Elisha and the Great Calamity

If you got your Bible turn me to 2nd Kings chapter 6, 2nd Kings 6 as we finish the 6th chapter and all of the 7th chapter looking at Elisha and the great calamity. A calamity because Samaria where Elisha was was surrounded by the Syrian army or the Arameans and they had besieged the city and the city was starving to death and so there was a great calamity in Samaria and yet Elisha is there the man of miracles is in Samaria, so everything is going to be okay because he's going to rescue them But the details are in 2nd Kings 6 and 2nd Kings 7 So we're going to read that to you read the narrative to you so we can set it in your mind Just so you understand it We are committed to 1st Timothy chapter 4 verse number 13 where we are committed to the reading of the word And so we want to read to you the narrative and then we'll spend some time looking at what God has for us this evening 1st Kings 7 2nd Kings chapter 6 verse number 24 now it came about after this that Ben Hadad king of Aram Gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria There was a great famine in Samaria and behold they besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for 80 shekels of silver and a fourth of a cab of doves dung for five shekels of silver as the king of Israel was passing by on the Wall a woman cried out to him saying help my lord.

Oh King He said if the Lord does not help you from where shall I help you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress and the king said to her What is the matter with you? And she answered this woman said to me give your son that we may eat him today and we will eat my son tomorrow Wow First 29 so we boiled my son and ate him and I said to her on the next day Give your son that we made him and she is hidden her son When the king heard the words of the woman he tore his clothes Now he was passing by on the wall and the people looked and behold he had sackcloth beneath on his body Then he said may God do so to me and more also if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today now Elisha was sitting in his house and The elders were sitting with him and the king sent a man from his presence and before the messenger came to him He said to the elders.

Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look when the messenger comes shut the door and hold the door shut against him Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him While he was still talking with them behold the messenger came down to him and he said behold this evil is from the Lord Why should I wait for the Lord any longer? then Elisha said Listen to the word of the Lord Thus says the Lord tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel in the gate of Samaria The royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said behold If the Lord should make windows in heaven could this thing be?

Then he said behold you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate and they said to one another. Why do we sit here until we die? If we say we will enter the city then the famine is in the city and we will die there And if we sit here we die also Now therefore come and let us go over to the camp of the Arameans if they spare us we will live If they kill us we will but die They arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans When they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Arameans behold There was no one there For the Lord had caused the army of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses Even the sound of a great army so that they said to one another behold The king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the king of the Egyptians to come upon us therefore they arose and fled in the twilight and left their tents and their horses and their donkeys even the camp just as it was and fled for their life when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp they entered one tent and ate and drank and Carried from their silver and gold and clothes and went and hid them and they returned and entered another tent and carried from there also And went and hid them Then they said to one another we are not doing right this day is a day of good news But we are keeping silent if we wait until morning light Punishment will overtake us now therefore come let us go and tell the king's household so they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city and they told him saying we came to the camp of the Arameans and Behold there was no one there Nor the voice of a man only the horses tied and the donkeys tied and the tents just as they were The gatekeepers called and told it within the king's household Then the king arose in the night and said to his servants.

I will now tell you what the Arameans have done to us They know that we are hungry Therefore they have gone from the camp to hide themselves in the field saying when they come out of the city We will capture them alive and get into the city one of his servants said please Let some men take five of the horses which remain Which are left in the city behold they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who are left in it Behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who have already perished So let us send and see They took therefore two chariots with horses and the king sent after the army of the Arameans saying go and see They went after them to the Jordan and behold all the way Was full of clothes and equipment which the Arameans had thrown away in their haste Then the messengers returned and told the king So the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans Then a measure of the fine flour was sold for Shekel and two measures of barley for Shekel According to the word of the Lord now the king appointed the royal officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate But the people trampled on him at the gate and he died Just as a man of God had said who spoke when the king came down to him It happened just as a man of God had spoken to the king saying Two measures of barley for Shekel and a measure of fine flour for Shekel We sold tomorrow about this time at the gate of Samaria Then the royal officer answered the man of God said now behold if the Lord should make witness in heaven Could such a thing be and he said behold you will see it with your own eyes But you will not eat of it And so it happened to him for the people trampled on him at the gate and he died That's quite a story You know, you can make a movie out of that story And sell lots of money or make lots of money But the whole story deals with the the calamity centered around Israel now Elijah the man of miracles comes to the rescue So let's look first of all at the causes for the calamity.

