Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
2 Kings 7:19

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Miracles of warning to Israel (6:8-8:15)

The remaining stories of Elisha concentrate on his dealings with the rulers of Israel and Syria. God was going to use Syria to punish Israel for its sin during the period of the Omri dynasty, but first he had various lessons to teach the two nations.
On one occasion when Israel and Syria were fighting each other, Elisha repeatedly warned the Israelite king of Syrian ambushes (8-10). The Syrian king was furious when he learnt why his ambushes failed, and sent an army to capture Elisha. Instead Elisha took control of the Syrian soldiers and led them to the Israelite capital, Samaria (11-19).
Israel’s king thought this a perfect opportunity to slaughter the enemy, but Elisha directed him to feed them and release them. As a result peace was temporarily restored between Israel and Syria. The whole story was a lesson to both countries that God controlled their destinies (20-23).
Some time later the Syrians returned and besieged Samaria. With people dying of starvation and no help from God in sight, the king blamed Elisha for the trouble and tried to murder him (24-33). Elisha assured the king there would be plenty of food the next day (7:1-2), but when a report reached the king that it had arrived, he was slow to believe (3-12). The report was true, and at least one person was trampled to death as people rushed to buy (13-20).
In spite of the judgment that had begun to fall on Israel, God was still caring for those who were faithful to him. The woman whose son had been raised to life (see 4:8-37) was saved from poverty by being warned of a famine soon to hit Israel. She went and lived elsewhere during the famine, but by God’s control of events she received back all her property when she returned to Israel (8:1-6).

Meanwhile God was continuing to prepare Syria to be his instrument to punish Israel. The king Ben-hadad was seriously ill, but he would have recovered had not Hazael murdered him. Hazael then became king. Elisha wept when he saw the terrible suffering that Hazael would bring upon Israel (7-15; cf. 1 Kings 19:15).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE KING'S FOOLISH ATTEMPT TO TAKE CHARGE

"And the people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Jehovah. And the king appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him. And it came to pass, as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria; and that captain answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if Jehovah should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? and he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof: it came to pass even so unto him; for the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died."

The unbelieving king vainly attempted to control the crowd and even appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to be in charge of the gate of the city! Vanity of vanities! That royal officer might just as well have tried to stop a stampeding herd of wild buffaloes by getting in front of it! The multitudes rushing to alleviate their desperate hunger simply trampled him to death, fulfilling Elisha's second "impossible prophecy."

Samaria had indeed been brought to the brink of destruction. The people had resorted to eating unclean animals, even asses, and all of the horses in the city except five! It surely seemed as if the city had no option except to surrender to their enemies. And at the very moment when it seemed that all was lost, God delivered them!

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 7

And Elisha said, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, Tomorrow about this time they will be selling a bushel of fine flour for sixty-five cents, and two bushels of fine of barley for sixty-five cents, right in the gate of Samaria. Now [the prime minister,] the guy upon whom the king leaned, said to the prophet of God, if God would open up windows in heaven, could such a thing be? ( 2 Kings 7:1-2 )

Now it is interesting that so often we try to figure out how God can do His work. God gives us a glorious promise but I want to know how's He going to do it. I've got to be able to somehow figure it out in my mind. Now, the Bible says, "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus our Lord" ( Philippians 4:19 ). Oh, that's great. But how is He going to supply? I've got the bills coming; how's He going to meet the bills this week? How's He going to do it? As though I need to know the methods. Now, I'm always trying to figure out how God can meet my needs. I'm always trying to figure out a way by which God might answer my prayers. And when I figure out a way by which God might answer them, then my prayers are usually direction prayers rather than direct prayers. My prayer turns into my solution. "O Lord, I've got it worked out. If You'll just do this and this and this, Lord, then it's going to come. It will happen."

But God doesn't always follow my directions. And that's where we have problems. Because if He isn't following my directions, then I get upset with Him. I don't think He wants to help me. I don't think He wants to answer my prayer. Why? Because He's not following my directions. I got it all worked out the way God's going to do it. Rather than just direct prayers, I'm telling God how to do His business.

And so this guy tried to figure out, rationalize how that, how in the world, when they're selling a donkey's skull for eighty pieces of silver. How in the world they going to be selling fine flour for sixty-five cents tomorrow. God can go around and open up windows of heaven and dump flour all over the place. And so mocking the promise of God. Now this is through unbelief. He mocked the promise of God because of his unbelief. Because he could not figure out in his mind a way by which God might do what God said He was going to do.

Now I often cannot figure out how God is going to do things, and that's when I really panic. As long as I can figure out a way by which God might do it, I'm usually in good shape. But when they've made the Reader's Digest drawing and my number wasn't drawn in the Grand Sweepstakes, now how God going to do it? He's failed me. I had it all worked out. All He had to do is pull my number out of the box. He couldn't see. Now, I want you to know that God has resources that you know nothing about, and God has ways of working of which you not have not even thought. God says, "My ways are not your ways. My ways are beyond your finding out. My thoughts are not your thoughts" ( Isaiah 55:8-9 ). "My ways are beyond your finding out" ( Romans 11:33 ).

It isn't up to me to discover or to know or to figure out how God is going to do His work. It's only to believe that God is going to work because He said He would. And if God says He's going to do it, He's going to do it. But this fellow through unbelief mocked the promise of God.

And the prophet said unto him, [Fellow, let me tell you something,] you'll see it but you won't eat it ( 2 Kings 7:2 ).

God's going to work in spite of your unbelief, but you're not going to partake. And that's one tragic thing about unbelief, so often it keeps you from partaking even after God has done His work. Now, God has done a glorious work of salvation for you. But many people have not partaken of that glorious work of God through unbelief. Unbelief keeps you from God's work in your life. And you can see the work of God, but not partake of it. You can see what God has done. He did what He promised He'd do. But you yourself cannot partake because of unbelief. Oh, how unbelief can rob you of the things of God and the blessings of God. You're going to see it but you won't eat it.

Now that night, outside of the gate of, or outside of the wall of Samaria,

There were four leprous men [living at the garbage dump] ( 2 Kings 7:3 ).

In those days leprosy was such a loathsome disease that the people were ostracized from the community, and they were forced to live apart from the community. When people approach them, they had to start crying out, "Unclean, unclean," so people wouldn't get too near. Now, these people usually lived outside of the city wall, outside of the area of the wall where the people would dump their garbage. And they would survive off of the garbage that was dumped over the wall. But the famine was so bad in Samaria they weren't dumping garbage. They were selling it. Nothing coming over the wall and these guys are really getting hungry. Of course, you can imagine what it is if they're eating babies in the city what it would be trying to survive off of what's thrown over the wall.

[These four guys sitting there starving to death], one of them looked with at the others and he said, [Fellows,] why just sit here 'til we die? ( 2 Kings 7:3 )

That's a good question. Why just sit here till we die? In other words, if I don't do anything, I'm going to die. Just sitting here, I'm going to die. Why just sit until I die?

Now there's no sense going into Samaria, for they're starving in Samaria. So they can't give us any food in there anyhow. Let's go over to the camp of the Syrians. And if they kill us, we haven't lost a thing because we're going to die anyhow. But it's possible that they'll have mercy on us and get us a crust of bread. So these four fellows were taking a venture, sort of, in faith. But it's on that philosophy "You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain." I mean, if they kill us what have we lost? We're going to die here anyhow. We're starving to death. So if they kill us, we haven't lost a thing. But they might feed us. We don't know. And so they headed toward the camp of the Syrians, four leprous men.

