Bible passage: 2 King’s 6: 24-33, 7: 1-20
In our passage, we see how the Syrians created a blockade against Samaria, the capital city of Israel. Nothing was allowed in, and no one went out. No food, no water, nothing. Crops are not grown in the city, so it has to come from outside. As a result of the blockade, the city died within. Food became very scarce and expensive. A mother agrees with another mother that they would both kill their sons for food, one today, the other the following day. After sharing the flesh of the first woman’s son, the second woman hid hers to prevent him from being eaten, and the case is brought to the king. It is a resemblance of how the devil deals with those he is able to prevail upon. He holds them by the throat and chokes the very life out of them. Sometimes it is financial oppression in which things are air tight. Nothing is allowed in. It can be emotional blockade. A famine of love is created in which a beautiful woman or handsome man repeatedly faces betrayal in love. By beautiful or handsome, I mean someone who has no business experiencing such a thing.
Two factors grant the devil access to a Christian for harsh dealings. The first is quite famous and obvious, which is rebellion against God’s word and will. Sin. Flagrant disobedience. The majority in the Christian world that we know today love the outward show of Christianity without the desire to pay the price of that calling. They choose convenience over commitment. But convenience is hardly ever the way to prevail or triumph at anything. They choose pleasure. They love pleasurable and sinful behaviours. Such do not prevent them from claiming ownership of the Lord’s name..
The second factor that grants the devil power over a Christian is godly trial. A Christian is pressed to the extreme to test the quality of their submission to the Lord. All of heaven hold their breath in hopes that the faithful will not give in under the pressure! The very examiner, the devil, can be trusted to hold the pressure and drain the very life out of the good Christian undergoing trial. Jesus refers to this in the 15th chapter of the Gospel of John. Every branch in Christ that is bearing fruit is pruned by the Father. That is quite painful. It is the devil however that handles the pruning shear!
The lack of proper Christian education has caused many, like the friends of Job, to imagine that a believer who comes under the dark cloud of trial is so served because they are in error! And how many times have we heard certain Christians say that when they were in the world, they were much better off? It has caused some to throw in the towel!
Under such a circumstance, pleading with God to relieve the pressure may do little since the officer in charge never lets his prisoners go! In the case of the faithful follower of Christ being afflicted, it is for a season only. The oppression fades after it has served its purpose. Other ways to know that God knows or has allowed it is when His comforting presence is all over the good Christian. In the 91st Psalm, the Lord says, astonishingly, that He will be with the believer who wholeheartedly trusts Him in trouble! Oh, okay. He is there, so why does He allow the situation to persist instead of switching it off? He clearly wants it because the evil is accomplishing some divine purpose. Sometimes, the tribulation is concentrated in one aspect of life only.
The passage shows us how the Syrians fled and left all their valuables behind in their haste. This shows how God may use the very vessel behind an affliction to solve it, when the time is due. Beyond that, the thought of the Syrians that the Israelites had gone to hire foreign powers against them is very typical of those not in alignment with the Lord. It is also how the thoughts of those used of the devil to trouble you are framed. God made the Syrians to hear this sound. I also want us to know that it is typical of those whose minds Christ has no control over. The unrighteous thinks badness is always encircling them. The Lord says of fallen humanity in the book of Genesis: “the imagination of his heart is evil always”. Gen.6:5.
Nonalignment with God, and rebellion, which alienates the presence of the Spirit of God in a soul, produces thoughts of evil. Even when there is a heavy cloud of rain borne of divine mercy, it will be interpreted and read as doom approaching. When you reach out to be a blessing to them, they imagine you have ulterior motives.
King Joram did not believe it was anything to rejoice about when the report of the lepers from the outskirts of Samaria reached him. His mind gave it an adverse interpretation at once! The Bible says the sinner is on the run when no one is pursuing him. Prov.28:2.
Those whose faith are in Christ are, on the other hand, full of good and noble thoughts. Those thinking about how others will receive Christ and be saved always see good things coming in the horizon. They are occupied with great thoughts all the time! Those praying for their country see good things in the land and will be ready and available to receive blessings from the package.
Consider the doubter and arrogant chief on whose arm the king of Israel leaned. He was full of negative words, refuting God’s prophecy of good things coming. He saw it with his eyes, according to the prediction of Elisha, but his lips did not taste any of it.
Great things can be delivered by the imperfect, just as ravens brought good food for Elijah! Your prayers can be answered through a courier you are biased against. I don’t like a raven personally, and if you really know ravens, I doubt that you will either, but God’s word has shown that He can sustain you through such a ministry.
May the word of God, by the Immortal Spirit, cleanse our thoughts and minds today, and fill us with great expectations out of the fountains of His love and faithfulness, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!