What caused this great calamity? Well, first of all the Arameans of the Syrians had surrounded the city Samaria and besieged them they'd been there for a while and Made sure they could not get out of the city so that those in the city would lose all their food and they would starve to death and while they were weak they could go in plunder the city take it over and Destroy the king of Israel.

That was a plan of Ben. Hey dad. He was a calloused man He was a hard-hearted man You would think you would think that Ben. Hey dad would have taken notice of the goodness of God But he didn't You would think that when his captain Naaman had been healed of leprosy and after all he sent Naaman to Israel to be healed Then he was that when he returned Healed that that would have been a wake-up call to Ben.

Hey dad that hey the God of Israel Truly is the only God but it wasn't So he went after Israel to make war with them And every time he tried to capture the king the king was able to escape because Elisha told the plans That was last week's sermon. He got so upset. He thought there was a spy in the camp, but they said no, there's no spy here It's Elijah the prophet. He is telling The king of Israel what we're doing. So he says, okay, we're gonna kill Elisha So they sent a band of marauders to kill Elisha And Elisha caused them as he prayed to be blinded.

He led them into Samaria They were surrounded by the Israel Israeli army and yet he didn't kill them. He gave them food He gave them drink after he opened their eyes and they let them go back to King Ben. Hey dad fed imperfect health And you would think that the king would wake up and say wow man that that Elisha he's a he's a great He's a good guy and and and Elisha's God is is a great God But he didn't he didn't all the miracles that he had seen and heard about from Elisha Took no effect on his life none Because miracles never saved anybody They just didn't He just became colder more calloused more hard hearted But that's only one cause of the calamity now you think wait a minute.

I thought it said in verse 23 That after they had eaten and drank That the marauding bands of the Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel and then in verse 24 It says now it came about after this that Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria So so what's the difference here? What happened? I thought they were stopped. They were gonna stop doing that they stopped their raids upon villages But the king did not stop his desire to defeat Israel So this is an all-out war And so maybe the king was thinking that the king Ben-Hadad was thinking that hey, you know what we've loathed them to sleep We're no longer raiding the villages now.

We can besiege the city and we can destroy the king of Israel for once and for all And so they besieged the city and so The cause for the calamity was the hardness of Ben-Hadad But there's also the hardness of the people of Israel Think about the people of Israel They're still living in idolatry They've seen the miracles they've heard the miracles They've even heard the messages of Elisha and yet they have yet to repent of their sins yet They have yet to turn from their iniquity, right This becomes now God's punishment upon Israel Because they've hardened their hearts to not just the miracles.

They've hardened their hearts to the message They've hardened their hearts to the messenger of the message and the miracles and they have not repented of their sin And so God is the one listen carefully who causes the calamity He causes the famine in Samaria How do we know that? The Bible tells us in the book of Psalms Psalm 112 I'm sorry Psalm 105 verse number 16 and God called for a famine upon the land He broke the whole staff of bread If there's a famine in the land God called for it all the economists in the world Can't solve the famine All the financiers in the world can't cause can't stop the famine if God calls for a famine it's happening Because God's in charge, right?

And what's happening in the city? Has already been told by them or to them as a warning from God Listen to what the Lord said in the book of Leviticus Leviticus chapter 26 verse 14 If you do not obey me and do not carry out all my commandments If instead you reject my statutes and if your soul abhors my ordinances So as not to carry out all my commandments and so break my covenant. I in turn will do this to you I will appoint over you a sudden terror Consumption and a fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away Also, you will sow your seed uselessly for your enemies will eat it up I will set my face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies and those who hate you will rule over You and you will flee when no one is pursuing you verse 27 Yet if in spite of this you do not obey me but act with hostility against me Then I will act with wrathful hostility against you.

I even I will punish you seven times for your sins further You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters. You will eat God told them this is a predictive punishment What's going to happen if you don't obey my commandments if you don't follow me and do what I say What's gonna happen? There's gonna be such a great calamity that comes upon you that you're gonna be without food and you are going to eat your children We told them And that's exactly what they're doing They're boiling their sons and their daughters because there is no food to eat Israel has no one to blame but themselves Because they harden their hearts they stiffen their necks against the words of God Let me tell you something When we don't do what God says There is always consequences They might not happen today.