Now God worked a miracle. As these four leprous men were clanging down the road toward the camp of the Syrians, in that evening darkness the Syrians thought they heard the sound of chariots and horses and a multitude of men. And they said, "Oh, the king of Samaria has hired the Egyptians and they're coming up against us. Let's get out of here." And they started running. And the guy said, "Hey, where you going?" "Egyptians are coming!" Oh, you know, and they started off. And pandemonium broke out in the camp of Syria as the guys all took off running back towards the Jordan River, and across up into the Golan into Syria.

So by the time these four leprous men got to the first tent, there was nobody around. So one guy opened up the tent flap, he says, "Wow, look at that." Tables set with food. Man, these guys pounced on it, began to scarf it up. And some of the treasures that were lying around in the tent, the guys dug a hole, began to bury it. Someone ran to another tent. "Come on over here, another tent." And they ran over there and started grabbing things and burying them. One of the fellows suddenly stopped and said, "Wait a minute. We're doing wrong. We keep this up, mischief is going to come on us. For just right over close by in the city of Samaria people are starving to death tonight. And if we are out here and we just keep this to ourselves, and we just gorge ourselves but don't let them know, then mischief is going to happen to us. We better go back and tell them that there's plenty of food for everybody."

So they came back to the wall of Samaria and the guard was up there pacing back and forth looking for the Syrians, pulling his belt tight, feeling the hunger pang. These guys called up and they said, "Hey man, the Syrian camp is empty and there's plenty of food for everybody. Enough to feed the whole city." And so the guard ran to the king and he said, "I've just received a report. The Syrian camp is empty and there's plenty of food for everybody."

The king said, "It's a trap. Don't let anybody go out. Lock the gates. Those Syrians they're sly people. They know how hungry we are, so they've just pulled back into the bushes and are hiding back in the bushes and they're waiting for us to open the gate of the city and come flooding out. And as soon as we open the gate, then they'll come pouring in and they're going to wipe us out. Don't let anybody go."

Look again at the tragedy of unbelief. Here God has provided, just like He promised He would, but unbelief keeps them from even partaking of God's glorious provision. One fellow said, "King, there are five horses left in town that hadn't been eaten. Why don't you let five of us guys go out and we will scout around, see if we can find any of the Syrians." And the king said, "Alright, go." And so these guys got on the five remaining horses in town, and they went riding down towards the Jordan River, and they came back in the morning and said, "It's true, king, there's not a Syrian around on this side of the Jordan River. All the way to the Jordan River we found sandals and coats and stuff that they threw off so they could run faster. They're gone."

And so the king said to this guy that leaned, that he leaned upon, sort of his prime minister, who the day before said to the prophet of God, "If God would open the windows in heaven, could such thing be?" The king said, "You go down and you watch the gate as the people go in and out." So this guy went down to watch the gate and the people in their hurry and in their desire to get out trampled him to death. So the word of the prophet came to pass. He saw it, but he didn't eat it. The tragic price of unbelief. "

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And that lord answered the man of God, and said,.... As in 2 Kings 7:2

and he said; that is, Elisha, as in the same place.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      12 And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they 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, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.   14 They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.   15 And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.   16 And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.   17 And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.   18 And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:   19 And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.   20 And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.

      Here we have,

      I. The king's jealousy of a stratagem in the Syrian's retreat, 2 Kings 7:12; 2 Kings 7:12. He feared that they had withdrawn into an ambush, to draw out the besieged, that they might fall on them with more advantage. He knew he had no reason to expect that God should appear thus wonderfully for him, having forfeited his favour by his unbelief and impatience. He knew no reason the Syrians had to fly, for it does not appear that he or any of this attendants heard the noise of the chariots which the Syrians were frightened at. Let not those who, like him, are unstable in all their ways, think to receive any thing from God; nay, a guilty conscience fears the worst and makes men suspicious.

      II. The course they took for their satisfaction, and to prevent their falling into a snare. They sent out spies to see what had become of the Syrians, and found they had all fled indeed, commanders as well a common soldiers. They could track them by the garments which they threw off, and left by the way, for their greater expedition, 2 Kings 7:15; 2 Kings 7:15. He that gave this advice seems to have been very sensible of the deplorable condition the people were in (2 Kings 7:13; 2 Kings 7:13); for speaking of the horses, many of which were dead and the rest ready to perish for hunger, he says, and repeats it, "They are as all the multitude of Israel. Israel used to glory in their multitude, but now they are diminished and brought low." He advised to send five horsemen, but, it should seem, there were only two horses fit to be sent, and those chariot-horses, 2 Kings 7:14; 2 Kings 7:14. Now the Lord repented himself concerning his servants, when he saw that their strength was gone, Deuteronomy 32:36.

      III. The plenty that was in Samaria, from the plunder of the camp of the Syrians, 2 Kings 7:16; 2 Kings 7:16. Had the Syrians been governed by the modern policies of war, when they could not take their baggage and their tents with them they would rather have burnt them (as it is common to do with the forage of a country) than let them fall into their enemies' hands; but God determined that the besieging of Samaria, which was intended for its ruin, should turn to its advantage, and that Israel should now be enriched with the spoil of the Syrians as of old with that of the Egyptians. Here see, 1. The wealth of the sinner laid up for the just (Job 27:16; Job 27:17) and the spoilers spoiled, Isaiah 33:1. 2. The wants of Israel supplied in a way that they little thought of, which should encourage us to depend upon the power and goodness of God in our greatest straits. 3. The word of Elisha fulfilled to a tittle: A measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel; those that spoiled the camp had not only enough to supply themselves with, but an overplus to sell at an easy rate for the benefit of others, and so even those that tarried at home did divide the spoil,Psalms 68:12; Isaiah 33:23. God's promise may be safely relied on, for no word of his shall fall to the ground.

      IV. The death of the unbelieving courtier, that questioned the truth of Elisha's word. Divine threatenings will as surely be accomplished as divine promises. He that believeth not shall be damned stands as firm as He that believeth shall be saved. This lord, 1. Was preferred by the king to the charge of the gate (2 Kings 7:17; 2 Kings 7:17), to keep the peace, and to see that there was no tumult or disorder in dividing and disposing of the spoil. So much trust did the king repose in him, in his prudence and gravity, and so much did he delight to honour him. He that will be great, let him serve the public. 2. Was trodden to death by the people in the gate, either by accident, the crowd being exceedingly great, and he in the thickest of it, or perhaps designedly, because he abused his power, and was imperious in restraining the people from satisfying their hunger. However it was, God's justice was glorified, and the word of Elisha was fulfilled. He saw the plenty, for the silencing and shaming of his unbelief, corn cheap without opening windows in heaven, and therein saw his own folly in prescribing to God; but he did not eat of the plenty he saw. When he was about to fill his belly God cast the fury of his wrath upon him (Job 20:23) and it came between the cup and the lip. Justly are those thus tantalized with the world's promises that think themselves tantalized with the promises of God. If believing shall not be seeing, seeing shall not be enjoying. This matter is repeated, and the event very particularly compared with the prediction (2 Kings 7:18-20; 2 Kings 7:18-20), that we might take special notice of it, and might learn, (1.) How deeply God resents out distrust of him, of his power, providence, and promise. When Israel said, Can God furnish a table? the Lord heard it and was wroth. Infinite wisdom will not be limited by our folly. God never promises the end without knowing where to provide the means. (2.) How uncertain life and the enjoyments of it are. Honour and power cannot secure men from sudden and inglorious deaths. He whom the king leaned upon the people trod upon; he who fancied himself the stay and support of the government was trampled under foot as the mire in the streets. Thus hath the pride of men's glory been often stained. (3.) How certain God's threatenings are, and how sure to alight on the guilty and obnoxious heads. Let all men fear before the great God, who treads upon princes as mortar and is terrible to the kings of the earth.

Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible

The Sin of Unbelief

January 14, 1855 by C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892)

This updated and revised manuscript is copyrighted ã 2000 by Tony Capoccia. All rights reserved.

“The officer had said to the man of God, ‘Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?’ The man of God had replied, ‘You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!’” [2 Kings 7:19 ]

One wise man may deliver a whole city; one good man may be the means of safety to a thousand others. The holy ones are “the salt of the earth,” the means of the preservation of the wicked. Without the godly as a safeguard, the race would be utterly destroyed. In the city of Samaria there was one righteous man--Elisha, the servant of the Lord. Godliness and holiness was completely extinct in the court. The king was a sinner of the worst kind, his iniquity was glaring and notorious. Jehoram walked in the ways of his father Ahab, and worshipped false gods. The people of Samaria were wicked like their king; they had gone astray from Jehovah; they had forsaken the God of Israel: they did not remember the words of Jacob, “The Lord your God is one God;” and in wicked idolatry they bowed before the idols of the heathens, and therefore the Lord of Hosts allowed their enemies to oppress them until the curse of Ebal was fulfilled in the streets of Samaria, for “the most gentle and sensitive woman who would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot, will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter,” because of her of intense hunger (Deuteronomy 28:56-58 ). In this awful situation the one holy man was the means of salvation. The one grain of salt preserved the entire city; the one warrior for God was the means of the deliverance of the whole struggling multitude. For Elisha’s sake the Lord sent the promise that the next day, food which could not be obtained at any price, would be available at the cheapest possible price--at the very gates of Samaria. We may picture the joy of the multitude when the prophet first uttered this prediction. They knew him to be a prophet of the Lord; he had divine credentials; all his past prophecies had been fulfilled. They knew that he was a man sent from God, and was speaking Jehovah’s message. Surely the king’s eyes would glisten with delight, and the starving multitude would leap for joy at the prospects of so speedy a release from the famine. “Tomorrow, they would shout, “tomorrow our hunger will be over, and we will feast until we are full. However, the officer on whom the king leaned expressed his disbelief. We don’t hear that any of the common people ever doubted; but one of noble position did. It is strange, that God has seldom chosen the great men of this world. Elevated positions in life and faith in Christ seldom agree. This great man said, “Impossible!” and, with an insult to the prophet, he added, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” His sin lay in the fact, that after repeated evidences of Elisha’s ministry, yet he disbelieved the assurances uttered by the prophet on God’s behalf. He had, doubtless, seen the marvelous defeat of Moab; he had been startled at the testimony of the resurrection of the Shunamite’s son; he knew that Elisha had revealed Benhadad’s secrets and struck his marauding hosts with blindness; he had seen the army of Syria decoyed into the heart of Samaria; and he probably knew the story of the widow, whose oil filled all the vessels, and redeemed her sons. And the cure of Naaman was common conversation at all events in the court; and yet, in the face of all this accumulated evidence, in the teeth of all these credentials of the prophet’s mission, he still doubted, and scornfully told him that heaven must become an open floodgate, before the promise could be performed. Whereupon God pronounced his doom by the mouth of the man who had just now proclaimed the promise: “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!” And providence--which always fulfills prophecy--destroyed the man. Trampled down in the streets of Samaria, he perished at its gates, seeing the bounty of food, but tasting none of it.

Perhaps he was arrogant in the way that he carried himself, and insulting to the people; or he tried to restrain their eager rush towards the food; or, as we would say, it might have been by mere accident that he was crushed to death; so that he saw the prophecy fulfilled, but never lived to enjoy it. In his case, seeing was believing, but it was not enjoying. I will this morning invite your attention to two things--the man’s sin and his punishment. I will only say a little about this man, since I have already detailed the circumstances, but I will discuss the sin of unbelief and the punishment for that sin.

I. First, the SIN. His sin was unbelief. He doubted the promise of God.

In this particular case unbelief took the form of a doubt of the divine reality, or a mistrust of God’s power. Either he doubted whether God really meant what he said, or whether it was within the range of possibility that God would fulfill his promise. Unbelief has more phases than the moon, and more colors than the chameleon. Common people, when speaking of the devil, say, that he is sometimes seen in one shape, and sometimes in another. I am sure this is true of Satan’s first-born child--unbelief, for it has a multitude of forms.

At one time I see unbelief dressed up as an angel of light. It calls itself humility, and it says, “I would not be presumptuous; I dare not believe that God would pardon me; I am too great a sinner.” We call that humility, and thank God that our friend is in such a good condition. I don’t thank God for any such delusion. It is the devil dressed as an angel of light; it is unbelief after all.

At other times we detect unbelief in the shape of a doubt of God’s immutability: “The Lord has loved me, but perhaps he will cast me away tomorrow. He helped me yesterday, and under the shadows of his wings I trust; but perhaps I will receive no help in the next affliction. He may have thrown me away; he may not remember his covenant, and forget to be gracious.”

Sometimes this infidelity is embodied in a doubt of God’s power. Every day we see new problems, we are involved in a net of difficulties, and we think “surely the Lord cannot deliver us.” We strive to get rid of our burden, and finding that we can’t do it, we think God’s arm is as short as ours, and his power as little as human might.

A fearful form of unbelief is that doubt which keeps men from coming to Christ; which leads the sinner to distrust the ability of Christ to save him, to doubt the willingness of Jesus to accept such a great transgressor. But the most hideous of all is the traitor, in its true colors, blaspheming God, and madly denying his existence. Infidelity, deism, and atheism, are the ripe fruits of this deadly tree; they are the most massive eruptions of the volcano of unbelief. Unbelief has become full mature, when removing the mask and laying aside the disguise, it profanely stalks the earth, uttering the rebellious cry, “There is no God,” striving in vain to shake the throne of the divinity, by lifting up its arm against Jehovah, and in its arrogance would,

“Snatch from his hand the balance and the rod, Rejudge his justice--be the god of God.”

Then truly unbelief has come to its full perfection, and then you see what it really is, for the least unbelief is of the same nature as the greatest.

I am astonished, and I am sure you will be too, when I tell you that there are some strange people in the world who do not believe that unbelief is a sin. I must call them strange people, because they are sound in their faith in every other respect, but they imagine and they deny that unbelief is sinful.

I remember a young man joining a circle of friends and ministers, who were disputing whether it was a sin for men and women not to believe the gospel. While they were discussing it, he said, “Gentlemen am I in the presence of Christians? Are you believers in the Bible, or are you not?” They said, “Of course we are Christians.” “Then,” he said, “doesn’t the Scripture record Jesus as saying, ‘When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin . . . . because men do not believe in me?’ And isn’t it the damning sin of sinners, that they do not believe on Christ?” I could not have thought that persons should be so fool-hardy as to venture to assert that, “it is not a sin for a sinner not to believe in Christ.” I thought that, however far they might wish to push their sentiments, they would not tell a lie to uphold the truth, and, in my opinion this is what such men are really doing. Truth is a strong tower and never requires to be reinforced with error. God’s Word will stand against all man’s schemes. I would never invent such an illogical argument to try to prove that it is not a sin on the part of the ungodly not to believe, for I am sure it is, for I am taught in the Scriptures that, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light,” and when I read, “whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son,” I affirm, and the Word declares it, unbelief is a sin. Surely with rational and unbiased persons, it cannot require any reasoning to prove it. Is it not a sin for a creature to doubt the word of its Maker? Is it not a crime and an insult to the Divinity, for me, an atom, a particle of dust, to dare to deny his words? Is it not the very summit of arrogance and extremity of pride for a son of Adam to say, even in his heart, “God I doubt your grace; God I doubt your love, God I doubt your power?” Oh! dear friends believe me, if you could roll all sins into one mass--if you could take murder, and blasphemy, and lust, adultery, and fornication, and everything that is vile and unite them all into one vast ball of filthy corruption, they would not, even then, equal the sin of unbelief. This is the king of all sins, the epitome of guilt; the mixture of the venom of all crimes; the dregs of the wine of Gomorrah; it is the number one sin, the masterpiece of Satan, the chief work of the devil.

