34 GOD WILL LIFT YOUR SIEGE

May I give you an assignment before we begin this lesson—an assignment that you will do as we proceed? We are looking at how God miraculously lifted the siege of Samaria and I invite you to think of something, someone, or some development in your life right now that has you under siege. It is cutting you off from rain, grain, spiritual military help, whatever! and determine what you need to do, how you need to pray so that your siege is lifted and you are set free to live what for you would be a normal life of fulfillment, success and fruitfulness in ministry.

We begin by looking at how the siege of Samaria was raised in the evening, at the edge of night, not by might or power, but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts, striking terror on the spirits of the besiegers. There was no physical sword drawn against them, not a drop of blood shed, it was not by thunder or hailstones that they were attacked, nor were they slain, as the 185,000 men in Sennacherib’s army had been slain by a destroying angel when they besieged Jerusalem. Instead, God made them hear something that was not there. In a previous lesson we observed that God blinded the Arameam soldiers that surrounded Dothan, working against their sense of sight. Now God is working against their sense of hearing, causing them to hear something that was not real. “. . . the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army,” For God knows how to work on every sense, in a way consistent with his own counsels as He makes the hearing ear and the seeing eye, so He makes the deaf and the blind.

God asked Moses in Exodus 4:11, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” Whether the noise was really made in the air by the work of angels, walking lepers or it was only a sound in their ears, is not explained. In any case, it was from God, Who both brings the wind out of his treasures, and forms the spirit of man within him. The sight of horses and chariots had encouraged the prophet’s servant, at Dothan, but here, the noise of horses and chariots terrified the hosts of Aram. Notices from the invisible world can be very encouraging or terribly dreadful, depending on whether men are at peace or at war with God. Hearing this noise, the Arameans concluded the king of Israel had certainly hired mercenaries from some foreign power according to verse 6: “Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!”

There was, for all we know only one king of Egypt, and what kings were there of the Hittites in those days nobody can imagine; but, as the Arameans were confronted by that dreadful sound in their ears, so they imagined the rather foolish interpretation they made of it. Ha! If they had they guessed that the king of Judah had come with his forces to help them, there would have been more probability in their fears than to dream of the kings of the Hittites and the Egyptians. If the imaginations of any of them raised this possibility, yet their reasons might soon have refuted it: how could the king of Israel, who was locked in Samaria with a siege, have any communication with the very distant Hittites or almost as distant Egyptians? How could they have hired mercenaries from within a besieged city? Furthermore, what did he possess with which to hire them? It was impossible for so great a host to come near Samaria without enough noise to certainly alert the Arameans that another player had arrive on the battlefield. They were in great fear where nothing fearful existed. It was all imagined and God did that!

They all fled with incredible panic and confusion, as for their lives, leaving their camp as it was. They even left their horses, which could have helped them flee faster. They could not stay to take them with them or, better yet, let the horses help them flee more quickly and easily. Verse 7 says, “So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.” None of them had or used so much sense as to send out scouts to evaluate the strength of the supposed enemy, much less courage enough to face the enemy, though that enemy would have been tired having just made a long march. Proverbs 28:1 says, “The wicked flee though no one pursues. Can you think of a better illustration than this story of this verse?”

God can, when He wants to, frighten the boldest and most brave, and make the stoutest heart tremble. He can make anyone who does not fear Him fear at a shaking leaf. And He also can do the opposite when He wants to. For those who fear Him, He can give courage and confidence; He can make them bold and invincible. Are you remembering the assignment I gave you at the beginning of this lesson? What enemy or obstacle has you under siege? What imagined army are you dealing with?

The Arameans’ flight was discovered by four leprous men. Samaria was delivered; their enemy was gone and vast stores of provision were within walking distance of the city, but the citizens did not know it. The watchmen on the walls were not aware of the hasty retreat of the enemy. But God employed four lepers to be the newscasters. They had their lodging outside the gate, since lepers were excluded from the city, as ceremonially unclean. Some of the Jews say they were Gehazi and his three sons. It is possible that perhaps Gehazi might have been one of them. In verse 4 of the next chapter we see that the king was conversing with Gehazi. “The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, ‘Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.’”

Notice now how these lepers reasoned themselves into a practical and good resolution to make a visit in the night to the camp of the Syrians Verses 3 and 4 say, “3 Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.” They were ready to die with hunger. No one passed through the gate to help them. Should they go into the city, there was nothing there to eat anyway. They must die in the streets. If they sit still, they must starve to death in their cottage. They therefore decided to go over to the enemy, and throw themselves on their mercy: if they killed them, better die by the sword than by famine, one quick death than a thousand lingering ones.

On the other hand, perhaps the enemy would save them alive, as objects of compassion. Common prudence will guide us to that method which may improve our condition, but cannot make it worse. The prodigal son resolves to return to his father, whose displeasure he had reason to fear, rather than perish with hunger in the far country. These lepers conclude, “If they kill us, we will but die;” and happy they who, in another sense, can speak like this of dying. ‘We believers will but die, that is the worst of it; though we die we will be neither damned, nor hurt by the second death.’