They don't even come tomorrow. They might not even be next week, but they're going to come Whatever man sows that shall he also reap and so you got to be careful what you do If you decide to disobey God's Word and do what you want to do You might have a life of luxury for a month or two or a year or three or four or five or a decade But you will pay The consequences for your sin God has made sure that when a man does not repent of his ways and Lives the way he wants to live. He will face the consequences of a sin That's why over in Proverbs chapter 29 verse number one God says a man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy He who hardens his neck after much reproof in other words Someone's coming to you and someone's talking to you and someone's reproving you and saying hey, you can't do this You can't go there.

You can't be this way and he who hardens his neck against that reproof will be broken beyond remedy Because they did not listen to the words of the Lord That's why it's so important to listen to what God says in his Word Don't harden your hearts to the goodness of God Because Romans 2 4 says it's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance God's been good to Israel.

I Mean God has allowed him to live in their idolatry in their iniquity in their immorality for for decades Under Elijah's ministry under Elijah's ministry. He has sent famines and yet they have not repented He has done miracles that they have not repented. He's allowed them to live in sin Until he says enough is enough And he told him what would happen if they did not obey his Word Just like God's told you and me what will happen if we don't obey his Word There's always somebody in the audience who says, you know, God's just not that way God is just a God of love and grace and mercy and forgiveness.

He's gonna forget God always forgives when you repent he does But forgiveness never negates the consequences of your sin It just doesn't and so you must always understand what God has said in his Word and God is so good to us To allow us to to live our lives The wages of sin is death, but we don't die when we sin We still live And that's the grace of God the mercy of God And so the cause for the calamity was the hardness of Ben Haydad's heart to the truth of God. It was the hardness of Israel's heart to the truth of God and God says enough's enough and so so Ben Haydad Becomes God's sword upon Israel God uses the wicked rulers To besiege his people We have proof of that with Nebuchadnezzar and Jeremiah with the Assyrian captivity in Isaiah chapter 10 God used the wicked rulers of Assyria and Babylon to come against his people They were the sword of the Lord against his people Israel Because God warned them Your enemies will rule over you if you do not obey my commandments such true words yet Unfortunately, we don't take them to heart as we should what a price we pay for our sin That's unfortunate But it's true.

I Wonder I wonder what calamity you are facing tonight Maybe that calamity is because of your hardness of heart. Have you ever thought about that? It doesn't mean that it is But I've come to realize that in my life when something happens I ask my God first what is it in my life That's dishonoring to my God That's the first question I ask.

I Asked the Lord to search me to try me to see if there be any wicked way in me That I might be led in the way of everlasting life the life of righteousness. I want God to deal with my life If there's a calamity upon my home upon my family upon my church upon my life. I asked first what's happening with me What am I doing?

Have I hardened my heart to the truth of God's Word? Have I turned away from God and God's trying to get my attention. It doesn't mean because there's calamity That's the way it was because Job Job faced calamity, but he didn't do anything wrong. He was a blameless man He was the most righteous man on the face of the earth. And yet he faced a huge calamity, right? That's because God was going to use him As an example for us on how we should respond when tragedy strikes our lives And so Job was used that way But we must always ask God first Lord.

Is it me? Have I done this? Are you punishing me? Are you chastising me? Are you disciplining me because of my sin? That would be the only humble thing to do But we're so quick to blame somebody else. Aren't we? We're so quick to blame another individual We're even quick to blame God for for what's happening Instead of looking in but Israel never looked inwardly Israel never praised throughout this whole scene in 2nd Kings 6 and 7 never once They dropped to the knees say hey Lord, what's happening here?

You'd think that in the city of Samaria they would gather together at least have a prayer meeting say Lord What are we doing wrong? But you got a king a leader who doesn't lead them properly and so when calamity strikes, what does he do? He lashes out against God's messenger Elisha and wants his head to be cut off. It must be Elisha's fault I mean after all when there was a drought under Elijah's ministry It was Elijah who was the troubler of Israel. So said King Ahab But he wasn't the trouble of Israel Ahab was But you see we always look outside of ourselves to blame somebody else for all of our problems But in reality, all we got to do is this look inside and say hey, wait a minute.