I will attempt this morning, for a little while, to show the extremely evil nature of the sin of unbelief.

1. First the sin of unbelief will appear to be extremely heinous when we remember that it is the parent of every other iniquity. There is no crime which unbelief will not produce. I think that the fall of man was surely a result of the sin of unbelief. It was at this point that the devil tempted Eve. He said to her, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” He whispered and insinuated a doubt, “Did God really say?” as much as to say, “Are you quite sure he said that?” It was by means of unbelief--that thin part of the wedge--that the other sin entered; curiosity and the rest followed; she touched the fruit, and destruction came into this world. Since that time, unbelief has been the prolific parent of all guilt. An unbeliever is capable of the vilest crime that ever was committed. Unbelief, friends! Unbelief! why it hardened the heart of Pharaoh--it has given liberty to many blaspheming tongues--yes, it even became a disciple, and murdered Jesus. Unbelief!--it has sharpened the knife of the suicide; it has mixed many a cup of poison; and many to a shameful grave, who have murdered themselves and rushed with bloody hands before their Creator’s tribunal, because of unbelief.

Give me an unbeliever--let me know that he doubts God’s word--let me know that he distrusts his promise and his threats; and with that for a premise, I will conclude that the man will, in time, unless there is amazing restraining power exerted on him, be guilty of the foulest and blackest crimes. Ah! this is a Beelzebub sin; like Beelzebub, it is the leader of all evil spirits. It is said of Jeroboam that he sinned and caused Israel to sin; and it may be said of unbelief that it not only sins itself, but makes others sin; it is the egg of all crime, the seed of every offence; in fact, everything that is evil and vile lies couched in that one word--unbelief.

And let me say here, that unbelief in the Christian is of the identical nature as unbelief in the sinner. It is not the same in its final effect, for it will be pardoned in the Christian; yes, it is pardoned: it was laid on the scapegoat’s head; it was blotted out and atoned for; but it is of the same sinful nature. In fact, if there can be one sin more monstrous than the unbelief of a sinner, it is the unbelief of a saint. For a saint to doubt God’s word--for a saint to distrust God after innumerable instances of his love, after ten thousand proofs of his mercy, exceeds everything.

Furthermore, in a saint, unbelief is the root of other sins.

When I am perfect in faith, I will be perfect in everything else; I would always fulfill the principle if I always believed the promise. But it is because my faith is weak, that I sin. Put me in trouble, and if I can fold my arms and say, Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide, you will not find me using wrong means to escape from it. But let me be in earthly distress and difficulty; if I distrust God, what then? Perhaps I will steal, or do a dishonest act to get out of the hands of my creditors; or if kept from such a transgression, I may plunge into excess to drown my anxieties. Once faith is taken away, the reins are broken; and who can ride an wild horse without rein or bridle? Like the chariot of the sun, with Phaeton for its driver, such would be our case if we are without faith. Unbelief is the mother of vice; it is the parent of sin; and, therefore, I say it is a deadly evil--a master sin. 2. But secondly; unbelief not only gives birth to sin, but it also fosters sin. How is it that men can continue in their sin under the thunders of the Sinai preacher? How is it that, when a thundering preacher stands in the pulpit, and, by the grace of God, cries aloud, “Cursed is every man that does not keep all the commands of the law,”--how is it that when the sinner hears of the coming day of God’s justice, he is still hardened, and continues on in his evil ways? I will tell you; it is because unbelief of the coming judgment of God prevents it from having any effect on him. There is a firing range nearby, where soldiers practice firing their weapons. Now when workers walk by there, they are always careful to stay behind the raised mounds of dirt, to ensure that they are not hit by the shots; so behind mounds of dirt they can do what they please. So it is with the ungodly man. The devil gives him unbelief; he thus puts up an great mound of dirt, and finds refuge behind it. Ah! sinners, when the Holy Spirit knocks down your unbelief--when he brings home the truth in a display of power, how the law will work upon your soul. If man would truly believe that the law is holy, that the commandments are holy, just, and good, how he would be shaken over hell’s mouth; there would be no sitting and sleeping in church any longer; no careless listeners; no going away and immediately forgetting what type of men you are. Oh! once you get rid of unbelief, then every shot from the canon of the law would fall upon the sinner, and the slain of the Lord would be many. Again, how is it that men can hear the wooing of the cross of Calvary, and yet not come to Christ? How is it that when we preach about the sufferings of Jesus, and conclude by saying, “yet there is room,”--how is it that when we dwell upon his cross and passion, men are not broken in their hearts? It is said,

Law and terrors only harden, All the while they work alone: But a sense of blood-bought pardon Will dissolve a heart of stone.

I think the story of Calvary is enough to break a rock. Rocks did split over when they saw Jesus die. I think the tragedy of Golgotha is enough to make a rock gush with tears, and to make the most hardened wretch weep with tears of repentant love; but even though we often repeat to story of Calvary, yet who weeps over it? Who cares about it? Friends, you sit as unconcerned as if it did not mean anything to you. Oh! stop and look, all you that walk by Calvary. Is it nothing to you that Jesus died? You seem to say “It really is nothing.” What is the reason for your attitude? Because there is unbelief between you and the cross. If there were not that thick veil between you and the Savior’s eyes, his looks of love would melt you. But unbelief is the sin which keeps the power of the gospel from working in the sinner: and it is not until the Holy Spirit strikes that unbelief down--it is not till the Holy Spirit rips away that infidelity and takes it completely out, that we can find the sinner coming to put his trust in Jesus.

3. But there is a third point. Unbelief hinders a man from performing any good works.

“Everything that does not come from faith is sin,” is a great truth in more ways than one. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” You will never hear me say a word against morality; you will never hear me say that honesty is not a good thing, or that sobriety is not a good thing; on the contrary, I would say they are commendable things; but I will tell you what I will say afterwards--I will tell you that they are just like the primitive currency of India; it may pass for money among the Indians, but it will never do in England; these virtues may have worth here below, but not above. If you don’t have something better than your own goodness, you will never get to heaven. Some of the Indian tribes use little strips of cloth instead of money, and I would not find fault with them if I lived there; but when I come to England, strips of cloth will not suffice. So honesty, sobriety, and such things, may be very good among men--and the more you have of them the better. I exhort you, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, have them--but they will not do up in heaven. All these things put together, without faith, do not please God. Virtues without faith are whitewashed sins. Obedience without faith, if it is possible, is simply gold plated disobedience. Not to believe, nullifies everything. It is the fly in the ointment; it is the poison in the pot. Without faith, with all the virtues of purity, with all the benevolence of charity, with all the kindness of disinterested sympathy, with all the talents of genius, with all the bravery of patriotism, and with all the decision of principle--“without faith it is impossible to please God.” Don’t you see then, how bad unbelief is, because it prevents men from performing good works. Yes, even in Christians themselves, unbelief disables them.

Let me just tell you a tale--a story of Christ’s life. A certain man had an afflicted son, possessed with an evil spirit. Jesus was up in Mount of Transfiguration; so the father brought his demon possessed son to the disciples. What did the disciples do? They said, “Oh, we will cast him out.” They put their hands on him, and they tried to do it; but they whispered among themselves and said, “We are afraid we will not be able to do this.” In time the possessed boy began to foam at the mouth; he foamed and scratched the earth, grabbing at it in his seizures. The demonic spirit within him was alive. The devil was still there. In vain they repeated their exorcism, yet the evil spirit remained like a lion in his den, and all their efforts could not dislodge him. “Go!” they said; but he would not leave. “Go to the pit!” they cried; but he remained immoveable. The lips of unbelief cannot frighten the evil one, who might well have said, “Faith I know, Jesus I know, but who are you? You have no faith.” If they had faith, as small as a grain of mustard seed, they might have been able to cast the devil out; but their faith was gone, and therefore they could do nothing.