According to this resolution, they went, in the beginning of the night, to the camp of the Arameans, and, to their great surprise, found it completely deserted; not a man was to be seen or heard in it. Verse 5 says, “At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there,” God’s plan and perfect timing arranged it so that either these lepers came as soon as the Syrians had fled or their coming to the camp actually was a part of the departure of the Arameans. The dusk at which the Arameans fled (recorded in verse 7) would have been the same dusk (in verse 5) in which the four lepers approached the camp. Both things happened at dusk. In other words, the very slight sound of four lepers walking towards the Aramean camp became a large and frightful sound in the ears of the Armeans. There was evidently a connection between the slow quiet movement of the four lepers and the rapid and fright-filled departure of the Arameans.

Now let’s see what the four lepers did; how they decided to announce the news to the city of Samaria. First, however, they feasted in the first tent they came to, began to enrich themselves with the plunder and then they corrected themselves realizing they had a responsibility to announce the news to Samaria. Verses 8, 9 say, “The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also. 9 Then they said to each other, ‘What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.’” If they were hungry and poor we cannot seriously fault them for eating, drinking and hiding some of the spoils. Then they realized their duty. “We do not do well to conceal this good news from the community of which we are members.

Maybe they treated us as outcasts, but our Jewish laws require that. It was the law that did it, not they, and therefore let us bring them the good news. Though we must wake them up, it will be life from the dead to them.” Their own consciences told them that trouble might come their way if they acted independently and selfishly thinking only of themselves. Even here in the thinking and behavior of four lepers in the middle of the night we may find a practical lesson about sharing spoils, benefiting others and not just thinking about our own personal interests and comforts. Selfish narrow-spirited people cannot expect to prosper; the best advantages are what our brothers share with us.

According, to their decision, they returned to the gate, and called out to the guard. I think the lepers and the guard were both equally happy with this exchange. “So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, ‘We went into the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were’” (10). Can you imagine this? No wonder the guards quickly told other officials. “The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.” And surely those in the palace were just as happy with the news as the guards had been.

How did the Israelite king respond to this development? He feared that the Arameans had withdrawn into an ambush, to draw out the besieged people, that they might fall on them with more advantage. He had no reason to expect that God would move so wonderfully for him, having forfeited God’s favor by his own unbelief and impatience. He thought the Arameans had no reason to fly. Neither he nor any of his attendants heard the noise of the chariots at which the Arameans were frightened. Let not those who, like him, are unstable in all their ways, think to receive any thing from God; that’s what James says; no, a guilty conscience fears the worst and makes men suspicious.

The cautious city leaders sent out spies to confirm what had become of the Syrians, and found they had really all fled, commanders as well as common soldiers. They could track them by the garments which they threw off, and left by the way in their hasty departure. Two horses, evidently chariot horses, and five horsemen were sent out and when the truth was confirmed the people of the city plundered the camp of the Arameans as verses 14-16a say, “So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, ‘Go and find out what has happened.’” 15 They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the messengers returned and reported to the king. 16 Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans.”

Had the Arameans been less hurried and governed by modern policies of war, when they could not take their baggage and their tents with them, they would rather have burnt them than let them fall into their enemies’ hands. But God determined that the besieging of Samaria, which was intended for Samaria’s ruin, should turn to Samaria’s advantage, and that Israel would now be enriched with the spoil of the Arameans as it had with that of the Egyptians. Job 27:16,17 say, “Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay, 17 what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver.”

I believe this is an expression of God’s love and provision for us. It is easy to see that the needs of Israel are supplied in a way they could not have imagined, which should encourage us too to depend on the power and goodness of God in our times of need. The word of Elisha was fulfilled exactly. A measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel; those who spoiled the camp of the enemy had not only enough to supply themselves, but a surplus to sell at an inexpensive rate for the benefit of others. Even those who stayed at home could divide the spoil as Psalm 68:12 says, “Kings and armies flee in haste; the women at home divide the plunder.” And Isaiah 33:23b says, “Then an abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame will carry off plunder.” God’s promise may be safely relied on, for no word of His will fall to the ground.

Elisha’s prophesy was fulfilled even in the detail about the death of the unbelieving officer who had questioned the truth of Elisha’s word. Divine threatenings will as surely be accomplished as divine promises. This officer was preferred by the king to take charge of the business at the gate of the city, to keep the peace, and to see that there was no tumult or disorder in dividing the spoil. The king delighted to honor him with this responsibility. He that will be great, let him serve the public. But he was trodden to death by the people in the gate, either by accident, the crowd being exceedingly great and he in the thickest of it or that, just as he had doubted Elisha’s word, so he also abused his power and may have been too zealous in restraining the people from satisfying their hunger.

However it was, God’s justice was served, and the word of Elisha was fulfilled. He saw the plenty, but he did not eat of the plenty he saw. Verses 19, 20 say, “The officer had said to the man of God, ‘Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?' The man of God had replied, 'You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!’” 20 And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.” God deeply resents our distrust of Him, of his power, providence, and promise. God never promises the end without knowing where to provide the means.

We can learn from this how uncertain life and the enjoyments of it are. Honor and power cannot secure men from sudden and inglorious deaths. He on whom the king leaned, the people trod on; he who fancied himself the stay and support of the government was trampled under foot as mud in the streets. In this way the pride of men’s glory has been often stained. How certain God’s threatenings are. How sure they are to land on anyone guilty of unbelief.

God is totally trustworthy. He appears to resent those who disbelieve in Him. Out trust in Him pleases Him; our distrust of Him disappoints Him. What is the siege under which you struggle? The same God who miraculously lifted Samaria’s siege can lift yours.