Maybe it's me Maybe it is me doesn't mean that it is But at least look there first, right? Israel No repentance Israel No prayers offered to God. In fact when the story's over No change Nothing happens in Israel nothing happens to the people. They just carry it on as normal They just trample a guy to death on the way to get more food They could care less about anybody else. They only care about themselves Still no repentance. The message was given the Word of the Lord was spoken the miracle happened And no change why because their hearts Were so hardened To the truth of God That's that's that's a tragedy That's why In Hebrews 3 when we get there sometime this year After we get off Hebrews 1 1 the fact of the matter is God says Today if you hear his voice Do not harden your hearts as in the day of provocation in the wilderness Don't go there Don't not respond To the words of the Lord.

We'll talk more about that in a moment So the cause of the calamity second of all, I want you to notice the condition in the calamity That is the condition of the people in the calamity The condition of what was happening to these people none of them were repentant crisis always reveals character Okay Whenever there's a crisis your character Rises to the forefront So when there's a crisis, how do you respond?

That's who you are Okay, that's who you are It's not a way You're not who you are when things are running smoothly when things are going good You got lots of money in the bank your house isn't burned down. Your wife loves you. Your kids are obedient Okay, and when we see you on sunday, that's not who you are Who you are is when the crisis strikes And everything around you comes tumbling down that's when your character arises that's who you are that's the real you okay So if you go all bonkers and hey You know haywire and you lose control you start yelling and screaming and blaming everybody and losing control.

That's who you are Okay Can't fool anybody That's exactly who you are And this is who israel is These people reveal the condition of their hearts king jehoram Revealed the condition of his heart He didn't look to god now you'd think that he would I mean after all the previous story has the lord doing something miraculous with blinding the syrian army and then opening their eyes and then They providing food for them and showing kindness and goodness to them King jehoram has already won a victory because of elisha earlier on in our study of elisha He has seen so much happen that you'd think that he would be one who would cry out to god And look to god, but he doesn't So he can't lead the people to god See it all comes down to leadership doesn't it the king jehoram would have said you know what guys We're wrong We have got to get right with the living god He could have led his people to a revival But he didn't He's walking on the roof He's walking on the roof and lady yells at him I need help You need help.

What do you want me to do? The wine press is empty The threshing floor there's nothing there. What can I possibly do for you? Because the only thing you care about was the material not the spiritual, right? What can I possibly do for you? And she said we I got a problem Me and this other lady we got together and said, okay, we need some food So you boil your son today and i'll boil my son tomorrow Well, that's a good plan. Let's kill our kids and eat them for dinner Okay, and so she says okay, and so I gave her my son we boiled him and we ate him but today came And her son's not here She hit him That's not fair She deceived me Not the fact that they murdered their kids that that was wrong that was a sin against god That that's not even a question She's just upset because she can't eat her friend's kid I mean what kind of rational thinking is that that's the heart of the people?

That's the condition of the people in israel. They are so Degraded they are so uh deficient spiritually. They can't even think right But remember god said this is what they would do If they did not obey the commands of god and that's exactly what they did And they were greedy they would sell a donkey's head for 80 shekels of silver That was just all greed. It wasn't the fact that I have some meat here. Let me help you Let me help you with with with your lack of food.

Uh, forget about the money. Let me let me serve, you know They had a big money They were greedy Greedy the king He was a hypocrite He would he was a hypocrite.

He knows about what these ladies have done doesn't hold them accountable for Murder doesn't hold them accountable for accountable for their sin. What's he do? He tears his clothes He tears them and underneath his clothes is a sackcloth so he can portray to the people that he's in mourning But it's all hypocrisy. Why because in the very next verse he wants to lice his head It's elijah's fault Elisha did this he must Die So that leads us to the condemnation for the calamity He wants to condemn elisha He thinks it's elisha's fault So he wants him dead.

Oh, by the way, his father ahab wanted elijah dead his mother jezebel Wanted elijah dead, right? His brother also Wanted elijah dead Like father like son The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree does it? What did king ahab do he blamed elijah the messenger of god for the famine no rain It's elijah's fault So the son gonna blame elisha After all, he's a prophet of god must be his fault. We have a famine in the city of samaria We are besieged by the army around us. It must be elisha's fault so let's Behead him Let's cut off his head.

Let's be done with elisha. That was his solution kill the messenger Forget about the fact that he preached the true message. Let's just get rid of the messenger. Let's just get him out of the way There's no thought of hey Let's go to elisha Ask him what the lord thinks about this Let's go to elisha and ask him to to prophesy about what would happen If we if we repented or what would happen if we continued going down the path of the lord Let's go ask elisha the man of god. Let's ask him what we should do next.

