Old Testament Examples of SPIRITUAL WARFARE: Conduct in the Campaign & Implementing the Victory of Christ in our Lives – Part 2 of 2

~ By James J. Fire

Eyes to See, Ears to Hear, Hearts to Understand and Obey – Part Two of Two 

RECAP on GOD’s RIGHTEOUS PROPHET –

In part one of this article, we saw how the prophet of God was victorious over the overwhelming numbers of pagan prophets introduced to Israel by Jezebel; on Mount Carmel the fire of God came down in answer to the prayer of Elijah, consuming the sacrifices, the dust, the water that drenched everything, and even the rocks that comprised the altar! The people of Israel bowed down declaring that YHWH was indeed God, and at Elijah’s bidding, the false prophets were seized and brought down to the river where the prophet of the LORD then slew them, down to the very last one. He then bid King Ahab to depart for the “sound of the abundance of rain” was heard by the prophet. Soon thereafter “the heavens were black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain” (1 KINGS 18:45).

Ahab reported what had happened to his wife, the Queen Jezebel and she in her indignation and malice declared concerning Elijah:

1 KINGS 19:2 
. . . So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. 

And in response, the powerful prophet of God . . . “ran for his life” (1 KINGS 19:3)! You might ask, how could Elijah who faced off eight hundred and fifty pagan prophets, get scared by the ranting of one single woman, though she was a Queen?
Pretty much the same way how we can at one moment be walking in the Spirit and then the next, be walking in the flesh. Such a dichotomy can be seen in the apostle Peter, who at one moment shines and answers with absolute conviction when the LORD Jesus asked “Who do you say that I am?” – with “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God” and not moments later gets rebuked by the LORD when he allows himself to be a mouthpiece for Satan. 

Elijah finds himself alone, despondent and feeling as though he’s the only one left who loves and serves the LORD, Who sends an angel to the prophet to provide nourishment and counsel to sleep and find rest. 

The Spirit of the LORD then comes to him and asks what he’s doing there in a cave all alone. Elijah answers: 

1 KINGS 19:10 
. . . I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 

The children of Israel had witnessed the great power of God on Mt. Carmel, and yet for all that, they still had not repented of having forsaken their covenant with God, thrown down His altars, and had the prophets of the LORD slain or at least did nothing about it!

Then the LORD sent a great, rending wind that tore up the mountain where Elijah resided, even breaking rocks! The LORD afterwards sent an earthquake and then a fire. Then the LORD spoke in a still small voice.

Miracles though wondrous they may be, cannot change a callused heart of wickedness; it cannot convict of sin, nor can it bring counsel. The Word of the LORD however can and does! Miracles as performed by God only ratify the word of a prophet, to show that his message and the miracle performed by him are from the same source. Again the Word of the LORD came to Elijah asking a second time what it was he was doing there in the cave, and the prophet gave the same answer.

He didn’t admit that at the word of Jezebel he became afraid and ran away; whereas before he was valiant and fearless before the entire entourage of Jezebel’s prophets, but now he hid away in a cave! God gives him some assignments to anoint kings and seek out one Elisha to anoint him “to be prophet in thy room” (vs. 16). One must wonder if Elijah in his failure to rid Israel of all the pagans, including Jezebel, was being replaced for that very reason (?). And as Elijah sets about to leave the cave, as an almost ‘P.S. note’ God says, “Oh, by the way Elijah, I happen to have seven thousand that haven’t worshiped Baal!”

Ahab and Jezebel continued in their corrupt ways, victimizing the very people that they should have been protecting and ensuring their prosperity and freedoms. One particular man, Naboth, refused to trade his vineyard for another piece of choice land which Ahab offered in its stead; the king even offered the worth of it in gold, but Naboth refused. Later Jezebel frames him for crimes he hadn’t committed, has him executed, and grants his vineyard to the king, her husband.

The Word of the LORD then came to Elijah who pronounced judgment upon the king and queen of Israel:

1 KINGS 21:21-26 
Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked [me] to anger, and made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.  Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.  But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. 

