2 Kings 6 (Part 3) Bible Study (Ben-hadad's Siege of Samaria) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Well, if you have a copy of God's word in your hand, meet me in second Kings chapter six as we come to the final part of our study of this chapter. We'll begin together in verse 24. You know, I was originally planning to end this bible study a little differently than we usually do. We tend to look at the chapter structure of our bibles, and we honor that framework with how much content we cover in a single night. But, this time around, looking at this particular chapter, I was intending to conclude with the first two verses of chapter seven.

You might be wondering why that is, and I'll tell you, honestly, it's because this episode of Elisha's ministry ends a little awkwardly as it ends in chapter six. If you've read this story before, then you will recall that near the end of this chapter, Elisha is having a conversation with someone, and for whatever reason, it is divided with a new chapter title. And we are free to criticize this because as much as verse numbers and chapters have been helpful to the church throughout the centuries, those are not included in the original scriptures. They were added much later on. So here's a brief history overview.

When it comes to the addition of chapters in the Bible, Stephen Langton, who is one of the archbishops of Canterbury, was the one behind that task in around December. And when it came to the Wycliffe Bible translation that was developed in 1382, that was the first Bible that adopted Langton's chapter divisions. And since then, the Bibles that we have today honor that, chapter structure. Now when it comes to the verses in our bibles, the person behind the verses found in the Hebrew scriptures, the old testament, was a Jewish rabbi by the name of Nathan. And this is something that he undertook in fourteen forty eight AD.

And then some time passed, and the new testament was visited by a man who was named Robert Estienne, a Frenchman. And he looked at Nathan's work in the old testament, he adopted the model, and he implemented it in the new testament, and he added those verses. And those divisions became the pattern for English translations, beginning with, does anybody know which Bible was the first English Bible that took on both chapter and verses? The Geneva Bible. The Geneva Bible was the first Bible to take that on, and nearly all Bible translations have adopted it ever since.

So that's a brief overview of why it is that you have certain number numbers in your Bibles, and why certain, chapters are included in different places. Helpful? Overall, yes. Can it be of disservice? It could be.

If you do not develop the discipline to not allow the thought be cut off with those chapter breaks. Many people miss the meaning of certain verses because they don't honor the context, and they haven't developed the ability to see past what we see here, for example, in chapter six. And so here's what we're going to do. Originally, again, I was going to end with the first two verses of chapter seven because that's where the conversation ends. But we're going to conclude at the end of chapter six just so that we can keep the, the structure of our studies nice and organized, for later reference.

And we will begin chapter seven next week, Lord willing. Are you there in second king six verse 24? Let's read the first two verses together. Afterward, Ben Hadad, king of Syria, mustered his entire army and went up and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria as they besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for 80 shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a cob of dove's dung for 5 shekels of silver.

Now, some are quick to criticize this passage because there seems to be an apparent contradiction. And the argument is, how do you make sense of verse 24 in light of verse 23? The verse that we ended on last week. So let's look at verse 23 together. And so he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master.

And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel. So after the Syrian army experienced the magnificent grace of God through the kindness of Elisha primarily, there was a silent vow that they would never make raids on Israel again. And then in the very next statement, we rewrote that Benedai king of Syria mustered his entire army. Now he's coming with full force, And he sets up a siege against Israel. Contradiction?

You know the answer. No. It's not a contradiction. This is a revelation. A revelation of the extent of the human heart in terms of how it can become hardened.

So there was a temporary reprieve. There was a willingness for the Syrian army, the enemies of Israel, to pull back and not return with any vengeance or attempt to try to overthrow them. But it was short lived. And, Benadad, this time now, would come with greater force, and what's the answer for this? It's very simple.

There was in his heart a hatred that was deeply rooted. And this hatred was so real, it was so powerful that regardless of the mercies that he experienced, regardless of the fact that his top general was healed by the God of Israel, and that his entire army was spared from slaughter because of the God of Israel through the man of God, Elisha, nothing impacted this man. He was determined to destroy the people of God. And this understanding is is helpful for us because it serves as a wonderful illustration of many, many, many, many warnings in the Bible. One of them that comes to mind is Proverbs twenty nine one, where we are told there that he who is often reproved yet stiffens his neck will suddenly be destroyed beyond healing.