No not looking for counsel. Just condemnation Let's get rid of elisha And that was the plan So he sends a man to kill him. What's elisha doing? Elisha is sitting in his house And elisha knows How does elisha know he is sending an executioner to behead him? How does elisha know that elisha knows that because he's the man of god. That's how he knows that God told him Okay But elisha has no fear Elisha's not. Oh, no, they're sending an executioner. I'm gonna lose my head. What am I gonna do next? No, that's not elisha's attitude Why?

Because elisha is the embodiment of psalm 112 Psalm 112 says this Praise the lord how blessed is the man who fears the lord who greatly delights in his commandments His descendants will be mighty on the earth The generation of the upright will be blessed wealth and riches are in his house for six he will never be shaken That's elisha He greatly delights in the commandments of god. He fears god so he will never be shaken. He's not afraid of anything It says in verse 7. He will not fear evil titans.

His heart is steadfast trusting in the lord His heart is upheld. He will not fear. That's elisha. He's not afraid of anything Why because he fears the lord he trusts in the lord god of israel and so therefore when Calamity comes his way when the executioner comes his way. He sits in his house Takes it easy says bar the door Is where the king comes? Because the king is going to be right behind him. How does he know that? It's elisha. He's the man of miracles. He knows everything He's not not not not omniscient But he knows exactly what he needs to know because god's going to make sure he knows those things And that's exactly what happens Elisha's character is so different than the king's so different than the citizens of israel And so they send this man to kill him he says He says elisha does in verse 32 He says to the elders.

Do you see how this son of a murderer? So he calls him Because he is he's a absent He's a son of a murderer Has sent to take away my head He tells them just stand there bar the door until he comes That leads us to the conclusion Look what happens While he was still talking with him behold the messenger came down to him and said behold this evil is from the lord Why should I wait for the lord any longer? This is a this is the king speaking Why should I wait any longer? Why because you need to wait upon the lord?

That's why evidently Elisha has already talked to him about waiting upon the lord wait for on the lord Okay, and he's tired of waiting things are getting worse The circumstances are dire people are eating their children. Why should I continue to wait any longer simply because We need to wait upon the lord It's hard enough for the ungodly not to wait Or hard enough for the godly not to wait let alone the ungodly to wait, right? But we we we tend to fall in that category. We don't like to wait upon the lord You know The prophet isaiah said in isaiah 30 verse number 15 that in quietness and in trust shall be your strength But you are unwilling to do that If you just wait upon the lord and be quiet You'll be strong But you're unwilling to do that That's why the psalmist said over and over again that you need to wait upon the lord over in psalm 20 20 27 the psalmist said these words psalm 27 Verse number 14 wait for the lord be strong.

Let your heart take courage. Yes wait for the lord Proverbs 25 verse number 5 says this verse number 3 indeed. None of of those who wait For you will be ashamed Make me know your ways the lord teach me your paths lead me in your truth Teach me for you are the god of my salvation for you I wait all the day verse 21 let integrity and uprightness preserve me for I wait for you You know We're told to wait upon the lord to wrap our trust around him To wait for god to do what god's going to do in king jehoram.

He was an ungodly man He couldn't wait any longer How long shall I wait? I'm tired of waiting elijah Things have got to change And sure enough They're going to change and so Look what he says behold. This evil is from the lord Well, yes it is Because god told them This calamity is from the lord And it is So what do you do you repent? You get right with god That's a solution Get right with god and and and you can begin to to repair your relationship with him and repair a nation But no, that's not the answer Not for the ungodly.

They don't care about that And so here comes a solution Then elijah said listen to the word of the lord very key phrase in the whole scenario Listen to the word of the lord tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel And two measures of barley for shekel in the gate of samaria in other words famine's over This time tomorrow, how does he know that? again He's elijah He's prophesying what's going to happen the royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of god said Behold, if the lord should make windows in heaven could this thing be he scoffs the word of the lord He sneers at the word of the lord come on now elijah you mean tell me that god's going to open the windows of heaven That's a phrase referring to the flood when god opened the windows of heaven and all the rain came down What is there is there going to be another flood?

