Through the Bible – Day 131

₁One day the prophets said to Elisha, “The place where we meet with you is too small. ₂Why don't we build a new meeting place near the River Jordan? Each of us could get some wood, then we could build it.”

“That's a good idea,” Elisha replied, “get started.”

₃“Aren't you going with us?” one of the prophets asked.

“Yes, I'll go,” Elisha answered, ₄and he left with them.

They went to the River Jordan and began chopping down trees. ₅While one of the prophets was working, his axe head fell off and dropped into the water. “Oh!” he shouted. “Sir, I borrowed this axe.”

₆“Where did it fall in?” Elisha asked. The prophet pointed to the place, and Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. The axe head floated to the top of the water.

₇“Now get it,” Elisha told him. And the prophet reached in and grabbed it.

₈Time after time, when the king of Syria was at war against the Israelites, he met with his officers and announced, “I've decided where we will set up camp.”

₉Each time, Elisha would send this warning to the king of Israel: “Don't go near there. That's where the Syrian troops have set up camp.” ₁₀So the king would warn the Israelite troops in that place to be on guard.

₁₁The king of Syria was furious when he found out what was happening. He called in his officers and asked, “Which one of you has been telling the king of Israel our plans?”

₁₂“None of us, Your Majesty,” one of them answered. “It's an Israelite named Elisha. He's a prophet, so he can tell his king everything—even what you say in your own room.”

₁₃“Find out where he is!” the king ordered. “I'll send soldiers to bring him here.”

They learnt that Elisha was in the town of Dothan and reported it to the king. ₁₄He ordered his best troops to go there with horses and chariots. They marched out during the night and surrounded the town.

₁₅When Elisha's servant got up the next morning, he saw that Syrian troops had the town surrounded. “Sir, what are we going to do?” he asked.

₁₆“Don't be afraid,” Elisha answered. “There are more troops on our side than on theirs.” ₁₇Then he prayed, “LORD, please help him to see.” And the LORD let the servant see that the hill was covered with fiery horses and flaming chariots all around Elisha.

₁₈As the Syrian army came closer, Elisha prayed, “LORD, make those soldiers blind!” And the LORD blinded them with a bright light.

₁₉Elisha told the enemy troops, “You've taken the wrong road and are in the wrong town. Follow me. I'll lead you to the man you're looking for.” Elisha led them straight to the capital city of Samaria.

₂₀When all the soldiers were inside the city, Elisha prayed, “LORD, now let them see again.” The LORD let them see that they were standing in the middle of Samaria.

₂₁The king of Israel saw them and asked Elisha, “Should I kill them, sir?”

₂₂“No!” Elisha answered. “You didn't capture these troops in battle, so you have no right to kill them. Instead, give them something to eat and drink and let them return to their leader.”

₂₃The king ordered a huge meal to be prepared for Syria's army, and when they finished eating, he let them go.

For a while, the Syrian troops stopped invading Israel's territory.

₂₄Some time later, King Benhadad of Syria called his entire army together, then they marched to Samaria and attacked. ₂₅They kept up the attack until there was nothing to eat in the city. In fact, a donkey's head cost about eighty pieces of silver, and a small bowl of pigeon droppings cost five pieces of silver.

₂₆One day as the king of Israel was walking along the top of the city wall, a woman shouted to him, “Please, Your Majesty, help me!”

₂₇“Let the LORD help you!” the king said. “Do you think I have grain or wine to give you?” ₂₈Then he asked, “What's the matter anyway?”

The woman answered, “Another woman and I were so hungry that we agreed to eat our sons. She said if we ate my son one day, we could eat hers the next day. ₂₉So yesterday we cooked my son and ate him. But today when I went to her house to eat her son, she had hidden him.”

₃₀The king tore off his clothes in sorrow, and since he was on top of the city wall, the people saw that he was wearing sackcloth underneath. ₃₁He said, “I pray that God will punish me terribly, if Elisha's head is still on his shoulders by this time tomorrow.” ₃₂Then he sent a messenger to Elisha.

Elisha was at home at the time, and the important leaders of Israel were meeting with him. Even before the king's messenger arrived, Elisha told the leaders, “That murderer is sending someone to cut off my head. When you see him coming, shut the door and don't let him in. I'm sure the king himself will be just behind him.”

₃₃Before Elisha finished talking, the messenger came up and said, “The LORD has made all these terrible things happen to us. Why should I think he will help us now?”

₁Elisha answered, “I have a message for you. The LORD promises that tomorrow here in Samaria, you will be able to buy a large sack of flour or two large sacks of barley for almost nothing.”