Look at poor Peter’s case, too. While he had faith, Peter walked on the waves of the sea. That was a splendid walk; I almost envy him walking on the water. Why, if Peter’s faith had continued, he might have walked across the Atlantic to America. But suddenly there came a large wave up behind him, and he said, “That will sweep me away;” and then another in front of him, and he cried out, “That will overwhelm me;” and he thought--how could I be so presumptuous as to be walking on the top of these waves? Down goes Peter. Faith was Peter’s life preserver; faith was Peter’s charm--it kept him up; but unbelief sent him down. Do you know that you and I, all our lifetime, will have to walk on the water? A Christian’s life is always walking on water--mine is--and every wave could swallow and devour us, but faith makes us stand. The moment you cease to believe, that moment distress comes in, and down you go. Oh! why do you doubt, then?

Faith encourages every virtue; unbelief murders every one. Thousands of prayers have been strangled in their infancy by unbelief. Unbelief has been guilty of infanticide; it has murdered many an infant prayer; many songs of praise that would have swelled the chorus of the skies, have been stifled by an unbelieving murmur; many a noble enterprise conceived in the heart has been destroyed before it could come forth, by unbelief. Many men would have been a missionaries; would have stood and preached their Master’s gospel boldly; but they were filled with unbelief. Once a giant stops believing, he then becomes a dwarf. Faith is like Samson’s hair but on the Christian; cut it off, and you may put out his eyes--and he can do nothing.

4. Our next remark is-- unbelief has been severely punished.

Turn to the Scriptures! I see a world all fair and beautiful; its mountains laughing in the sun, and the fields rejoicing in the golden light. I see maidens dancing, and young men singing. How beautiful the vision! But look! a solemn and holy man lifts up his hand, and cries, “A flood is coming to drown the earth: the fountains of the great deep will be opened, and everything will be covered. Look at the ark! I have toiled one hundred and twenty years with these hands to build it; flee to it, and you will be safe.” “No!, you old man; away with your empty predictions! No! let us be happy while we can! when the flood comes, then we will build an ark; but there is no flood coming; tell that to fools; we don’t believe any such things.”

See the unbelievers pursue their merry dance. Listen! Unbeliever. Don’t you hear rumbling noise? The heart of the earth has begun to move, her rocky ribs are strained by dire convulsions from within; look! they have broke open with the enormous strain, and from the openings torrents of water rush out, water that has been hidden ever since God concealed them in the heart of our world. Heaven is split apart! it rains. Not drops, but clouds descend. A waterfall, just like the Niagara Falls, rolls from heaven with mighty noise. Both deeps--the deep below and deep above--both join their hands.

Now unbelievers, where are you now! There are the last two unbelievers left. A man--his wife holding onto him around the waist--he stands on the last summit that is above the water. See him there? The water is up to his hips even now. Hear his last shriek! He is floating--he is drowned. And as Noah looks from the ark he sees nothing. Nothing! It is a profound emptiness. “Sea monsters lay eggs and make their homes in the palaces of kings.” Everything is overthrown, covered, drowned. What did it? What brought the flood on the earth? Unbelief. By faith Noah escaped from the flood. By unbelief the rest were drowned.

And, oh! don’t you know that unbelief kept Moses and Aaron out of Canaan? They did not honor God; they struck the rock when they ought to have spoken to it. They disbelieved: and therefore the punishment came upon them, that they would not inherit that good land, for which they had toiled and labored.

Let me take you where Moses and Aaron lived--to the vast and howling wilderness. We will walk around it for a while; we will become like the wandering Bedouins, we will walk through the desert for a while. There lies a carcass whitened in the sun; there is another, and there is another. What do these bleached bones mean? What are these bodies--there a man, and there a woman? What are all these? How did these corpses get here? Surely some great military camp must have been here cut off in a single night by a blast, or by bloodshed. Ah; no, no. Those bones are the bones of Israel; those skeletons are the old tribes of Jacob. They could not enter because of unbelief. They did not trust in God. Spies said they could not conquer the land. Unbelief was the cause of their death. It was not the Anakites that destroyed Israel; it was not the howling wilderness which devoured them; it was not the Jordan which proved a barrier to Canaan; neither Hivite or Jebusite killed them; it was unbelief alone which kept them out of Canaan. What a doom to be pronounced on Israel, after forty years of journeying; they could not enter because of unbelief!

Not to multiply instances, but remember Zechariah. He doubted, and the angel struck so that he was silent and unable to speak. His mouth was closed because of unbelief. But oh! if you want to have the worst picture of the effects of unbelief--if you want to see how God has punished it, I must take you to the siege of Jerusalem, that worst massacre which time has ever seen; when the Romans leveled the walls to the ground, and put all the inhabitants to the sword, or sold them as slaves in the marketplace. Have you ever read of the destruction of Jerusalem, by Titus? Did you never turn to the tragedy of Masada, when the Jews stabbed each other rather than fall into the hands of the Romans? Don’t you know, that to this day the Jew walks through the earth a wanderer, without a home and without a land? He is cut off, as a branch is cut from a vine; and why? Because of unbelief. Each time you see a Jew with a sad and somber face--each time you mark him like a citizen of another land, treading as an exile in our country--each time you see him, pause and say, “Ah! it was unbelief which caused you to murder Christ, and now it has driven you to be a wanderer; and faith alone--faith in the crucified Nazarene--can bring you back to your country, and restore it to its ancient grandeur.” Unbelief, you see, has the mark of Cain on its forehead. God hates it; God has dealt hard blows on it: and God will ultimately crush it. Unbelief dishonors God. Every other crime touches God’s territory; but unbelief aims a blow at his divinity, impeaches his truth, denies his goodness, blasphemes his attributes, maligns his character; therefore, God of all things, hates first and chiefly, unbelief, wherever it is.

5. And now to close this point--for I have already been speaking too long this morning--let me say that you will observe the atrocious nature of unbelief in this--that it is the damning sin. There is one sin for which Christ never died; it is the sin against the Holy Spirit. There is one other sin for which Christ never made atonement. Mention every crime in the book of evil, and I will show you persons who have found forgiveness for it. But ask me whether the man who died in unbelief can be saved, and I reply there is no atonement for that man. There is an atonement made for the unbelief of a Christian, because it is temporary; but the final unbelief--the unbelief with which men die--never was atoned for. You may look throughout the entire Bible, and you will find that there is no atonement for the man or woman who died in unbelief; there is no mercy for them. Had they been guilty of every other sin, if they had only believed, they would have been pardoned; but this is the damning exception--they had no faith. Devils seize them! O fiends of the pit, drag them downward to their doom! They are faithless and unbelieving, and such are the persons for whom hell was built. It is their place, their prison, they are the chief prisoners, the chains are engraved with their names, and they will forever know that, “he that does not believe will be damned.”

