The power of belief and the dread of unbelief
But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seah of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” (2 Kings 7:1, 2 ESV)
Unbelief will harm you
In our text, we read the story of when the prophet Elisha delivered the powerful Word of the Lord to a disparaged people. Unbelief can harm you. Now, for the people receiving the Word, those with enough sense to say nothing against the man of God, they were sensible. But, as you read the bible accentuate the fact that the captain was a man of influence, for the text reads that the king leaned on him, unbelief is a horrible thing. The bible repeats this again, actually, just before chronicling how this unbelieving captain was trampled to death by all the people rushing through the gate of the city to gather the spoils. Real quick, the history is such: God’s people were in trouble from oncoming Syrians. Elisha delivered the Word of deliverance. The captain speaks unbelief. Elisha pronounces the judgment. God scared the entire army of Syrians in the night. The empty camp was discovered by lepers. The lepers told the people and the people rushed out to get the spoils left behind. Well, that’s one aspect of the story. Another aspect is the fact that King Joram was unbelieving for not humbling himself. He was the child of Ahab, the king who opposed Elisha’s predecessor, Elijah. Joram blamed the prophet for the woes around him instead of getting right with God. The king went with his captain to get the prophet and cut of his head. So, in one sense we see the king’s unbelief of the Covenant line of David, as Joram was illegitimate to the throne. He refused to humble himself to the correction of the Lord through the prophet Elisha. In another way, we read of the unbelief of the captain, who was stationed at the gate, a very important position mind you, and this captain scoffed at the man of God. This captain made a mocking reference to Noah’s flood when the captain referenced the windows, or floodgates, of heaven. So, we read about his demise for his audacity to incite fear based upon his own inflated ego, based on a faulted life script he had for himself. He read to himself that he was an important man who had the power to execute life and deliver from death. He prided in a king, who actually wasn’t legitimate, but he told himself that it was alright anyway, because at a deeper level he despised God’s ways and the covenant, for if he honored God’s ways and the covenant then he should have recognized the abominable state of affairs and would have recognized the man of God and followed him instead; but, in the presence of the king and in the presence of the leaders who were with Elisha, the prophet of God, the captain uttered his shameless unbelief. While the captain was trampled by the people rushing to get food and supply, the king would be further shamed in losing his own hand, the captain, before the people; for if the king had believed the prophet and likewise lamented his own sins, then Joram would’ve sent his most capable and trusted captain to the Syrian camp to oversee its distribution instead of trying to uphold a now meaningless position at the gate, for what use is a gatekeeper in a city stricken with famine? The people need to leave to get food and not cower in fear.
Belief will bless you
The prophet showed his colors as we see Elisha held confidence where lesser men would cower to circumstance and intimidation. We don’t see unbelief in the man of God. The prophet Elisha didn’t cower when the lofty powerful king of Israel came to execute him. The Spirit of God informed Elisha of the coming Joram and told Elisha exactly what to do. So, as it is, the man of God delivered the Word and this very Word was the saving of the city. Before it even came to pass, before there was any inkling of triumph, the man of God already knew it for the Spirit of God told him so. So, instead of getting his head chopped off, Elisha’s prominence continued to grow and the people of God were delivered of the Syrians and of famine. When you believe and honor God, His covenant, and His ways, you, too, can be a target for the enemy. And the enemy uses his illegitimate authority to try and take you out. You have a story friend and it’s up to you to hold fast to the script God gives you. You’re not like the captain of the king who trusted in the appearance of the times, because at his hour of testing it seemed that all the power and security was with the king; believe in what God tells you, what He shares with you about what needs to happen, about who you are; and, most notably, about the message you are to deliver. If you’re choked in unbelief, you won’t hear what God is saying to help anybody. You can be that person who will hear exactly was God is saying to help everyone around you even when the times look like it’s just trouble and more trouble ahead. Hey, how would you handle the chief officer of the land personally coming to your door with his soldier to personally chop your head off? Don’t sweat the story the world will give you no matter the intimidations. Believe in God. Believe His story. Believe in who God has called you to be in these perilous times. Believe His story for you and deliver the message you’re supposed to no matter what. It may very well be the difference in people getting food on the table or the world getting your head on a platter! So, while the bluster and polish of the times may favor those who are deceived by their own apparent success, it’s not the strength of personal belief alone that matters. It’s the confidence that is based on God, on His Word, what He is saying about you and the times, what He says your story is and what the story is for the hour at hand, it’s the belief found in God that matters.
What are the intimidations working against you in your life right now? What is God’s Word specifically for your hour of testing? Here is what I’d like you to do. Articulate God’s provision as He says it and post this where people can see it. Do this this week and continue about your journey of faith. You will then have a reference point of public faith about God’s provision, not only for yourself but for as many as would believe. This will expose the unbelief and provoke those people who are more aligned with fear and the powers of the world and those people who would rather you weren’t around; and it will put you in a place to see God’s deliverance. It’s one thing to believe for good things in private, but, as you’ll see, and some of you know, it’s quite another to proclaim God’s truth and provision before the very people who try to intimidate you and would rather have you believe a story of their choosing, a story line where anyone who makes them look bad just disappears. No. Don’t disappear friend. Proclaim your belief and articulate God’s provision.
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