Day 184 – Elisha & the Famine

• Today we finish our last full day on the prophet Elisha. He’s been busy the last few days, hasn’t he!
• The continued sin of Israel’s kings has led to widespread famine. The first few verses of today’s readings in 2 Kings 6 describe the desperate situation, and it makes shocking reading, not least the bits that recall the fact that some people had resorted to cannibalism. Of course, at no point does the Bible condone such activity, although it records it occurring at several points.
• Joram is still king of Israel at this point. What happens in his conversation with the woman at the wall in the passage at the end of 2 Kings 6?
• Joram leaves in an angry mood. Clearly the story the woman tells has upset him (it’s an unimaginably ghastly story), but where does Joram direct his anger? By vowing to kill Elisha, who is Joram blaming for the famine and suffering? Who actually is to blame for the awful situation in Israel?
• What does Elisha promise the king in 2 Kings 7:1? Use your study bible, if you have one, to find out what the price of the flour means. Elisha is, in effect, saying that good times will come back again. What is the reaction of the king’s officer?
• What happened with the lepers? What is their logic for going to the Arameans (or Syrians in some bibles), and what do they find? What good decision do the lepers make in 2 Kings 7:9?
• What was the reaction of the king to the message from the lepers? Do you think the king had forgotten about, or didn’t trust, the promise God made through Elisha in verse 1? Or perhaps did he just not consider that God may be working out His plans in a different way than the king presumed?
• How does the prophecy in 2 Kings 7:2 about the officer come true?
• How did Elisha die, as explained in the final passage today?

If you have a few minutes more, think about the situation with the famine. The famine is so awful that unthinkable things are happening. The captain and the people may have been wondering why God wasn’t providing for them. Perhaps they had given up hope. Then Elisha suggests flour will be plentiful the next day and they simply don’t believe him (even if rain came, it would have been months before the crops could grow back).

God doesn’t always work as we would except Him, though, does He? Nothing is beyond Him, and He worked a miracle through a whisper in the Syrian camp. Can you think of a situation which you think is beyond God’s power? A situation where it’s almost impossible to believe that something good could come from it? Have you given up hope, or prayer? Perhaps you could spend time praying for outrageous good to come into that situation, and trust that God can work in it.