2 Kings 7

2Ki 7:1-16.

ELISHA

PROPHESIES

INCREDIBLE

PLENTY IN

SAMARIA.

1. Hear ye the word of the Lord--This prediction, though uttered first

to the assembled elders, was intimated to the king's messengers, who

reported it to Jehoram

(2Ki 7:18).

To-morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for

a shekel, &c.--This may be estimated at a peck of fine flour for

2s. 6d., and two pecks of barley at the same price.

in the gate of Samaria--Vegetables, cattle, all sorts of country

produce, are still sold every morning at the gates of towns in the

East.

2. a lord on whose hand the king leaned--When an Eastern king walks

or stands abroad in the open air, he always supports himself on the arm

of the highest courtier present.

if the Lord would make windows in heaven--The scoffing infidelity of

this remark, which was a sneer against not the prophet only, but the

God he served, was justly and signally punished (see

2Ki 7:20).

3. there were four leprous men--The account of the sudden raising of

the siege and the unexpected supply given to the famishing inhabitants

of Samaria, is introduced by a narrative of the visit and discovery, by

these poor creatures, of the extraordinary flight of the Syrians.

leprous men at the entering in of the gate--living, perhaps, in some

lazar house there

(Le 13:4-6;

Nu 5:3).

5. they rose up in the twilight--that is, the evening twilight

(2Ki 7:12).

the uttermost part of the camp of Syria--that is, the extremity nearest

the city.

6, 7. the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of

chariots--This illusion of the sense of hearing, whereby the besiegers

imagined the tramp of two armies from opposite quarters, was a great

miracle which God wrought directly for the deliverance of His people.

8-11. these lepers . . . did eat and drink--After they had appeased

their hunger and secreted as many valuables as they could carry, their

consciences smote them for concealing the discovery and they hastened

to publish it in the city.

10. horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were--The

uniform arrangement of encampments in the East is to place the tents in

the center, while the cattle are picketed all around, as an outer wall

of defense; and hence the lepers describe the cattle as the first

objects they saw.

12-15. the king . . . said unto his servants, I will now show you what

the Syrians have done--Similar stratagems have been so often resorted

to in the ancient and modern wars of the East that there is no wonder

Jehoram's suspicions were awakened. But the scouts, whom he despatched,

soon found unmistakable signs of the panic that had struck the enemy

and led to a most precipitate flight.

2Ki 7:17-20.

THE

UNBELIEVING

LORD

TRODDEN TO

DEATH.

17. the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned,--&c. The

news spread like lightning through the city, and was followed, as was

natural, by a popular rush to the Syrian camp. To keep order at the

gate, the king ordered his minister to keep guard; but the impetuosity

of the famishing people could not be resisted. The lord was trodden to

death, and Elisha's prophecy in all respects accomplished.