That's one of the most profound insights into the destinies of those who are often rebuked, but refuse to humbly respond to those rebukes in humility and repentance. You know what that verse says? It says this, that for those who receive plenty of warnings, there will be a time that will come where intervention will arrive without warning, will suddenly be broken, will suddenly be destroyed without, without any opportunity to change, without any opportunity to turn. And that's why every opportunity you do receive upon conviction should be registered as your last. God may give more, but you should never, ever assume that a day is coming where you have another opportunity to do so.

And so this is a very sobering illustration here before us. This man has experienced so much of the mercy of God. That's how we opened up our study last week, if you remember. And he is a clear illustration of what Proverbs twenty nine one tells us, because this is not the last that we're gonna read of Benadad. In second Kings, he's going to appear again, and when he appears again, it's gonna be tragic.

He's not going to be met with God's mercy. He's going to be met with something else. But just remember that. But for now, let's consider this. Benedet is not the only one who was very stubborn in responding appropriately to the incomparable grace of God.

Let's read on here. In verse 25, we discover, and there was a great famine in Samaria, and they besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for 80 shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a cob of doves dung for 5 shekels of silver. Samaria, the capital of Israel at this time. Two tragedies. One, there was a famine.

Not just a famine, a great famine. And the Syrian army capitalized on this tragedy by choosing to besiege, to siege the city of Samaria. Now what's a siege? It was a military strategy in ancient times where an army would surround a place, a region, a town, and they would wait there for weeks, sometimes even months. And this would, create frustration for those who were under siege because nobody can go in and nobody can go out.

No business could be done. No trade could be performed. And so as time went on, what would happen is that they would be starved into surrender. But usually, before there is starvation, there is inflation. And that's what we read of here.

We get a glimpse of the horrific conditions and the drastic prices of some of these products that are unthinkable to us in terms of consumption. The first is a donkey's head. What do you do with a donkey's head? I don't know. 80 shekels of silver.

Now, there are many many things to comment about this, but the most significant observation is that a donkey, according to the law, was an unclean animal. It was not to be used for sacrifice and it was definitely not to be used to be eaten. So we have this issue. But beyond that, it's tragic enough to read about it, but we discovered that there is even the conception of the excrement of birds. Now some people are so, repulsed by this that they try to change the meaning of it, like it's speaking about seeds or speaking about certain flower.

No. It is what it is. You're talking about people who are willing to purchase, not birds, what comes out of the bird, in order to survive. And if this isn't, troubling enough, we haven't read it yet, and we're going to pass over these verses in a moment here, but just to get a full picture, look at verse 29 quickly. This is the comment of a woman.

She's speaking to the king and she says, so we boiled my son and ate him. And on the next day, I said to her, give your son that we may eat him, but she has hidden her son. This is not metaphorical in any sense. This is the record of a very desperate time in Israel's history. And as you read this, you probably are thinking to yourself, I understand that God allows trials, but this?

This severity? This kind of destitution? And I wanna tell you with absolute confidence that God is not arbitrarily allowing this. Hear me very carefully. Israel invited it.

That's the difference. And this is how we have to understand this passage, in light of the rest of scripture. You see, the Lord has warned his people in his law before they even entered into the promised land of the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience. And when you look carefully at two specific places in the old testament, you see this catalog of curses and judgments that will come upon this particular people, and if you read it with a careful eye, what you'll learn is that the longer the people persisted in sin, the more drastic the consequences of those sins would become. Read a passage in a moment, but I I wanna mention that, lest you believe that this eruption of cataclysm is something that came without any opportunity to repent or without any prior warning.