Is there going to be a flood of food elijah? Come on, you gotta be kidding me. How can you say that tomorrow? It's going to be okay When we are killing our babies today He mocked the word of the lord. So elijah says behold, you will see it with your own eyes But you my friend will not Eat of it You're gonna see it But you'll never have a chance To eat of it. He doesn't know he's gonna die tomorrow Elijah does Elijah didn't tell him that he just says you're gonna see everything i've said come true But you would not be able to partake of the food that's there why because he's going to be dead That's why Don't scoff At the word of the lord.

Don't sneer what god says don't mock god because if you do You're in a heap of trouble. This guy wasn't going to be in a heap of trouble didn't know it But he was going to be in a heap of trouble so What happens? great thing There are four lepers outside the city Four lepers and god's going to use these lepers to inform the city of the miracle of god He doesn't choose the sons of the prophets Doesn't choose the elders in the house with elijah He chooses four Leprous men This is so good So they're sitting outside and they're thinking to themselves.

Okay, what are we gonna do? Okay, we got one of three options one We can stay here Right where we're at outside the city and we're gonna die Okay, or or we can go into the city Okay And they're gonna throw us out Or we're gonna die with everybody in the city That's option number two.

But either way We're gonna die Or option number three door number three. We can go to the syrian camp Who's besieged us ask them for food and if they feed us at least we'll have something to eat But they're probably gonna kill us but we're gonna die anyway, right? so all three doors say death just choose The way you want to die Stay here and die go into the city and die or go to the syrians and die What do they choose they choose to go to the syrians and die because maybe they'll get something to eat before they die Okay, so that's what they choose and so off they go and when they get there all of a sudden what happens?

No one's there They're all gone All the horses are there all the donkeys are there all the cattle is there Everything they brought with them is there all the tents are there all the food is there all the clothes are there All the silver's there all the it's all there. They all left it. Why? Because god did something he caused the syrian army to hear horses and chariots Now I believe as aw pink says that those horses and chariots were the horses and chariots that surrounded the syrian army That god asked to open the eyes of his servant that he might see them And god caused the sound of those horses and chariots to be heard only by the syrian army And they thought to themselves.

Oh, no the king of israel has called for the Hittites to come and the egyptians to come and surround us and kill us. We got to go say lefty flat There we go So here these leprous guys man, they're walking in there They're chowing down They're chowing down man They're eating everything they could get their hands on and they're taking everything again They go out and hide it and they come back and go to another tent They eat some more and take some more clothes and some more gold some more silver and they go out and hide that and then They come to their senses and say wait a minute.

Hey, this isn't right We can't do this. We got a whole city A whole city that needs to be fed All city that needs the gold all city that needs the horses we got to go back and tell them About this So they did They came to their senses So they went back and they and they told the the gatekeeper and said this is what's going on. He goes and tells the king Okay So what's jehoram's reaction? His reaction is this is a trap They're hiding someplace So we come out of the city and go to their camp They're gonna surround us and kill us and take over our city and we're gonna die.

We can't do that He thought it was a trap And one of the wise servants says to him, please Can you just hear him come on king Oh king, please Let some men take five of the horses which remain well, you got a couple of horses left And if we go out there and they kill them, it's okay. They're gonna die anyway Right They're all gonna die. Anyway So they're gonna die earlier than the rest of us are send them on out there The worst thing that can happen is that they're gonna die, but they're gonna die Anyway, and the best thing that happened is that they're not there.

There is food and we all get to eat To no one situation for us Set them out So they do lo and behold Having investigated the camp siren arm was gone Food for everybody And so here comes the key point to the whole thing when it says these words Verse 16 So the people went out and plundered the camp of the arameans That a measure of fine flour was sold for shekel and two measures of barley for shekel According to the word of the lord just like elisha said Just like elisha said this was going to happen and that's exactly what took place Now the king appointed the royal officer On whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate But the people trampled on him at the gate and he died just as the man of god had said Who spoke when the king came down to him?

See, that's exactly what happened the guy mocked the word of the lord elisha says tomorrow this was going to happen He mocked elisha and said you know what you're going to see it But you're not going to partake of it why because he's going to be trampled And then listen carefully God repeats it Says in verse 18 It happened just as the man of god had spoken to the king The spirit of god wants you to understand this If the spirit of god is going to repeat the whole scenario again It's it's for our learning and our instruction, right?

