NO PROGRESS WITHOUT CHANGE -- NO CHANGE WITHOUT RISK

NO PROGRESS WITHOUT CHANGE – NO CHANGE WITHOUT RISK!

The situation was unimaginable! The city was under siege and no food or supplies could reach them. Mothers were boiling their children for food [2 Kings 6:28, 29] and other unthinkable things were being eaten. The city would die if there was no change. Elijah then prophesied that there would soon be plenty.

2 Kings 7:1-2

7:1 Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

2 Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

Some stories, especially in the Old Testament, take time to play out but it is worth our while to read to the end the following portion.

2 Kings 7:3-9

3 And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?

4 If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

5 And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.

6 For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.

7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.

8 And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.

9 Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household.

Several spiritually significant points can easily be made here, so we will.

The Four had a death-dealing disease!  There was no known cure for leprosy in those days and death was slow but certain. Sin is like that. Its progress may be slow but, as the Bible says, “the ends thereof are the ways of death.”

They sat at the entering in of the gate! There are several ways we may look at this gate. If we see it as the entrance to the old legal system we conclude, as they did, that the famine is there and death would be the result for “by the law shall no flesh be justified.” [Galatians 2:16] We may also see the gate as the key or opening to the future. The gate may represent salvation. They did not yet have it but they were close.

They weighed their options! If they remained in their current situation they would certainly die. If they went into the city they would certainly die. They would either be killed because they were lepers or they would simply join the huge population of “the dying.” But if they went unto the camp of the Syrians they MIGHT live. They might be able to beg bread for another day or two of life. If the Syrians killed them it would only be a swifter means of death.

They made a decision! It is hard to rise from the relative comfort of slow death to chance the prospect of a quicker one and the only reason to make such a decision is hope. [2 Kings 7:4] They would approach the enemy with beggars’ hands and hope for the best.

They were wonderfully provided for! Taking a risk is another way of saying that they exercised FAITH. God always responds favorably to faith for without faith it is impossible to please Him. [Hebrews 11:6] They found the camp empty of men and full of rich supplies. When we risk coming to Jesus we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

They thought of others! Reclining after a Thanksgiving-like feast they suddenly thought of others less fortunate. They suddenly felt an obligation to a city that had forced them out. This is the missionary urgings of a grateful people. How can we sit full and satisfied by the abundant mercy of God when a whole city is perishing with spiritual hunger? This is how common people, wonderfully blessed, become evangelists and missionaries.

2 Kings 7:9

9 Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household.

Church! If we keep doing what we are doing we will continue to get what we already have. There is no progress without change and there is no change without risk. Today is a day of good tidings! Go tell!

Dear Lord, I am afraid to take a risk but I know that is the only way to make progress. Give me courage to risk change. I have been blessed.  Help me to tell others. AMEN