No. No. No. You have to understand that what's happening here in light of the older passages, the warnings in the law, are the final stages of God's discipline. Both in Leviticus and in Deuteronomy, what you'll discover is what will soon follow this is exile, which is really the pinnacle of punishment.

So we're gonna we're gonna read a set of verses that are gonna be longer, but it's for you to see the harmony of the scripture and the goodness of God even in this. God already said this would happen, and they refused to listen. So turn with me to Deuteronomy 28. The renowned passage of the curses of disobedience as well as the blessings of obedience, and look there at verse 52 of Deuteronomy 28. I encourage you, do not get distracted as we read these verses.

They are long, but they will be helpful in understanding the story. Deuteronomy twenty eight fifty two. Let's read together. They shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land which the Lord your God has given you.

And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, and the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you. Now, look at this language in verse 54. The man who is the most tender and refined among you will begrudge food to his brother, to the wife he embraces, and to the last of the children whom he has left. And so that he will not give any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating because he has nothing else left. In the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns, the most tender and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will begrudge to the husband she embraces, to her son and to her daughter, her after birth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears.

Because lacking everything, she will eat them secretly. In the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you in your towns. I I understand that it can be extremely difficult to see any kind of insight or instruction for such a gruesome passage. But there is something here. There is indeed something in every part of God's word.

I want you to notice how the Lord does not say that it will be the most barbaric and heartless citizens among your towns that will hunt for your children and eat them so that they can survive. That's not how he describes it. Look again here in verse 54. The man who is the most tender and refined among you. And he's not speaking about random neighbors who have a good reputation, who are sweet and respectable.

Beyond that, he's speaking about the parents of these children. And if you're thinking, well, okay, surely this this can be true for a man, but the maternal part of a woman would not allow her to go to such extent, you read what? In verse 56, that the most tender and refined woman among you will do so as well. This is horrific. This is atrocious.

This is unimaginable. In fact, when you read not about this siege, but the siege that Jerusalem will experience as they're surrounded by the Babylonians. Jeremiah, in the book of Lamentations, reflects on the scenes of that horror and he mentions this, you don't have to turn there, but listen to this, in Lamentations four verse 10. The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children. They became their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people.

What do we make of this? What kind of application can you draw from this? I believe there's a clear one, that when a culture abandons God, when a culture rejects and denies the truth long enough, the unthinkable becomes possible. That's what you take from these passages. Because it seems so outlandish, so exaggerated, and I'm here to tell you the unthinkable becomes possible.

And by the unthinkable, I mean the deadly rise of selfishness and self preservation. The abandonment of natural affection. Doesn't Paul warn Timothy about that in second Timothy three? That in the latter days, there will be the forsaking of natural affection. And beyond that, even the emergence of inhumane behaviors.

People acting like animals in their compulsions, in their desires, and in their pursuits, even though they were once considered civilized. You know, when I was in Israel before COVID, one of the most moving things, all the biblical sites were wonderful, but we went to the Holocaust Museum as a group. And the way they even structure the Holocaust Museum is so that when you go through it in that two, three hour journey, you feel as though you are in one of those enclosed rooms that those Jews suffered in. There were so many things to take in, videos and artifacts and diaries and it was just incredible. It was so moving.

But one thing that struck me, and so many verses and stories came to mind from the scriptures, is that when we came to the part where we looked at some of the biographies of the Nazis, some of these soldiers who massacred people by the thousands with their own hands, And you look closely and you read their description and you realize they were scientists. They were doctors. They attended orchestras. They were some of them were brilliant, intelligent, And yet, they could write in their journal entries how they slaughtered people like it was a grocery list that they satisfied that week. When a culture abandons God, denies the truth, suppresses it long enough, you can't reject God and just remain neutral.

You invite darkness in. Voluntary or involuntary, it will come. You remove God, Satan will move in. And here's what we have. That through a series of warnings and judgments, God is not saying that he's going to make them eat their children.

He's saying, this is what's gonna happen as a consequence of your sin. What do we have today in the West? With all our advancements, with all our discoveries, right? And now, now, even even us, we're becoming more and more desensitized to the idea of people mutilating their own children. Young girls cutting off their breasts.