II. This brings us now to conclude with the PUNISHMENT. “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!” Listen unbelievers! you have heard this morning about your sin; now listen to your doom: “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!” It is so often true with God’s saints. When they are unbelieving, they see the mercy with their eyes, but do not eat it. Now, here is food in this land of Egypt; but there are some of God’s saints who come here on Sunday, and say, “I don’t know whether the Lord will be with me or not.” Some of them say, “Well, the gospel is preached, but I don’t know whether it will be successful.” They are always doubting and fearing. Listen to them when they leave the church, “Well, did you get a good meal this morning?” “Nothing for me.” Of course not. You could see it with your eyes, but did not eat it, because you had no faith. If you had come here with faith, you would have had a meal. I have found Christians, who have grown so very critical, that if the whole portion of the meat they are to have, in due season, is not cut up exactly into square pieces, and put on some special porcelain plate, they cannot eat it. Then they ought to go without; and they will have to go without, until they are brought to their appetites. They will have some affliction, which will act like quinine on them: they will be made to eat by means of bitters in their mouths; they will be put in prison for a day or two until their appetite returns, and then they will be glad to eat the most ordinary food, off the most common platter, or no platter at all. But the real reason why God’s people do not feed under a gospel ministry, is, because they don’t have faith. If you believed, if you only listened to one promise, that would be enough; if you only heard one good thing from the pulpit here it would be food for your soul, for it is not the quantity we hear, but the quantity we believe, that does us good--it is that which we receive into our hearts with true and lively faith, that is to our profit.

But, let me apply this chiefly to the unconverted. They often see great works of God done with their eyes, but they don’t eat of it. A crowd of people have come here this morning to see with their eyes, but I doubt whether all of them will eat. Men cannot eat with their eyes, for if they could, most would be well fed. And, spiritually, persons cannot feed simply with their ears, nor simply with looking at the preacher; and so we find the majority of our congregations come just to see and say; “Ah, let us hear what this babbler would say, this reed shaken in the wind.” But they have no faith; they come, and they see, and see, and see, and never eat. There is some one down in the front here, who gets converted; and some one else over there, who is called by sovereign grace; some poor sinner is weeping under a sense of his blood-guiltiness; another is crying for mercy to God: and another is saying, “Have mercy on me, a sinner.” A great work is going on in this church, but some of you do not know anything about it; you have no work going on in your hearts, and why? Because you think it is impossible; you think God is not at work. He has not promised to work for you who do not honor him. Unbelief makes you sit here in times of revival and of the outpouring of God’s grace, unmoved, uncalled, unsaved. But, the worst fulfillment of this doom is yet to come! That great and godly preacher of the past, George Whitefield, used to sometimes lift up both his hands and shout, as I wish I could shout, but my voice fails me, he would shout, “The wrath to come! the wrath to come!” It is not the wrath now you have to fear, but the wrath to come; and there will be a doom to come, when “you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!”

I think I see the last great day. The last hour of time has struck. I heard the funeral bell toll its mournful summon of death--time was, eternity is ushered in; the sea is boiling; the waves are lit up with supernatural splendor. I see a rainbow--a flying cloud, and on it there is a throne, and on that throne sits one like the Son of Man. I know him. In his hand he holds a pair of scales; just before him are the books--the book of life, the book of death, the book of remembrance. I see his splendor, and I rejoice at it; I behold his magnificent appearance, and I smile with gladness that he is come to be “admired by all his saints.” But there stands a throng of miserable wretches, crouching in horror to conceal themselves, and yet looking, for their eyes must look on him whom they have pierced; but when they look they cry, “Hide me from the face.” What face? “Rocks, hide me from the face.” What face? “The face of Jesus, the man who died, but now has come in judgment.” But you cannot be hidden from his face; you must see it with your eyes: but you will not sit on the right hand, dressed in robes of splendor; and when the victorious procession of Jesus in the clouds comes, you will not march in it; you will see it, but you will not be there. Oh! I think I see it now, the mighty Savior in his chariot, riding on the rainbow to heaven. See how his mighty horses make the sky rattle while he drives them up heaven’s hill. A procession dressed in white follow behind him, and dragging from his chariot is the devil, death, and hell. Listen, how they clap their hands. Listen, how they shout. “You have ascended up on high; you have led captives in your procession.” Listen, how they chant the solemn song, “Hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent reigns.” See the splendor of their appearance; note the crown upon their heads; see their pure-white robes; note the look of rapture on their faces; listen how their song rise up to heaven while the Eternal God joins in their song, saying, “I will rejoice over them with joy, I will rejoice over them with singing, for I have taken them to be mine in everlasting loving kindness.” But where are you all the while? You can see them up there, but where are you? You see it with your eyes, but you cannot eat of it. The marriage banquet is spread; the good old wines of eternity are brought out; they sit down to the feast of the king; but there you are, miserable, and starving, and you cannot eat of it. Oh! how you wring your hands. Oh that you might have just one morsel from the table--oh that you would be like a dog under the table. You will be a dog, a dog in hell, but not a dog in heaven.

But to conclude. I think I see you in some part of hell, tied to a rock, the vulture of remorse gnawing at your heart; and up there is the former beggar Lazarus sitting next to Abraham. You lift up your eyes and you see who it is. “That is the poor man who used to sit by my gate and beg, and the dogs used to licked his sores; there he is in heaven, while I am cast down into hell. Lazarus--yes, it is Lazarus; and I who was rich in the world of time am here in hell. Father Abraham, send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue.” But no! it cannot be; it cannot be. And while you lie there, if there is one thing in hell worse than another, it will be seeing the saints in heaven. Oh, to think of seeing my mother in heaven while I am cast out! Oh, sinner, only think, to see your brother in heaven--he who was rocked in the same cradle as you, and played in the same house--yet you are cast out. And, husband, there is your wife in heaven, and you are among the damned. And father, look there, see your child is before the throne; and you! accursed of God and accursed of man, are in hell. Oh, the hell of hells will be to see our friends in heaven, and ourselves lost. I beg you, my listeners, by the death of Christ--by his agony and bloody sweat--by his cross and passion--by all that is holy--by all that is sacred in heaven and earth--by all that is solemn in time or eternity--by all that is horrible in hell, or glorious in heaven--by that awful thought, “forever,”--I beg you to take these to heart, and remember that if you are damned, it will be unbelief that damns you. If you are lost, it will be because you did not believe in Christ; and if you perish, this will be the bitterest part of it all--that you did not trust in the Savior. Amen.

Kelly Commentary on Books of the Bible

However, the next chapter (2 Kings 3:1-27) brings us at once into earthly circumstances. "Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah." There was no doubt a painful state of things most offensive to God. Not that the king of Judah was not pious, but that his testimony was ruined by his alliance with the kingdom of Israel. Accordingly, then, we find there is great weakness here, though God deals in nothing but tender mercy and goodness. The king of Moab provokes a rebellion against the king of Israel, and Jehoram goes to put it down. He calls upon Jehoshaphat to fulfil his treaty obligations, and, with the king of Edom, goes against the refractory king of Moab. But they come into difficulties. They are in danger of being themselves overthrown.

"Alas!" said the king of Moab, after they had been for some time without water and food for the cattle "alas! that Jehovah hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab." Jehoshaphat knew better. "Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah," says he, "that we may enquire of Jehovah by him?" And one of them tells him of Elisha. Jehoshaphat at once recognized him. He knows that the word of Jehovah is with him. So they go down to him; and Elisha says to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with thee? Get thee to the prophets of thy father and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay; for Jehovah hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab." False confidence soon yields to real despair, but faith can be calm and wait upon God. "And Elisha said, As Jehovah liveth before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee."

