God keeps his promises even if everything seems lost.
The city of Samaria is surrounded by the Syrian army. The enemy has arranged his forces in such a way that it is absolutely impossible to leave or enter. The Syrian militia is well trained. Their squadrons are strategically placed. The fence is impregnable.
The life of the besiegers is a bit monotonous. Accustomed to walking great distances and fighting with ferocious enemies, this siege of the city is similar to a deserved vacation. The good food they get from nearby towns makes their life really easy.
The life inside the besieged city, on the other hand, is extremely difficult. Lack of everything The water is very scarce. The food deposits are exhausted. The people try to eat anything that is digestible. They know that their days are numbered and that unless a powerful army rescues them, they will be lost. But who will help them? The kingdom of Judah is very busy with preparations for its own defense.
God keeps his promises even if everything seems lost.
There are, at least, three different supernatural facts in this story:
The literal fulfillment of Elisha's prophecy that wheat and barley were going to be sold at a very reasonable price.
The sound of the roar of cars, horses and a large army in the Syrian camp.
The death of the unbelieving commander who mocked Elisha's promise.
How did the miracle happen in the camp of the Syrian army? Syrian troops were relatively close to Samaria. Maybe a few kilometers. One possibility would be that it was a very stormy afternoon; something that is not mentioned in the text and that the Syrians would not have confused with an enemy attack. Someone has mentioned the possibility that the Lord has greatly "amplified" the noise of the footsteps of the four lepers, but this would not explain the noise of the cars and horses. I believe that the fact that the rumor has not been heard in the besieged city may have been due to the fact that the rumble that the Lord provoked was only heard in the enemy camp. Apparently, the lepers did not hear it either. Matthew Henry raises the possibility that the noise has only been heard by the Syrians. This would be the reason why those in the city of Samaria did not hear it. However, the fact that the troops fled in a certain direction and not in different directions would suggest that, after the general bewilderment, the Syrians perceived that the noise of the army came from a certain place and therefore fled in the opposite direction. This fact would be difficult to explain if the sound had been the product of his imagination, in which case they would not have had spatial sense of their origin.
What was the commander's sin? His sin was his unbelief in the divine omnipotence. The commander did not believe that God could work in a wonderful way. He did not realize that God does not need our suggestions to achieve his purposes. His punishment consisted in seeing the fulfillment of the prophecy, but not being able to enjoy his benefit.
Notice also the mercy of God towards the Syrians, since he could have sent down fire from heaven on them or consumed them in any other way. But he did not. The Lord, in his grace, saves the enemies of Israel and also the inhabitants of the city, who had given themselves to idolatry.
The main theme of this story is that God can work wonders even when everything seems absolutely lost and we have abandoned all hope. Therefore, we praise "him who is able to do all things much more abundantly than we ask or think" (Eph 3:20).
Source of this work The biblical school following the teacher.
Reference Reina Valera 1960.
www.steemchurch.net
Thank you for this teaching brother Oswaldo:
The main theme of this story is that God can do wonders even when everything seems to be absolutely lost and we have given up all hope.
Resteem
EC
God is true to his promise, man lies but God does not. Good post