Young boys changing their genders, being being placed on tables in a state where you can't, as a parent, interfere. And they can be mortified, mutilated, changed. And here's the thing, I mean, we all obviously object to that, but even us, because it's becoming the norm now, can over time not feel the severity of such an ugly and hideous thing. So this is not, this is not exaggerated. This is prophetic.

What was true then is true today. Now, let's read on before I get too carried away. In verse 26 of second Kings six. Now as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him saying, help my lord, oh king. And he said, if the Lord will not help you, how shall I help you?

From the threshing floor or from the winepress? And the king asked her, what is your trouble? She answered, this woman said to me, give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son and ate him, and on the next day, I said to her, give your son that we may eat him, but she has hidden her son. Is this the only instance where we find two women who approach a king and ask for his intervention in a situation regarding their sons?

Good. Very good. Solomon. You remember those two women who approached him and they were fighting for that one child because one of their children were murdered, involuntary, and they're asking for wisdom and guidance in this matter. Who does a child belong to?

But, oh, what a difference we have now here. In our study in first Kings, that's where we learn about Solomon and his wisdom. Now we're in second Kings, and what a change has taken place. Now you have two women who are not fighting for the life of a child, but are fighting to eat a child. And back then, you had a conduit, a vessel that was able to channel in God's wisdom, supernatural intervention to bring bring genuine solutions to a king who can't help in any way because he is so out of touch with God.

See the beauty of considering the the wider storyline? So you have these two women, one who is objecting and protesting, and the king here is listening to this. And he says what? Before he discovers this, he says, if the Lord will not help you, how shall I help you? Was it true that the Lord would not help them?

Was this a right assessment? People have reached the final stage of God's judgment, which was exile. This was applicable. Deuteronomy 30 verse one. And when all these things come upon you Pause.

What all these things? The curses that he mentioned in the previous chapters of Deuteronomy. When all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the lord your god has driven you, and return to the lord your god, you and your children, obey his voice in all that I command you today with all your heart and with all your soul, and the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you. And he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this restoration was only possible once they reached exile.

It was possible at any point of those curses, whether they were lighter in nature, or whether they were as devastating as exile. Moses encourages his people that no matter where your sin takes you, restoration is possible. Right? That's what he says in verse three. Then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you.

So what king Joram said was not true. He was speaking in ignorance. However, this is so important, and we're gonna spend some time here. As much as restoration is possible, there are non negotiable steps to reach that restoration. And they are actually spelled out here.

I wanna actually give you three steps. And what's so beautiful about this passage is that it's not exclusive to Israel. It is available and it's applicable to anybody who veers off the will of God, who veers away from the will of God. So you're there in Deuteronomy 30. Right?

Keep your hand there, second king six. We'll come back. But I wanna speak to you about three things that no matter where your sin has taken you, you must, you must trust in and walk in in order to know this restoration. The first thing, and they all begin with the letter r. The first thing is to remember.

Remember. Look here again at verse one. And when all these things come upon you, the blessings and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you. So no matter the despair, no matter the darkness, though you're displaced, they were held responsible in recollecting the message that Moses gave them at this time. That would be forever inscribed in the word of God.

You you have a responsibility that no matter where you go, no matter how far you stray, that you recall what Moses says here, what God's word says here, and this says something about the power of God's word. God's word is not just powerful enough to keep you from sin, it also has the ability to guide you back into the will of God if you, for whatever reason, walk away from his word. And this is the immeasurable value of the word of God. Listen, when it's instilled, yes, it can protect you, yes, it creates buffers, yes, it makes it much more difficult to entertain things that God tells you to never entertain. That being said, it also, when it's when it's driven in somebody's heart, can serve as a light when they traverse into terrain that they shouldn't be traversing in.