And so two measures of barley for a shekel a measure of fine flour for a shekel will be sold tomorrow About this time at the gate of samaria Then the royal officer answered the man of god said now behold the lord should make known windows in heaven Make windows in heaven Could such a thing be and he said behold you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it So so what happened for the people trampled on him at the gate and he died They repeat the whole thing again three times It is spoken of in the text Why because you need to know that when god speaks you better listen You better listen God doesn't mince words God doesn't speak with a forked tongue God doesn't speak in language.

You can't understand God speaks truth He needs you to get this He needs you to wrestle with it. He needs you to understand it He needs you to come to grips with the fact that you can't scoff at god's word and get away with it You can't because god word is true this man showed disrespect To god in his word And so the people of samaria Showed disrespect to him By trampling him to death On their way to get food What a way to die That's just a horrible way to die It's one thing to boil your kid to death It's another thing to be trampled to death because you're dying a slow death As people step on your head and your hands your feet your back and your back is broken Your arms are broken.

Your your neck is broken Your your eyes are getting squashed out of your face because someone's tripping on your head. What a horrible way to go But you shouldn't scoff at the word of the lord And he did And he died This is a great lesson for every one of us Because it's a lesson about how we need to listen to everything that god says Remember proverbs chapter 8.

I love this proverbs chapter 8 verse number 32 Now therefore i'll send listen to me be blessed for blessed are they who keep my ways Heed instruction to be wise do not neglect it Blessed is the man who listens to me watching daily at my gates waiting at my doorpost For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the lord But he who sins against me injures himself all those who hate me love death That verse talks about the fact that listen if you are one who sins against me That is you won't listen to my instruction.

You're going to injure yourself And if you're going to injure yourself It's only because you've proven that you hate me and that you don't love me And if you hate me you love death That's what god says And yet blessed is the man who listens Are you listening to the word of god?

Not that you're just coming here and in the leave the way you came But you hear what god says And you're going to obey what god says Remember over in proverbs 16 verse number 20 The lord said these words He who gives attention to the word will find good and blessed is he who trusts in the lord If you listen to god's word, you're going to find good Why because god blesses those who listen to his word?

versus proverbs 13 13 which says this proverbs 13 verse number 13 the one Who despises the word? Will be judged by that word But the one who fears the commandment will be Rewarded The man in our story Despised the word of the lord And he was judged by that word He scoffed he sneered he mocked What elijah said? And he paid for it dearly With his life So important to understand that when god says You listen to me that truly we stand up and take note of what?

he says remember ezekiel chapter 33 ezekiel 33 Ezekiel is prophesying To the people of israel During the babylonian captivity He says this God says to him but as for you verse 30 of ezekiel 33 Son of man your fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and the doorways of the houses speak to one another Each of his own brothers saying come now and hear what the message is which comes forth from the lord They come to you as people come and sit before you as my people and hear your words, but they do not do them For they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth and their heart goes after their gain behold You are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice And plays well on an instrument for they hear your words, but they do not practice them So when it comes to pass that surely it will Then they will know that a prophet Has been in their midst God says oh ezekiel Everybody goes to their friends says hey the prophet's speaking today Let's go hear what the prophet has to say I mean after all he's he speaks with with with with a fine fine voice It's it's like a sensual music.

It's like an instrument. It's so beautiful Let's listen to him and they come and they sit and they listen they hear But it takes no effect on their hearts none And god says they will face My punishment Over in jeremiah God says this Jeremiah 19 15 thus says the lord of hosts the god of israel behold I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire calamity that I have declared against it Because they have stiffened their necks so as to not heed my words I'm going to bring the calamity upon them Just like I promised them because they did not heed my words.

They stiffened their neck. They hardened their hearts They would not bow in submission to what i'm saying. Therefore the calamity is going to come it's going to come Simply because they would not listen to the word of the lord psalm 81 God said this psalm 81 verse 8 Hear all my people and I will admonish you Oh israel, if you would listen to me Let there be no strange god among you Nor shall you worship any foreign god. That's what god told israel It's what elisha and elijah come on the scene. What are they doing?

There have strange gods among them. They worship foreign gods. God says Listen to me. Oh israel. Don't do that I the lord am your god who brought you up in the land of egypt Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. I'm the one who rescued you. I'm the one who redeemed you I'll take care of you open your mouth wide. I will fill it Just don't go after the things of the world. Don't do that. Don't go that direction. I will take care of you But my people did not listen to my voice verse 11 And israel did not obey me Why not?