₂The chief officer there with the king replied, “I don't believe it! Even if the LORD sent a rainstorm, it couldn't produce that much grain by tomorrow.”

“You will see it happen, but you won't eat any of the food,” Elisha warned him.

₃About the same time, four men with leprosy were just outside the gate of Samaria. They said to each other, “Why should we sit here, waiting to die? ₄There's nothing to eat in the city, so we would starve if we went inside. But if we stay out here, we will die for certain. Let's sneak over to the Syrian army camp and surrender. They might kill us, but they might not.” _5-8That evening the four men got up and left for the Syrian camp.

As they walked towards the camp, the Lord caused the Syrian troops to hear what sounded like the roar of a huge force of cavalry. The soldiers said to each other, “Listen! The king of Israel must have hired Hittite and Egyptian troops to attack us. Let's get out of here!” So they ran out of their camp that night, leaving their tents and horses and donkeys.

When the four men with leprosy reached the edge of the Syrian camp, no one was there. They walked into one of the tents, where they ate and drank, before carrying off clothes, as well as silver and gold. They hid all this, then walked into another tent; they took what they wanted and hid it too.

₉They said to each other, “This isn't right. Today is a day to celebrate, and we haven't told anyone else what has happened. If we wait until morning, we will be punished. Let's go to the king's palace straight away and tell the good news.”

₁₀They went back to Samaria and shouted up to the guards at the gate, “We've just come from the Syrian army camp, and all the soldiers are gone! The tents are empty, and the horses and donkeys are still tied up. We didn't see or hear anybody.”

₁₁The guards reported the news to the king's palace. ₁₂The king got out of bed and said to his officers, “I know what those Syrians are doing. They know we're starving, so they're hiding in the fields, hoping we will go out to look for food. When we do, they can capture us and take over our city.”

₁₃One of his officers replied, “We have a few horses left—why don't we let some men take five of them and go to the Syrian camp and see what's happening? We're going to die anyway like those who have already died.” ₁₄They found two chariots, and the king commanded the men to find out what had happened to the Syrian troops.

₁₅The men rode as far as the River Jordan. All along the way they saw clothes and equipment that the Syrians had thrown away as they escaped. Then they went back to the king and told him what they had seen.

₁₆At once the people went to the Syrian camp and carried off what was left. They took so much that a large sack of flour and two large sacks of barley sold for almost nothing, just as the LORD had promised.

₁₇The king of Israel had put his chief officer in charge of the gate, but he died when the people trampled him as they rushed out of the city. ₁₈Earlier, when the king was at Elisha's house, Elisha had told him that flour or barley would sell for almost nothing. ₁₉But the officer refused to believe that even the LORD could do that. So Elisha warned him that he would see it happen, but would not eat any of the food. ₂₀And that's exactly what happened—the officer was trampled to death.

₁Elisha told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, “The LORD has warned that there will be no food here for seven years. Take your family and go and live somewhere else for a while.” ₂The woman did exactly what Elisha had said and went to live in Philistine territory.

She and her family lived there seven years. ₃Then she returned to Israel and immediately begged the king to give back her house and property.

₄Meanwhile, the king was asking Gehazi the servant of Elisha about the amazing things Elisha had been doing. ₅While Gehazi was telling him that Elisha had brought a dead boy back to life, the woman and her son arrived.

“Here's the boy, Your Majesty,” Gehazi said. “And this is his mother.”

₆The king asked the woman to tell her story, and she told him everything that had happened. He then said to one of his officials, “I want you to make sure that this woman gets back everything that belonged to her, including the money her crops have made since the day she left Israel.”

₁₅John spoke about him and shouted, “This is the one I told you would come! He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.”

₁₆Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing after another. ₁₇The Law was given by Moses, but Jesus Christ brought us undeserved kindness and truth. ₁₈No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like.

_19-20The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and temple helpers to ask John who he was. He told them plainly, “I am not the Messiah.” ₂₁Then when they asked him if he were Elijah, he said, “No, I am not!” And when they asked if he were the Prophet, he also said “No!”

₂₂Finally, they said, “Who are you then? We have to give an answer to the ones who sent us. Tell us who you are!”

₂₃John answered in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “I am only someone shouting in the desert, ‘Get the road ready for the Lord!’ ”

₂₄Some Pharisees had also been sent to John. ₂₅They asked him, “Why are you baptizing people, if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?”

₂₆John told them, “I use water to baptize people. But here with you is someone you don't know. ₂₇Even though I came first, I am not good enough to untie his sandals.” ₂₈John said this as he was baptizing east of the River Jordan in Bethany.