Upon hearing of this doom, Ahab humbled himself before the LORD with sackcloth and fasting, and God pronounced mercy on this vile man, declaring that these evils would not fall upon him, but will come to pass in the days of his son. Here is a demonstration of the incredible mercy of the LORD, that even a vile, repugnant man like Ahab could find such at the hand of the Holy One of Israel!!

GOD’s CHANGING of the GUARD -

Later in 2 KINGS 2:1-14 we read about the translation of Elijah into heaven by chariots of fire and a whirlwind; his successor Elisha witnessed the prophet ascending, but the mantle which he wore came down, and the remaining prophet took it up and came to the river Jordan and said: 

2 KINGS 2:14 
. . . Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. 

. . . just as Elijah had done previously. In fact, Elisha had asked for a double portion of the Spirit of God that Elijah had, and Elijah told him that if he witnessed his being taken up into heaven, his prayer would be granted, and so it was. When Elisha asked the question, I don’t for a moment believe he was asking in despair or doubt, but in faith, calling upon the Name of the LORD with expectation – for he had smitten the waters with his mantel. The water was parted by the hand of God, according to the prophet’s request. 

So now we pick up on the second half of this article as found in 2 KINGS 6:8–7:20. 

2 KINGS 6:8-12 
Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. 

While we in the church may not experience the sort of spiritual gifting that Elisha had, in his God-given abilities, we are nonetheless guided by the Holy Spirit, Who grants us gifts for the church, insight and discernment into the things of this world, in both its visible and invisible aspects. 

When it comes to the workings of our enemy, the LORD is assuredly keeping us safe and apprised on what is happening, because His Word speaks eloquently and sufficiently of the days and times in which we live, such times as were prophesied thousands of years ago. Indeed, like Paul we are not ignorant of Satan’s devices (2 COR 2:11) and his methods (EPH 6:11). And we are to be ever vigilant and watchful, like sentries on duty, against the attacks from the enemy which may be blatant (EZEK 3:17; 33:2,7; 1 PET 5:8) or subtle (2 COR 11:3). 

The SCHEMES of SATAN – IGNOBLE and GLOBAL

There is no battle plan of Satan’s that the LORD hasn’t known of from before the time of the beginning; we might be (temporarily) blind to such assaults, but the LORD has known of them even before Satan planned them and in anticipation of their commencement, our GOD has made ample provision in the Scriptures to arm us with the Truth which like Light, dispels darkness and deception!

While Satan is composing, conducting and orchestrating all of his forces in these last days and constructing his new world order, we who are the church have diligently studied the scriptures both practical and prophetic, understand what the finished construct will look like, complete with a global government, a false world religion and a unified economy that will effectively ‘lock out’ any and all who will be considered politically and ecumenically incorrect, specifically biblical Christians and saints of the Living God.

Our worldview here at TTUF prophetically speaking is a pre-tribulational (specifically prior to the start of the 70th week of Daniel), pre-millennial one, so we hold to the perspective that the church will not go through the time of Jacob’s Trouble, otherwise known as Daniel’s 70th week (the final “shavuwah” or a week of [7] years). 

Nevertheless we may still be here when the one world government is in place, but before the Beast assumes control over it (See DAN 7:7-8). As time proceeds it will be vital that we as Christians not be taken by surprise, just as the King of Israel was not surprised at the war schemes of his Syrian enemies, but only because God had granted His prophet warnings to deliver to him; we must be aware of what is transpiring, prepare for the eventualities that they will involve in every way, but especially spiritually, and to warn others that may not be aware (perhaps unwillingly) of what’s transpiring before us in these last days!

2 KINGS 6:13 
And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. 

The King of Syria was a shrewd tactician; he understood that as long as the King of Israel had a prophet in his keeping, there would be no way to gain a tactical advantage over his armies, and launch a pre-emptive surprise attack. So he commanded that Elisha be ‘fetched’ that is, seized or arrested. The Syrian King wanted to steal the King’s prophet. 

Just so, Satan desires to steal away the advantages of the church – the Word of God and sound teachings based solely upon this precious and exclusive Truth Source (AMOS 8:11); as well as this, stealing away our First Love by distracting us, getting us busy in enterprises and exercises that will lead us away from the feet of our LORD, where Mary was apt to stay during the earthly days of the LORD Jesus’ ministry (REV 2:4-5). 

And as well as this, to get us walking in the flesh, not in the Spirit – by such distractions as getting politically, economically and socially involved in some vain attempt to ‘recapture the world (or at least our nation) for Christ’ – a carnal objective that the NAR and Dominionists have in mind – which is wholly unbiblical, never commanded by our LORD Jesus, and sets our affections on this world (COL 3:2), not on the Kingdom which the Messiah King Himself will usher in (DAN 2:34–45)! We are indeed to be salt and light in this world (MATT 5:13-14), but with the objective of conviction of sin in the lives of the lost and pointing them to the kingdom of God which He Himself (not the church) will inaugurate! 

The HOME ADVANTAGE -

2 KINGS 6:14-15 
Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 

This young man was no doubt unnerved to see the Syrian army parked outside of their front door, effectively surrounding the entire city along with the two of them; in a panic he rushes in to tell the prophet the bad news! 
When bad news finds us, where do we run to first? I don’t always keep my priorities straight, and run to God FIRST; but if we are all learning our spiritual lessons, this practice will become our priority. Now . . . listen carefully to Elisha’s words in response to this question: 

2 KINGS 6:16 
And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 

Perhaps the words of comfort from the prophet sounded hollow in the ears of the young servant; maybe he thought them as nothing more than religious platitudes – because he could actually SEE the Syrian army, a forest of bristling spears and swords that glinted and gleamed in the sun light, but where was the help that this prophet spoke of? There was only the prophet and himself!

Notice however what the prophet does NOT say: “they that are with us are more than them.” The young servant might have understood in some abstract way that God was on their side, and His host of angels, but where WERE the "they"? Yet what the prophet actually said was “…THEY that are with them…” The “them” of course was the Syrian army . . . but who were the “they”?
I think the young servant was not at all consoled by the prophet’s words; he just couldn’t hear them! And he couldn’t see what the prophet was referring to either! Elisha could probably still see fear in his eyes, because he then goes on in prayer:

PRAYER for PRECISION PERCEPTION -

2 KINGS 6:17 
... LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 

God then opened the young man’s ‘eyes’ so that he could see the same thing that Elisha no doubt could see; the host of heaven standing between the Syrian army and the two of them! God alone can grant spiritual vision for us to see His glory and power by; He alone can grant spiritual hearing so that we may understand spiritual truth. God alone makes the necessary provisions by which we can rightly discern the diverse domains of God’s Divine kingdom and the diabolical kingdom of the devil.

In these days, we may well be like the young servant: seeing the forces of this world marshaling themselves together in all the various realms that we can view on the nightly news – all those things we read about in newsletters and the Internet that are an integral part of this new world order whose primary target will be those biblical Christians defiantly non-compliant to their directives. Such things may cause us to become unnerved and in a panic run around from one place to another, seeking counsel and comfort, having no peace at all but a constant stream of anxiety and unrest.

In such times, may God provide us with our own Elisha, a mature saint who will pray for us, and beseech the LORD to open our eyes to the Holy Sovereignty and Almighty power of the LIVING GOD – or may we come to our spiritual senses enough to pray on our own behalf, asking God to give us insight and understanding regarding the days in which we live and the assurance of knowing that He as the LORD of Heaven, rides upon the storms of this world as the Supreme Authority (See FROM the MIND of FIRE – A Different Sermon on Another Mount).

So the young man knew that they were safe and secure by those that were “with them”, but who were those that were “with” the Syrian forces? The scripture doesn’t say, but I think it’s a foregone conclusion that the “they” in reference to those with the Syrian forces were in fact the fallen angels of Satan’s dark domain!

God didn’t allow those evil forces to be revealed to the young man because it wasn’t necessary: they were just as irrelevant as was Satan himself prior to the time when God lifted His hedge of protection round about Job! Satan admitted that as long as God maintained that hedge, he couldn’t get at Job. 