And to call them back, because deep in the quarter of their conscience, they have they have received some kind of investment, some kind of deposit that will deal with them. And this is my testimony personally, growing up in a Christian home when I lived full on in the world, in my college years, when I've reached that breaking point, what was it? I mean, I didn't have to venture out to all these different options. I didn't have to explore all these different faiths, all these different answers, or spiritualism. I didn't have to do any of that.

Because the word of God that I heard, even sitting on those pews dozing off distracted, the word of God that was showered over me in my home, in those youth meetings, in those little conferences came alive and spoke and called me home. And here I am today, over a decade later. So I think that's an encouragement, yes, to us personally, but even to those that we love and care about. Like, Moses cared about these people. And here though, he is channeling God's wisdom and he's given God's instructions, beliefs as he's speaking to these people.

God's word is able to bring you back. Even if you don't trust it for a season, if you don't submit to it for a time. So remember, remember, remember, remember who God is. Remember what's available to you. But the second thing is to return.

You can't just think about it. You gotta make some moves. So what does he say here at verse two, the beginning of it? And return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice and all that I command you today. You know what I love about this part?

He didn't say, and return to the commands of God, and return to the statutes of God. He says, return to the Lord your God. Whenever someone compromises their Christian's convictions, their Christian convictions, you can be sure of this, that it started with the neglect of the revelation and the practice of a personal relationship with them. That intimacy is lost, that closeness with the Lord is lost. And when that is lost, temptation is much more persuasive.

Sin is much more alluring. We talked about this last Sunday, how David said, my soul seeks you, my soul is satisfied, my soul clings to you. When you stop clinging, sin has a greater grip on you. And so here's what he's saying, you need to get back to the Lord your God. Not merely to principles, not merely to bible study, not merely under your elders.

Get back to God himself. That's the difference. Many people miss this. Because obedience, listen, must be rooted in the revelation of pleasing a person. Not a set of rules, not maxims, not proverbs, a person.

And if your relationship to the truth is not grounded in a revelation of a person, your obedience is gonna not last very long. Not gonna have that much motivation to stay holy and serving with zeal and faithful. You know, many people quote John fourteen fifteen, if you love me, you will do what? You will keep my commandments. I would say 95% of people when they hear this verse here in the following way, the way in which you measure your love for Christ is the way you obey him.

And that's not necessarily wrong. I believe that to be true. But I believe there's another angle to this verse. I believe there's another way of interpreting it. You can't truly obey the commandments of God unless you first love the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Here's how most people say, alright, I'm gonna prove my love to Christ by obeying him. Okay. Good. There's a better way.

Before you even start obeying the commandments, love Christ. His commandments, obeyed will follow a heart that relishes in him, that is moved by him. That's what we see here in even Deuteronomy, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice and all that I command you today. Returning to the Lord is first. And following that, you will then obey him.

Return. Come broken before him. Have heart to heart with him. Repent to him, And then remain. That's what he says in the second part of verse two.

With all your heart and with all your soul. That is a vital clarification to knowing true restoration and reconciliation with God. Because it's it's possible that you would seek to return, but with premeditated compromise. It's possible to to return and not be fully convinced of being consecrated to him. People do that.

And what Moses is getting at, lest we enter into this cycle of cheap grace, is that when you remember and when you seek to return, you also have this absolute desire to be fully consecrated to the Lord, and that you seek to stay close to him by his grace. Not not saying that it's not possible to veer off again. It is possible. But in your heart of hearts, you are determined. Lord, I know that I did this, but I want to stay with you.

I want to honor you. I wanna love you. I don't wanna ever revisit that again. That that is what is required to know true restoration with the presence of God. To just say, okay, I repent, and because you feel a little convicted, and really that conviction is because you got caught, that that's not how it works.

He says, you need a return with all your heart and with all your soul. You know what moves me about these verses in Deuteronomy? The way God refers to Himself as He's giving these instructions. If you know it, can you repeat it? How does God refer to himself?

What kind of title? What what kind of statement does he make? That's right. He could've used a myriad of different references, but he says four times in these three verses, the Lord your God. The Lord your God.

