2 Kings 7

So I read the chapter 7 without remembering the end of chapter 6. Even though we read a chapter a day, it’s not like a day per chapter in the Bible. Chapter 7 starts right after the king arrives at Elisha’s door saying that evil came from the Lord because of the severe famine in Samaria (Samaria was a trade market for Israel, and if times were hard in Samaria, then times were hard for Israel) . And Elisha then promises that within 24 hours, the economic times of Israel will improve. 


2 Kings 7:5b When they had come the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. 
This version of the verse is from a different Bible. Mine doesn’t include “to their surprise.” I like this other version that includes it because I feel like it adds to the leper’s story. They believe they will die because there is a famine already, and no one will share with the leper in fear of catching the disease. So why not take a chance on the enemy camp is what they were thinking. But when they arrived, no one was there AND they had left all their possessions behind.

Now I’ve seen this scenario in movies and it never ends well. I’ve watched too many scary movies I guess, because God laid this scenario out for the leper’s to find. He made their footsteps sound like a whole army, and the Arameans ran in fear. The leper’s began basically looting the goods they had found, then realized what a blessing had been bestowed upon them and went told the palace (v9: We are not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping silent). With of the abundance of goods obtained from the camp, the price of goods was able to go down at the Samaritan market just as Elisha predicted, and the famine ended for now. 

I’m not sure if the leper’s has faith, or were so close to their wits end that they didn’t care if they were caught and died. This makes me wonder what kind is scenario God has laid out for me. Would my faith have been strong enough to continue into the abandoned army camp? Or would I think it was too good to be true and walk away? God has a great plan for you and for me. It is up to us to follow the path.