And for all his power and wiles, Satan cannot get at the child of God who is sealed by the Spirit of God and walking in His power – yet how vulnerable is that child of God who is walking in the flesh and not the Spirit but who knows better, who leaves off the armor of God and understands nothing of spiritual warfare when they ought to be so engaged in battle and mature enough to teach others!

This is not to say that its unimportant to know about Satan’s kingdom, that we can ignore it without caution, because this is contrary to the ample admonitions of scripture to not be “ignorant of Satan’s devices” and to “be vigilant for our adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion”, etc. 

No, we are to be aware of this spiritual warfare and the enemy at large; we are to take action at the leading of our Great General and Captain of the LORD’s Hosts, the LORD Jesus Christ; but we are forbidden to experience either anxiety or ambivalence! Our spiritual livelihoods and well being are at stake, to say nothing of the eternal destiny of lost souls if we ignore this calling of God in spiritual warfare!

TO SEE or NOT TO SEE – THAT is the QUANDARY

2 KINGS 6:18 
And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 

Now in absolute boldness, Elisha takes initiative, advances and goes to meet with this vast Syrian horde and note that the servant goes with him! God hears the prayer of His righteous prophet and smites these soldiers with blindness. Take note that just as God gave Elisha and his servant sight to see with, He denies the enemy such vision so that they are blinded by God and helpless!

Sin is a terribly destructive and blinding force, the greatest in fact that there is; its appropriate to remember that it took no one less than GOD made flesh to destroy the power of sin for those that believe!

Satan in his own blindness, having been subjected to the power of sin for well over several millennia, cannot see his own defeat, cannot hear the sound of eternal judgment approaching, cannot know (yet at least) that God’s victory is inevitable, such is the blindness and pride that he suffers. The LORD God will further blind His enemy where the lives of His children are concerned, where ever and how ever it pleases Him to do so, so that we, the ekklesia may pass on and further into God’s perfect will in our lives as we fulfill the Great Commission He has ordained for us. May we do so in our short time remaining!

2 KINGS 6:19-20 
And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 

I don’t know about you, but I find an incredible amount of rip-roaring humor in that single word “led” there in vs. 19! Picture this!

DEFEATED BEFORE the WARFARE was DECLARED –

The magnificent military of Syria, the pride of their King, riding towards Elisha with complete confidence, capable captains and courage aplenty with lethal weapons and fierce horses; they believe that procuring a single, solitary man, prophet or not, would be an easy prey. Yet upon confronting this lone man, they are suddenly smitten with blindness and become as helpless as babes! The man of God tenderly, carefully leads them all the way to Samaria; occasionally he looks over his shoulder to make sure he hasn’t lost any, and perhaps each soldier clasps the soldier directly in front of them in a train of clambering, shuffling and stumbling men!

When the Prophet beseeches the LORD to open their eyes again, they find themselves not in some remote, tiny village where they found Elisha, but in the very capital of Israel! Surrounded by the overwhelming numbers of Israel’s own army!

2 KINGS 6:21-22 
And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. 

The King of Israel repeating himself seems to be somewhat eager, or even anxious to wipe out these enemies of his, so close to home, but the prophet speaks rationally to him, reminding the King that he wouldn’t slay prisoners of war; and that’s exactly what these are! Without a single arrow shot by a Hebrew archer, without a single blow of sword from a warrior of Judah, the enemy of Israel was captured and defeated by the power of the LORD – for indeed, the battle is not ours, but it belongs to the LORD Who alone grants our victory in spiritual warfare (2 CHRON 20:17)! 

When the LORD delivers our enemies into our hands, its always by His power and for His glory; we must remember that any spiritual victory in this warfare is not just an opportunity, but a calling to worship in thanksgiving and honor to our King!

The BEATTITUDE of BENEVOLENCE -

The benevolence of the prophet reminds us that our real battle is not against flesh and blood – that is, humanity; no, our warfare is against spiritual principalities and powers. For the former, we saints are ambassadors of Christ (2 COR 5:20), beseeching them in the stead of Christ Jesus to be reconciled to God; for the latter we are warriors of God (EPH 6:12; 2 COR 10:3-5), Who Himself declared war upon in the early chapter of GEN 3:15. Elisha conducts himself just as our LORD and the apostle Paul have admonished us: 

MATTHEW 5:44 
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 

ROMANS 12:14 
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 

2 KINGS 6:23 
And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

Out of the abundance of Israel’s God given provisions, Elisha gave these would-be executioners of the Hebrew nation more than enough food to make it back to their own King. An accurate portrayal of “doing unto others as we would have them do unto us”!