There is no doubt in this a rebuke, and a stern one, but we shall find that the action of the prophet is full of grace. "But now bring me a minstrel." He felt, as it were, that he was out of tune with his proper ministry. The presence of the wicked king had disturbed the heavenly tone of his soul. "Bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of Jehovah came upon him. And he said, Thus saith Jehovah, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith Jehovah, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye and your cattle and your beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of Jehovah; he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand." Thus an answer of mercy comes instead of judgment. "And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that behold there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water." This very thing misleads the Moabites, for they fancy it is blood. "And they rose up early in the morning and the sun shone upon the waters, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood" for God was pleased that so it should appear. "And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another; now therefore Moab to the spoil." They were caught in their own trap. "But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rode up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them; but they went forward smiting the Moabites even in their country. And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about and smote it. And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom; but they could not." The defeat not only was immediate but hopeless, so much so that the king was guilty of an act that filled the people of Edom with indignation against Israel. "For he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel, and they departed from him." This then was another signal manifestation of the mercy that God had caused to shine through Elisha.

But we find further in the next chapter (2 Kings 4:1-44), and in a very beautiful way not in these outward events that the world calls great, but in that which in my judgment is a still more blessed pledge, a witness of the real greatness of God. The greatness of God is far more shown in His care for souls, for individuals and in his ability to think of the least want and of the least necessity of His people. "Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear Jehovah; and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons as bondmen." Elisha asked her what she wished him to do, and what she had in the house. "And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil." Now it is according to what we can receive that God loves to bless us. "Go, borrow thee," says he, "vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed." It is only so that the blessing stays. There never can be a stay to the blessing as long as there is a heart ready to receive it. What a remarkable illustration! "Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt."

But this is not all. There is no doubt the rich supply of that which is the well-known type too, of what is essential of the Spirit. But further, "It fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman" that is, a person of consequence "and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread" for Elisha was not as Elijah. Elijah was more after the pattern of John the Baptist who repelled the advances of men; who rebuked, if he came across those who were in exalted station but living to dishonour God. Elisha, on the contrary, was a witness of grace, and he therefore does not turn away from the habitations of men into the desert, but could, as we see, pass in to eat bread with this Shunammite. "And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick; and it shall be when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither."

So on one day that he was there, he bethought him of a return of love for the love that was shown to him. And he called the Shunammite, and when she stood before him, he said unto her, "Behold thou hast been careful for us with all this care what is to be done for thee? Wouldst thou be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the host?" We can hardly conceive such an enquiry from Elijah; it was perfectly in keeping with Elisha; and I am anxious to bring out strongly the contrast between this twofold ministry. "And she answered, I dwell among mine own people"; she was right, she was content; and godliness with contentment is great gain. "He said to Gehazi, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid" but so it was according to the word of the prophet.

Yet in this world, even the mercies and the gifts of God are not without deep trial, and so it was that the Shunammite's son for the more that he was loved and valued as the gift of God, most especially by his mother, sorrow was her portion was taken sick, comes home to his mother and dies. "And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door upon him and went out. And she called unto her husband and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God and come again." The husband little knowing what was the matter, wonders, but the point is yielded, and she sets out and comes in full haste to mount Carmel. And the man of God seeing her afar off, remarks upon it to his servant Gehazi. And when she came to him she caught him by the feet, so that the servant wished to repel her. But the prophet knew right well that there was some worthy cause for an action so peculiar. "Her soul is vexed within her," said he most surely, "and Jehovah hath hid it from me" even the one that was the witness of grace none the less. "Then she said, Did I desire a son, O my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?"

He understands. He says to Gehazi, "Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand and go thy way." He was to go peremptorily, heeding no one, saluting no one. He had his mission to lay the prophet's staff upon the face of the child. This would not satisfy the faith of the mother. The staff would not do. The prophet, and nothing else than the prophet, must go. She said, "As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose and followed her."

So here again was another test of faith, and she was right. "And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the, child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Yes, she was right. "Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him saying, The child is not awaked. And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto Jehovah. And he went up and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm."

All the world might have done it in vain. God was pleased so to draw out the mind and heart of the prophet. It was not merely to be a cold request or even an earnest one. It showed in the most vivid manner that God had an interest in the prophet and answers faith. "Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up and stretched himself upon him; and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. Then she went in and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son and went out."

Here then was not merely the gracious reply of what was good, but the power that was superior to evil, in its form most terrible to man upon the earth, superior to death. And this too in perfect grace. It was not that the Shunammite had asked him for the blessing, for it was he who had sought to give the blessing. But at the same time God wrought in her heart to expect another, and she was not disappointed.

Yet it was not merely in this way; for now we find a dearth in the land. And the sons of the prophets were there. "And as they were seething pottage, one of them put in some wild gourds, which were poisonous. So they poured out for the men to eat, and it came to pass as they were eating of the pottage that they cried out and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot." It is the same character of gracious power.

Further, another thing it was unselfishly gracious; for when the prophet was presented with twenty loaves of barley and full ears of corn in the husks thereof, he says again, "Give unto the people that they may eat." We remember the remarkable difference in the case of Elijah, who tested the faith of the poor widow by asking first for himself. Not but what he knew the power that would meet her need, but still he tested her after so severe a sort. But in this case, thoroughly characteristic of Elisha's ministry, what is sent to him, he gives to others. And his servant, astonished, asked him, "What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people that they may eat, for thus saith Jehovah, They shall eat and shall leave thereof. So he set it before them, and they did eat and left thereof, according to the word of Jehovah." There is no stinting with God. But it is not merely in the midst of the distressed, and the mourning, and the needy, and the dying, or dead, of God's people. The grace of God, when once it begins to flow, breaks over all boundaries.

And this is what we learn in the chapter that now follows (2 Kings 5:1-27) and that we have authority from God to interpret it so, can be easily shown. Our Lord Himself shows that the very essence of the teaching of this chapter is the grace that went out sovereignly to visit the Gentiles. There were many lepers in Israel, but it was not there that grace worked. If grace works it will prove its own character, it will prove its own sovereignty, it will prove its own wisdom. God was looking for the neediest where He could be least expected where there was evidently no claim upon Him. Naaman the Syrian, commander in chief of the most powerful Gentile army opposed to Israel, was the one that God was pleased to visit with His mercy and in a manner altogether peculiar, and most encouraging. A little maid of Israel, a little captive maid, becomes the instrument of making it known. But the king of Israel's own powerlessness comes out, for he knew right well that it was not in man to cure leprosy; it was one of the things that God kept in His own power. However, here was exactly the opportunity of the prophet.

I have already referred to the fact, and it is even more remarkable in Elisha's case than in Elijah's, that it is more in deed than in word that we find these two prophets manifesting God. Acts may be as prophetic as words, and their acts were so. We are entitled therefore to give them the fullest meaning they can bear a meaning, of course, guided by scripture elsewhere; for we must bear in mind that symbolic language is just as precise as the ordinary language of every day, and I should say rather more so. It is not everyone that can understand it so easily, but when the heart gets accustomed to the language of the book of God, it is not found so very difficult. There must, of course, be the hearing ear and the attentive heart; but I say again that the symbols of scripture are as fixed in their meaning as the plain language of it.

Now, in this case, we have the Gentile coming to the prophet, and he comes as Gentiles will do, very full of their own thoughts and their own expectations. But the heart must prove its own utter ignorance and folly; it is only so that the full blessing may come. However, to Jordan he must go. His own rivers would not suit just because they were his own. The river of God that is the river for the leper. And there he goes down into the waters of death, for such is the meaning of Jordan not merely for the Jew to enter in, but for the Gentile by grace to receive the full blessing of God. And this, too, when Israel had utterly departed from the living God, and was under a cloud. This chapter puts it very strongly, for I have no doubt that guilty, covetous and unbelieving, is as rightly descriptive of the state of Israel now as then.

Naaman was of the Gentile race; but, alas! the Jew is accursed with the leprosy from which the Gentile is delivered. And such was the state, not merely without a blessing, but under a judicial curse from God. The Gentile then is delivered, and we see the beautiful picture of a man not only set free, but with conscience active because he was set free. I do not say that he was all right; it is in vain to expect that all at once, but he was on the right road. And beautiful it is, beloved friends, to learn the lesson I think we all need it sometimes not to hurry souls, and not to be anxious to form them according to our own mould or our own measure.

