace Israel had enjoyed
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  Speaker 3: for a time has been shattered by the Syrian king
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  Speaker 3: and his army. They invaded Israel's capital city, Samaria, and
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  Speaker 3: slaughtered men, enslaved women, and left countless orphans. It was
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  Speaker 3: truly the darkest of times in the kingdoms. but things
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  Speaker 3: were only going to get worse. The Syrians set up
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  Speaker 3: an outpost nearby that allowed them to come back again
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  Speaker 3: and again to attack, pillage, and kill. Samaria was plunged
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  Speaker 3: into severe famine that even the most unpalatable foods like
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  Speaker 3: donkey heads and dove dung were worth their weight in silver.
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  Speaker 3: One day, as the king walked along the wall of
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  Speaker 3: the city, a woman cried to him for help. Though
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  Speaker 3: he could not help her, he asked what her trouble was.
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  Speaker 3: Her answer revealed that desperation was so high that some
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  Speaker 3: had turned to an unthinkable evil. This woman told the
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  Speaker 3: king that she and another woman had agreed to boil
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  Speaker 3: their babies and eat them. She had gone first, killing
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  Speaker 3: her own child and consuming him with the other woman.
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  Speaker 3: But now the other woman had hidden her child, refusing
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  Speaker 3: to hold up to her end of the agreement. Life
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  Speaker 3: has now lost all value in the face of such
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  Speaker 3: need and oppression. It's such a sad commentary on the
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  Speaker 3: state of Samaria that mothers were sacrificing their own babies
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  Speaker 3: so that they could continue to live. This woman's story
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  Speaker 3: was too much for the king. He tore his clothes
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  Speaker 3: in anger and mourning. He had every reason to be
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  Speaker 3: angry and filled with sorrow, but what happened next revealed
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  Speaker 3: how misdirected his anger was. He vowed to kill Elisha,
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  Speaker 3: God's prophet, that very day. He was sure it was
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  Speaker 3: Elisha's fault that all of this was happening. In effect,
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  Speaker 3: he was blaming God for these circumstances. Elisha was just
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  Speaker 3: the closest target. So he sent his commander to bring
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  Speaker 3: Elisha out of his home and murder him. When the
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  Speaker 3: commander could not get Elisha to come out, he grew
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  Speaker 3: frustrated and in his frustration revealed that just like the king,
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  Speaker 3: he blamed God for what was going on. We read
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  Speaker 3: his words in 2 Kings 6.33. The messenger came down
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  Speaker 3: to him and said, The trouble is from the Lord.
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  Speaker 3: Why should I wait for the Lord any longer? Before
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  Speaker 3: we judge the king and his commander too harshly, we
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  Speaker 3: might want to think and consider how we are often
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  Speaker 3: guilty of blaming God for other things. When things aren't
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  Speaker 3: going our way or if life is in disarray or
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  Speaker 3: some tragedy that we cannot explain has come upon us,
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  Speaker 3: do we turn to God for help and wait on
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  Speaker 3: him and trust in him Or do we blame our problems,
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  Speaker 3: our troubles, our struggles, or accuse him in ways that
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  Speaker 3: are unconscionable? God had not caused this trouble. It was
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  Speaker 3: the Syrian army, the enemy, who had attacked and taken Samaria.
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  Speaker 3: God was not the source of their trouble. But as
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  Speaker 3: Elisha was about to tell them, God would be the
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  Speaker 3: source of their rescue. He told the commander that the
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  Speaker 3: very next day, food would come through the gates of Samaria— barley, flour,
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  Speaker 3: and even gold would enter the gates. The commander scoffed
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  Speaker 3: at this promise. He wasn't just being doubtful, he was
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  Speaker 3: being unbelieving. And his lack of faith or no faith
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  Speaker 3: was going to cost him. Elisha told him that what
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  Speaker 3: he said was true and that the commander would see
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  Speaker 3: it with his own eyes but never taste it for himself.
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  Speaker 3: And just as Elisha the prophet said, God provided. Four
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  Speaker 3: lepers who lived outside the walls ventured into the Syrian camp.
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  Speaker 3: They supposed that they would either receive food or a
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  Speaker 3: swift death, and either would be welcomed outcomes. But as
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  Speaker 3: they entered the camp, they found it empty. God had
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  Speaker 3: sent a mighty wind and a thunderous noise to strike
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  Speaker 3: fear and confusion into the enemy, and they had all fled,
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  Speaker 3: leaving behind what? Flour, barley, and gold. The four men
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  Speaker 3: initially planned to keep it all to themselves, but God
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  Speaker 3: moved in them and they ran to Samaria to tell
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  Speaker 3: the king. And just as God had promised to Elisha,
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  Speaker 3: the next day, barley, flour, gold entered the gates of
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  Speaker 3: the city. Rescue had come in the most unlikely and
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  Speaker 3: supernatural of ways. This was the work of God. The
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  Speaker 3: commander at the gate saw it all, but in a
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  Speaker 3: sudden rush of people, that man was trampled underfoot and died.
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  Speaker 3: We may never know or understand why bad things happen
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  Speaker 3: to us. It's an ancient question, isn't it? Why do
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  Speaker 3: bad things happen to people? Why is there suffering? Why
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  Speaker 3: are there tragedies in life? We've wrestled with these kinds
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  Speaker 3: of questions for thousands of years. But here's what we know.
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  Speaker 3: We know that God loves us, that God is working
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  Speaker 3: always in our behalf to those of us who know
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  Speaker 3: and love him. Romans 8.28 in the New Testament says,
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  Speaker 3: For we know that God is working all things together
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  Speaker 3: for the good to those who love the Lord and
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  Speaker 3: who are called according to his purpose. Yes, God is good.
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  Speaker 3: He does good. And he's working all things together for
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  Speaker 3: good to those who trust in him. Dear God, we
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  Speaker 3: thank you for your word to us today. It's a
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  Speaker 3: very hard story to read. And we admit that we
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  Speaker 3: don't often understand the reason for tragedy and pain. We
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  Speaker 3: can't understand why a woman would take the life of
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  Speaker 3: a precious child. But we thank you that always you
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  Speaker 3: are there for us with mercy and grace to provide
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  Speaker 3: for us and our needs, that you are working all
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  Speaker 3: things together for our good and your glory. Help us
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  Speaker 3: to believe in you, even when we don't see our
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  Speaker 3: way through, that we look to you. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. And before we go,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would love to
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  Speaker 3: send you my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement
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  Speaker 3: every single day. So visit jackgram.org to sign up for
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's jackgram.org.