BITTER, BANEFUL ROOTS -

2 KINGS 6:24-25 
And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.  And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver. 

How tragic that Ahab the King of Israel disobeyed God when He ordered that King Benhadad be slain along with his armed forces; had he done so, Benhadad would not then been in a position to afflict Israel in the manner we see here. Because of Ahab’s disobedience to the LORD, dire consequences fell upon the present King of Israel as well as the nation (1 KINGS 20:42). 

Whereas Benhadad failed in gaining any tactical advantage by subtlety, he then employed more overt but equally hostile means of destroying the King and people of Israel that had shown leniency upon him previously. As a type of Satan, here Benhadad represents the sort of relentless, persistent, malicious foe that we face; one that will brook no severance by those who’ve been translated from his kingdom of darkness and into the marvelous light of God’s own kingdom, one with whom we can never settle by treaty or compromise that would engender peace for both sides.

Where covert cunning cannot win the day for Satan, a belligerent battle plan begins; by either means, the war with the enemy will continue until he is finally judged and condemned to his eternal place of torment and unrest.

As the church of Jesus Christ, we cannot afford to be less diligent in our warfare, but a defensive war is not a winning plan! Only in offensive maneuvers that gains ground will be effective, and by means of the Gospel, prayer, and spiritual warfare is this accomplished through the Spirit of grace!

SOBRIETY vs. STARVATION –

Satan today has besieged the church, surrounding and penetrating us with false doctrines, with a curse of uncertainty as to the inerrant, infallible Word of God; with false (so called ‘new’) spirituality and prayer (read that, mind-altering mantra meditation!) – he is essentially starving the church out!

Rare is the find of the bread and water, the milk and the meat of God’s Word being provided for the sheep in any abundance; rather the saints are expected to subsist on cotton candy Christianity, ‘fun and positive’ messages that have little or nothing to do with Holy Scripture. Is it any wonder that spiritually speaking, the bride of Christ is anorexic and unable due to her depleted condition to wage any kind of effective warfare against this roaring lion called Satan?

In a time of famine, food comes at a dear price. The cost of God’s Word is beyond price, as its value resides in the fact that this is the ONLY source, bar none (!!) of spiritual truth! Yet Israel has rejected God’s Word and His prophets, and as a result, we see Israel so plagued: by God’s grace, may we learn this valuable lesson!

From Matthew Henry we have the following:

“Learn to value plenty, and to be thankful for it; see how contemptible money is, when in time of famine it is so freely parted with for any thing that is eatable! The language of Jehoram to the woman may be the language of despair.
“See the word of God fulfilled; among the threatenings of God's judgments upon Israel for their sins, this was one, that they should eat the flesh of their own children, (DEUT 28:53-57). 
“The truth and the awful justice of God were displayed in this horrible transaction. Alas! What miseries sin has brought upon the world! But the foolishness of man perverts his way, and then his heart frets against the Lord. The king swears the death of Elisha.
“Wicked men will blame any one as the cause of their troubles, rather than themselves, and will not leave their sins.
“If rending the clothes, without a broken and contrite heart, would avail, if wearing sackcloth, without being renewed in the spirit of their mind, would serve, they would not stand out against the Lord. May the whole word of God increase in us reverent fear and holy hope – that we may be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

The King of Israel was confronted by a woman who begged for intervention during the peak of this famine; apparently she agreed with her neighbor that they would take turns slaying and eating their children! She produced her own child which they ate, but then refused to produce her own – and this was the cause of her complaint; and the King’s reaction to all of this?

2 KINGS 6:30-31 
And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh. Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day. 