How come So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart to walk in their own devices Oh that my people would listen to me That israel would walk in my ways I would quickly subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their adversaries And those who hate the lord would pretend obedience to him and their time of punishment would be forever But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat and with the honey for the rock. I would satisfy you If they just listen to me, I take care of all their enemies God is saying to some of us this evening if you just listen to what i'm going to tell you I will take care of everyone who's against you Just listen to what i'm going to tell you.

I will subdue your enemies Open your mouth wide and I will fill it Just listen to my words. Obey what I say follow my commandments keep my commandments Obey my word if you just do what I tell you to do You'll be blessed Now, why is that so hard? Why is that so hard? Simply as christ said it In john chapter 12 when people didn't follow him because they loved the pleasure of man More than the pleasure of god They wanted man to accept them They wanted man to be with them They loved what man had to say to them more than what they loved and they loved what god had to say to them And they loved their sin more than they loved christ Israel they loved themselves Why don't you obey the lord because you're too in love with yourself You're too in love with what you want to do You don't want to listen to what he has to say.

It requires discipline. It requires obedience It requires you to to cultivate a life of maturity. It requires you to to say no to your friends It requires you to say no to sin Requires you to say yes to everything god has That's why the warning in the book of hebrews is so So stringent It says in hebrews Hebrews chapter 10 And we are a long way from getting to hebrews chapter 10 If we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins But a terrifying expectation of judgment In the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries Anyone who has set aside the law of moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses How much severe punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the son of god?

And has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the spirit of grace For we know him who said vengeance is mine. I will repay and again the lord will judge his people It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living god And it is It absolutely is I wonder I wonder are you among those who go on sitting willfully after you've heard the truth of god's word? That's just a dangerous place to be in first seventy four Is that how much time I have left?

in first seventy four It talks about those false teachers who have their conscience Seared With burning heat We told you before in jeremiah 23 That god's word is like a fire jeremiah 23 29.

It's like a hammer shatters a rock. It's like a fire that purifies God's word is like a fire and when you hear the word of god the fiery word of god It burns your soul It Burns your soul That's why the two men that wrote to emmaus did not our hearts burn within us as he explained to us the scriptures There's a burning sensation that takes place in the soul of a man because of the power of the word of god It is not my word like a fire. Listen when god's word goes forth. It's like a fire it burns in the soul You ever been burned before?

When you burn your flesh It gets scarred over It becomes less sensitive to the touch Because it's scarred When your soul is burned with the fire of the word of god And you don't respond in obedience to god it's like your flesh being burned it becomes insensitive to the truth And you come to church again the next week and you hear the word of god It's like a fire in your soul. It burns your soul If you don't respond It's like there's been a another fire blaze in your flesh and in that that scars instead of blaze again And then it heals over it becomes even more Insensitive to the things of god the next time around then you come again God's words like a fire You hear it And it burns your soul, but you don't respond And again that flesh is burned and scars over again and now you become so more much more insensitive to the things of god so much so that The word of god has no effect on your heart Why?

Because you have rejected the truth of god's word And when you reject the truth of god's word you reject god long enough. He rejects you You your willful Rejection leads to his judicial Rejection of you That's why you need to respond That's why you need to listen Oh israel, if you just would have listened to me, I'd have subdued your enemies You could open your mouth wide and I'd have filled it for you Don't go after strange gods Don't go after foreign gods don't bite out of them. Don't worship them.

But what do they do? That's exactly what they did It's exactly what they did And god said why And jeremiah says why would they go after Cisterns broken cisterns that hold no water And Run from me the well of living water Why would they do that they have forsaken me They had become hard-hearted and stiff-necked The warning for us in the miracle of elisha in the great calamity Is simply this we need to listen to everything god says God's serious When god speaks he's serious He wants you to listen Because he knows what you need And he knows how to meet that need Because he's the king of the universe, let me pray with you Father we thank you for today.

Truly lord. You are a great god and you alone are worthy of praise We are so thankful for the ministry of elisha How you use this great man of god in the life of israel? They did not listen They did not obey They did not follow you This whole miracle Of the arameans the syrians leaving their camp israel being fed Being clothed obtaining gold and silver Livestock Still no repentance Still no turning And your goodness And your mercy you provided for them And they still Will not obey Lord please Don't let there be one person here tonight who's like that Turn our hearts Toward heaven turn our lives toward the christ That we might serve you and understand the great rewards that come From being obedient to your word In jesus name.

Amen