2Ki 7:1-20  “A measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria”

[Study Aired October 6, 2022]

In this section of Kings, we will see how God deals with the negative messenger within us (2Ki 6:33) who represents our lack of faith, our oh-you-of-little-faith part of us (Mat 14:31) which must be destroyed (2Ki 7:20) in order for the new man of faith to come forth (1Pe 1:7).

Mat 14:31  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 

2Ki 7:20  And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died. 

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Right after the messenger, in  verses 32 and 33 of last week’s study, demonstrates his lack of faith, Elisha gives us the solution to what will be needed to be helped in our unbelief, and the solution is “a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.” The “two measures of barley for a shekel” represents the life of Christ, our head, and the “measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel” represents the body of Christ which is steadily becoming more and more refined through the fiery trials of this life that bring forth the fine flour that represents God’s word within us that strengthens and nourishes us (1Pe 4:12,15).

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 

Php 2:15  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

The two principal characters in every story God has inspired in His word, are the old man and the new man within us, and keeping that principle in mind we will see in this story there is a progression that takes place for the new man who has to become convinced of God’s favor and come to believe that nothing can separate us from His love – not famine, not war, not disease. These type-and-shadow stories that were written for our sakes upon whom the end of the world has come are a great encouragement for God’s elect as they show us how God tries our faith to bring us to the only right conclusion – He is working all things according to the counsel of His own will. Within our lives as first fruits this means that all things will work together for good because of the love of God shed abroad in our hearts to His glory and honor (1Co 10:11, Rom 5:5, Rom 8:32.

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 

Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

2Ki 7:1  Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

The above verse is talking about a specific purpose statement out of the mouth of God’s prophet, boldly prophesying that there will be spiritual meat given in due season. As earlier discussed, it will come from Christ who is represented by “two measures of barley for a shekel” and made manifest in the church the body of Christ represented by “a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel” (Eph 3:10). Three “measures” in total complete the process of judgment [3] upon the body of Christ. All of this takes place at the “gate of Samaria” which represents our yet carnal minds which need to be ruled over at the gate through the power of God’s holy spirit, His word, that quickens and judges us in this age if we are part of God’s elect – “a remnant according to the election of grace” (1Pe 4:17, Rom 11:5).

Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Rom 11:5  Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

2Ki 7:2  Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

This section of God’s word is an admonition showing us that evil communications corrupt good manners, and the king leaning on the lord’s hand symbolizes how outside influences can bring about a doubting heart (Act 13:40-41, 1Co 15:33, Pro 3:3, Pro 3:5-7).

Act 13:40  Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; 
Act 13:41  Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

1Co 15:33  Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 

Pro 3:3  Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 

Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 
Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

The Lord rewards us according to the idol of our own hearts, and so Elisha tells this lord that “Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof” regarding, in type, God’s spiritual provision which is given to those who are granted to believe and do the work of God (Joh 6:28-29, Rom 2:13, Jas 1:22).

Joh 6:28  Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 
Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Rom 2:13  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Jas 1:22  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

2Ki 7:3  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? 
2Ki 7:4  If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.
2Ki 7:5  And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.

Our physical life is all vanity (Ecc 12:8), and the whole of our vain imaginations is being expressed with this statement: “And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate” where that fleshly mind conjures up all sorts of ideas about what we think the Lord is going to do in our lives and what the end result of this trial and that trial is going to be. In the end we learn that God will deliver us from them all (Psa 34:18-19), and even our lack of faith plays perfectly into that which God has ordained for us to experience in this life – “and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?” The rhetorical question is asked therefore over and over as we learn to trust Christ through the weakness and lack of faith on our part so that we give all glory to our Father when we are delivered from the storms He raises in our lives (Mat 14:31, Psa 107:25-29). This is the ‘doubting Thomas’ moment of these four leprous men expressed this way: “If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.” Their words are very comparable to what Thomas spoke while with Christ (Joh 11:15-17).

Psa 34:18  The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. 
Psa 34:19  Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

Mat 14:31  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. 
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. 
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

Joh 11:15  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. 
Joh 11:16  Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. 
Joh 11:17  Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. [The four days are again a symbol of how God brings us to a point of feeling utterly and wholly hopeless so He can deliver us in such moments because of our crying out in fear (Heb 5:7)].

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh [Eph 5:30, 1Jn 4:17, 1Jn 4:3], when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 

1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh [Col 1:27] is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

The end result of our unbelief, (“And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there“), results in the Lord telling us to be believing and be still and behold the salvation of the Lord, “Behold, there was no man there.” (Mat 21:21, Exo 14:13)

Mat 21:21  Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

Exo 14:13  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

2Ki 7:6  For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. 
2Ki 7:7  Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. 