He blames this righteous prophet for the very dilemma for which Israel herself and her leadership was to be blamed for! How very like the unrighteous to shift the blame onto anyone else, just so long as we don’t have to confess our sins as our own! Adam did likewise, as did King Saul – as do we all when we are unwilling to admit our failings and our sins! Perhaps this is one reason why God declared King David to be “a man after My own heart” because unlike too many other people of position and authority, when confronted on his sin, he humbled himself, confessed and repented (2 SAM 12:1–13). 

TO KILL A PROPHET vs. TO SAVE A CITY –

The King dispatches soldiers to execute Elisha, but the LORD grants His prophet discernment and a word of knowledge so that he is forewarned of the danger and intercepts his would-be murderers (vs.32–33). 

Elisha then declares that within a twenty four hour period after such a severe famine:

2 KINGS 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. 

God made His pronouncement over Israel, granting by His grace, such a provision as would seem unimaginable. There is much in Scripture that seems unimaginable, particularly to the skeptic and the humanist; yet for those of us who devoutly believe GEN 1:1, everything else that follows is entirely possible with Almighty God (MATT 19:26). When once God makes His pronouncement of victory in this campaign we Christians are engaged in, we do well to believe it fully, and not like this profane leader of Israel that responded with doubt at the words of Elisha:

2 KINGS 7:2 
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? . . . 

To which Elisha responded: 

2 KINGS 7:2 
. . . Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

At that time, four lepers who knew their time of death was nearing decided to go pay the Syrian camp of soldiers a little visit. Their reasoning was that, “We are going to die any way, we might as well go and see if perhaps the Syrians will pity us and give us some food.” Yet if they didn’t, it would mean a quick end of life rather than the slow agonizing death of leprosy!

God then caused the sound of chariots and horses to be heard by the Syrians, who in a delusional state of paranoia thought that Israel had hired the Hittites and the Egyptians as mercenaries to come deal with them! They fled, leaving their tents and encampment vacant for these four doomed men, who to their utter astonishment discovered heaps of food upon every table! And gold and silver treasure besides!

One or two of them came to their senses after such a heady discovery and said:

2 KINGS 7:9 
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. 

Interesting how these four lepers had greater understanding and conviction than today’s common variety Christian who wields greater depths and heights of “good tidings” in the Gospel, and yet doesn’t understand that “we do not well” in not sharing this incredibly good news with a spiritually starved world, bereft of spiritual life and blessing in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God and LORD of all! We may not have the opportunity to declare this good news to Kings, but we can avail ourselves to neighbors, friends, family, etc. and by God’s grace see them ushered into the Kingdom of God and made to be kings (and priests)! 

The lepers, four in number (as are the number of the Gospel writers – interesting!) bring this news to the porters, who then deliver the word to the King, and he suspects a trap laid out by the Syrians – an ambush to catch a desperate army in peril of starvation in the midst of feeding, only to be slain by their swords! How very like the wicked who are suspicious and skeptical, and unbelieving of the good news of God and timid when it comes to great exploits or walking by faith which they disparage! 

PROVERBS 28:1 
The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

The SLAYING SIN of SKEPTISICM –

The King’s servants beseech him to send out a reconnaissance mission and seek out the truth of the matter, which he allows. As this party nears the Syrian encampment they see clothes and vessels of precious gold and silver strewn about the ground in a trail leading away from the camp. They report back to the King and tell him that it’s all true! The Syrians had fled their camp and left behind their provisions as well as a wealth of precious metals!

A virtual stampede of desperate people began racing towards their salvation of stores when the same skeptical leader of the King tried to ‘manage the situation’ and ended up trampled to death. His words perhaps echoed in the minds of those that heard him in that day of deliberate doubt:

2 KINGS 7:19 
. . . Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. 

Doubters may doubt, believing lies rather than the truth of God’s Word, but the truth is sure and steadfast, and will prevail no matter how our enemy assails and attacks it. The truth is under fire today just as it was in the days of Elijah and Elisha, but warriors of the LORD can and will place their implicit trust in the Word of the LORD, and as the greatest and most valiant of weapons that we can wield, engage in a successful warfare! 

PSALMS 100:5 
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. 

PSALMS 117:2 
For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD. 

PSALMS 18:2 
The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.