The Lord your God. The Lord your God. You know what's even more fascinating? In the first 10 verses of Deuteronomy thirty, Twelve times. The Lord your God, the Lord your God, the Lord your God, the Lord your God, the Lord your God, the Lord your God.

Why is that moving? It's moving because of the context. He's referring to himself as their god in light of their compromise, in light of enduring his discipline, his chastisement, in light of experiencing these consequences that are that can't even enter into our imagination. I'm still your god. I'm still your God.

Even in this state, I still belong to you. You still belong to me. And so intertwined in all of these commands, they're hearing over and over again, I'm still committed to you. This covenant still keeps us close. And that should that should encourage us even more to know that he's still my God.

I might have not honored him, I might have not treasured him the way he deserves, but he still says, I'm your God, I'm your God, I'm your God, so come to me. Seek me. Don't be intimidated. Don't be fearful. I still am committed to you.

So they would hear that a dozen times in the first 10 verses alone. And if they had done that here in second Kings six, I'm sure that God would have honored his word and restored their fortunes and been merciful to them. But instead, there's unbelief. The king says, if the Lord will not help you, he will help you. But here's what we discover about the king.

He didn't recall, remember, return, and remain, but something staggering appears in verse 30 of second king six. Let's read it together. When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes, and he was passing by on the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body. And he said, may God do so to me, and more also if the head of Elisha, the son of Shephat, remains on his shoulders today. Whenever the word behold appears in a verse, it is calling you to draw your attention more fully to the object that it is pointing to.

Look back at verse 30. Notice how the word behold appears and where it appears. So the king hears the words of the woman, he tore his clothes, so just imagine he's there on the wall, probably surveying the city. He he tears his clothes, and then the Holy Spirit tells us the people looked, and behold, hey, hey, hey, pause now, look at this, behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body. That's interesting.

Sackcloth was generally material that was made up of goat hair, dark, sometimes black goat hair, woven together. And if it was worn long enough, it would irritate the skin. It would make you itchy. It was very uncomfortable. It was not a fashion statement by any means.

Why is the king wearing sackcloth? And we all know this very well, because sackcloth, in the Old Testament especially, signifies an outward representation of an inward contrition and brokenness before God. So when people really wanted to demonstrate their repentance, they would sometimes wear sackcloth and sometimes even add ashes. To demonstrate publicly, more importantly before the Lord, I am broken. I realize the severity of my sin of the situation, and I'm calling upon you in humility to intervene.

And here's what's so fascinating. The king, Jehoram, was wearing sackcloth beneath his royal robes, and people saw this. There are two lessons to draw from this, and they have to do with judging. The first lesson is about judging others. The second lesson is about judging yourself.

If you had just seen the king before this moment, you would have never discovered, you would have never known that he had sackcloth underneath. And this is something for us to consider. In many cases, things are not always as they appear. Right? And we have to be very careful making unfair judgments on people's character based on the limited evidence that you have.

Like Jerome's hidden sackcloth, many people listen carry deep burdens. They're carrying something that you're unaware of, and that may always remain unknown to you. And on the surface, all may look well, but at the same time, be mindful that some are silently suffering. Yeah? Silently dealing with struggles, heartbreak, secret wounds that are not easily recognizable.

Be very slow to even look at some people's behaviors or expressions or even patterns and make quick judgments, not realizing that there's something under. You don't know. So be slow, and be merciful, be patient. A lesson about judging others, but also a lesson about judging ourselves, because before we're quick to applaud and be inspired by Jehoram's repentance here wearing sackcloth, God is not after outward expressions. He's not.

He's more concerned about heartfelt, genuine internal brokenness. And why I say that is because, though he's wearing sackcloth, I'm not sure how genuine this man's repentance is. Saying, why? Did you see what he said in verse 31? May God do so to me and more also if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, remains on his shoulders today.

Are you inspired now? What is he saying? Elisha is a dead man, while wearing sackcloth and ashes. At least sackcloth. So you're wearing the cross, but you're acting different.