We don’t want to be the troubled Syrian any longer who hears “a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host” remembering Christ’s admonition, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” The end result of the Syrians being driven away by “the sound of a shaken leaf” (Lev 26:36) is that Israel could now be supernaturally provided for as these spoils of the Syrians were now there for the taking. This supernatural provision toward Israel is a shadow for God’s elect of how the Lord will always supply our every need through Christ, and this event with Israel and Syria is like the spoiling of the Egyptians: “Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life” (Exo 12:36).

Lev 26:36  And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. 

Exo 12:36  And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

2Ki 7:8  And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it. 
2Ki 7:9  Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.

This story demonstrates the wavering faith that God has called us to overcome in our lives. We must fight a good fight of faith, and that means staying in the word and coming together often as the body of Christ (1Ti 6:12, Heb 10:25).

1Ti 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Heb 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

The lepers represent our sinful nature, and although we are hidden in Christ, Who brings us into the camp of our enemies to show us that they have no defense and that He will provide for us [“And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it“], instead of our being convinced of this, we lack faith and start to doubt God’s purpose and faithful provision for us in this life, at least initially (Mat 17:16-17, Php 2:15).

Mat 17:16  And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 
Mat 17:17  Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

Php 2:15  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

That wavering faith is what this section of the story is about, and so instead of being convinced of God’s mercy and faithfulness toward them in this early stage of our journey, they utter these words: “Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.”

2Ki 7:10  So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were. 
2Ki 7:11  And he called the porters; and they told it to the king’s house within. 
2Ki 7:12  And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.

To confirm the point made earlier, we see the end result of these suspicious lepers who having brought the details of the story to the porter of the city: “So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.” This gatekeeper brings this information to King Ahab who also lacks faith, and so we see this corroding effect that is happening as a result of the little leaven of the lepers who are doubting in type and shadow the promises of God which tells us we will be delivered and that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:35-37).

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Caleb and Joshua are the type and shadow people God wants us to be like who had a different spirit (Num 14:24) and did not speak as Ahab who was full of doubt and suspicion regarding these supernatural events that had unfolded for Israel’s sake, for their good and not for their hurt (Jer 29:11):  “And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.“

Num 14:24  But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

Jer 29:11  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

2Ki 7:13  And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see. 
2Ki 7:14  They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.
2Ki 7:15  And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king. 
2Ki 7:16  And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.

Finally, a voice of reason arises in the midst of all this chaos and lack of faith, and that servant represents a believer whose symbolic request explains the one event which will be common to all men, and that event is judgment, which is a result of the grace through faith God grants to His elect in this age: “I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.“

Wisdom: if you lack the confidence to send out all of Israel, then send out an entourage. Try the spirits, in other words, to determine if they are of the Lord (1Jn 4:1). The good news is that as a result of this wisdom which came forth from the servant, “The people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.” What they discovered as “they went after them unto Jordan” was that “all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.“

There are leaders in our lives whom the Lord has given us who God uses to inspire us and give us the courage to do the same thing they do as we follow them as they followed Christ (1Co 11:1-3). That is what this snippet of scripture is telling us. We should be so grateful for those who have labored before us, leaving a way for us to build upon what God wrought through them (Joh 4:38). The end result of their courageous acts, for which God receives all the glory, is just as it was with the people of Israel who now were reassured that these spoils of the Syrians were put there for our sakes, just as all the spoils of Babylon have been set in the earth for our benefit: “And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.” (Mat 25:29)

1Co 11:1  Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
1Co 11:2  Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.
1Co 11:3  But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. 

Joh 4:38  I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

Mat 25:29  For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

2Ki 7:17  And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him. 
2Ki 7:18  And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria: 
2Ki 7:19  And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. 
2Ki 7:20  And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.

Being trodden under foot represents the death of our old man, and our old man must be trodden under foot 1260 days even as Christ increases and witnesses to us that we are dead to sin and alive in Him (Rev 11:2, Luk 21:24, Rom 6:11).

Rev 11:2  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

Luk 21:24  And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem [Gal 4:26] shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Rom 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, [“Jerusalem (Gal 4:26) shall be trodden down of the Gentiles“] but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Verses 18 and 19 recap this story for us as it explains that the curse which had come upon the servant at the start of the story was from a lack of faith and inability to believe that God would make provision with “Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel“. His faithless response to the prophet Elisha is this: “Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be?” What God tells us to do in order to prevent such a faithless mindset is found in Malachi (Mal 3:9-12). That is the crux of the story – present your life a living sacrifice to God. He will do His part; He will provide for His beloved in this life, and there is nothing to fear on the morrow!

Mal 3:9  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. [Our lack of faith robs God: “behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be?“]
Mal 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse [Rom 12:1], that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 
Mal 3:11  And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. 
Mal 3:12  And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.