Finding Hope in the Scriptures + “A Glimmer of Hope”
A Glimmer of Hope
(*Read 2 Kings chapters 6 and 7 for context.) :)
It is interesting to note about the miracle God performed in 2 Kings 7:
1. The city of Samaria was under siege by the Syrians: “ALL his host.” (2 Kings 6:24)
· He had brought ALL he had in terms of militia to defeat Samaria.
2. The situation IN Samaria was desperate:
· No one could go in or out.
· People were starving to the point of eating bird dung (6:25) and their children (6:28). It was a dire situation. Completely grim.
3. God chose to use the actions of four unlikely candidates to defeat the enemy of God’s people. four lepers. Four outcasts. They weren’t “qualified” to defeat even one enemy, let alone an entire army. Undoubtedly, they were not only starving, but weak and wounded from the ravaging effects of their leprous condition. They weren’t even trying to defeat the enemy or contemplating how they might. They were simply trying to SURVIVE. They had no battle plans, no strategy. They simply weighed their options and took action on the most likely plan for survival. They had 3 choices…stay where they were and starve, go into the city and starve, or walk toward the enemy in surrender (7:4), hoping the enemy would potentially “save us alive.” It was unlikely, but the only hope they had.
THAT is all God needed to perform the miraculous and defeat the enemy of His people: the footsteps of four lepers in survival mode. He just needed a little action from a few who would move in the direction of the tiniest glimmer of hope. Their attempt at survival brought victory…and FOOD…for so many more than themselves.
4. AS THEY WALKED, God performed the miraculous. “And they rose up in the twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host…” The Syrians assumed it was their enemy. “Wherefore, they arose in the twilight and fled…” (7:7) So hysterical! God used the unlikely actions of unlikely candidates to unfold the miraculous—not only in their lives, but in the lives of His people.
Once they realize everyone is gone, they began to eat and drink and enjoy the spoils left behind in the Syrian’s haste. They realize: “We do not well…now therefore come, that we may tell the king’s household…” (7:9)
Upon the delivery of the news to the king’s household, it is assumed this is a further strategical move of the enemy, to draw the starving Israelites out of the walls of Samaria. So, it is determined to send out scouts. The situation in Samaria is so severe that there are only a few horses left to “send and see.” (I love that the Bible includes this detail…I think it is to further reiterate just how dire things were for God’s people and how unlikely this miracle would be.)
Then, one of the funniest pictures painted by the Scriptures: “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.” (v. 15) LOL! God had caused such great fear to descend upon the Syrians at the sound of nothing more than four leprous men’s footsteps. The fear was so great, that they’re throwing things to the side, as they retreat in fear. I find the scene depicted in that verse to be completely hysterical.
So…the Word of the Lord, spoken by Elisha at the beginning of the chapter, comes to pass. In less then 24 hours, the dire situation of the people of Samaria turns to abundance. Verse 16 says, “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.” No more bird dung. Nor more horse meat, which I imagine to be quite tough. No more disputing over who’s child would be eaten next. The long siege of the enemy came to an abrupt end, simply because four lepers decided to move. They refused to give into despondency and moved towards what was truly the only faint glimmer of hope they had. Their refusal to give up allowed God to defeat the enemy without one drawn sword or one drop of shed blood. The word of the Lord and the deliverance of His people came to pass, because 4 very unlikely, small, and insignificant men chose to exhaust every option in the quest to survive.
Let me just remind myself. God does not need a lot. He does not need an army or a Commander General. He doesn’t need a strategy or battle plans mapped out on a scroll. Sometimes, all He needs is footsteps. He needs someone who will KEEP GOING, though the glimmer of hope is faint. Sometimes, all He needs is one, or two, or three, or four, who, like the lepers, KNOW they are nothing, but refuse to give up to an untimely death. They battle TRULY is the Lord’s!!!! The long siege and dire situation in Samaria had not bearing on HIS ability to turn things around in a split second, and He did it in a way not no one would have expected, and that only HE could receive credit for.
Just FYI…by the grace of God let me keep walking….keep moving toward the glimmer of hope I see. Let me say with the lepers, “Why sit we here until we die? (v. 3) and with David, “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” Psalm 118:7