Right? Like, you you play the part, looks like it, you dress conservatively, but man, when you talk. This is the thing, this is this is hypocrisy. So he's wearing sackcloth, but he wants to kill the man of God. This is not the man of God's fault.

If anything, what has Elisha done for the king over the years? Well, the previous story is that he saved him in many ways. He gave intel. Oh, the Syrians are coming here. Don't go there.

That's just one. One act of grace. Yet all of a sudden now he's the enemy. And it could be because he thinks, well, remember, last week, the Syrians were after Elisha. They wanted to get him because of his insight.

So he might put the blame on him, like this is Elisha's fault. He's the one who's inviting this trouble. There's no justification for this. But you know what I find so fascinating? How how Jerohim's attitude towards Elisha is very much consistent and parallels with how people look at Christians.

Do Christians get a lot of blame for what's happening in culture? Oh, yeah. Sure. Or at least how they view culture. Prehistoric, barbaric, irrelevant beliefs imposed in our systems, indoctrinating your children.

When in reality, like Elisha, we Christians have the solution. And the solution is not within ourselves, it's, it's in the God that we serve and worship. So Jeroham's, faulty view of Elisha, we can resonate with as believers in Jesus Christ. But here's what's amazing. Notice what he says, may God do so to me and more also if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphath, remains on his shoulders today.

Does that statement, that phrase sound familiar to you? You don't have to think too far back. Let me ask you a question. Thinking about Jehoram's heritage, who are his parents? Ahab and his mother?

Any light bulbs go off yet? Do you remember what Jezebel said when she learned that Elijah brought victory on Mount Carmel? Let me remind you of first Kings 19. Look at verse first Kings 19 verse two. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, so may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as a life of one of them by this time tomorrow.

A small reminder of how impressionable our children are both for good and for the bad. Right? He's repeating what his mom said about the prophet in her time. So she wanted to kill Elijah, he wants to kill Elijah. And notice, if if you believe what he says here in verse 33, notice how what he is saying and what he has in his heart does not reflect the sackcloth.

Look at verse 33. And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him and said, this trouble is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer? Whether that's the messenger that the king sent to Elisha, or it's the king himself, he's blaming God for this trouble. This trouble is from the Lord.

Can I tell you something? You will never know recovery, you will never know reconciliation, you will never know healing in your life as long as you continue to blame God. This trouble is from the Lord. No. It's actually you.

It's actually you. And you can philosophize it all you want, and you could try to pin God in a corner with all your ways of thinking and your reasoning. But as long as you sit in the place where you feel like you can judge the sovereign one and criticize his actions or his lack of actions, you will never know the healing and the wholeness that only your God can provide. This trouble is from the Lord. No.

It's actually you, Jehoram, and your decision and how you respond to the problems that came into your life. It's not God's fault. God's your only hope. So if you blame him, you're hopeless. If you refuse to come to him, you have nowhere else to go.

This trouble is from the Lord. Let's end here with how Elisha is dealing with this whole thing. Look at verse 32. Elisha was sitting in his house. I love that right there.

People are frantic, people are running around trying to do this, trying to do that. The king is scaling the walls, and where do you find Elisha? Sitting in his house. He's relaxed, cool as a cucumber. Not moved, not frantic, not panicking, Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him.

Now the king had dispatched a man from his presence, but before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to the elders, do you see how this murderer has sent to take off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door fast against him, is not the sound of his master's feet behind him? I'm just trying to think about something here. Wasn't Jeroham the king who benefited from the prophetic insight of this man of God, who knew what the king of Syria was going to do before it happened? Do you remember what I'm talking about?

King, you don't go there because the Syrians are gonna raid over there. They're gonna set up camp. Don't go over there. This is the same king. And he now thinks that he can actually surprise Elisha.

I said this before, it's not a very deep or profound statement, but sin makes us stupid. It does. It blurs our judgments and it makes us make foolish decisions like this. Elisha said to the others, do you see how this murder is coming after my head? So that's divine revelation.

