Read 2 Kings 7 and Daniel 11.
This devotional is about 2 Kings 7.
Remember that Israel was divided into Israel, the Northern Kingdom and Judah, the Southern Kingdom. Samaria was the capital city of the Northern Kingdom also known as “Israel,” and at the end of 2 Kings 6, Samaria was in big trouble. The kingdom was facing two powerful threats.
The first was a siege laid by the Aramaeans (6:24) which prevented anything–food, other products, people–from entering the city.
The second threat was “a great famine in the city” (6:25).
Either of these problems would have caused economic stress to the city of Samaria. Dealing with both problems at the same time was a disaster. The cost for even the most meager amount of food was an outrageous sum of money (6:25). It was worse than buying food at an airport or in the stadium of a professional sports league. As a result, people were starving and desperate for the most basic essentials of survival. They even turned to cannibalizing their own children just to survive (6:26-29).
Instead of pleading with God for help and appealing to his servant Elisha, the king of Israel blamed the Lord and determined to kill Elisha (6:30-33). Here in 2 Kings 7, that story resumed.
Elisha prophesied that there would be overnight (literally) relief from the famine (v. 1). The prices quoted here in 2 Kings 7:1 are higher than usual, but the products Elisha mentioned weren’t available at ANY price when he said these words. Remember this was a man that God used to multiply oil (2 Kings 4:1-7) and bread (2 Kings 4:42-44) among many other miracles.
Yet, despite his track record, the king’s officer mocked Elisha. His statement in verse 2, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” was a scoffing response. Elisha’s answer was a prophecy of judgment for him: “You will see it with your own eyes… but you will not eat any it!” (v. 2c).
God kept his promises both to provide for the people (vv. 3-18) and to judge the king’s commander for his unbelief (vv. 19-20). In a situation that looked impossible, God provided in an extraordinary way.
God is able and willing to provide for us but we often blame him for our problems rather than coming to him for his assistance. It is sometimes God’s will for us to suffer but there are other times when we suffer just because we don’t believe God will provide and so we don’t bother asking him.
What is the greatest need in your life right now? Have you sought God’s help and favor in that area, asking him to provide? He is able to provide faster than you can even imagine.