Thus we see, though the prophet could have answered at once as to the difficulty that Naaman presented, he leaves him in the hands of God. He had done that which ought well to awaken and exercise the conscience of the Gentile. He would rather leave him than give him premature knowledge. There is nothing that often more stifles the divine life. When people want to use their little well they should be disciplined in the right use of the little they know already. This was the case then with Naaman. Gehazi, alas! Disappears: he has gone out from the presence of God as Israel is now, as it were, gone out from God's presence.

In the next scene (2 Kings 6:1-33) we have Elisha still in the same career of grace. The sons of the prophets find the place where they dwell is too strait for them, and they say, "Let us go to Jordan," and there they take beams, and so on, for the construction of their large dwellings. "But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water. And he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed."

Now here again we see the same thing. It is not reprimand. No doubt there was carelessness, but it is the grace that can meet every need, the little just as much as the great. And I do not hesitate to say that true greatness shows itself in its capacity to take in the little. "And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick and cast it in thither, and the iron did swim. Therefore, said he, Take it up to thee; and he put out his hand and took it."

In what follows we have what is on a totally different scale, that is, the deliverance that appears from the enemy. Elisha's servant was alarmed, but the prophet prays for him. The film is removed from his eyes, and he sees how true is the word that more were on their side than on that of their adversaries. Elisha's prayer then is answered by the Lord and the mountain was seen to be full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. "And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto Jehovah and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness." But then there is all the difference even between this act and Elijah's. Where Elijah sends anything of the sort, he leaves them to it. When Elisha seems to depart for a season from grace, it is only to show the fuller grace in the end just like our Lord, who, when appearing to be deaf to the Syro-Phenician's request, only meant to send her away with a greater blessing, and a deeper sense of the Lord's goodness.

So now, Elisha leads these very, blinded, men into Samaria, into the city which least of all they would have wished so to enter. They were helpless prisoners so much so that the king of Israel wants to smite them; but the prophet stays his hand. "My father, shall I smite them?" "Thou shalt not smite them. Wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them that they may eat and drink and go to their master." And what was the effect? "The bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. To have smitten them would have only provoked another campaign. To have smitten them with blindness and to have restored their sight, and then to have fed them with bread and water in the very heart of the enemy's land, brought the immediate surrounding of the power of God so impressively before their eyes that the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. It was no doubt a most effectual blow, but it was a blow of mercy and not of judgment.

What next follows I may be brief upon. We are all more or less familiar, no doubt, with the great famine in Samaria, and how the Lord changed everything, and changed so surprisingly, and by such simple means. The distress was excessive. The king of Israel was most helpless, and all was in confusion. "And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him saying, Help, my lord, O king. And he said, If Jehovah do not help thee whence shall I help thee?" "And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son and did eat him; and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son that we may eat him, and she hath hid her son." No wonder that the king rent his clothes, and wore sackcloth; but there was no fear of God on the contrary, there was a murderous intent against the prophet of God.

The blame was laid upon him. "But Elisha sat in his house and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him; but ere the messengers came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer" (for indeed he was) "hath sent to take away mine head." But there is no fire that comes down from heaven to consume him quite the contrary. He said, "Behold this evil is of Jehovah; what should I wait for Jehovah any longer." There was no fear of God before the king's eyes. There was no confidence in God; and the fear of, and confidence in, God go together.

Now what does Elisha say? "Hear ye the word of Jehovah. Thus saith Jehovah, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria." There was to be then the utmost abundance, and that, too, the very next day, where there was this most excessive famine even to the eating of poor little children. We can understand how that unbelieving lord should challenge the word of the prophet and say, "Behold, if Jehovah would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?" He did not expect that God was listening, and that God was answering, for his prophet instantly replies, "Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof." And so it was.

Then we have details of the four lepers brought before us, and the fleeing away of the Syrians, and the abundance that was left behind, and the way in which they themselves had found the mercy of God meeting them in their distress. They became the heralds of it to others that were only less distressed than themselves. Thus was the word accomplished, and there was abundance of food for the people. The word was fulfilled to the letter, but not yet was the ministry of Elisha exhausted.

For in the next chapter (2 Kings 8:1-29) he goes and says to the woman whose son he had restored to life, "Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn." What was he going to do? To inflict a famine upon the land? Nay. We do not hear that it was he that prayed for it, but we do hear that it was he that warned this Shunammite, so that she should be preserved from the bitter consequences of the famine. It was an intervention of grace and not an execution of judgment. The Shunammite woman is told to go where she can. "It shall come upon the land," says he, "for seven years. And the woman arose and did after the saying of the man of God. And she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years." And when the full time of dearth was passed, this woman returned.

Can one doubt that as Gehazi represents Israel in their unbelief, and the solemn judgment of God upon them, because of it, and that too when the Gentile receives the blessing (for nothing more irritated Israel, as we see in the New Testament, than the Gentile receiving such a blessing of God), so here we find this woman is the sign of the return of Israel after the long period. The full term of famine has passed over the land once favoured of God, but now given up to the miserable curse. She returns again, then, out of the land of the Philistines, and she comes and cries to the king for her house and land. And the king was talking at that very moment with Gehazi (or what remained of this miserable man) of the wonders he had once seen, but no longer had an active personal interest in. And this is all that poor Israel can do. This is all that Gehazi does in the courts of the king.

So the Jew may talk of his traditional glory, but he has got none now. All that he can have now is to his shame. He is a wanderer and a vagabond on the face of the earth. No matter what he may be, such is an Israelite now. He is under the very badge of shame. He carries on his brow his sentence as a wanderer and a leper before God. But there are bright hopes for Israel, and to Israel they will surely come. Not to this generation the generation that cast out the Lord and has continued in its unbelief it will still come under the desperate judgments of God. But there is a generation to come. I believe therefore that as Gehazi is the type of this generation, the woman now returning after the seven years is the type of the generation to come. And she has all restored to her, and the fruits of the field. She not merely enters upon her land intact, but all that she should have had during the long seven years is all given back; for the Lord will repay with interest all that is due to Israel. And what will He not count due when He is pleased to take up the cause of His ancient people? Thus, then, we have Elisha still in the activity of grace.

And he comes to Damascus, and there he acts more strictly as a prophet than we have usually seen him, though I do not doubt that all was prophetic. All his actions were prophetic, as I have been endeavouring a little to show you here. And Elisha tells Hazael, in answer to the request of the king of Syria, that his master was to die, but that there was no necessity that he should die. Alas! he was to die by the treacherous hand of man; and the man was there. It was none other than this Hazael. Elisha said to him, "Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover; howbeit Jehovah hath showed me that he shall surely die." This was a riddle. "And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed." For deep thoughts passed in the prophet's mind as he looked upon the face of the murderer the murderer in prospect. "And the man of God wept." Well he might as he thought of such ways upon earth. "And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel. And Hazael said, But what! is thy servant a dog that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, Jehovah hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria." And so it came to pass. And the chapter pursues the public events of the kingdom, on which I need not dwell more than just to finish the story of Elisha.

But in 2 Kings 9:1-37, Elisha again is found. "He called one of the children of the prophets and said unto him, Gird up thy loins and take this box of oil in thine hand and go to Ramoth Gilead. And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi and go in and make him arise up from among his brethren." And so it was done. The young man went and anointed him for his work. He gives him his terrible commission, and Jehu does not fail of accomplishing it the commission of destroying, cutting off from Ahab every male. "And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel," the portion of sin, of covetousness and blood. But here I must close for the present.