God always keeps His Promises

 

2 Kings 7: 9-20

 

September 7, 2021

 

 

God always keeps His Promises

Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king's household.”   So, they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city and told them, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied, and the donkeys tied and the tents as they were.”   Then the gatekeepers called out, and it was told within the king's household.   And the king rose in the night and said to his servants, “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. Therefore, they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive and get into the city.’”   And one of his servants said, “Let some men take five of the remaining horses, seeing that those who are left here will fare like the whole multitude of Israel who have already perished. Let us send and see.”   So, they took two horsemen, and the king sent them after the army of the Syrians, saying, “Go and see.”   So, they went after them as far as the Jordan, and behold, all the way was littered with garments and equipment that the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king.

Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So, a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.   Now the king had appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. And the people trampled him in the gate, so that he died, as the man of God had said when the king came down to him.   For when the man of God had said to the king, “Two seahs of barley shall be sold for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria,” the captain had answered the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”   And so, it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate and he died.

 

If you are dying of hunger, and in need of help it does matter not who brings the news of food, it is a welcome word unless it is a fear-driven leader who refuses to put their trust in God.  That was where Israel find themselves, and the king in his unbelief of what Elisha has told the captain was a word from God.  He believes the Syrians are trying to trap him into opening the gates.  So, the king of Israel had five horses left and he sent out two men on horseback to find out if the Syrians had set a trap.  My first thought was I sure would not have wanted to be one of those men, if it is a trap, they are dead, but when they returned I bet they did not get a hero’s welcome, in fact, the king and the people were dying of hunger and found all that God has spoken through Elisha to be true.

 

The people were not rejoicing they were eating, and gathering food and things they needed to live on, it was only later that someone noticed the captain had been trampled in the gate and he died.

 

As those who claim to be followers of Christ, do you believe God saw you before you were and that he assigned a day for your life to end on planet earth?  You will find that account in Psalms 139:16, Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

 

What about the sin of worrying has not God spoken on this in Matthew 6: 26-27, “Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?   Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”  Jan and I looked for God’s promises on not allowing anyone to touch us, to lock ourselves away from everyone, and to not attend worship, but it was not in the Scriptures, so we looked to what our Father has promised those who look to Him and do not put trust in what men are saying. 

 

Two promises we hung to over this pandemic of fear, were Isaiah 41:10, and 13, “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  In verse 13 the following: For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

 

Our very dear friend Joyce Ray shares that she held to Psalms 91:9-11, “Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place- the Most High, who is my refuge—no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.  For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”

Note: Very important and I hope you will read it, I have minimal faith in a Big God who is my refuge, but for much of my life I was trained to fear, and it is one of those demons that are always trying to get into my mind.  So this paper is not to brag on my faith, but to brag on our Father, who has told us to trust in Him only, and His promises.  And when we have sinned, it is only pride that keeps us in the prison of fear of men, so look to God and seek Him for He is not far from you.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice