“And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?” - 2 Kings 7:3
2020 was a year most of us will never forget. The news media consistently broadcasted grim reports of Covid-19-related deaths. We were expected to carry out safety protocols like distancing and wearing masks. To make things worse, the shelves of most grocery stores were empty. It was difficult to purchase food and supplies. Looking back, our nation was overwhelmed with a sense of fear.
2 Kings chapters 6 and 7 describe a situation far worse than anything we faced in the Covid year. The city of Samaria was under siege. The enemy had compassed the city about, cutting off the supply line that kept the city functioning. Food and similar supplies became scarce. Famine had gripped the people. Circumstances became so dire that a donkey's head and bird dung were sold as food at an expensive cost. People got desperate.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. In desperate times we tend to do things we wouldn't consider at any other time. Desperate times may lead one to an act of lunacy and and another to a heroic deed. In Samaria, two mothers made a pledge. The first day, they would eat the child of the first mother and then eat the other's child the next day. That is lunacy.
With this famine as a backdrop, God used four unlikely people to be heroes of the story. Four lepers were pondering their plight. They were outcasts from the city due to their contagious skin disease. They were dependent upon the generosity of others just to eat and survive. Yet the people who would normally provide food to them were starving themselves. Knowing this, the four lepers had a defining moment. They said among themselves, “Why sit we here until we die?”
Desperate times call for desperate measures. These four lepers were dying of hunger and it prompted them to ask, “Why sit we here until we die?” This is the kind of question we need to ask today. If your church is dying, you need to ask, “Why sit we here until we die?” If your marriage is collapsing, you should ask, “Why sit we here until we die?” As our nation faces destruction, believers should rise up and ask, “Why sit we here until we die?”
The four lepers realized their plight and in their desperation, it prompted them to do something they would have never done under other circumstances. They were going to surrender to the Syrian army. The Syrians had the city surrounded. Surrendering to them probably meant execution --- especially for lepers. Who would want to receive four lepers into their assembly?
Yet the lepers knew they had nothing to lose. They were dying anyhow. Should the Syrians kill them, it would be a more humane death than the one they were facing in Samaria. So the four lepers fled to the Syrian military front.
When they arrived at the Syrian front, the lepers found the camp vacated. The Lord had caused the Syrians to hear the sound of an approaching army, causing the Syrians to flee in a panic. The Syrian army had left behind their food, raiment … everything! Thus, the lepers finally found the food they desperately needed. Ultimately, they shared their experience with the people of Samaria and the famine came to sudden and miraculous end.
This amazing story truly happened. The Lord worked through the lives of four lepers to save a city from starvation.
The Lord is still able to turn things around. He is able to save a marriage from ruin. The Lord can bring prodigals home. He can set people free from addiction. He can save souls. He can revive a church. He can turn a city around just like He did at Nineveh after Jonah's sermon. He can turn a nation around as He did in Josiah's day.
The Lord often uses discontented people who, like the lepers, will say, “Why sit we here until we die?”
The status quo is never sufficient. If we do what we've always done, we shouldn't expect different results. All around us, marriages are failing, drugs are destroying lives, immorality has taken over and souls are perishing daily. Our nation is facing the judgment of God. These are desperate times. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Why sit we here until we die?
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