That is supernatural. But I love this marriage between the supernatural and the application of practical wisdom. God reveals to Elisha, he's coming for you. So what does Elisha do? Elisha says what?

Lock the door. Do we believe God can protect us? We believe it. Yes, we do. Okay.

Lock your door at night, though. It's a good it's a good practice. Right? Put your seatbelt on. Right?

Don't do foolish things, like dangling off cliffs and stuff. God will protect you. Yeah, sure. But be practical. Can he provide for you?

Sure. Yes. Go get a job. Yeah? Save up money.

It's just another reminder in the old testament. Yes, a book that's filled with supernatural miracles that God still wants us to be real. And be mindful that we're in a world with limitations and practices that will benefit us and harm us. And here's what I love about Elisha. Here's here's how we'll end.

I think this is a good place to end. Can we go back to the story before this when his servant looked out and saw the Syrians surrounding him? Look here. In verse 15, when the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, alas, my master, what shall we do?

He said, do not be afraid for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Then Elisha prayed, he said, oh Lord, please open his eyes that he may see. So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. I didn't mention this last week, maybe because it's meant to be shared today. Where was Elisha's anchoring trust in?

Notice that when he sees, he has a servant see the chariots and the and the the horses of fire. The comfort didn't come in the fact that they killed the Syrian army. They didn't necessarily act. They were just present. And that was enough for Elisha to be calm.

The source of our comfort on this side of the cross is not necessarily that the Lord will move in miraculous ways every single time, but simply in the fact that he's there. And if he chooses to intervene miraculously, then we have all the reason to rejoice. But just knowing he's aware, just knowing that he is hovering, just knowing that he is before us, he is behind us, he is over us is enough. I believe Elisha was living in that reality before second Kings chapter six. We see it clear here in the middle of chapter six.

And what do we find in verse 32 that Elisha was sitting in his house? Do you think that revelation evaporated after the the story earlier? No. No. No.

He lived in that reality. You and I are called to live in that reality as well. Just knowing that my shepherd sees me is enough. There's that wonderful story in Mark's gospel where Jesus sends the disciples ahead after the feeding of the thousands, and he stays back to pray on the mountaintop. And we're told there in the gospel that the the disciples were beating the waves, and they were trying to resist the winds that were pushing against them.

And there's this wonderful statement, I'm paraphrasing, where the Lord looked on them. Like he sees them. They don't necessarily see him, but he's aware. And at the right time, he walked on water. And even in the gospel accounts, we read that he kept walking on to see if they would invite him.

Remember that? But I love how even before that, when they do see this figure through the rain and the darkness of the sky and the waves that are obstructing their vision, they think he's a ghost. They think he's a ghost. And it's it's a reminder to us that oftentimes when the Lord is in our midst and he is with us, we fail to see him. We fail to recognize him as he should be recognized.

So here's the beauty of this story as we end here at the the last verse of chapter six. Be comforted as Elisha was comforted. Not because God is gonna do a miracle for you necessarily, but because he is simply there. And that's enough. And if it's not enough for you, pray that God would open your eyes for it to be enough.

Let's seek him. Lord, we thank you for this word. It is your eternal word. You had us in mind when you penned these words that in 2024, in the month of December on a Friday night, we would feast on them. We love your word.

And Lord, if there's even one person here who is not where they're supposed to be, help them hear your voice to remember what your word says about your goodness, to return to you, and to remain there. And your promise is this for those who have professed Christ that you are still their god. No matter how they have failed in their testimony, we ask, Lord, that every one of us would be near you leaving this place. Lord, your word went forth. It was administered.

It was heard. But the miraculous transaction can only happen with your power. So we call upon that power, and we trust you. Lord, we never want our repentance to be foolish, to be surface level, to be misguided. If there's gonna be any brokenness, if there's gonna be any love, if there's gonna be any praise, any honor, let it come from our hearts.

So we give you our song of praise from our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's stand and worship the King of glory as the praise team helps us do that.