This chapter tells of an army commander who dies by the end of the chapter. This is referred to as the curse of unbelievers. In this chapter, the author emphasizes a theme: faith. Elisha represents a giant of faith, through whose hands many miracles were performed. However, in this chapter, he is merely a supporting character; the protagonist is an army commander. This protagonist makes us aware of one thing: how deep is the curse brought about by an unbeliever! He did not kill or set fires, nor did he do anything immoral. He simply said, Even if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could this be? (2 Kings 7:2). What does this mean?

Questions for Reflection:

Why do some Christians not experience God's promises?

What lessons should we learn from the tragedy of this army commander?

The Curse of Death Brought by Unbelievers

If the Lord opens the windows of heaven, if the King of Heaven pours out a blessing in a place, how could this not be possible? Even if it is one shekel, two shekels, even if it costs nothing, this is very simple for God. Did Elisha not instruct the widow to pour oil into all the vessels for free (See 2 Kings 4)? If the Lord opens the windows of heaven, nothing is impossible.

However, there are not many people with such faith; there are especially many people without faith. For example, I prayed for a patient with bone cancer, and she was able to walk. Before that, she had not been able to walk for a long time. Her two sons said: the doctor said it was impossible, so even if God comes, it won’t work. As a result, her mother passed away. Smart people who experience these things should want to seek even more; in fact, it is a very simple thing. But if a person has no faith, they will appear very foolish. If you want to discern whether a person is smart or not, you have to see if they have faith or not. People without faith, facing desperate circumstances, will only say negative things, and then only experience negative things.

God is the Greatest Energy

No matter what the situation, we must follow the example of those who have faith. When the situation of mothers eating their own children appeared in the city of Samaria, what did Elisha eat? I think Elisha didn't eat at all, yet he still lived. We must all know:

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

From a medical point of view, this is considered impossible; but we must trust in God, because it is recorded in the Scripture: Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights, neither eating nor drinking, yet he remained alive before God (See Deuteronomy 9:9). In addition, Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights, neither eating nor drinking, and also lived. God's work is so wonderful! The Bible says: the God we believe in is a God of great power. All the energy in the universe comes from God. So, Elisha actually didn't eat anything. In Korea in the 1950s and 60s, there was a group of people who were very poor and often had no food to eat. Pastors also had no food to eat. In these miserable days, they fasted and prayed. Through fasting and prayer, they not only did not get sick, nor did they starve to death, but many diseases they originally had disappeared. Does this make sense? This does not make sense from a human perspective, but it makes sense from God's perspective.

Brothers and sisters, our enemy is not anything else, but worldly concepts and human thinking. When we look at problems with human eyes, we often feel despair! But if we can establish a Godly system of thought and think like Elisha, miracles will be manifested. Therefore, in Israel, since ancient times, there has been a saying: Man proposes, God disposes. God finds it amusing when He sees people thinking. It’s like we have a puppy at home, if we are thinking about the same problem at the same time, our thinking must be at a completely different level. Therefore, everyone should learn to put the logic of God's thinking in our minds.

God's Logic: Bringing Something Out of Nothing

One of the Godly thinking logic is to bring something out of nothing. Our God is a God who brings something out of nothing, a God who resurrects from the dead. Human ability is limited, facing disease, what we humans can often do is to do what we can, do our best. But our God is the God who can resurrect people from the dead. So every time I meet some brothers and sisters who are in desperate situations, I will say to them: this is a small matter, we will definitely overcome it with faith. When this brother or sister thinks carefully: he/she will really see things as small, and then quickly come out of the desperate situation. I think such words are simple to say and sound rough, but in any case, as long as it can build people's faith, it is good.

The army commander written about in this chapter, he looked at problems with human thinking: in this situation, the large army is besieging, and our city's food has been used up. Thinking from a human perspective, it is truly a desperate situation. The army of Aram surrounded the city of Samaria, and the mountains and plains were full of the army of Aram, how could we fight? Without Godly thinking and vision, nothing can be done. But Elisha made a proclamation, Elisha said: tomorrow about this time, this grain will be worthless (See 2 Kings 7:1). But this army commander, he did not have such faith. If we encounter this kind of thing, we must not learn from this army commander. This army commander not only thought it was impossible, but then added a sentence: even if God opens the windows of heaven, it is impossible (See 2 Kings 7:2). If one day you are sick, and I say to you: it's okay, you will definitely be healed. You quickly say: Amen! Then you will definitely be healed, that is how you must declare it.

Learn to Believe, No Matter the Circumstances

I want to share a very important concept with everyone: Behind every tragedy, there is fundamentally a curse. Even a good non-believer will experience curses. Therefore, if you see a Christian experiencing many misfortunes, you should know that they are not truly a believer. If someone is a believer, they will surely turn things around from these misfortunes. Thus, the word we most commonly use is turnaround. Some people, when they first arrive, do not quite understand what is meant by turnaround, but they recognize that it is a positive and proactive term.

Therefore, I encourage everyone to move from a world of unbelief into a world of belief. No matter what circumstances you encounter, learn to believe. Once you believe, faith is like a conductor that can bring God's power into your life. What is unbelief? It is like connecting an insulated glove or an insulator to a power source. How can the light then shine?

There was a person whose parents came to me and said, Reverend Liu, we have seen many Christians whose lives are very tragic. I said to them, I do not know these people you speak of, nor am I clear about their situations. But since you have said it, it must be true. I think the problem lies in faith. Therefore, brothers and sisters, you must begin to understand that unbelief, even in a good person who has not murdered or committed arson, will bring curses! So, in any case, learn to believe. What is unbelief? Adhering to worldly values, human values, human logic—this is called unbelief. But we must be people of faith.

Scripture

2Ki 7:1 Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”
2Ki 7:2 The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this ever happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat of it!”
2Ki 7:3 Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die?
2Ki 7:4 If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city,’ the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the Aramean camp and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”
2Ki 7:5 At dusk they got up and went to the Aramean camp. When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there,
2Ki 7:6 for the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!”
2Ki 7:7 So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents, their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.
2Ki 7:8 The men with leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. Then they returned and entered another tent and carried off some things from it and hid them also.
2Ki 7:9 Then they said to each other, “What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.”
2Ki 7:10 So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, “We went into the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were.”
2Ki 7:11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.
2Ki 7:12 The king got up in the night and said to his officials, “I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, ‘When the Israelites come out of the city, we will capture them alive and enter the city.’”
2Ki 7:13 One of his officials answered, “Let some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight is like that of all the Israelites left here—yes, they are doomed. So let us send them to find out what has happened.”
2Ki 7:14 So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, “Go and find out what has happened.”
2Ki 7:15 They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the messengers returned and reported to the king.
2Ki 7:16 Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley also sold for a shekel, as the Lord had said.
2Ki 7:17 Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house.
2Ki 7:18 It happened as the man of God had told the king: “About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”
2Ki 7:19 The officer had said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this ever happen?” And the man of God had replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it!”
2Ki 7:20 And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.