"Then they said to one another, 'What we are doing is wrong. This is a day of good news; if we are silent and wait until the morning light, we will be found guilty; therefore let us go and tell the king's household" (vs. 9).
II Kings 7 is one of the greatest reversal of fortune stories in history, and it is all the Lord's doing! The chapter begins (actually starting in 6:24) with the Israelites under siege from Ben-Hadad's Aramean army. Penned in, there was such a great famine in Samaria that the people were starving. The price of food (even that which was barely edible) skyrocketed to incredible levels. Tragically, the people were so desperate they even turned to cannibalism to survive (6:29).
Appalled at the suffering of his people, the king of Israel lashes out at Elisha. But Elisha encourages the king with a message of unbelievable hope - in one day's time, food will be plentiful again. To a starving population, this prophecy sounded impossible. When the king's captain doubted Elisha's word, the prophet told him that he would see it with his own eyes but have nothing to eat.
That night, four lepers in dire circumstances outside the city gates decide to defect to the Arameans, figuring that their situation could not get any worse. When they arrive at the Aramean camp, however, they find it deserted! God had caused the Arameans to think that they were under attack by the Egyptian and Hittite armies, so they fled, leaving everything just as it was. The lepers were delighted! They ate and drank and hid some of the treasures. But midway through their celebrating, they realized that this news was too good to keep to themselves! They decided to alert the city and share the good news that the army was gone and there were spoils for the taking. The next day, the city rushes out to plunder the camp and, in the process, the captain is trampled to death in the gate. He saw the good fortune, but was not able to take part in it.
Have you ever considered that we are in the position of those four lepers? We know a secret - the Son of God has come to earth and paid the price for our sins. We no longer need to live in captivity to fear! Death had been defeated! Forgiveness for sins is available! We have good news to share! It would be wrong to keep it to ourselves. We must do what we can to let everyone know that life and freedom is here in Jesus Christ! The gospel is too good to keep to ourselves!
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